NDC, TETFUND forge strategic partnership on education, AI curriculum

By : Anthony

Date: 11 December 2025 4:00am WAT

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Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono

Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono

The National Defence College (NDC) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), officially cemented their strategic partnership recently with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the TETFund Headquarters in Abuja.    The primary aim of the MoU is to strengthen strategic partnership between the two key institutions, underscoring TETFund’s pivotal contribution to national development and the long-term stability of Nigeria’s higher education system. Central to this collaboration is a renewed emphasis on curriculum enhancement and comprehensive capacity-building initiatives.    The partnership is equally projected to bring far-reaching improvements to the NDC academic offerings. Through TETFund’s support, it is expected to upgrade its curriculum to reflect emerging security dynamics, modern learning methodologies and integration of advanced technologies such as data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI).    The collaboration will not only enhance faculty training and institutional capacity but also elevate the overall quality and relevance of NDC’s academic programmes in order to produce more proficient strategic leaders.    At the meeting, the Commandant of NDC, Rear Admiral Abdullahi Ahmed, called for deeper institutional support from TETFund to strengthen the College’s research abilities and advance its ongoing curriculum overhaul.    His request reflected the growing need for Nigeria’s top defence training institution to modernise its academic and research frameworks in response to rapidly evolving security threats and the increasing relevance of emerging technologies, particularly AI, in modern warfare and national security management.    Rear Admiral Ahmed, the 22nd Commandant of the NDC, emphasised that TETFund’s support will be instrumental in ensuring that the school curriculum keeps pace with Nigeria’s shifting security landscape.    “The support will enable us to deepen our research capacity and ensure that our curriculum remains relevant to the evolving national security challenges”, he said.    Rear Admiral Ahmed disclosed that upon assuming leadership at NDC, one of his earliest priorities was to initiate a thorough review of the College’s curriculum and expressed optimism that with TETFund’s partnership, the revised curriculum will reflect the high standards expected of an institution that trains senior military officers, security practitioners and policymakers from Nigeria and allied nations.       The curriculum overhaul, he explained, focuses on embedding the study and application of artificial intelligence, enhancing courses on strategic thinking, and deepening training in policymaking.

He further highlighted that NDC is not only a training institution but also a major centre for strategic research in Africa. “The College publishes peer-reviewed academic journals and research reports that contribute significantly to security discourse on the continent and beyond. However, sustaining the high quality of these publications requires substantial resources.”   Ahmed therefore appealed to the Fund for support in sponsoring the College’s research outputs to ensure they continue to meet global standards.    But beyond research and curriculum development, the Commandant also used the visit to express appreciation to TETFund for its numerous interventions in infrastructure development across the country’s tertiary institutions.    He acknowledged that the Fund’s support has had a visible impact, not only at the National Defence College but in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education nationwide.    Responding, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, reiterated the Fund’s commitment to support the College and other institutions that drive research, innovation and national development.    He explained that the MoU signed with the NDC covered broad areas of collaboration, including research funding, academic programme enhancement and infrastructural support. According to him, TETFund recognised the strategic importance of defence education in a country, where security challenges have continued to evolve.    Echono took a moment to commend the sacrifices of Nigeria’s Armed Forces personnel, acknowledging the risks they take daily to safeguard the country. He emphasized that many officers and soldiers serve under extremely difficult conditions, with some paying the ultimate price in the line of duty.    Reflecting on his long-standing relationship with National Defence College, Echono said his association with the institution dated back to his tenure as Director of Procurement at the Ministry of Defence between 2008 and 2009. He recalled that several major infrastructure projects at the College’s permanent site, including participants’ quarters, were undertaken during the period with his direct involvement. Since then, he added, he has remained actively connected to several programmes and initiatives supported by TETFund at the College.    Highlighting the strategic role of NDC, the Executive Secretary described the College as the country’s apex military training institution, particularly in the realm of intelligence and research, explaining that it was for that reason that TETFund expanded its research intervention areas last year to include a new thematic category dedicated to the military and intelligence sector.    This new thematic area, he noted, has been institutionalized and receives dedicated funding aimed at supporting security-related research. Echono said that many of the major scientific and technological innovations used globally originated from military research, citing the Global Positioning System (GPS) as one of the most prominent examples of defence-driven innovation that eventually revolutionized everyday civilian life. According to him, that underscored the importance of investing in military-led research as it has the potential, not only to advance security operations but also to stimulate technological and socio-economic development across the country.

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