Be Agents Of Positive Institutional Change—COAS Tasks Senior Officers

The Nigerian Army has challenged senior officers to become agents of positive institutional change and translate their acquired knowledge into measurable improvements in planning, decision-making and operational effectiveness.

The Chief of Army Staff and chairman, Board of Trustees of Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu gave the charge at the graduation ceremony of the Leadership and Strategic Studies Course (LSSC) 4/2025, held at the centre in Abuja yesterday.

The army chief in a statement by the army spokesperson Col. Appolonia Anele reaffirmed the services’ commitment to developing intellectually grounded and strategically minded officers capable of confronting Nigeria’s evolving security challenges.

He congratulated the graduands on completing 11 months of rigorous intellectual and professional development and urged them to regard their graduation not merely as an additional qualification, but as a call to greater responsibility, purposeful leadership and improved professional performance.

The COAS observed that contemporary security threats, including terrorism, insurgency, banditry, cyber threats, information warfare and transnational organised crime, require officers who can think beyond immediate tactical problems and develop innovative responses that integrate kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.

He charged the graduands to resist intellectual complacency, question assumptions and continually expand their professional knowledge.

Gen. Shaibu further noted that the recent expansion of the Nigerian Army’s force structure from eight to 12 divisions, alongside the establishment of additional formations and units, has increased the demand for intellectually prepared officers capable of providing effective leadership, sound staff work and strategic direction.

He added that these expectations align with his command philosophy of transforming the Nigerian Army into a professional, adaptable, combat-ready and resilient force.

The director general, NARC, Maj. Gen. James Gwaza Khalifa Myam, said LSSC is one of the centre’s flagship programmes designed in partnership with the postgraduate school of the Nigerian Defence Academy to provide higher-level professional and academic education for senior direct regular commission officers.

He disclosed that the curriculum is built around the interconnected themes of leadership, strategy, national security and national development, with emphasis on preparing participants to navigate contemporary security and geopolitical challenges.

The successful participants he averred received a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Strategic Studies from the Nigerian Defence Academy and a Fellowship in Leadership and Strategic Studies from NARC.

The director general also urged the graduands to justify the investment in their development by translating their knowledge into tangible, knowledge-driven outcomes in their respective formations and units.

He further charged them to think critically, challenge assumptions, demonstrate discipline and provide innovative solutions to complex operational and institutional challenges.

The ceremony marked the graduation of the fourth cohort of the course and underscored the Nigerian Army’s sustained investment in professional military education, strategic leadership and institutional capacity development.