| Nigerian Military School | |
| Other Name: | NMS |
| Website: | https://www.nms1954.sch.ng/ |
The Nigerian Military School, Zaria, popularly known as (NMS), is a military boarding school in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, affiliated with the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
It was founded as the Boys Company of Nigeria in 1954, was established under the auspices of Nigerian Regiment Training centre of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF). The school was established along with three others in the British Colonial West Africa in Gambia, Gold Coast (now Ghana), and Sierra Leone. It was modeled after the Boys Wing of the British Army. The present day Military School came into being on May 20, 1954. The Nigerian Military School (NMS) had a student battalion that consisted of 4 company in its early years:
Three additional companies were added:
The Boys Company as it used to be called was established as a full-fledged training institution under the regimentation and administration of the defunct Nigerian Regimental Training Centre (NRTC) now Depot NA. The first Commandant of the School, was Captain Wellington Duke Bassey.
The aim of the school was the production of "middle and skilled manpower" to replace the departing British Colonial NCOs. Thus, a lot of emphasis was laid on military and academic training. In 1958, ten Boys from the School sat for the overseas Armed Forces General Certificate Examination and the school changed to school certificate status.[1]
In 1960, the name "Boys Company" was changed to Nigerian Military School.[2] In 1965 the first set of Boys took the West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination in which they performed creditably well. With the introduction of the new National Policy on Education, the School now runs six-year training programme broken into junior and senior classes of three years duration respectively. A Board of Governors was established to oversee the running of the school.
The school is segmented into 5 main Wings:
The Nigerian Military School gives its students both academic and military training. Every boy soldier as the students are called has one day a week dedicated strictly to military training while the other four days of the week are dedicated to academic training. Similar to other secondary schools, the students sit for the West African Senior School Certificate Exam prior to graduation. The students also have the privilege to earn a commission into the Nigerian Army as private soldiers on the successful completion of their training and graduation from the secondary school.[3]
The initial group of students was known as the "First Platoon" who were sons and wards of serving military personnel. However its military history can be traced to 1951 when the idea of establishing "Boys Company" along the same pattern of the Boys Wing of British Army was conceived for each of the West African Colonies Namely: the Gambia, Gold coast(Ghana), Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The Nigerian military school prides itself due to its numerous successes in regional and national quizzes, drama and sporting competition. It is also said to have one of the highest educational and academic standards in the country, more than most conventional civil high schools in Nigeria.
NMS has produced numerous Senior Military officers and Senior Staff in both Government and Private sectors. till date it has produced a military vice president, four chiefs of defence staff and a president of the united nations general assembly. Some of its alumni include
To encourage sporting activities and competition as attendance increased, four houses were created: Exham, Inglis, FairBanks and Swynnerton. These names were later changed to Giffard, Tranchard, Whistler and Lugard.
As the School changed to School certificate status shortly after independence, the house names were also changed to Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna. The new names were chosen to reflect the regional capitals of the country.
In 1976, two additional houses were added and the names were again changed. The new house names reflected military company designations: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot.
One additional has been added: Gulf, the 7th company. In late 2003, the School changed to the old names of Kaduna, Lagos, Ibadan and Enugu, with Abuja, Calabar and Zaria given to the additional new companies of Echo, Foxtrot and Gulf.[4]
Since its inception, the Military Institution has at various times been commanded by numerous Officers. They are as follows:
| Commandant | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| Capt. WU Bassy | 20 May 1954 | 31 Dec 1956 |
| Maj CJ Grindley | 01 Jan 1956 | 31 Dec 1959 |
| Maj RK Gardiner | 01 Jan 1960 | 31 July 1961 |
| Maj JM McCarter | 01 Aug 1961 | 28 Feb 1962 |
| Maj PJ Wakeman | 01 Mar 1962 | 09 Nov 1964 |
| Lt Col TB Ogundeko | 10 Nov 1964 | 09 Nov 1972 |
| Lt Col TO Oduniyi | 10 Nov 1972 | 02 Aug 1977 |
| Col-BrigGen CB Ndiomu | 03 Nov 1977 | 02 Aug 1982 |
| Col O Daramola FSS AMNIN | 03 Aug 1982 | 23 Sep 1985 |
| Col. A Fakulujo FSS psc | 24 Sep 1985 | 13 Oct 1990 |
| Col-BrigGen FA Ogunribido FSS MSS | 14 Oct 1990 | 31 July 1993 |
| Col EBA Okodaso FSS MSS psc | 01 Aug 1993 | 30 Jan 1995 |
| Brig Gen HB Momoh FSS MSS psc mni | 26 Jan 1995 | 30 Jan 1997 |
| Brig Gen SA Sofoluwe FSS MSS psc mni | 31 Jan 1997 | 31 Mar 1999 |
| Brig Gen SK Oni FSS MSS PhD | 01 Apr 1999 | 26 Apr 2000 |
| Col D Bitrus MSS psc | 27 Apr 2000 | 12 Aug 2003 |
| Col IG Bauka SS psc LLB BL | 13 Aug 2003 | 05 Sep 2005 |
| Col CO Esekhaigbe MSS psc B.Sc(Hons) MILD PGD MIMC | 05 Sep 2005 | 01 Sep 2006 |
| Col GJ Udi Fss Mss psc | 01 Sep 2006 | 31 Dec 2007 |
| Brig Gen FS Amuche MSS psc MSc | 31 Dec 2007 | 05 Aug 2009 |
| Col LF Abdullahi Fss Mss Psc PhD | 05 Aug 2009 | 30 Aug 2013 |
| Brig Gen JA Fayehun Fss Mss PGDE | 30 Aug 2013 | 31 Dec 2015 |
| Maj Gen MM Bunza DSS TSM FCAI YAP NEGL CLN | 31 Dec 2015 | 06 Jan 2020 |
| Maj Gen BH Mohammed FSS MSS DSS TSM CMH MTRCN | 06 Jan 2020 | |
| Brig Gen UJ Makbere | ||
| Brig Gen AU Aun | Date | |