My NDA journey

In 2004, the Academy Council (Senate) of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) approved the establishment of a postgraduate school to enhance the “capacity for research, knowledge, innovation and creativity to nurture first-class mentality” with a special emphasis on military science, technology, strategic studies, and national development.

In 2005, President Olusegun Obasanjo officially opened the postgraduate school of the NDA. It has been twenty years, and the school has transformed into a world-class institution and is recognized as the gateway to generalship and scholarship. The NDA postgraduate school is better experienced than told because it might seem an exaggeration. Therefore, this piece is about my experience that covered 12 years.

I am a proud alumnus of the NDA. My academic journey in NDA began in 2014 and culminated in 2025 with a doctorate in military history. Rigorous, demanding and intellectually engaging are not sufficient to describe my experience. My choice of studying in a military environment was informed by a childhood desire to enlist in the military during the 1990 coup attempt to oust the then regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. At the time, we lived at the police barracks in Falomo, in Ikoyi and with its proximity to Dodan Barracks, the then seat of power, the federal secretariat and Radio House, we were upbeat with volley of gunfire that rented the air. Even though I was very young at the time to understand what was happening, I was fascinated by the gunshots and how everyone seemed glued to the radio.

I recall we had a neighbor, who was of the Tiv extraction of Benue State. Upon the announcement of a change in government by Major Gideon Orkar, one of the coup plotters, he came out of his apartment jubilant. As kids, we joined him in the celebration in our innocence. But the fantasy stuck inside of me from that moment because I wondered that whatever it was that made people happy was worth it. My interest grew in leaps and bounds, and intuitively, I took an interest in military ranks and symbols. There was also an army barracks nearby at the time. I can’t remember the name exactly, it was just after Falomo roundabout on Kingsway Road, now renamed Alfred Rewane Road. I was a constant visitor to the barracks to visit my friends and also to play football. That also allowed me to fraternize with my fantasy. But there was no plan to enroll in a military school because I didn’t share my fantasy with my father. That was how I ended up at Federal Government College Ugwolawo, in Kogi State, a school that shared no affinity with the military.

Fortune smiled at me again in 2014 when I came across a newspaper advertorial for a postgraduate programme in the NDA. I scanned through, and the most relevant to me was the Master’s in conflict, security and development (MCSD). I applied, got admitted and completed the programme successfully. But I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted a course with a link to my childhood fantasy, the military. I applied for a Master of Arts in military history. I got admitted, and in the course of the programme, I was comforted with the exposure to a semblance of my childhood fantasy. The fact that I was going to be addressed as a military historian was all that I needed at that point. In my mind, I was like, I am not military personnel, but I am a military historian. That made all the sense in the world to me.

Like Oliver Twist, I wasn’t satisfied after I completed the programme. I wanted to be an authority, and the only way I could achieve that was to enroll for a doctorate in military history. I did, I was admitted, and I completed the programme. But not without a proper induction into the intricate world of the military. Even though some of my friends suspect I am in the military, disguised as a civilian, I could not blame them for their perception. It was what the NDA instilled in me during my 12-year academic sojourn. I was militarized intellectually. I was taught discipline by adhering strictly to the academic calendar. I was taught to endure the rigours of a military environment. I was exposed to originality in research work. I was mentored by some of the brightest minds. I was taught confidence and taking ownership of my research work in seminar presentations before a panel of professors, and I was assessed on my presentation skills alongside the content of my research work. The NDA is an all-rounder and not for the faint-hearted.

If you passed through the NDA as a postgraduate student, your life would never remain the same. You can take this to the bank. The NDA is not just a citadel of learning. It is a bosom of knowledge. It is either you learn, unlearn, or relearn. The choice is always yours to make. Its activities are planned ahead of time, and they can only be altered by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Most times, the status quo remains. That is the beauty of the NDA and why it has remained a critical contributor to national development.

Its curriculum always reflects the reality of the times. It gives you a grasp of ideas that you could run with in the happenings around the world. It also supports the fact that the NDA is not a conventional institution. It is a gateway to unleashing potentials. If you are privileged to hold the NDA badge, please guard it jealously. In my opinion, it is akin to a service medal. I deliberately withheld some key information about the NDA experience. A trial is indeed necessary to convince you that the NDA is the gateway to generalship and scholarship.

Ocheja, PhD, specialises in the documentation of the military histories of Nigeria and Africa, and can be reached via [email protected]