The Nigerian Army is extending its personnel welfare framework beyond active service through a structured career transition programme designed to prepare senior officers for productive post-military careers while preserving their experience for continued national development.
In a statement by the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Appolonia Anele said the initiative was reinforced with the commencement of the Senior Executive Career Transition Programme, Cohort 2, organised by the Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre at Zuma Rock Resort, Suleja, Niger State.
Declaring the programme open, former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya (Retired), urged participants to approach retirement as the beginning of a new phase of service and opportunity rather than the end of their professional journey
Yahaya stressed that the leadership, discipline, integrity and strategic expertise developed during military service remain valuable national assets that can continue to serve Nigeria after retirement. He encouraged the officers to approach the transition with confidence, strategic planning and optimism.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, said the programme was conceived about five months ago following consultations on the need to institutionalise a structured transition framework for senior officers.
Represented by the Chief of Logistics, Army, Major General AA Adeyinka, the COAS described the initiative as a landmark welfare intervention that has quickly developed into a strategic institutional programme aligned with global practices in executive career transition and personnel development.
Shaibu said the Army’s responsibility to its personnel extends beyond active service, stressing that officers should retire with more than statutory benefits. He said they should also possess the knowledge, resilience and confidence required to navigate civilian life successfully.
The Army Chief said lessons from the inaugural cohort had highlighted the importance of mentorship, financial planning, professional guidance and peer learning in preparing officers for the social, economic and psychological changes associated with retirement.
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He noted that properly prepared retirees would remain valuable national assets capable of contributing to governance, security and socio-economic development.
The Director General, Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre, Major General Tariweriye Gagariga, said officers dedicate the most productive years of their lives to national defence through demanding training and operational commitments.
Gagariga noted that retirement could bring significant changes in professional identity, income and social engagement when not deliberately planned for, making a structured transition mechanism important to personnel welfare.
He said the Senior Executive Career Transition Programme was established to provide such a pathway and was consistent with the COAS Command Philosophy, which places personnel welfare, morale and development at the centre of Army policy and decision-making.
The second cohort comprises 31 participants, including 26 serving senior officers and five recently retired officers.
The Nigerian Army said the programme is intended to strengthen its human-capital management system by ensuring that the experience, professional competence and strategic knowledge accumulated by senior officers remain available to support national development and security beyond active military service.
