Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Yushau Dogara Ahmed, has been conferred as a Fellow at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja.
Major General Garba Ayodeji Wahab, Director-General of the Centre, presented General Ahmed with the certificate of investiture at a ceremony held at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre.
After his investiture as a Fellow of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Ahmed appreciated the centre’s management for finding him worthy of the fellowship.
General Ahmed had previously served as a deputy director at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja.
He said, “I’m very happy. This place is home to me. I served here as a deputy director. To be conferred with the title of Fellow is a great honour. I feel fulfilled.”
The Special Guest of Honour at the lecture that preceded the investiture, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Olufemi Oluyede, who was represented by Major General Ayoola Aboaba, stated that the Nigerian Army is ready to implement measures and mechanisms to combat health security challenges in Nigeria.
He emphasised that establishing national health infrastructure depends on the availability of accurate population data.
Oluyede said robust and sustainable health infrastructure, which would strengthen healthcare personnel, and the inclusion of a health database that would be invaluable during health emergencies are essential.
“We must ensure that the right health infrastructure is in place. It is only when you have the population database can you adequately plan for health infrastructure,” he said.
For her part, the guest speaker, Dr Kumshida Yakubu Balami, a public health expert and epidemiologist, stated that everyone has the right to live in good health. She spoke on “Public Health and National Security in Nigeria” at the lecture that preceded the conferment of the fellowship.
She also disclosed that health crises undermine a nation’s economic and developmental stability and emphasised that health surveillance is everyone’s responsibility.
Balami stressed that efforts must be made to identify the key health threats affecting national security, such as humanitarian crises and terrorism in some parts of the country.
She appealed to security agencies to intensify their surveillance, early detection, and response efforts.
