The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai, Tuesday inaugurated 18 classrooms secondary school built by the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA) at the Nigerian Army Post Service Housing Estate, Kurudu, Abuja.
Speaking while inaugurating the project, the Army Chief the college would serve both the children and retired officer living living in the estate.
He commended the initiative of hier predecessor to develop the estate, adding that it was essentially individual contributions but Nigerian army has equally invested in it, hence must equally ensure that the basic necessities including water, light and school and medical facilities are provided within this estate.
“This is one of the overall plans of the army to have a befitting accommodation where officers would retire peacefully.
We have embarked on a number of projects…I assure you that with this policy Nigerian Army will continue to be execute more as funds are made available,” Buratai said.
He commended the commitment of NAOWA for the initiative towards alleviating the plights of the less privileged.
Buratai also pledged the continuous support of the Nigerian Army to the organisation in order to continue its services to humanity.
Earlier, the National President of NAOWA, Mrs Umma-Kalsum Buratai, since its establishment, NAOWA has been in the vanguard of provision of community development projects and “carefully designed welfare programmes that are targeted at women, children, youths and the less privileged in society.”
“We have made modest progress in establishing developmental projects in Abuja and across the divisions of the Nigerian Army,” she said.
“Also the NAOWA women and youth empowerment initiative programme we lunched three years ago is yielding successes as more than 500 of our trainees within the barracks and Internally Displaced Persons Camp have been empowered for a better living.”
“Through the NAOWA community development initiative, we have provided solar boreholes, renovated community schools and furnished numerous rural hospitals with basic hospital equipment. NAOWA in a bid to reduce maternal death and child mortality have recently established a specialist hospital in Abuja. In few days by the special grace of God, we shall all converge for the commissioning ceremony.”
Mrs. Buratai said NAOWA schools across the country initiated by her predecessors have been transformed and upgraded to an international best practice.
“The NAOWA Nursery and primary school here Kurudu is one of the schools we selected for the transformation and upgrading,” she said.
“It would therefore interest this august audience to note that the NAOWA College Kurudu we are about to commission was initiated by my predecessor Mrs. Felly Minimah in 2014. I am glad she is here with us today to share in the joy of completing and commissioning of this beautiful structure.”
She said the school was “built on a strong moral principles and fear of God” and would provide British/Nigeria curriculum.
“Our mission is to educate the total child based on sound academic foundation and social uprightness..to train our children to be creative, confident, responsible as well as hold strong believe in excellence and integrity,” she said.
