Nigerian Defence Academy and Military Entrepreneurship

This chapter specifically focuses on military entrepreneurship to explore the entrepreneurial activities of Nigerian Defence Academy Consult Ltd, focusing on problems and prospects of military institutions in Nigeria as spaces for entrepreneurial activities. By blending research on recent literature on military entrepreneurship, the chapter draws upon data from NDA Consult Ltd and interviews from consumers of NDA consult products. It is the case that military institutions are setting up various ventures through the incorporation of companies, and this has broad implications for military professionalism.

The Paradoxes of Huntingtonian Professionalism

Samuel Huntington’s objective control model of civil-military relations has had profound effects on contemporary norms of military professionalism. Huntington anticipated that objective control, premised on a clearly defined division of responsibility between the military and civilians, would create an apolitical ethos among officers. The military’s apolitical character then would ensure its deference to civilian authority and reinforce its professional character. The approach would also enable the military to cultivate expertise in the “management of violence” and guarantee its effectiveness in armed conflict. Those norms, however, are more complex than is sometimes appreciated. They exhibit four paradoxes, producing the very behaviors and outcomes they aim to prevent: they can promote actions and mindsets within the officer corps that work to facilitate political behavior, subvert civilian control of military activity, compromise strategic effectiveness, and even undermine some aspects of military professionalism itself.

2. The struggle for military professionalism

“The struggle for military professionalism” looks at the positive effect of the West Point Academy on American military expertise and the improved sense of professionalism among its graduating classes. During the American Civil War, non-graduates could make more progress in the military. The Union Army’s victory stemmed from their ability to convert their superior manpower and technology into military power. After the war, the Army and Navy suffered crises of mission. A curriculum was founded for the Navy, but at the end of the nineteenth century the Army and Navy were still not professionalized. The Navy lacked structure, and the Army had structure but suffered from an outdated military culture.

The Military and its Role in Merovingian Society

In Merovingian society, the military was important not only as a means for defense but also as a political tool to maintain and expand royal power. It was strongly integrated into society, as every man of a certain age and constitution was a potential fighter, while a main function of the highest social stratum was military leadership. This chapter discusses the origins, nature, and role of the Frankish military by taking a close look at the sources and current research on the subject. It deals with questions related to military professionalism, recruitment, organization, and command, and discusses the ongoing process of militarization that characterized not only the increasingly powerful Frankish elite but also the local population and society as a whole.