In the last two weeks, I began a series addressing America and President Trump’s irrational designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.” While I have condemned that proclamation based on facts —highlighting the political manipulation and ignorance underlying such an abuse of Nigeria’s sovereignty —I have also admitted, with painful honesty, that there is enough insecurity within our borders to demand a national awakening from both the leadership and the citizenry.
Nigeria cannot continue to suffer external insults while simultaneously drowning in internal violence. And yet, within this bleak landscape, the appointment of the new Minister of Defence offers the first real step toward a needed national reset—a round peg finally placed in a round hole. The outcome of any war is inseparable from the competence and character of the commanders leading it. Who coordinates Nigeria’s response to insecurity matters even more than the sophistication of the weapons on the field. On this matter, the President made the right call.
In the turbulent sea of Nigeria’s security landscape, leadership must not only be tactical—it must be visionary, decisive, and morally upright. In this regard, the appointment of General Christopher Gwabin Musa as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence is both timely and encouraging. His military credentials are well documented: a career steeped in discipline, strategic thinking, and front-line engagement with some of the most pressing security threats facing Nigeria. Yet, beyond medals and missions, General Musa exudes a rare blend of patriotic resolve and intellectual clarity—a man whose body language and speeches suggest he understands that security is no longer a battlefield concern alone, but a national project with social, political, economic, and psychological dimensions.
This appointment, coming at a time when the country has become a laboratory for escalating insecurity, resembles a reset—an opportunity to finally put a round peg in a round hole. It also aligns with the broader argument I began in earlier commentaries responding to Donald Trump’s rash and uninformed designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.” While that proclamation is baseless and geopolitically motivated, it also indirectly reminds us that Nigeria cannot continue to manage security with outdated strategies. We must evolve, and the choice of General Musa signals that evolution.
Any lasting security strategy must begin with a realistic understanding of the drivers of violence. In Nigeria today, one of the most potent drivers is economic desperation—especially among unengaged youths in rural and peri-urban areas. Whether in the form of banditry in the Northwest, insurgency in the Northeast, or cultism and kidnapping in the South, the common denominator is a lack of viable alternatives. With no meaningful access to education, employment, or livelihood, thousands of Nigerian youths are left with little choice but to join the enemy. This echoes my earlier argument that insecurity cannot be separated from the failure to convert the nation’s youth population into productive assets—a failure spanning decades.
This is where General Musa must think beyond bullets and barricades. Synergy with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is not just recommended—it is essential. The military cannot be everywhere at once. But what it can do, in collaboration with civilian institutions, is block the recruitment pipeline by creating functional alternatives. Nigeria must strategically flood high-risk zones with social interventions—not as a one-off event, but as a coordinated humanitarian shield around security operations built to be sustainable.
The military must assist in identifying at-risk communities and individuals. A joint taskforce with humanitarian agencies could begin with a civilian engagement model that offers education, vocational training, and reintegration support to youths already exposed to or involved in criminality. This model was successful in parts of the Niger Delta during the Amnesty Programme. It can work again—with real planning and military involvement at the grassroots level. And as I argued previously, the true victory against insecurity will depend less on weapons and more on how effectively we dismantle the socioeconomic pipelines that supply criminality.
The Defence Ministry, under General Musa, should also institute a policy of Civil-Military Liaison that treats community engagement as a core mandate, not a footnote. Every unengaged youth is a potential conscript for crime. Only through humanitarian synergy can that pipeline be permanently dismantled.
After this comes the need to build a sustainable intelligence network to support national responses to insecurity. Use the Police, Not Just the Gun. One of the most persistent challenges in Nigeria’s fight against insecurity is the absence of timely and actionable intelligence. Operations are often reactive, not proactive. We move when the damage has already been done. To break this cycle, General Musa must prioritize the creation of a nationwide grassroots intelligence network—one that does not rely solely on military officers, but rather leverages existing institutions like the Nigerian Police Force and other capable agencies.
