By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
The Nigerian Army has drawn a sharp line between training and the battlefield, warning that excellence earned on the parade ground must now deliver results where it matters most.
That message came forcefully on Friday, January 23, 2026, as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, addressed officers and soldiers graduating from Exercise Restore Hope IX, charging them to convert months of rigorous training into clear operational victories across Nigeria’s multiple security flashpoints.
Speaking at the Final Exercise and Graduation Ceremony at the Nigerian Army Training Camp, Kachia, Kaduna State, the Army Chief described the moment as a transition point from preparation to performance.
“Training must translate into victory,” Shaibu told the graduates, stressing that combat excellence, discipline, adaptability and teamwork are no longer optional attributes but core requirements for success in today’s complex security environment.
Exercise Restore Hope, he said, sits at the heart of the Army’s ongoing transformation agenda, aimed at producing a force that is professional, resilient and fully capable of operating within joint and multi-agency frameworks demanded by modern warfare.
According to the COAS, the advanced infantry programme has sharpened the graduates’ marksmanship, physical endurance, combat medical proficiency and mental resilience, equipping them for sustained, high-tempo operations across diverse theatres.
But battlefield effectiveness, Shaibu cautioned, must be anchored on more than firepower.
He emphasised that professional conduct, respect for human rights and accountability remain critical to operational legitimacy, noting that public trust is a force multiplier in counter-insurgency and internal security operations.
“Ethical conduct is not a weakness, it is a strength,” he said, underscoring the Army’s commitment to maintaining confidence among the civilian population it is sworn to protect.
The Army Chief commended instructors and training establishments for upholding high standards, noting that graduates of earlier editions of Exercise Restore Hope have consistently distinguished themselves in active operations nationwide.
Earlier, the Chief of Training (Army), Major General V.U. Okoro, described the exercise now in its ninth series, as one of the Nigerian Army’s most critical post-basic training platforms.
He said Restore Hope IX was specifically designed to sharpen combat skills, build psychological resilience and prepare soldiers for the realities of contemporary conflict, where threats are fluid, asymmetric and increasingly unpredictable.
The ceremony concluded with Lieutenant General Shaibu formally declaring Exercise Restore Hope IX closed, congratulating the graduating personnel and approving the immediate promotion and decoration of seven soldiers who distinguished themselves as instructors during the exercise.
As the graduates disperse to operational theatres across the country, the signal from Army Headquarters is unmistakable: the test is no longer in training, it is in results.
