By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Nigerian Army has reaffirmed its commitment to producing intellectually grounded and strategically minded officers to confront the country’s evolving security challenges.
The pledge was made on Friday, 11 September 2026, at the graduation ceremony of the Leadership and Strategic Studies Course (LSSC) 4/2025, held at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), Abuja.
In a statement signed by Colonel Appolonia Anele, Acting Director Army Public Relations, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chairman, Board of Trustees of NARC, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, who was the Special Guest of Honour, congratulated the graduands on completing 11 months of rigorous intellectual and professional development.
Gen. Shaibu urged the officers to view their graduation not just as an additional qualification, but as a call to greater responsibility, purposeful leadership and improved professional performance.
The COAS noted that contemporary threats such as terrorism, insurgency, banditry, cyber threats, information warfare and transnational organised crime require officers capable of thinking beyond tactical problems and developing responses that combine kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.
He charged the graduands to resist intellectual complacency, question assumptions and continually expand their professional knowledge.
Gen. Shaibu further stated that the expansion of the Nigerian Army’s force structure from eight to 12 divisions, with additional formations and units, has increased the demand for officers capable of providing effective leadership, sound staff work and strategic direction.
He tasked them to become agents of institutional change and translate their knowledge into measurable improvements in planning, decision-making and operational effectiveness.
According to him, these expectations align with his Command Philosophy of transforming the Nigerian Army into a professional, adaptable, combat-ready and resilient force.
The COAS also appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, for his strategic guidance and support for professional military education.
Earlier, the Director General of NARC, Major General James Gwaza Khalifa Myam, said LSSC is a flagship programme of the Centre run in partnership with the Postgraduate School of the Nigerian Defence Academy. It is designed to provide higher-level professional and academic education for senior Direct Regular Commission officers.
He explained that the curriculum focuses on leadership, strategy, national security and national development to prepare officers for contemporary security and geopolitical challenges.
Maj. Gen. Myam disclosed that the successful participants received a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Strategic Studies from NDA and a Fellowship in Leadership and Strategic Studies from NARC.
He urged them to justify the investment by producing knowledge-driven outcomes in their formations and to provide innovative solutions to complex operational challenges.
The ceremony marked the graduation of the fourth cohort of the course and underscored the Army’s sustained investment in professional military education and strategic leadership.
