Minister of Defence, retired Gen. Christopher Musa, has called for stronger international partnerships to tackle terrorism, banditry, oil theft, cybercrime and other emerging threats confronting Nigeria.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Musa said the country’s security challenges had become too interconnected for any single institution or nation to address alone.
“Nigeria’s security challenges are national in their impact, regional in their consequences, and increasingly international in their implications.”
He said military and other security operations remained necessary to protect citizens and Nigeria’s territorial integrity, but stressed that lasting peace and stability could not be achieved through military action alone.
Musa said Nigeria was seeking practical partnerships with the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS, bilateral partners, civil society organisations, researchers and the private sector to strengthen its security capabilities and institutions.
He also highlighted government measures, including the recruitment of an additional 22,000 personnel, restructuring of Army divisions and stronger subnational security arrangements.
He added that proposals for state police and forest guards were being considered to improve security across the country.
Meanwhile, Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, retired Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Famadewa, said Nigeria was shifting from a capability-driven to a threat-driven security strategy.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Famadewa said the approach would identify major threats, assess capability gaps and prioritise available resources.
“The national security strategy document, I know, is a draft review, but this is what we’re trying to do, like I said during the engagement, meant that we are moving from capability-driven to threat-driven.
“Defense is a very expensive venture. So, you need to prioritise,” he said.
Famadewa said the government planned to establish a five-year framework for acquiring critical security capabilities while expanding Nigeria’s domestic defence production capacity.
He said the government would also reassess previous security assumptions and develop new approaches to improve the safety and prosperity of Nigerians.
“Also, that government would review previous assumptions about security and develop new approaches to ensure the safety of Nigerians.
“We are bringing out new methods of achieving the objective of ensuring that every Nigerian is safe and Nigeria prospers,” he added.
The presidential aide stressed that national security could not be guaranteed by government alone and urged citizens to remain vigilant and provide useful information to security agencies.
