By Nkechi Eze
In a strong call for military preparedness and esprit de corps, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has urged officers and men of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to make physical and mental fitness a top priority in their daily lives. He made the charge during the maiden edition of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) Monthly Route March held on Friday, August 1, 2025, at the Mogadishu Cantonment in Abuja.
The physically demanding 12-kilometre route match brought together personnel from across the tri-services of the Nigerian military in a united display of endurance, discipline, and camaraderie. The initiative, introduced under the current leadership of the CDS, is aimed at promoting wellness, resilience, and unity among service members while reinforcing the Armed Forces’ professional standards.
Represented at the event by the Chief of Defence Administration, Rear Admiral David Akpan, General Musa reminded participants that physical and mental fitness remains a cardinal pillar of military professionalism. He emphasised that no fighting force could be effective in battle without the bedrock of disciplined and physically sound personnel.
“When you have a military, there are very key things you expect from it. One of them is discipline,” he said. “And of course, discipline has to do with also keeping fit, not only physically, but mentally. The gain of sport is working out all aspects of your body, both the mind, the mental health, and the physical health.”
Rear Admiral Akpan noted that fitness is not an occasional goal but a lifelong commitment for anyone who aspires to the military ideal. He disclosed his personal routine as an example for others to emulate. “I walk three times a week around where I stay, and that’s the same advice I’ve given to them. You see a few people that were not able to make it during the route match, but thank God we didn’t have any fatality,” he said.
The CDS’s representative added that the turnout, though commendable, reflected the need for continuous improvement among the ranks. “It shows that those people need to up their game. So I think it’s a very good thing. I’ve encouraged them, and they sounded very happy to do that.”
Beyond the physical benefits, General Musa stressed that fitness is vital for operational success, especially in battlefield conditions where strength, agility, and stamina can make the difference between life and death. “I’m a professional soldier, and the training we did in our training schools, we did much physical exercise, even carrying extra load in the name of backpacks and a weapon to actually fight,” he recalled.
“So the way you train in peacetime is the way you fight during war. When you are fit, you’ll be sure that you’ll be able to actually present yourself well at the battlefront,” he added.
The maiden edition of the monthly Route March signals a new era of physical readiness and inter-service bonding under the leadership of General Musa, who has consistently championed reforms aimed at strengthening the professionalism, cohesion, and combat preparedness of the Nigerian military.
As the DHQ looks forward to institutionalising this exercise as a regular feature in its calendar, Friday’s event served not just as a test of endurance but a reaffirmation of the Armed Forces’ shared values of discipline, sacrifice, and unity in pursuit of national defence and global peacekeeping responsibilities.
