Christopher Musa, minister of defence, says every Nigerian should undergo military training to better understand the discipline, endurance and sacrifices involved in military service.
Speaking during his appearance on the African Leadership Podcast hosted by Ken Giami, the minister said the training would expose Nigerians to the hardships faced by military personnel, including hunger, exhaustion, sleep deprivation and prolonged physical exertion.
“If I have my way, every Nigerian should be able to go through military training. I can tell you for free; it will give you a different perspective about life,” Musa said.
“You will now understand what it means to stay hungry, what it means to work in days without sleep. It will show you what endurance means, that when you walk a kilometre, and you are tired, but you still need to keep on going.”
The minister said the training exposes people to physical hardship, which, according to him, builds their capacity to endure difficult situations.
“One, physically it builds your stamina, your capacity to stay and endure a lot,” he said.
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👉 JOIN WHATSAPP CHANNEL“You know, like sleep. You know, when somebody tells you that you need to take eight hours sleep a day, you know, in the military it’s difficult. I hardly sleep before 2, 3 am, and I’m awake by 6.”
Musa said such experience would also help Nigerians appreciate the risks military personnel take in protecting the country.
He said military personnel have families but continue to work in difficult conditions, including during rain, dust, night and day, to secure the country.
“And that’s exactly what the military men are doing, putting their lives at stake for their country to move on,” he said.
The minister also said it is painful to see members of the public insult the military or suggest that the security operations should not continue.
“Everybody wants peace, and I think that’s very important,” he said.
‘LOCAL GOVERNMENT MUST WORK TO TACKLE INSECURITY’
Musa also called for functional local governments, saying security and development challenges are rooted at the local level.
According to him, local governments have a crucial role to play in addressing crime before it escalates to the state and federal levels.
“Crime and development are local,” he said.
The minister said local government chairmen should be able to address problems within their communities and prevent criminals from operating.
“If the local government chairmen are doing their jobs, they will not allow any criminal to work. And if they don’t allow it, the states will be safe. If the states are safe, the federal will be safe,” he said.
He also linked insecurity to the absence of basic services and economic opportunities, saying hunger, poverty and poor infrastructure are among the factors that could contribute to insecurity.
He added that counter-insurgency requires both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches, putting the kinetic component at about 25 to 30 percent and the non-kinetic component at about 70 percent.
The minister also called on Nigerians to provide relevant information to security agencies, saying the nature of asymmetric warfare makes it difficult to identify threats because criminals can operate within communities.
Musa said the federal government and state governments needed to ensure that funds reaching local governments and communities were used to address issues contributing to insecurity.
‘NIGERIA NEEDS TO PRODUCE ITS OWN MILITARY EQUIPMENT’
Musa also disclosed that the federal government is working towards expanding Nigeria’s capacity to produce military equipment locally.
He said country’s dependence on imported equipment could delay military operations because some equipment takes years to procure even after payment.
“And remember, we don’t produce the equipment we need; we have to buy,” he said.
“The Super Tucanos we got, we had to pay and wait for three years to get them in.”
According to Musa, President Bola Tinubu has approved partnerships between Nigeria’s defence industry and equipment manufacturers to enable the country to produce more of the equipment required by the armed forces.
He said local companies had already begun producing equipment, including armoured personnel carriers (APCs), mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs), ammunition, weapons and drones.
The minister named several companies involved in defence-related production and said the military’s research and development units are also working to develop equipment and technologies.
He said the army, air force and navy are working through their respective research and development structures, adding that the government intends to bring the various efforts together.
Musa also said the government is paying attention to cybersecurity, describing protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace as another critical area requiring greater attention.
“We need to protect the cyberspace. That’s one other area that is very critical,” he said.
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