The Nigerian
Air Force Act spelt out the objectives of NAF as
follows:
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i. To achieve a full
complement of the military defence system of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria
both in the air and on the ground;
ii. To ensure fast versatile
mobility of the Armed Forces;
iii. To provide close air support for
ground forces in all phases of operations and to
ensure the
territorial integrity of a united Nigeria;
iv. To give the country the deserved
prestige which is invaluable in international
matters.
Section 217(2) of the Nigerian Constitution of
1999 on the other hand, charged the NAF as well as other arms of the Nigerian military with
the responsibilities of:
i. Defending Nigeria from
external aggression;
ii. Maintaining its territorial
integrity and securing its borders from
violation by land, sea and
air;
iii. Suppressing insurrection and
acting in aid of civil authorities to restore
order when called upon by
the President, subject to such conditions as may
be prescribed by an Act of the
National Assembly; and,
iv. Performing such other functions
as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. |
These three legal strands, the Nigeria-German
agreement, the Nigerian Air Force Act and the Nigerian Constitution, provide the inspirational
framework for the formulation of the NAF mission which is:
To ensure the integrity of the airspace by
gaining and maintaining control of the air,
while retaining a credible capacity to fulfill
other air power tasks demanded by national defence and security imperatives.
Over the years, the NAF formulated its
operational doctrine based on the following
three
fundamental beliefs namely, that:
i. The NAF can best be
developed and employed in accordance with the
principles of unity
of command,
centralized control and decentralized execution;
ii. The best employment of the NAF
shall be in the offensive; and
iii. Air superiority is essential to the
successful conduct of combat operations.
Based on these beliefs, the NAF has ‘ACTIVE
DEFENCE, FORWARD ENGAGEMENT’ as an operational dictum, within the framework of a
strategically defensive but tactically offensive military stance.
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