The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, has said that proficiency in local languages will enable personnel of the Nigerian Army to adequately communicate and gather intelligence, thereby boosting their ability to counter and react to threats.
Shaibu, therefore, urged the personnel to continue to improve on local languages, especially two or three of the major Nigerian languages—Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba—by immersing themselves and practising oral skills at every opportunity.
The army chief made the remarks on Friday during the graduation ceremony of 152 soldiers in the “Indigenous Language Course” from the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC). The course is the 20th Indigenous Language Course and the 10th of such programmes for the 2025 training cycle.
He said: “Nigerian Army operations are largely intelligence-driven, with the extraction of credible and reliable intelligence being of utmost importance.
The collection of intelligence from human sources is usually by interpersonal contact, and this depends for the most part on effective communication with the local populace.
“Effective communication obviously requires some level of proficiency in the local dialect of the environment in which you are operating or employed.
“Proficiency in local languages will therefore enable you to adequately communicate, thereby boosting the ability to counter and react to threats. To this end, I urge you all to continue to improve on your language abilities by immersing yourselves and practising your oral skills at every opportunity.”
Shaibu charged the participants to use every opportunity available to them to improve their proficiency level in the languages they had learned or enhanced at their various places of employment.
He reminded them of an annual online language recertification test to ascertain their current proficiency status.
“The results of this test will also confirm your eligibility to continue accessing the pecuniary benefits of the course, as failure will amount to a demanding withdrawal of such benefits.”
Shaibu noted that the Nigerian Army is at the forefront of the fight against terrorism and insurgency and has continued to demonstrate unwavering commitment, making profound sacrifices in defence of the nation’s peace, security, stability, and strategic interests.
He said the increasingly complex and dynamic nature of today’s threat landscape requires a more adaptive and cohesive force, charging the soldiers to uphold the culture of discipline, accountability, and professionalism in their various units and formations.
“Our key focus as an Army, especially at this defining period of our nationhood, must be on enhanced operational effectiveness and good administration. You must all remain mindful of your sacred responsibility to uphold the traditional, custom, and ethical values of the Nigerian Army.
“Adherence to these ideals directly influences our operational effectiveness as an Army and therefore must be upheld with utmost seriousness,” he said.
Earlier, the Director-General of NARC, Maj.-Gen. James Myam, said the Indigenous Languages Programme was introduced to strengthen the capacity of Nigerian Army personnel to communicate effectively in at least two of the three major Nigerian languages—Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.
According to Myam, the initiative aligns with the Nigerian Army Language Policy, which mandates personnel to acquire proficiency in indigenous languages to enhance operational effectiveness, build trust with host communities, and support information gathering for intelligence purposes.
“The programme has since become a central feature of the Centre’s annual calendar,” he said, urging the graduating participants to continue practising the languages they learned during the course and to strive for greater proficiency.
