By Elizabeth Tanko
Abuja, Nigeria – The Nigerian Army has graduated the fourth cohort of its Leadership and Strategic Studies Course, LSSC 4/2025, as part of efforts to build intellectually grounded senior officers capable of confronting Nigeria’s complex security challenges.
The graduation ceremony was held on Friday, 11 September, 2026 at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, NARC, Abuja.
Speaking as Special Guest of Honour, the Chief of Army Staff and Chairman, Board of Trustees of NARC, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, congratulated the graduands on completing 11 months of rigorous academic and professional training.
He urged them to see the graduation not just as an additional qualification, but as a “call to greater responsibility, purposeful leadership and improved professional performance.”
General Shaibu noted that contemporary threats, including terrorism, insurgency, banditry, cyber threats, information warfare and transnational organised crime, demand officers who can think beyond immediate tactical problems.
“We need officers who can develop innovative responses that integrate kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.
“Resist intellectual complacency, question assumptions and continually expand your professional knowledge,” he charged.
The COAS further highlighted that the Army’s recent expansion of its force structure from 8 to 12 divisions, with additional formations and units, has increased the demand for officers with strong strategic capacity.
He tasked the graduands to become agents of institutional change and translate their training into measurable improvements in planning, decision-making and operational effectiveness.
“This aligns with my Command Philosophy of transforming the Nigerian Army into a professional, adaptable, combat-ready and resilient force,” he said.
General Shaibu also appreciated President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, for his strategic guidance and sustained support for professional military education and human capital development.
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, NDA.
He explained that the curriculum focuses on leadership, strategy, national security and national development, aimed at preparing senior Direct Regular Commission officers for contemporary geopolitical and operational challenges.
“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 disclosed.
Major General Myam urged the officers to justify the investment by applying knowledge-driven solutions in their formations and units, while demonstrating discipline and critical thinking.
The graduation marked the completion of the fourth cohort of LSSC and underscored the Army’s continued investment in professional military education and strategic leadership development.
