Tinubu backs new book on Army chief, says military moving past old ways

President Bola Tinubu has thrown his weight behind a new book about how the Nigerian Army is being run under its Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, saying the service is shedding old habits and becoming more flexible in the field.

The President made the point in the foreword to The Shaibu Doctrine: Mission Command and the Remaking of Nigeria’s Army at War. The book was written by Dr Muhammed Sani Abubakar and Associate Professor Sunday Adejoh, both of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna.

According to the President, the Army’s approach now rests on four things: professionalism, adaptability, combat readiness and resilience. He said these ideas shape how troops are trained, equipped and led.

Tinubu said the Army has moved from sitting back on static defence to carrying out mobile offensive operations. He also listed technology, locally made equipment, better welfare for soldiers and a stronger focus on military ethics as part of the changes.

“These were not abstract reforms. They were choices made in the heat of battle, with lives on the line and the nation watching,”

the President said in the foreword.

He said his charge to the Armed Forces as Commander-in-Chief is to secure the country so that democracy and development can grow.

What the book says about how the Army fights

Abubakar told journalists that he first worked closely with Shaibu when the general was a brigade commander in Bama, Borno State, and later as Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, the military operation against insurgents in the North-East. Those years, he said, gave him a close look at how Shaibu handled troops and resources in tough conditions.

The authors say the general’s philosophy rests on five pillars, which they shorten to PROSE: Professional Excellence, Robust Administration, Operational Readiness, Strategic Cooperation and Exemplary Leadership. At the heart of it, they say, is a “soldier-first” idea — that welfare, morale, training and dignity are what make troops effective in combat.

The book also explains “Mission Command”, the approach that gives commanders on the ground room to decide how to achieve a goal set by their superiors. Abubakar said this cuts delays, makes junior commanders more accountable and speeds up operations.

“The core of Mission Command is trust,”

he said, adding that commanders need the authority to act quickly without waiting for several layers of approval.

He was quick to add that this freedom only works when troops have enough equipment, logistics, training and welfare.

Gaps the authors want closed

Abubakar named weak intelligence, limited air support that stays over the battlefield, and a need for better aerial surveillance as areas that still need work in the fight against insurgency. He called for more investment in human intelligence and closer ties with community actors and private security outfits that know conflict-prone areas well.

He also wants the Army and the Nigerian Air Force to work more closely, and for Army Aviation and long-endurance drones to be strengthened so commanders can see threats sooner.

Drawing on his time in the North-East and North-West, he said soldiers alone cannot end insurgency. He called for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society effort involving security agencies, government institutions and local communities.

The authors stress the book is not a biography of Shaibu but an analysis of a military strategy and the institutional changes needed to keep it working. It is due to be presented on 24 November 2026 at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre in Abuja.

For ordinary Nigerians, the debate matters because the Army is at the centre of the fight against Boko Haram, banditry and other armed groups across several states. How quickly commanders can act, and whether soldiers are well equipped and cared for, affects how safe communities are.