The Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu has launched a new vision for curbing insecurity in Nigeria.
For a generation of Nigerians, the lullaby has been replaced by the sharp, terrifying crack of gunfire. It is the sound that empties villages in the North-East, shadows highways in the North-West, and underscores separatist tensions in the South-East. It is the grim, persistent rhythm of a nation on edge.
But on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, within the disciplined sprawl of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna, a different signal was sounded. It was not the blast of a bomb, but the clarion call for a revolution in how Nigeria fights its wa
The architect of this new cadence is the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu. Addressing the military’s brightest minds, he unveiled a vision not merely of new weapons, but of a new identity for the Nigerian Army, a “Command Philosophy” designed to forge a force that is “highly professional, agile, combat-effective and resilient.” Strip away the polished boots, the starched camouflage, and the time-honoured pageantry, and what remains is a stark, sobering admission: the old ways are dying, taking with them too many of the nation’s hopes.
This is not a story of parades and pomp. It is a story of a force staring into a kaleidoscope of chaos and deciding it can no longer see in monochrome.
Shaibu did not sugar-coat reality. “The intelligence brief… affirms that our operating environment is increasingly becoming more complex,” he told a hushed auditorium. The word ‘complex’ masks the hellscape that modern Nigerian security has become.
Complexity is measured in hollowed-out communities in the North-West, where farmers till the soil with one wary eye on the horizon for bandits on motorcycles. It is measured in overstretched resources, bled thin by insurgencies that mutate faster than they can be contained. And it is now measured in the invisible battlefields of cyberspace, where a new generation of threats slips past checkpoints undetected.
Shaibu’s message was clear: the soldier with a rifle at a roadblock, the classic image of Nigerian security, is no longer enough. “This evolving threat spectrum necessitates that we enhance our capabilities in intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, as well as in cyber operations,” he said. The front line has shifted. It is now in the hum of a drone, the encrypted data of a satellite, and the dark web lair of a cyber-mercenary.
How does an army stretched across a nation reinvent itself? For Shaibu, the answer is encoded in a five-letter word that will now define his tenure: PROSE.
Professional Excellence, Robust Administration, Operational Readiness, Strategic Cooperation, and Exemplary Leadership, these pillars form the backbone of the new military culture.
At its heart, however, is what Shaibu calls a “Soldier-First Culture.” In a country where soldiers are often seen as sacrificial pawns, this is more than policy, it is a pledge. It is a recognition that tired, under-equipped, or demoralized troops weaken the nation’s security chain.
He said : “Effective leadership,” he stressed, “must be anchored in character, courage, and genuine concern for personnel.” Victory, he added, must extend beyond battlefield achievements to include public trust, strengthened civil-military relations, and unwavering adherence to the rule of law.
This is not a cosmetic adjustment. Speaking days earlier at the Army’s annual conference in Lagos, Shaibu promised a “radical but informed” overhaul of training and operations. The days of outdated drills for a bygone enemy are over.
Army training is headed for a sweeping review, with priority given to Special Forces, mission-specific preparation, and expanded Army Aviation. In Shaibu’s vision, speed, intelligence, and technology are now the currencies of military power. To lag behind, he warned, is to cede advantage to enemies carrying the future in their pockets.
