Army Chief Lagbaja Urges Officers to Aim for Operational Excellence

Army Chief Lagbaja Urges Officers to Aim for Operational Excellence

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has called on officers of the Nigerian Army to maintain a near-zero margin for operational failure in their leadership roles.

He gave the charge at the graduation ceremony of the Leadership and Strategic Studies Course 2/2023, organized by the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) on Friday in Abuja.

Addressing the graduates, Lagbaja emphasized that the course, a combination of professional and academic training, was not only a key career course but also a crucial preparation for Nigerian Army direct regular officers in their future assignments, both within and outside the military.

“The participants have no excuse to fall short of expectations in the field,” Lagbaja said, noting that previous graduates had demonstrated that the course content was valuable and worthy of investment.

The COAS highlighted that the course was a senior-level program, designed to mirror the experience of Regular Combatant officers at the National Defence College. Over the past 11 months, participants were expected to have developed skills in policy analysis, argumentation, evaluation, and research in leadership and strategic studies.

In recent years, the Nigerian Army has increased its investment in developing operational and strategic-level leaders, equipping them to “think out of the box” and approach issues objectively for informed decision-making, Lagbaja said.

“Moreover, the political and economic reality of present-day Nigeria requires senior leaders to be ingenious in employing available resources – human and material, to fulfill operational objectives,” he added.

Lagbaja underscored the importance of understanding the army’s internal functions and its relationship with other systems within Nigeria, warning that any gaps in this understanding could lead to operational disasters, which he said would be “unacceptable to the Nigerian people.”

He further emphasized that the army’s commitment to building an efficient military requires defined policies, focused investment, and continuous training to meet both current and future operational demands.

Retired Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab, Director General of NARC, reiterated that the course was designed to level the playing field for operational officers and enhance the awareness, training, and proficiency of direct regular officers.

Wahab emphasized the importance of collaboration in addressing security challenges, stating, “They must have an open mind to relate with everybody who matters. They must find a way of engaging with the locals and ensuring people believe in whatever they are doing.”

The Nigerian Army Resource Centre also graduated participants from the Leadership Development Skills Course 10, aimed at enhancing the capabilities of non-commissioned officers, as well as junior and mid-level officers.