Every Nigerian must rise to fight insecurity – Defence minister

By Providence Ayanfeoluwa

Gen. Christopher Musa (retd), Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, said that insecurity is a national challenge that must be tackled by every citizen.

He urged stronger cooperation among the federal government, state governments, and local authorities, especially in border areas.

Speaking in an exclusive interview on Arise TV, Musa noted that while the federal government has increased funding for states, the success of security measures largely depends on grassroots action.

He explained that crime is fundamentally a local issue, and local governments must take a more active role in addressing it.

Musa also stressed the importance of partnerships with multinational joint task forces to enhance border control and curb cross‑border crime.

He warned that without functional local governments, national security efforts would remain incomplete.

“Border security is one issue we have to look at, and for us, we need the states to partner with the federal government. The federal government is doing its best, states are getting their funds as required, more than they ever had,” he said.

“We need to have our local governments work because there are steps that we need to take to address these issues. Our local governments must be up and doing because crime is local. If local governments are working, they’ll be able to tackle these things within their own area before it gets to the state, before it gets to the federal. So I think it’s a whole society approach to security.”

“Border security is such that we have to be in tandem with our neighbours. What the terrorists do actually is that when you attack them more, they move to the next country. So you need the other country to also be able to block its own side of the border so that they don’t have any safe haven.”

“We are working with the multinational joint task force to ensure that we address this. We have seen level of threats coming in between Benin, Nigeria, and Niger border. Through the multinational joint task force, we’re establishing a new system to address those areas so that from Burkina Faso, they don’t penetrate through Benin into Nigeria. We want to stop it.”

Describing insecurity as a Nigerian challenge, he called on all citizens to unite in the fight.

“What Nigeria is going through is trying periods. Countries go through this. It’s what you make out of it that makes you better or worse.”

“I think we’re addressing it holistically. The armed forces and other security agencies cannot cover the entire length and breadth of Nigeria. Nigeria has over 927 square kilometres, and we’re just how many,” he said.

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