Reps Screen CDS, Service Chiefs

Major General Christopher Musa

Acting Chief of Defence Staff

Yesterday, Service Chiefs and Acting Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Christopher Musa reiterated their preparations for defending Nigeria against both internal and external aggressors.

When they appeared before the House of Representatives to continue being screened as capable military helmsmen, they reaffirmed the guarantee. 

Last Monday, Musa, Taoreed Lagbaja, Hassan Abubakar, Emmanuel Ogalla, and Emmanuel Undiandeye attended a Senate hearing where senators questioned them about their qualifications for the jobs.

Musa, who was the first to appear, told the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee that, if approved, his leadership of the military will depend on three things: people, the welfare of the troops, and interagency cooperation.

He said that in order to create an organized, motivated, and disciplined Armed Forces, a leadership model based on a clear road plan was required. 

The nominee said: “The broad outline of my leadership concept shall be to nurture professional Armed Forces that is people-centric, capable of meeting its constitutional responsibilities in a joint and collaborative environment.

“Thus, my concept will be hinged on three pillars made up of people-centricity, prioritizing troops’ welfare while deepening joint and interagency collaboration. 

“The Armed Forces will defend our territorial integrity and democracy as well as safeguard internal security and unity to achieve the stability required to guarantee sustainable national development.”

He stated that the security challenges facing the country call for a more concise approach.

“I am committed to ensuring a conducive and secure environment for the protection of lives and properties for socio-economic activities to thrive. To ensure this, the Armed Forces under my leadership will fulfill its constitutional roles in order to defend Nigeria’s sovereignty against internal and external aggressors.”

If elected, Lagbaja promised to lead with initiative, adaptability, and inclusivity.

He said: “It is an open secret that our country has faced a challenging security environment in the past two decades. It has impacted adversely on our socio-economic and political lives.

“The episodic crises of the past have now become enduring thereby making governance and the rule of law more challenging for successive administrations.

“Today’s painful reality is that insecurity has distorted our developmental plans and aspirations of a strong, prosperous, globally competitive and influential nation. Never in the recent past is the requirement for proactive, adaptive and inclusive leadership more needed than Nigeria’s security environment of today.

“These requirements are what I intend to carry out as COAS if confirmed. I am mindful that the Nigerian Army, which I am being screened to lead, is a crucial component of our military instrument of national power.”

Babajimi Benson, the chairman of the ad hoc committee, observed that Nigeria has experienced various, unprecedented degrees of insecurity for more than 16 years.

According to him, protecting the lives and property of Nigerians was a shared responsibility of all branches of the government.

A Defense Space Force (DSF) should be established, according to Benson, to combat terrorists and other criminals in the nation.

“Nigeria must tap into and harness the potential of having a Defence Space Force, like in the United States, “he said, adding if properly constituted, the unit would adequately handle threats from the cyberspace and provide intelligence support to other services.

If confirmed, he pressed the nominees to work with the National Assembly.

Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, the leader of the House, expressed confidence in the officers' capacity to address the nation's security issues.

In the meanwhile, Abdullahi Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State, claimed that Tinubu's administration was prepared to employ technology to monitor criminals who use the forests as their hiding spots.

A lot of the criminal herdsmen, who had been preached to, according to him, had transformed.

These were mentioned by Ganduje during the Coalition of Pastoralist Organizations of Nigeria's inaugural gathering.

The group's objective is to unite organizations and parties to solve the issues facing the Fulani.

Ganduje said that pastoralists would need to be persuaded to accept a contemporary method of raising animals.

His words, “We are going to gather a larger community of intellectuals and major stakeholders to see that this issue of insecurity is resolved, at the same time expecting an enabling environment from the Federal Government.

“Right now, security agencies are working very hard to fish out the bad eggs and criminal herdsmen, especially with the new hope by the President.

“Technology will be introduced in our forests so that it is easy to monitor them and security agencies will be more committed.

“As you are fully aware if our herdsmen can agree to a modern system of livestock production, then there is a need for settlement. Settlement requires land and after being resettled.”