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The former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and new Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (rtd), has assured Nigerians of his firm commitment to restoring peace and security across the country. The minister, who spoke to State House Correspondents shortly after being sworn-in as the new Minister of Defence, said: “My immediate priority is to make sure that defence takes its place fully in the country. The synergy between the armed forces and other security agencies and all Nigerians must be carried along; stressing that security is everybody’s responsibility.”
He also promised that Nigerians would see results within the shortest possible time. “We must make sure that Nigeria is secured. Nigerians should go back and sleep with their eyes closed. They should go back to their farms, and schools open without being molested,” the minister stated. President Bola Tinubu nominated him for the job following the resignation of the immediate past Minister of Defence, Badaru Abubakar, on health grounds.
Also, during his screening and confirmation by the Senate last week, Musa distinguished himself as an experienced military officer and a patriotic Nigerian by his insightful and incisive responses. Gen. Musa said among other things, that the government should not negotiate with terrorists any more. He vowed to take the war to the terrorists and ensure that Nigerians sleep without fear. He said that Nigerians should stop ransom payment to terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.
For Nigeria to defeat the current insecurity, he explained that the country should have one national data base. This will enhance intelligence gathering and sharing as well as operational efficiency of the security agencies. Apart from reiterating that Nigeria needs modern and sophisticated weapons to ruthlessly deal with the terrorists and other criminals undermining our sovereignty, defence must be adequately funded. He called for the strengthening of the legal system and our laws on terrorism to enhance diligence prosecution of terrorism offenders.
There is no doubt that Gen. Musa is eminently qualified and fully prepared for the job. He is, indeed, a round peg in a round hole. Therefore, he should hit the ground running. The tasks before him are enormous. We believe that he can surmount them. In doing this, he should work together with the Service Chiefs and other stakeholders in the nation’s security architecture. Decimating and defeating the terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminals require the cooperation of the heads of all the security agencies.
They should work together and share intelligence in routing the terrorists. We also call for inter-agency collaboration in tackling the insurgency in the North-East, the banditry in the North-West, the herders/farmers clashes in the North-Central and the general insecurity in other parts of the country. The federal government must make use of adequate technology in winning the war against terrorists. We need precision equipment such as drones and other sophisticated weapons to overcome the terrorists.
We should be ahead of them in terms of logistics, military hardware and surveillance resources. This time calls for training and retraining of our troops for them to be on top of the game. As an interim measure, retired but capable soldiers can still be re-engaged for military service, especially in specialized areas of operation where their services would be needed. They must be exposed to counter-insurgency training. Nevertheless, the government should prioritize the welfare and remuneration of our soldiers and other security agencies. The numerical strength of our military should be significantly increased in line with the needs of the time.
Gen. Musa has promised Nigerians so much. Nigerians also expect much from him. Moreover, he has spoken well on the way forward for the war against terrorism. He should now walk the talk. Instructively, he is coming to the job with a lot of experience. We believe that he can do it very well. However, he needs the necessary support and resources to accomplish the goals within the shortest possible time.
Gen. Musa was born on December 25, 1967, in Sokoto, North-West, Nigeria. He is a native of Zangon-Kataf, Kaduna State. He served as the 18th Chief of Defence Staff, Nigerian Army from June 23, 2023 until his retirement on October 30, 2025. He attended the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), University of Lagos, National Defence Academy, ICDS-NDU, and US Army War College. We congratulate him on his new appointment and wish him a successful tenure.
