Kofi Ampeah Woode
After 41-weeks of grueling strategic training, Ghana’s National College of Defence Studies (NCDS) has held its inaugural Graduation Ceremony, under the theme; “Our Environment, Our Security, Our Development”, leading to the award of Master of Arts degree in Strategic Studies.
The graduation event was held on Saturday 16 November 2024, at the Nicholson Stadium, Burma Camp, Accra, and witnessed 19 graduates (including two female Officers) who commenced the NCDS’ maiden course on 27 November 2023.
Ghana Army had twelve of the graduates, Ghana Navy (GN) had three, Ghana Air Force had two, whiles two Director-level Senior Civil Servants from the Ministries of Defence and of National Security, formed the cohort, who were also awarded ‘Fellows’ of the College (fncds).
Ghana’s NCDS, established at the behest of its President, and Commander-In-Chief (C-In-C) of the Armed Forces – His Excellency (HE) Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, obtained Institutional and Program recognition and accreditation from the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), meeting protocols for the establishment and operationalization as a tertiary institution, under the mentorship of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
The C-In-C made the call for the institution’s establishment on Wednesday 1 February 2023, at Burma Camp, Accra, as he participated in GAF’s General Headquarters’ (GHQ) West Africa Soldier Social Activity (WASSA), and directed the Ghana Educational Trust Fund (GETFUND), to provide the seed capital for the NCDS’ establishment.
The C-In-C, who was the Guest of Honour at the graduation ceremony, said the vision for the NCDS was to create an institution that offers strategic-level education to Senior Officers, and leaders from various national agencies, imparting skills in strategic leadership, contemporary management, and effective decision-making.
It should be a forward-looking decision rooted in Ghana’s need for self-reliance in developing military and civilian leaders, who understand both the global security landscape and national security priorities, he added.
“While our best and brightest have long been educated abroad, bringing back invaluable knowledge and skills, the financial costs have been considerable, and the strategies they learned were often shaped by other nations’ perspectives”, President Akufo-Addo asserted.
National sovereignty, he continued, goes beyond border defence, and involves a capacity to identify and solve a country’s internal security issues, and to produce leaders who can think strategically, within specified contexts; adding that the college enhances the strategic capacity of GAF, empowering them to continue playing a central role in national and regional progress.
The C-In-C announced that Ghana has secured both external and internal funding, including support from the Government of the People’s Republic of China, and the GETFUND, to construct a permanent state-of-the-art campus for the NCDS.
He further informed of his directive to the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the College – Minister for Defence, and Member of Parliament for Bimbilla – Mr Dominic Bingab Aduna Nitiwul, to accede to a request by the Commandant, NCDS, for national subvention for the college.
The President also proclaimed his approval of the establishment of a National Defence University (NDU), with GAFCSC and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC), as foundational colleges; who would operate autonomously within their areas of expertise with the NDU overseeing overall Strategy, Policy, and Administration.
GAFCSC will focus on military courses for middle-level training, whilst the KAIPTC will emphasize peace and conflict studies, as the NCDS, the Ghana Military Academy (GMA), and the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), will form constituent colleges under the NDU’s Presidential Charter.
The idea of establishing a dedicated staff college in Ghana emerged at Independence in 1957, for the new country to train her own Officers to take over from British Officers, however, the state continued to rely on external training opportunities offered by Commonwealth and allied nations.
In 1963, as demand for trained officers grew, the National War College was briefly established, but later rebranded as the National Defence College, serving as a junior institution for Officer training.
With the support of advisory teams from the UK and Canada in 1976, the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), was fully established at Teshie, commencing middle-level professional military education (PME) for Captains and Majors, equipping them with critical skills in leadership, ethical understanding, analysis, and communication, for operational challenges.
Prior to its establishment, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) could not train its Officers beyond Operational Level; and for Strategic Level training, GAF had to rely on development partners and friendly countries like China, India, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (USA), who altogether trained about five or six, on gratis.
Without such strategic training for its Senior Officers, they still would have had to work and make decisions, however, Generals and Senior Civil Servants are required to think critically and act strategically, to make the right impact in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.
Presenting his report on the academic period, the Commandant, NCDS – Major General (Maj Gen) Irvine Nii-Ayitey Aryeetey gave the following overview:
Participants of the NCDS Course 1-23 were equipped with the tools to lead strategy-making process, implement and review them both at the national and centralized levels, or wherever they may find themselves, for it is also open to Senior Civil Servants, as is the case with such colleges around the world.
