During a press conference on July 11, 2008, General Owoye Azazi, Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, discussed the role of the Nigerian military in the upcoming AFRICA ENDEAVOR 2008, a two-week, multinational, military exchange exercise.

Co-sponsored by Nigerian Ministry of Defence and the U.S. European Command, the exercise will be held at the Nigerian Air Force Base in Abjua, Nigeria from July 16-23, 2008. During the event, more than 200 military communicators from 22 nations around the world will have the opportunity to test their communications and information systems and equipment.

"Nigeria is fully capable and prepared to host the most powerful security cooperation effort of its kind in Africa," said Azai. "This exercise will be a demonstration of the desire globally for peaceful resolutions of African crises. Our military communicators will be better prepared to support future peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts on the continent and around the world."

More than 30 members of the Nigerian Defence press were in attendance as Azazi highlighted the importance of this operationally-focused military exercise for command, control, communications and information systems integration and interoperability among the 22 participating African and European nations as well as the United States.

Azazi emphasized the importance of cooperation and information exchange among the represented nations.

"During AFRICA ENDEAVOR, our communicators will be testing their military equipment to ensure their equipment and systems work when they are deployed to future peace support, humanitarian, military and disaster relief operations," he said. "The overall objective is to achieve a level of interoperability and compatibility that will allow nations to successfully conduct future regional and transnational operations."

The actual tests will be conducted and documented throughout six days of the exercise. The final documentation will improve support of the African Union and its African Standby Force.

Noting that some of the larger countries' militaries are more technologically advanced, Azazi told the press that often times "smaller countries manage their resources more efficiently. We can learn from one another."

Nations and organizations participating in this year's exercise include the African Union, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Uganda, Zambia, and the United States.