The police may not be equipped to confront ISWAP in open battle, but they possess something the military sometimes lacks: proximity and local knowledge. They are the first to hear whispers of tension before conflict erupts.
At a time when banditry, terrorism, secessionist agitation, and cyber threats continue to stretch Nigeria’s armed forces thin, there is no better moment to rewrite the strategy. General Musa does not just inherit a post—he inherits a national expectation. Nigerians, exhausted from perpetual headlines of killings, abductions, and humanitarian displacement, are desperate for change. The military is under pressure, not just to win wars, but to restore hope.
One, he must prioritize humanitarian crisis management. Security begins where desperation ends. This emphasis resonates with the argument I made when addressing Trump’s mischaracterisation of Nigeria: insecurity thrives not because Nigerians are divided, but because poverty, hunger, and state neglect have created fertile ground for chaos.
The need for a working synergy with the media to radically end the glamourization of criminals is grossly upon us. In an age of viral headlines and social media storms, the media has become both a tool for justice and a weapon of fear. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, criminal actors often benefit from unintended glorification in news coverage. When terrorists are given ethnic identities, when kidnappers are treated as “warlords,” when bandits are referred to as “leaders,” we are not just reporting—we are romanticizing evil.
General Musa must urgently engage with the media industry—both mainstream and online—to reframe how security issues are reported. There should be an official national framework for crime reporting, jointly developed by the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Information, and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). This framework must emphasize non-sensationalism, identity-neutral reporting, and security-focused narratives highlighting state responses, not criminal bravado. Control the narrative, and you control half the war.
In the same vein, the military should consider the use of technology-assisted surveillance, including drones, GSM mapping, and social media tracking, but these tools must be grounded in human intelligence. We cannot afford to base our national security on tech solutions alone. Let the Nigerian military return to the basics: listen to the people through the police. Insecurity starts in whispers before it explodes in gunfire.
In addition, the military should initiate regular briefings and data releases to ensure accurate information reaches the public before fake news takes over. Silence creates vacuums. The media fills that vacuum—often with unverified or politically manipulated content. We must depoliticize security narratives. A killer is a killer—no matter their faith or ethnicity. It is the role of the Defence Ministry to drive this language shift with firmness and consistency. Insecurity thrives not just on weapons—but on narratives.
This is not a popular opinion, given the extent of religiosity in Nigeria, but if we must win both the battle and the war, we must de-emphasize religious patronage. In many regions of Nigeria, religion is king. Pastors, imams, and traditional rulers wield enormous influence. But the last election reminded us that influence without empowerment is weak—and many religious actors have compromised their neutrality by becoming political actors. The neutrality they lost during the 2023 elections is precisely why they cannot anchor a national security strategy.
Therefore, General Musa must rethink the over-engagement of religious leaders in matters of national security. Their support may be useful in preaching peace, but they should not be at the centre of strategy. Instead, the military should work more with community development associations, civil society organisations, women groups, and grassroots influences—people whose legitimacy stems from actual engagement, not political rhetoric.
For the new Minister, this appointment should be a legacy of leadership, not just a posting. General Musa stands at a crossroads of history. His tenure as Defence Minister will either be remembered as another footnote in Nigeria’s endless security crisis—or as a turning point that redefined what it means to protect a nation in distress. To do so, he must be bold, honest, and reformist.
The path forward is not paved only in tanks and tactics. It lies in strategic partnerships—with humanitarian agencies, with grassroots police structures, with a responsible media, and with a depoliticized civic space. The war for Nigeria’s soul is not only being fought in forests or Sambisa. It is being fought in the minds of the hungry, the narratives of the media, the frustrations of unemployed youth, and the policies of government.
This is a war that cannot be won by the military alone. But under the leadership of General Musa, the Ministry of Defence can become the beating heart of Nigeria’s national recovery.
Let the battle begin—not against people, but against the forces of poverty, propaganda, and politicized religion. With vision, courage, and collaboration, General Musa can win this war—and in doing so, give Nigeria the security and stability it so desperately needs.
GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
