Julia O . Ogbaji, PhD | Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria (original) (raw)

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Papers by Julia O . Ogbaji, PhD

The training of leaders in the military is of utmost importance especially that of the junior off... more The training of leaders in the military is of utmost importance especially that of the junior officer cadre. Junior officers in the Nigerian Army (NA) are expected to possess certain attributes; they must know what to do, when to do it and influence others to follow their lead. In other words, they should possess attributes that will make them effective leaders. This paper aims to examine the performance of Nigerian Army Commanders in the Junior Officer Cadre to establish the effectiveness of the training of junior officers and their performance as platoon commanders in the Nigerian Army. The findings of the study reveal that despite the update and construction of training curricula and training centres for Nigerian Army personnel, Junior officers' performance on the field continues to fall short of expectations due to insufficient training, as he lacks the necessary tools to meet the tasks on the field. The demand for manpower is high, and the number of cadets undergoing training has grown over time with little correlation to the number of instructors. This has an impact on the quality of training thereby affecting their performance in the field. Through content analysis of secondary data, this work discusses the various challenges faced in the training of Junior Officer Commanders. The paper explains that there are diverse challenges in the leadership training of the Junior Officer Cadre which serve to hinder their effective performance as Platoon Commanders, and therefore the training currently adopted may not adequately address or prepare them for the tasks ahead. Thus, the paper concludes by recommending that Nigerian Army should consider collective training for its personnel in oversea military institutions; establish a combined training course for Platoon leaders and Platoon Sergeants in order to breach communication gap and create more synergy between them; expanding the roles of the Nigerian Army Cyberwarfare Command (NACWC) to train Junior officers in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and its possible applications in warfare; construct training villages in order to portray realistic training environment to improve the performance of Junior officers in combat amongst others.

The training of leaders in the military is of utmost importance especially that of the junior off... more The training of leaders in the military is of utmost importance especially that of the junior officer cadre. Junior officers in the Nigerian Army (NA) are expected to possess certain attributes; they must know what to do, when to do it and influence others to follow their lead. In other words, they should possess attributes that will make them effective leaders. This paper aims to examine the performance of Nigerian Army Commanders in the Junior Officer Cadre to establish the effectiveness of the training of junior officers and their performance as platoon commanders in the Nigerian Army. The findings of the study reveal that despite the update and construction of training curricula and training centres for Nigerian Army personnel, Junior officers" performance on the field continues to fall short of expectations due to insufficient training, as he lacks the necessary tools to meet the tasks on the field. The demand for manpower is high, and the number of cadets undergoing training has grown over time with little correlation to the number of instructors. This has an impact on the quality of training thereby affecting their performance in the field. Through content analysis of secondary data, this work discusses the various challenges faced in the training of Junior Officer Commanders. The paper explains that there are diverse challenges in the leadership training of the Junior Officer Cadre which serve to hinder their effective performance as Platoon Commanders, and therefore the training currently adopted may not adequately address or prepare them for the tasks ahead. Thus, the paper concludes by recommending that Nigerian Army should consider collective training for its personnel in oversea military institutions; establish a combined training course for Platoon leaders and Platoon Sergeants in order to breach communication gap and create more synergy between them; expanding the roles of the Nigerian Army Cyberwarfare Command (NACWC) to train Junior officers in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and its possible applications in warfare; construct training villages in order to portray realistic training environment to improve the performance of Junior officers in combat amongst others.

The focus of this paper is to critically examine public sector innovation and how it can enhance ... more The focus of this paper is to critically examine public sector innovation and how it can enhance organisational effectiveness in the 21 st Century. It argues that public sector innovation involves the introduction of new ideas that create value for society. It examined innovations and best practices in the public sector: international, continental and national experiences. The paper adopted a qualitative approach to research and analysed data gathered from secondary sources thematically. Major findings from an examination of the Nigerian experience reveal that innovation efforts side-by-side with public sector reforms were invigorated following Nigeria's return to democratic rule in 1999. It also revealed that despite noble intentions of the innovations/reforms in the public sector to address leakages in government resources, service delivery, and inefficiency, several challenges continue to impede efforts at innovation. These include leadership, the changing environment, and growing citizens' expectations, globalization, resource constraints, challenges of embracing emerging technologies s, the politicization of public sectors, and fear of change. The paper concludes that while the 4 th Industrial Revolution (4IR) comes with its disruptions, it is notable that innovations and technologies in the context of the 4IR provide room for innovations in the public sector for effective service delivery in the public sector organisations in the 21 st century.

Terrorism and insurgency have created a vast population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), i... more Terrorism and insurgency have created a vast population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in Nigeria. This has led to the proliferation of internally displaced persons' camps in some towns especially in the Northeast of Nigeria, which is the epicentre of violent insurgency. Many IDP camps have been set up as part of government responses to population displacement because of insurgencies. While some scholars have examined the challenges, management, and roles of government and nongovernmental organisations (NGO) on IDPs, scanty attention has been paid to how the IDP camps have become soft targets for suicide bombers. Suicide attacks have in recent times been carried out in and around different IDP camps on an alarming rate, thereby, raising the question of security challenges confronting these camps. This chapter examines how IDP camps have become targets for suicide bombers due to lapses in security management. The study has become imperative to draw the attention of relevant government agencies to this menace with the view of strengthening security around these already disadvantaged people. The study is carried out using primary and secondary sources of data collection. The primary sources used include oral interviews and newspaper reports, while secondary sources utilised relevant books and journal articles. The chapter recommends that a robust security mechanism be setup around IDP camps while relocating those vulnerable to attacks.

