Nigerian colonel wins big in US war school

Nengite poses with his certificates in the US

– The Nigerian reportedly beat 380 others to bag the prestigious awards – President Buhari, among other top ex-students of the institution – No foreigner has achieved this feat in 38 years A Nigerian colonel, Charles Nengite, has won prestigious awards at the US War College, the News Agency of Nigeria reports. According to information posted on the college’s website on Monday, June 13, the Nigerian beat 380 other postgraduate students to the top position at the institution over the weekend in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in a record that spans 38 years by any foreigner in the college.

The commandant of the college, Major General William Rapp, in one of several letters conveying his choice for the various awards, described the Nigerian’s performance as “arguably one of the best in the international fellows programmes at the USAWC.”

He added that Nigerians should be proud of the colonel and his compatriot in the Masters of Strategic Studies class, Colonel Timothy Shipi.

Colonel Nengite, the breakdown showed, bagged six awards for outstanding performance in different courses in the class of 2015 and he earned the Distinguished Graduate award reserved for the top five fellows in his class of 381 and also the Commandant’s award for distinction in research.

Accordingly, the Nigerian military officer, also received the USAWC recognition award for innovation in SHARP (Sexual Harassment and Response Programme) and articulated a seminal paper titled ‘I am your friend campaign’ strategy under the SHARP. Nengite also received the 2nd best speaker award in the speaking competition in the 2016 class made up of 302 Americans and 79 other nationals in 73 other countries. Some of the prominent servicemen who had gone through USAWC in the past were President Muhammadu Buhari, Collin Powell, Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and Norman Schwarzkopf. Recently also, Nneoma Nwankwo from Lagos made Nigerians proud as she has become “Undergraduate Student of the Year” in Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech. According to the information on the official website of Virginia Tech, the young girl will graduate in May with a degree in political science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Nwankwo is minoring in public and urban affairs and creative writing. She is also engaged in domestic and international service and research on issues facing girls and women in developing nations.