The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, on Thursday hailed the sacrifices and efforts of 542 military personnel who retired from active service.

Oluyede made the commendation at the passing out event of Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC) Course 1/2025 in Lagos.

Oluyede was represented by the Commander, Training and Doctrine Command, Maj.-Gen. Kevin Aligbe.

The COAS said that the occasion was a tribute to the courage, sacrifice, discipline, resilience, selflessness and unwavering commitment of the retirees to the service of the country.

“As you transit from the battlefield to civil life, I pray you will enjoy your post-service life and apply the knowledge and skills you have acquired.

“You will from now on take full charge of your time as planners and executors of your personal daily activities.

“This may sound exciting and promising but be aware that you need to properly manage your new vocations in order to be successful,” he said.

Oluyede further urged them to maintain their honour before the civil populace, adding that the society would expect a high ethical standard and discipline from them.

“You will also have to prove in your social and business interactions that you passed through a highly disciplined system.

“I believe you are all capable of excelling in your future endeavours and will positively influence your environment by contributing to the security and development of your various communities,” he said.

According to him, communities will look up to them to support safety and security initiatives as well as agencies to tackle community-based crimes and security challenges.

“Please, be an advocate of peace and make yourselves available in providing such assistance within the ambit of the law,” Oluyede said.

He, however, reminded them that post-service life has its peculiar pitfalls and challenges at individual level as such there was the need for extra care.

“Some of these challenges you might encounter include; inadequate resources, misuse of retirement benefits, negative influences and deceit from fraudulent persons.

“Others are poor management of physical and mental health as well as life devoid of regimentation and uniform-induced immunity to mention but a few.

“It is therefore unwise to embark on an extravagant lifestyle that is above your means or engage in non-familiar business ventures,” he said.

The COAS also said the essence of the training was to expose them to several vocational opportunities and management skills to have a meaningful life in retirement.

“On this wise, I enjoin you to employ the experience and skills you have acquired for a productive economic life as you reintegrate into the society.

“Continue to inspire, continue to lead and never forget that you are, and will always remain, heroes of our land,” he said.

He thanked NAFRC and urged them to sustain the high quality human resource development training for retiring personnel and the society at large.

“On our part, the Armed Forces leadership will continue to ensure that personnel welfare at all levels are given prime attention in line with our various command philosophies.

“We will also sustain support for the advancement of this centre with a view to transforming it into an international centre of excellence for vocational training,” he said.

The COAS commended the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa for his exceptional leadership and guidance.

“I want to thank President Bola Tinubu for his support towards capacity development of the Armed Forces and the welfare for serving and retired personnel,” he said. (NAN)