•Shaibu Charges Future Army Leaders to Embrace New ‘PROSE’ Doctrine
••New Command Philosophy to Reposition Army for Multi-Dimensional Threats
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, on Wednesday rolled out a new Command Philosophy designed to shape the Nigerian Army into a sharper, fitter and more battle-ready force.
He broke the news while lecturing participants of Senior Course 48 at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, saying the blueprint rests on five inter-locking pillars that together spell PROSE: Professional Excellence, Robust Administration, Operational Readiness, Strategic Cooperation and Exemplary Leadership.
A statement by Army spokesperson Colonel Apollonia Anele explains that each pillar is bolted to a “Soldier-First Culture” that puts pay, morale, training, dignity and empowerment ahead of everything else, because, in the COAS’s view, troops who trust the system fight harder and smarter.
Gen. Shaibu told the officers—future field commanders and strategic planners—that the philosophy is meant to speed up the Army’s push to meet, and beat, its constitutional tasks across joint and multi-agency operations.
“The Nigerian Army now works inside a volatile, complex and multi-dimensional threat space,” he said. “We have ongoing commitments in every geopolitical zone—counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism and a raft of internal security tasks. Tactical skill is no longer enough; the institution itself has to stay strong.”
Victory, he argued, must be measured not just by what happens on the battlefield but by public confidence, healthy civil-military ties and strict obedience to the rule of law.
He challenged the course participants to turn the PROSE framework into real results—measurable, visible and felt from battalion headquarters right down to the remotest checkpoint.
Innovation, the COAS added, will drive the whole effort, but the North Star remains unchanged: mission accomplishment. The PROSE-driven philosophy, he said, is the Army’s deliberate step to balance today’s internal security demands with tomorrow’s force design, modernisation and institutional overhaul.
