The Commandant of the National Defence College (NDC), Rear Admiral Abdullahi Ahmed, has stressed the importance of shooting sports in sharpening the precision, awareness and combat readiness of military personnel, particularly amid ongoing counter-insurgency operations across the country.

Ahmed stated this at the official launch of the National Integrated Shooting Sports Platform (NISSP), an initiative of the Nigeria Shooting Sports Federation (NSSF), in Abuja.

He said shooting should not be regarded merely as a sport but as an important military skill that must be regularly practised and perfected by personnel.

“ Shooting is a sport. It increases your awareness; it increases your precision,” the Commandant said.

According to him, the country’s security challenges, particularly insurgency, make it imperative for military personnel to maintain proficiency in traditional military skills such as marksmanship.

“And you know the country is fighting terrorism and insurgency. The essence is for us to always keep in touch with our traditional military sports, to perfect our fighting skills, especially shooting,” he said.

The Commandant urged participants to continue practising the skills acquired during the competition after completing their course, stressing the need for continuous training and readiness to respond effectively whenever required.

“So I expect them, after they leave this place, to continue to practise, so that at the order ‘go’, you understand? Perfect it,” he said.

Ahmed also disclosed that the NDC was strengthening its partnership with the NSSF, describing the collaboration as a strategic initiative that would extend beyond the immediate competition.

He said the college had participated in other sporting activities but identified the NSSF as the most suitable partner for developing shooting sports because of its expertise and resources.

“We have thought that the best organisation to partner with is the Nigerian Shooting Sports Federation, with their expertise and the resources they have on the ground. We believe it’s going to be a very viable and resourceful partnership,” he said.

The partnership is expected to provide personnel undergoing training at the NDC and other military institutions with opportunities to maintain and improve their shooting proficiency while promoting structured shooting sports within the armed forces.

The Second Vice President of the NSSF, Aliyu Abubakar Sadiq, who represented the federation’s president, said the launch of the digital shooting sports platform was aimed at harmonising military and paramilitary shooting agencies under a common platform to sharpen their skills and enhance their participation in shooting competitions.

He said the initiative would bring together various shooting agencies and security formations for regular competitions and skills development, while enabling military personnel, paramilitary operatives and other shooting enthusiasts across the country to register and become members of the shooting sports community.

He said the competitions, with the theme, “One Federation. One Platform. Built for Trust,” were not intended to pit the various agencies against one another but to enhance their capabilities and sharpen their shooting skills.

“The Nigeria Shooting Sports Federation, as a federation, is trying to harmonise all the shooting agencies, the military and the paramilitary to formally harmonise them and engage them in competitions like this,” he said.

“This is to further sharpen their skills, not to compete against each other. But in the real sense, it is a kind of enhancing their ability and their skills also.”

Sadiq said the federation planned to organise more competitions, stressing that greater participation would help strengthen shooting sports and skills development among security agencies.

He disclosed that the digital platform would also provide an avenue for military and paramilitary personnel, as well as members of the public interested in shooting sports, to register and participate in the federation’s activities.

“Anybody who is interested in shooting sports, wherever they are, can just log on to the portal, register and submit the application and it will be approved and just like that they are part of a shooting family,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of OB Tech Technologies, a technology partner of the NSSF, Abdul Talib Musa, said the initiative was more than a technology project, describing it as a digital transformation of the administration of shooting sports in Nigeria.

He said the platform would eliminate the challenges associated with managing a growing federation through spreadsheets, documents and fragmented communication systems by bringing its operations onto a single digital platform.

“What we’re doing right here is not just providing the technology; it’s more than just building a solution for the Nigerian Shooting Sports Federation,” Musa said.

“What we’re trying to do here is creating a digital platform where these institutionalised changes are brought to the association.”

According to him, the portal would enable the federation to build a national data repository containing information on shooting sports athletes and members of the public interested in participating in the sport.

“We are onboarding all the members, building a national data repository for all Nigerian athletes, sports athletes, shooters, and the public, those who are interested in participating in shooting sports in the country,” he said.

Musa said the platform would also facilitate the registration and onboarding of shooting clubs, shooting range owners, coaches, technical professionals and referees.

He described the portal as a potential “game changer” in the administration and development of shooting sports in Nigeria, noting that the initiative was only the beginning of a broader digital transformation programme.

“It’s not just another technology solution; it’s going to be a game changer, a digital transformation in the Shooting Sports Federation for Nigeria,” he said.

Musa also stressed the importance of security and proper verification, particularly given the involvement of military and other security personnel in shooting sports.

He said access to the platform and participation in shooting sports would be subject to validation of members’ credentials and appropriate security checks.

“We will validate your credentials and, in line with national security, we will be making sure that only the right people who are meant to be in these sports get and take advantage of this,” he said.

He added that prospective members would be subjected to checks, including criminality and credential verification, before being granted access to the sport through the platform.

Musa said the initiative would also complement the role of shooting sports in developing the skills of personnel of the armed forces.

“Today, we’re looking at the Nigerian military and the armed forces. Shooting is part of what makes the job easy for them, and this is what makes them unique amongst other professions,” he said.

He therefore called on stakeholders and members of the public to support the federation and participate in the development of shooting sports in Nigeria. (The Nation)