 I'm delighted to be in your midst today to celebrate the 59th anniversary of the Nigeria Air Force established in 1964 by an act of the Nigerian Parliament to preserve Nigeria's territorial integrity through the employment and projection of air power and I bring you the very warm felicitations of His Excellency, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Mohammad Buhari, who as you know is a ways out of the country and would have loved to be here himself. I'm proud to say that the Air Force has in the years since its establishment proved its metal both locally and internationally and I must add that I'm impressed by the displays put up by the officers, airmen and airwomen of the Nigeria Air Force at this ceremonial event, especially in the March past, the parade and the colorful aerial exhibition. These displays aptly demonstrate the Nigeria Air Force's commitment to achieving high standards of operational readiness. Indeed our Air Force is willing, able and ready. I'd like to commend the Chief of Air Staff and his team for the commendable leadership that they have shown in providing for the Nigeria Air Force. As the Air Arm of the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Air Force has shown that despite its challenges in terms of the quality of manpower, talents, creativity and capability, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the very best in the world. As a country we are proud that in less than four years we've been able to revitalize our armed forces and in keeping with his promise that as Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces he would prioritize the restoration of professionalism in the military to enable them effectively discharge their responsibilities. His Excellency President Mohammad Ibarri ensured that substantial investments have been made in acquiring new platforms and other support equipment for the military and other security agencies as well as reactivating and upgrading existing platforms. In the last four years the administration acquired new air platforms for the Nigeria Air Force, such as the JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter aircraft, the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft, the Diamond 62 aircraft and the T-129 attack helicopter, beachcraft and the unmanned aerial systems. And we have just commissioned two of those platforms that had been purchased earlier by this administration. The Air Force has also reactivated several aircrafts and is worthy of note that the procurement process for military hardware has been reviewed to remove inefficiency and to introduce transparency. For example the procurement process for the purchase of the 12 Super Tucano aircrafts in 2018 was done through a transparent first-of-its-kind government to government deal with the United States of America. It's evident that the huge investments in the capacity development of the Nigeria Air Force has helped to turn the tide against terrorists and other violent non-state actors in our nation. We must also commend the renewed focus on research and innovation and self-reliance by the Chief of Air Staff. This is far-sighted and it builds on a tradition that the Air Force has established in the years of this administration of research, of doing creative work and trying to strengthen our Air Force in various ways. It's also an important component of the development of our military industrial complex for Nigeria and the armed forces in general. And I'm pleased to note that we are seeing an Air Force that is increasingly confident about its ability and its capability to innovate and to deploy locally developed technology. And this is manifesting in various ways from the locally developed operational unmanned aerial vehicle the Saigumi which the president formally inducted into service in February 2018. So this collaborative work being done at the Air Force Research and Development Center in Kaduna to produce the first ever made in Nigeria aircraft. Of course this must be situated within the general context of a greater emphasis on local capacity building by the Nigerian Armed Forces with developments like the establishment of the Nigeria Army University and the revitalization of our Defense Industries Corporation of Nigeria DICON serving as testaments to these renewed emphasis. The Nigeria Air Force should also strive to expand its collaborations outside of the military and by this I mean the collaborations with academia, with think tanks, with civilian technology, hubs and independent innovators and creators. I'm aware from discussions with the Chief of Air Staff that collaborations with our university and research institutions is already growing. There's a great amount of potential waiting to be unleashed from these partnerships. Once again I salute the resolve of our armed forces and the invaluable contributions of other security agencies in fully containing the security challenges in some parts of our nation especially the contributions of the Nigeria Air Force in addressing the security challenges of armed banditry, cattle rustling and kidnapping in the Northwest and in the North Central. Your efforts in conjunction with other security agencies have started to yield positive results. Well done indeed but let us never lose sight of the reason for our existence as the military component of government. It is that the security and well-being of our people is an irreducible minimum and the chief responsibility of all legitimate governments. I therefore charge you to continue to work to earn the confidence of the nation and the respect of the international community as you protect lives and property neutralizing all existing and emerging national security threats. I'd like to urge greater cooperation and mutual trust between the various arms of the armed forces even while maintaining the healthy spirit of competition that underpins innovation and increased efficiency. Finally, let me on behalf of Mr. President thank all Nigerians for coming together as a united and determined people irrespective of parochial affiliations to partner with the armed forces in the war against terror and insurgency. We are currently in the stabilization reconstruction and resettlement phase of the overall effort in the northeast and we'll continue to solicit your support and understanding until terrorism and the activities of armed criminals of whatever description are completely eradicated. I once again congratulate the chief of the air staff and the entire Air Force family on the occasion of the 59th anniversary of the Nigeria Air Force. Long live the Nigeria Air Force. Long live the federal republic of Nigeria. I thank you all for listening.