The training of leaders in the military is of utmost importance especially that of the junior off... more The training of leaders in the military is of utmost importance especially that of the junior officer cadre. Junior officers in the Nigerian Army (NA) are expected to possess certain attributes; they must know what to do, when to do it and influence others to follow their lead. In other words, they should possess attributes that will make them effective leaders. This paper aims to examine the performance of Nigerian Army Commanders in the Junior Officer Cadre to establish the effectiveness of the training of junior officers and their performance as platoon commanders in the Nigerian Army. The findings of the study reveal that despite the update and construction of training curricula and training centres for Nigerian Army personnel, Junior officers' performance on the field continues to fall short of expectations due to insufficient training, as he lacks the necessary tools to meet the tasks on the field. The demand for manpower is high, and the number of cadets undergoing training has grown over time with little correlation to the number of instructors. This has an impact on the quality of training thereby affecting their performance in the field. Through content analysis of secondary data, this work discusses the various challenges faced in the training of Junior Officer Commanders. The paper explains that there are diverse challenges in the leadership training of the Junior Officer Cadre which serve to hinder their effective performance as Platoon Commanders, and therefore the training currently adopted may not adequately address or prepare them for the tasks ahead. Thus, the paper concludes by recommending that Nigerian Army should consider collective training for its personnel in oversea military institutions; establish a combined training course for Platoon leaders and Platoon Sergeants in order to breach communication gap and create more synergy between them; expanding the roles of the Nigerian Army Cyberwarfare Command (NACWC) to train Junior officers in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and its possible applications in warfare; construct training villages in order to portray realistic training environment to improve the performance of Junior officers in combat amongst others.

The training of leaders in the military is of utmost importance especially that of the junior off... more The training of leaders in the military is of utmost importance especially that of the junior officer cadre. Junior officers in the Nigerian Army (NA) are expected to possess certain attributes; they must know what to do, when to do it and influence others to follow their lead. In other words, they should possess attributes that will make them effective leaders. This paper aims to examine the performance of Nigerian Army Commanders in the Junior Officer Cadre to establish the effectiveness of the training of junior officers and their performance as platoon commanders in the Nigerian Army. The findings of the study reveal that despite the update and construction of training curricula and training centres for Nigerian Army personnel, Junior officers" performance on the field continues to fall short of expectations due to insufficient training, as he lacks the necessary tools to meet the tasks on the field. The demand for manpower is high, and the number of cadets undergoing training has grown over time with little correlation to the number of instructors. This has an impact on the quality of training thereby affecting their performance in the field. Through content analysis of secondary data, this work discusses the various challenges faced in the training of Junior Officer Commanders. The paper explains that there are diverse challenges in the leadership training of the Junior Officer Cadre which serve to hinder their effective performance as Platoon Commanders, and therefore the training currently adopted may not adequately address or prepare them for the tasks ahead. Thus, the paper concludes by recommending that Nigerian Army should consider collective training for its personnel in oversea military institutions; establish a combined training course for Platoon leaders and Platoon Sergeants in order to breach communication gap and create more synergy between them; expanding the roles of the Nigerian Army Cyberwarfare Command (NACWC) to train Junior officers in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and its possible applications in warfare; construct training villages in order to portray realistic training environment to improve the performance of Junior officers in combat amongst others.

The focus of this paper is to critically examine public sector innovation and how it can enhance ... more The focus of this paper is to critically examine public sector innovation and how it can enhance organisational effectiveness in the 21 st Century. It argues that public sector innovation involves the introduction of new ideas that create value for society. It examined innovations and best practices in the public sector: international, continental and national experiences. The paper adopted a qualitative approach to research and analysed data gathered from secondary sources thematically. Major findings from an examination of the Nigerian experience reveal that innovation efforts side-by-side with public sector reforms were invigorated following Nigeria's return to democratic rule in 1999. It also revealed that despite noble intentions of the innovations/reforms in the public sector to address leakages in government resources, service delivery, and inefficiency, several challenges continue to impede efforts at innovation. These include leadership, the changing environment, and growing citizens' expectations, globalization, resource constraints, challenges of embracing emerging technologies s, the politicization of public sectors, and fear of change. The paper concludes that while the 4 th Industrial Revolution (4IR) comes with its disruptions, it is notable that innovations and technologies in the context of the 4IR provide room for innovations in the public sector for effective service delivery in the public sector organisations in the 21 st century.

Terrorism and insurgency have created a vast population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), i... more Terrorism and insurgency have created a vast population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in Nigeria. This has led to the proliferation of internally displaced persons' camps in some towns especially in the Northeast of Nigeria, which is the epicentre of violent insurgency. Many IDP camps have been set up as part of government responses to population displacement because of insurgencies. While some scholars have examined the challenges, management, and roles of government and nongovernmental organisations (NGO) on IDPs, scanty attention has been paid to how the IDP camps have become soft targets for suicide bombers. Suicide attacks have in recent times been carried out in and around different IDP camps on an alarming rate, thereby, raising the question of security challenges confronting these camps. This chapter examines how IDP camps have become targets for suicide bombers due to lapses in security management. The study has become imperative to draw the attention of relevant government agencies to this menace with the view of strengthening security around these already disadvantaged people. The study is carried out using primary and secondary sources of data collection. The primary sources used include oral interviews and newspaper reports, while secondary sources utilised relevant books and journal articles. The chapter recommends that a robust security mechanism be setup around IDP camps while relocating those vulnerable to attacks.