Minister of Defence General (rtd) Christopher Musa on Wednesday called on international partners to collaborate with Nigeria in confronting terrorism, banditry, oil theft, cybercrime and other threats through a broader security strategy that extends beyond military operations.
Speaking at a Nigerian Ministry of Defence side event during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), General Musa said the country’s security pressures have become too interconnected for any single institution—or nation, to resolve alone.
“Nigeria’s security challenges are national in their impact, regional in their consequences, and increasingly international in their implications,” Musa said in describing remarks for the meeting, titled “Confronting Nigeria’s Multidimensional Security Challenges: A Whole-of-Society and Partnership-Based Approach.”
The Defence Minister said Nigeria’s role as a major security actor in West Africa and the wider Sahel carries responsibilities that require closer collaboration with the United Nations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, bilateral allies, researchers, civil-society groups and private-sector actors.
Minister Musa’s comments come as the country seeks to contain persistent insurgent violence in the North-East, criminal armed groups in the North-West, and the North-Central north-central, maritime and petroleum-related crime, as well as emerging cyber threats.
He said the threats are reinforced by porous borders, governance weaknesses, economic hardship, communal tensions and political divisions.
Those vulnerabilities, he said, interact and amplify one another, requiring an equally integrated response.
“While military and other security operations remain essential to protecting our citizens and territorial integrity, we recognize that lasting peace and stability cannot be achieved through military action alone,” General Musa said.
He noted that durable security depends on stronger institutions, resilient communities, inclusive economic development and more effective governance.
That approach, he said, requires closer coordination among federal, state and local authorities, alongside traditional rulers, religious leaders, community organisations, civil society and businesses.
The Minister further described the government’s strategy as an effort to move Nigeria’s security system from reacting to violence toward anticipating threats, preventing conflict and reducing the social vulnerabilities exploited by armed and criminal groups.
NewsQuest reports that Nigeria has been working to strengthen joint military and interagency operations, improve operational readiness, invest in critical capabilities and expand defence cooperation with foreign partners, General Musa said.
General Musa also cited measures being pursued by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, including plans to recruit an additional 22,000 personnel into the armed forces, reorganise and expand the Nigerian Army’s divisional structure and bolster security arrangements at the subnational level.
The government is also pursuing proposals for state police and forest guards, initiatives that reflect mounting concern over the reach of conventional policing in rural areas and ungoverned forest corridors.
Minister Musa said Nigeria intends to expand its indigenous defence-industrial base while pursuing bilateral and multilateral security agreements designed around “mutual interests, shared responsibilities and common values.”
The country, he said, is looking for partnerships that are strategic and practical rather than symbolic.
Musa urged participants to focus discussion on how foreign and regional partners are already supporting Nigeria, what would make cooperation more sustainable and where assistance could be targeted at the country’s most urgent capability and institutional needs.
“Our objective today should be straightforward,” he said.
“We should not merely reaffirm our understanding of the challenges; we should seek to identify concrete areas of cooperation, clear responsibilities and practical next steps.”
The remarks underscored Nigeria’s effort to present its security agenda as both a domestic priority and a regional concern.
Instability in Africa’s most populous country can spill across West Africa through illicit arms flows, extremist networks, organised crime and displacement, while insecurity in the wider Sahel has also created pressure along Nigeria’s northern frontier.
General Musa said Nigeria was prepared to meet its own responsibilities but expected partners to make equally meaningful contributions.
“Let this therefore be a frank, practical and constructive conversation,” he said,
“one that strengthens our collective understanding, builds greater confidence among partners, and translates dialogue into meaningful action.”