The mode of learning in NCDS promotes self-learning, while providing participants with the widest academic, intellectual, and professional exposure, and allows participants to research and self-discover facts about subjects, and objects of learning, instilling high moral, ethical, and professional standards in participants.
Subject matter experts, prominent professionals, including retired senior military Officers and Public Servants, deliver lectures on broad range of subjects on contemporary strategic context, policy and strategy, regional, continental, and global studies, and cross-cutting issues including peace of regions, Defence Diplomacy, Program and Strategic Management of Defence, Strategy Making, as well as on International Relations.
In addition to lectures, the college organized seminars on contemporary issues linked to the course outline and the theme, during which industry players, experts, professionals, public officials, and civil society groups, were assembled to debate and share ideas.
Participants of NCDS Course 1-23 visited Ghana’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, National Security, Defence, and Finance; and also interacted with officials at the Bank of Ghana, World Bank, Headquarters African Continental Free Trade Area, ECOBANK Ghana, ZOOMLION, EXIM Bank, Parliament House, and the Jubilee (Presidential) House.
Such visits meant to complement discussions during central lectures and in syndicate rooms, to help understand how industry players, public officials, and civil society organizations (CSO) apply theoretical concepts and principles, and the challenges they face in practical implementation.
Three interlinked Study Tours were conducted during the academic period; the first being a Ghana study tour, where participants and Faculty visited the Eastern and Northeast Regions in Ghana, based on the overarching theme of “Environment, Security, and Development.
The second study tour (Africa or Continental Tour), had participants visiting Ethiopia and Nigeria, to study how African countries handle and resolve similar challenges, affording participants to visit and interact with officials from the sub-regional (Economic Community of West African States) and regional (African Union) institutions.
The third study tour (World Tour), took participants in their sub-syndicates and faculties to Brazil and Qatar, with the objective to leverage solutions from the global perspective on local challenges.
The flagship package for the NCDS Course 1-23 is a Policy and Strategy model, which includes a three-week intensive package on strategy-making at the national and central levels, whereby the strategy-making package was delivered, in collaboration with experts from the African Center for Strategic Studies in Washington D.C., USA, which culminated in a strategy-making exercise at the end of the course.
Ghana’s NCDS intends to increase the number of participants in the second course to 30, to include 18 military Officers, 5 Senior Civil Servants, and seven allied participants from other African countries, in February 2025.
At the Awards; BEST DISSERTATION AWARD dubbed PRESIDENT’S AWARD and sponsored by the President, for participant with the highest score in dissertation in both External and Internal Reviews and adjudged best by the Dissertation Defence Committee, was won by Naval Captain (Capt) Michael Addo Larbi.
STRATEGY AWARD, dubbed VICE ADMIRAL SETH AMOAMA AWARD (sponsored by the Chief of the Defence Staff, GAF – Lt Gen Thomas Oppong-Peprah Award), awarded to graduate who obtained the highest award in Strategy Making, was won by Colonel (Col) Forster Ohene Okae-Yeboah.
LEADERSHIP AWARD dubbed LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOSEPH HENRY SMITH AWARD, given to participant who attained the highest score in Leadership, was won by Col Kwesi Ayima.
Three persons – the late Lt Gen JH Smith (Rtd) – former Defence Minister; Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, and former CDS, GAF – Vice Admiral Seth Amoama; and C-In-C HE President NAD Akufo-Addo – were conferred with Honorary Fellows of NCDS.
The NCDS Course 1-23 Participants List:
- COL WILLIAM KWAKU ABOTSI
- COL KINGSLEY KWABENA KESSIE AFFRIFAH
- COL JOSHUA AMANOR
- COL GLOVER ASHONG ANNAN
- NAVAL CAPT ALBERT ANKU KPESENU
- COL KWESI AYIMA
- GROUP CAPTAIN (GP CAPT) SOPHIA ADZO JIAGGE
- COL RICHARD KAINYI MENSAH
- MR FRANK OLIVER KPODO
- COL FORSTER OHENE OKAE-YEBOAH
- COL FRANCIS SASU
- COL ABEDNEGO ECLAIRCIE SHOOTER
- NAVAL CAPT VERONICA ADZO ARHIN
- COL WELLINGTON KWAME ATTIPOE-DUMASHIE
- NAVAL CAPT MICHAEL ADDO LARBI
- GP CAPT NII ADJEI ARYEETEY
- COL ALFRED KOJO BOTSOE
- MR EBENEZER ADJEI
- COL JOSEPH KELVIN MERDIEMAH
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
