Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General Waidi Shaibu has told newly graduated recruits under the Nigerian Army’s Restore Hope initiative that the security challenges they were joining the service to confront required intelligence, discipline, and strategic thinking in addition to courage, and that the era of relying solely on conventional military responses to the unconventional threats of terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping had passed.
Shaibu, speaking at the graduation ceremony of the 90 Regular Recruit Intake at the Depot Nigerian Army Shooting Range in Zaria, said the recruits were entering service at a moment when criminal groups continued to inflict severe hardship on communities through abductions and violence, and that the quality of their training and the professionalism of their conduct would be central to changing those conditions.
He said the army remained committed to equipping recruits with modern combat enablers and improving operational effectiveness, but emphasized that professional discipline and adherence to the Rules of Engagement were non-negotiable conditions of military service that distinguished lawful security operations from the very conduct the army was mandated to suppress. He described the Restore Hope program as specifically designed to instill the values of professionalism, resilience, and loyalty alongside the tactical and operational skills required to navigate the country’s evolving security environment.
