Task Before Defence Minister

The appointment of General Christopher Musa as the Minister of Defence is making waves in the media space. It has been argued that the appointment is significant on several fronts, aside from the fact that this is the first time in our democratic journey that a former Chief of Defence Staff was appointed as Minister of Defence soon after retirement. The appointment has been hailed by stakeholders, which indicates a deliberate step by the political authorities to address the security challenges in the country.

As a newspaper, we align with this position, given the wealth of experience of the new helmsman at the Ministry of Defence.

However, this newspaper thinks that the appointment, though strategic, comes with a lot of responsibilities that leave no room for excuses. For the new Minister of Defence, the only “way to fail is not to fail”.

As Chief of Defence Staff, he operated at the highest level in the military and was conversant with the impediments to the operational effectiveness of the establishment.

The task before him, therefore, is enormous. This much was highlighted during his screening at the National Assembly. His responses were impressive. It indicated a willingness to match words with actions.
One fundamental issue he must tackle headlong is the issue of arms procurement. It has been argued in several quarters that the challenges in arms procurement are a stumbling block in the operations of the military. This is correct. It is so because in arms procurements, some terms and conditions must be adhered to. Most times, it takes longer periods for procurements to be finalised, given that it is an international transaction. Therefore, this newspaper is of the view that the Minister of Defence must act critically towards developing indigenous capacity to meet the weapons’ needs of the military.

The country was informed in 2024 that the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Defence for the development, production, and maintenance of military equipment, ranging from small arms to advanced defence systems.

This newspaper views such a partnership as strategic and a step in the right direction. Interestingly, the Minister of Defence has been at the forefront of developing homegrown solutions to address the nation’s security challenges. This was also the focus of the African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit, which was held recently in Abuja and had in attendance 37 defence chiefs from the African continent to explore ways to address the security challenges on the African continent.
General Musa, in his capacity as the then Chief of Defence Staff, highlighted that “The era of outsourcing Africa’s security is over. We must be the architects of our own pace and the guardians of our sovereignty.”
In our opinion, that his statement is instructive and the way to go in building our indigenous defence capabilities. The severity of the time and his bold statement on developing home-grown solutions to our defence capabilities deserve some consideration.

Now that he is the Minister of Defence, he can run to town with this policy direction. The implication is that a tailor-fit approach is desirable in such circumstances. The reliance on external sources is cumbersome. It simply postpones the doomsday. It has been recognised globally that several factors play out during international defence transactions, and with their attendant challenges.

The area of policy formulation and implementation is also deserving of immediate attention. The Ministry of Defence is mandated “to provide administrative and support services, timely and effectively, to enable the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to build and maintain a modern, compact, strong, professional, mission-capable and mission-ready Armed Forces”.

This is a sensitive mandate with chains of consequences upon non-implementation. As a newspaper, we have come to recognise the strategic importance of a “mission-capable and mission-ready” Armed Forces in addressing the security challenges in the country.

This is evident in our news reportage of issues in the security sector, and overall, our contributions in the national discourse.
Our charge as a newspaper to the Minister of Defence is to hit the ground running, as Nigerians have become impatient with the security challenges in the country. The urgency of now cannot be overemphasised. He must chart a clear path by heralding an era of clarity of purpose in defence administration to translate the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians into tangible realities in the critical security sector.

We are persuaded to advocate that the necessary leverage should be extended to the Minister of Defence to hit the ground running. The effectiveness of Nigeria’s National Defence Policy is intricately linked to our socio-economic survival as a country. This realisation , in our view, makes the task before the Defence Minister urgent and immensely daunting. But we are confident that has what it takes to accomplish and meet desired national expectation.