The Nigerian Army has inaugurated a state-of-the-art Wargaming Centre at the Army War College Nigeria (AWCN) in Asokoro, Abuja, as part of efforts to strengthen strategic planning, operational analysis, and decision-making in tackling evolving security threats across the country.
The facility was commissioned on Thursday by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, who described it as a major investment in professional military education and institutional capacity development.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, General Shaibu said the centre reflects the Army’s commitment to building a professional, adaptive, and combat-ready force capable of effectively addressing contemporary and emerging security challenges.
According to him, the increasingly complex security environment requires military commanders who are not only courageous on the battlefield but also intellectually agile and strategically minded.
He noted that wargaming has become an essential tool for military leadership development, enabling commanders to anticipate threats, assess various operational options, and formulate effective responses before crises occur.
“The Wargaming Centre will serve as a strategic hub for developing innovative solutions to national security challenges through rigorous analysis, operational experimentation, and joint planning,” the Army chief said.
General Shaibu also acknowledged the contributions of his predecessors, whose vision and commitment laid the groundwork for the project. He further commended the Commandant of the Army War College Nigeria and members of the faculty for proactively acquiring advanced wargaming expertise through engagements with allied military institutions even before the facility’s completion.
Earlier, the Commandant of AWCN, Major General Umar Alkali, expressed appreciation to the Chief of Army Staff for supporting the completion and equipping of the centre with modern wargaming infrastructure.
He explained that the facility would provide a realistic and intellectually stimulating environment where military personnel can test campaign plans, evaluate force deployment concepts, explore alternative courses of action, and assess the consequences of strategic decisions through both manual and computer-assisted wargames.
Major General Alkali added that the centre would facilitate the integration of land, maritime, air, cyber, and information domains into joint operational scenarios, thereby enhancing interoperability among the services of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Beyond training and education, he said the centre is designed to support doctrine development, concept validation, operational research, and strategic-level analysis.
The newly commissioned facility comprises two large wargaming halls, four exercise rooms, three theatre laboratories, ten syndicate rooms, a conference room, a library, a digital server room, and other supporting infrastructure.
Military authorities expressed confidence that the centre will significantly improve the Nigerian Army’s capacity to anticipate future threats, develop effective response strategies, and contribute to the achievement of Nigeria’s national security objectives.
