The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, has emphasised the importance of effective strategic leadership in sustaining the operational effectiveness, institutional performance and long-term relevance of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
Air Marshal Aneke stated this on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, while speaking at the Strategic Leadership and Management Workshop and Induction Ceremony held at the NAF Headquarters, Abuja.
The CAS said the increasingly complex security environment, marked by uncertainty, rapid technological advancement and evolving threats, requires leaders capable of anticipating challenges, assessing risks, optimising resources and making sound decisions with long-term implications.
He stressed that strategic leadership must go beyond immediate operational demands by translating available resources and capabilities into meaningful operational effects, in line with the NAF Command Philosophy’s key driver of “Standardised Training and Mission-Focused Capability Development.”
According to him, the workshop was designed to enhance the competencies of senior officers in strategic leadership, organisational effectiveness, policy formulation, governance, decision-making and resource management.
He charged participants to critically examine established practices, engage meaningfully with facilitators and apply lessons from the programme to improve performance within their respective commands and formations.
Air Marshal Aneke further urged officers of air rank to strengthen institutional performance, promote innovation, develop their subordinates and ensure that decisions taken today contribute to the long-term effectiveness of the Nigerian Air Force.
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He also highlighted the induction of eligible participants as full members of the Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria, Chartered, describing the professional recognition as valuable to strengthening competencies relevant to senior military leadership and institutional governance.
The CAS commended the organisers and the Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria for the collaboration, expressing confidence that the programme would enhance the professional development of participants and contribute to stronger NAF institutional and operational capacity.
He described leadership development as a force multiplier, noting that operational effectiveness depends not only on platforms, equipment and personnel but also on the quality of leadership, decision-making, resource management and innovation required to translate capabilities into decisive airpower effects.
Earlier, the President/Chairman-in-Council of the Institute, Mr Alex Ndudi Enebeli, FSM, represented by the immediate past President, Dr Otive Igbuzor, FSM, welcomed participants and underscored the importance of strategic management and leadership in improving organisational performance.
He noted that the collaboration with the NAF would further enhance the capacity of senior officers to make sound decisions, optimise resources and drive institutional effectiveness.
