By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja – The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Tuesday, inaugurated 18-classroom secondary school built by the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA) known as NOAWA College, Kurudu, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
While inaugurating the project, Buratai said that the establishment of the college in the area was strategic, adding that the development of education was a policy trust of the army.
He said that the location of the school in the Nigerian Army Post Service Housing Estate, Kurudu, was to afford the children of both the serving and retired officers the opportunity to have access to quality education.
Buratai, however, commended the commitment of the leadership of NAOWA to the laudable programmes initiated towards alleviating the plights of the less previlleged.
He also pledged the continuous support of army authorities to the organisation to be able to continue its services to humanity.
“We have commissioned the NOAWA College here in Kurudu which will serve the wards and children of our serving as well as our retired officers who are living in this estate.
“Let me commend the initiatives of my predecessors who have devoted so much time and energy to get this estate developed.
“Although it was essentially individual contributions but Nigerian army has equally invested in this.
“To achieve this, we must equally ensure that the basic necessities including water, light, 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,” he said.
Earlier, the National President of NAOWA, Mrs Umma-Kalsum Buratai, said that NAOWA schools across the country initiated by her predecessors had been transformed and upgraded to international standard.
Mrs Buratai said that the NAOWA College, Kurudu, was initiated by her predecessor, Mrs Felly Minimah, wife of the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, in 2014.
She explained that the school would provide British/Nigeria curriculum, adding that it was built on strong moral principles and fear of God.
According to her, the mission of NAOWA 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 belief in excellence and integrity.
“The school is also equipped with modern facilities to provide exciting and stimulating teaching methods thereby blending excellent modern learning resources and technology in their teaching practice,” she said.
NAOWA president also disclosed that the association had been in the vanguard of providing community development projects and welfare programmes targeted at women, children, the youth and the less privileged in society.
She said that NAOWA had made modest progress in establishing developmental projects in Abuja and across the divisions of the Nigerian Army.
“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 recently established a specialist hospital in Abuja,” she said.
(NAN)
