At the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Oshodi, Lagos, Air Vice Marshal Nnaemeka Ignatius Ilo is giving fresh impetus to the centre’s core mandate of preparing personnel for life beyond military service. Through curriculum reforms, agricultural entrepreneurship, strategic partnerships, welfare initiatives and productive use of NAFRC’s assets, all point to a broader vision of transforming resettlement from a retirement requirement into a pathway to sustainable livelihoods, enterprise and continued national contribution. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports For retiring military personnel, the transition from the structured environment of the Armed Forces to civilian life can be as demanding as it is inevitable. For Air Vice Marshal Nnaemeka Ignatius Ilo, the Commandant of the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Oshodi, Lagos, that transition requires more than routine retirement preparation. It requires deliberate investment in skills, entrepreneurship, welfare, partnerships and productive assets. Since assuming office as the 42nd Commandant, AVM Ilo has increasingly placed post-service preparedness at the centre of his administration, while also seeking to reposition NAFRC as an institution capable of delivering relevant training and sustainable opportunities to personnel. A spotlight on his activities in July and the first weeks of August have reflected that broad vision, ranging from engagement with personnel and private-sector partners to agricultural development, community relations and the inauguration of a new pre-discharge course. Preparing Personnel For Life After Service A major expression of AVM Ilo’s vision came on July 31 with the inauguration of Pre-Discharge Course 2/2026 at NAFRC. The course, designed to prepare retiring military personnel for civilian life, received 840 nominations across the Services, with 689 participants already received and documented. The Special Guest of Honour, the General Officer Commanding 81 Division, Major General AA Babalola, urged the participants to embrace the training as a pathway to entrepreneurship, self-reliance and continued national service. He also commended NAFRC for its sustained efforts in empowering retiring personnel through vocational, entrepreneurial and life-skills training. The Commandant, AVM Ilo, disclosed that NAFRC was strengthening its curriculum in collaboration with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), with the aim of providing industry-relevant skills and nationally recognised certifications. For Ilo, the objective is to make resettlement training more responsive to contemporary realities. The emphasis is increasingly on giving personnel practical skills that can translate into productive civilian careers and sustainable livelihoods after service. The Director of Training, Brigadier General IE Akpaumontia, explained that those nominated across the Services would receive practical and theoretical training in vocational, technical and entrepreneurial disciplines, alongside entrepreneurship development, counselling and industrial attachment. Taking Agriculture Beyond Training Agriculture has emerged as one of the key areas through which AVM Ilo intends to expand the centre’s resettlement and empowerment programme. During a recent courtesy visit to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, in Abuja, he revealed that about 80 per cent of participants undergoing resettlement training had expressed interest in agricultural entrepreneurship. To support this interest, NAFRC has acquired 40 hectares of land to expand its agricultural training programme. Ilo sought the ministry’s assistance with technical training, modern equipment, extension services and policy guidance. The proposed partnership is intended to link training with practical opportunities, while also contributing to food security and sustainable livelihoods. Senator Kyari, while expressing the ministry’s readiness to work closely with NAFRC, encouraged the centre to organise beneficiaries into cooperative societies to enable them to access government intervention programmes and agricultural support schemes. He also advised NAFRC to outline and forward its areas of interest in the initiative so that the ministry could provide appropriate technical and institutional support in line with existing agricultural policies. Turning Epe Land into a Productive Asset The agricultural vision took a more concrete form during Ilo’s inspection of NAFRC’s landed property in Epe on August 11. The Commandant directed that an economic farm be established on the property, with cassava and economic trees among the proposed crops. He also ordered arrangements for a borehole to provide
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