Gen Musa – Minister of Defense: A round peg in a round hole?, by Prof M. K. Othman
Last week, the appointment of General Christopher Gwabin Musa OFR (Rtd) as the Minister of Defence by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, following the resignation of Alhaji Badaru, the former Defence Minister, was a crucial, honourable and meritorious appointment based on demonstrated competence.
President Tinubu deserves praise for his swift action in making the appointment at a critical time when the national security situation worsened and threatened the nation’s unity.
There was no better time than now when the American president, Mr. Trump, had coloured Nigeria’s insecurity with religious inclination, thereby worsening the fragility of Nigerian unity. Thank you, President Tinubu, for rising to the occasion.
On Wednesday, November 26th, 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a nationwide state of emergency on security issues and approved the recruitment of 20,000 additional police officers. He also instructed the Department of State Services to immediately deploy trained forest guards to eliminate terrorists and bandits hiding in our forests.
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Therefore, the appointment of General Musa (Rtd) was timely to help realize the President’s plan to make Nigeria free of terrorism and banditry.
This scourge has affected Nigerians over the past 10 years, causing farmers to abandon their farms and forcing many to undertake road travels with their hearts in their mouths and sleep with one eye open.
Can General Musa make a difference? What does he need to do to meet the objective of the President and aspiration of peace-loving Nigerians? How can he free Nigeria from the merciless claw of terrorists and bandits?
As a concerned Nigerian from the northwest who was once a victim of the banditry and armed robbery menace, I had written a series of articles in my column and a memorandum on insecurity in Nigeria until my friend, Musa Aminu of VON, advised me to meet with General Musa, then The Chief of Defence Staff, to learn about the military’s efforts to address insecurity in Nigeria.
It was meant to give me a broader perspective on the complexity of insecurity in the country. Despite my reluctance and apprehension, I was glad I went.
That was when I had a one-on-one meeting with General Musa in his office, without caveats or aides to support his responses to my questions, as he was willing to answer any security-related questions regarding military operations against insurgents and bandits across the country directly.
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The meeting was on 16th May 2025. General Musa’s composure and eloquence during our meeting truly set him apart from the crowd.
He acted and sounded as a true nationalist, an attribute that must have helped him reach the top echelon of his military career.
His two-year-plus tenure as Chief of Defence Staff witnessed huge successes that can be better catalogued in a book, but a few can be mentioned.
He addressed the insecurity challenges that lowered crude oil production to less than 1.2 million barrels per day, giving room for a rise to over 1.8 million barrels per day, thereby increasing the nation’s foreign income and a more stable economy. Gen. Musa organized and hosted the African Chiefs of Defence Staff meeting in Nigeria, the first of its kind in Africa.
The meeting discussed several security challenges affecting the African continent and reached key resolutions. Similarly, he organized the African Military Games, which were also held in Nigeria, where military sportsmen and women gathered for competition, networking, and to boost diplomatic relationships among Africans.
Again, Gen Musa diplomatically maintained a cordial relationship with the Nigerien military for accomplishing the multinational task force despite the Niger Republic’s exclusion from ECOWAS. Without the support of the Nigerien Armed Forces, the security situation in the northwest border towns would have deteriorated further.
Again, Gen. Musa played a decisive coordinating role in the Nigerian Air Force’s enhanced air interdiction operations during his tenure. Under his leadership as CDS, the NAF recorded higher-precision strikes against insurgent camps, logistics hubs, and high-value targets, contributing significantly to reducing terrorist mobility.
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Terrorists and bandits previously controlled several roads in the North-East, including the Kaduna-Abuja highway, which were all fairly secure and made travel safer for people.
While Gen. Musa is a hardcore military person, he also believes in the efficacy of a non-kinetic approach to addressing internal insecurity in Nigeria. During our interaction, he told me, “We need both kinetic and non-kinetic.
The kinetic is what the military does when engaging in combat. The non-kinetic aspect of good governance involves working with the public and raising awareness.
”We have therefore enhanced this because we realized that the kinetic component is less than 30% of the solution, while the non-kinetic component accounts for 70%. So, we need the public side because the criminals, the bandits, and the terrorists are trying to win their hearts for them to work with them.
If they don’t understand that the government is there for them, the criminals can lure them to their side”;
The non-kinetic strategy involves the efforts of the three arms of government to ensure good governance, including infrastructure provision, employment opportunities, quality education, health services, justice, and equity.
Federal, state, and local governments must deliver the dividends of democracy through good governance, while the judiciary must ensure that true justice prevails in all segments of society.
It is essential to effectively identify and address the root causes of insurgency and banditry. Wiping out all insurgents and bandits without addressing the underlying causes of these criminal activities will only allow others to resurface.
On non-kinetic issues, local government chairmen and state governors should promote good governance by investing heavily in rural infrastructure, agriculture, health, and education to notably improve human capital development.
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This strategy will increase productivity, reduce poverty, and lower crime rates. Nigerian bandits and insurgents should lay down their arms to help return peace and help Nigeria reach its ambitious goal of becoming a great African economy.
By opposing the country, these non-state actors are already losers; Nigeria will be a loser too, along with ordinary Nigerians striving to earn a decent living.
These elements cannot enjoy their ill-gotten wealth with the blood of innocent lives on their necks. Can Gen. Musa, as Minister of Defense, make a difference? Can he replicate his success, if not overshadow it, as Minister of Defense?
Well, now Gen. Musa is the Minister of Defense, which is a different role from that of a commanding military officer in a regimented military structure. Here, he has to work with civil servants and politicians. His speech at his swearing-in was reassuring and convincing, confirming that the terrain is familiar.
His experience as a theatre commander, knowledge of security personnel – military and para-military, modern technologies, and shortcomings are his prerequisites for success.
His speech contains many things that raised hopes and confidence, and Nigerians are looking forward to their implementation.
However, his observation and comment on the security personnel in the field fighting insurgency and banditry are apt. He said, “Those not injured are watching how we treat the wounded. If they are not adequately cared for, they will not give their best because they will be apprehensive.
Especially those who have lost their loved ones, the families want to know what will happen.” This statement shows a perfect match, a square peg in a square hole.
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It reflects my core belief that key sectors and ministries should be headed by specialists, such as a medical doctor for the Ministry of Health, a military general or paramilitary expert for the Defense Ministry, an agriculturalist for the Ministry of Agriculture, similar to what is happening in the Ministry of Information, where a reputable journalist, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, is doing an excellent job.
It would be a crucial step forward to have ministers who are already experienced in their expected roles. Ministries are too important to risk appointing individuals who would have to learn their roles on the job.
May God guide Gen Musa to success and make Nigeria free of banditry and insurgency sooner than we expect, amen.
Prof. M. K. Othman, MNIAE, MNSE, MASABE
(Professor of Soil and Water Engineering)
NAERLS, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
+2348065571637
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