My Strategy To End Insecurity in Nigeria – New Defence Minister, Musa
As the nation awaits his inauguration, newly confirmed Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has laid out a bold and comprehensive strategy to end the protracted insecurity plaguing Nigeria.
Speaking during his Senate screening on Wednesday, the former Chief of Defence Staff moved beyond mere reassurance, presenting a detailed blueprint that merges decisive military action with deep socio-economic reform.
He warned that reactive, piecemeal approaches have failed and that the country has reached a critical juncture requiring a unified, intelligence-driven, and community-rooted national effort.
General Musa emphasized that the battle cannot be won by force alone. “We cannot shoot our way out of hunger or hopelessness,” he stated, insisting that military action must proceed hand-in-hand with dialogue, justice, and tangible opportunities for affected populations.
His strategy is built on several interdependent pillars. First, he plans to revolutionize security operations through actionable intelligence and modern technology, proposing a harmonized national database to track criminal movement across borders by linking security, immigration, banking, and telecoms data.
Second, he identified Nigeria’s porous borders as a major facilitator of terrorism and banditry, pledging to modernize border surveillance and integrate customs and immigration databases to stem the flow of weapons and insurgents.
Central to his plan is restoring broken trust between citizens and the state. Musa vowed to fully integrate community vigilance groups, traditional rulers, and local leaders into the national security framework, arguing that sustainable peace requires grassroots ownership.
He was equally emphatic about the welfare of frontline troops, declaring that no reform can succeed with demoralized personnel. “A motivated soldier is worth more than a thousand pieces of military equipment,” he said, promising improved welfare, timely allowances, insurance, and better equipment.
The minister-designate directly linked insecurity to underlying economic despair, highlighting poverty, unemployment, and particularly illegal mining, which he described as a key source of terrorist financing.
He called for a nationwide ban on illegal mining and stressed the urgent need to revitalize rural economies to remove the fertile ground in which criminality grows. On the contentious issue of engagement, Musa ruled out any negotiation with terrorists or bandits, arguing that such agreements only embolden criminals.
He also dismissed as false and cowardly the recurring claim that troops often wait for orders before engaging threats, stating that a deployed soldier has automatic authority to respond to armed aggression.
Acknowledging the staggering cost of modern warfare, Musa provided sobering context: a single medium-range drone missile costs approximately $100,000, and naval operations can consume tens of thousands of litres of fuel in hours.
He urged the National Assembly to support direct government-to-government procurement to cut costs and enhance transparency in defence spending.
The Senate confirmed his nomination following what lawmakers described as one of the most rigorous and insightful screenings in recent years. Senate President Godswill Akpabio praised Musa’s clarity and depth of understanding, endorsing his firm stance against negotiations. General Musa assured the public that noticeable improvements would begin to emerge in the shortest possible time and committed to presenting a full security roadmap to the Senate in a closed-door session shortly after his swearing-in.
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