Nigeria Seeks Enduring Partnership Against Insecurity

The federal government has called for a comprehensive, partnership-based and whole-of-society approach to address Nigeria’s and the wider Sahel region’s evolving security landscape.

The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (Rtd), made the call during a high-level discussion on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) High-Level Week in New York.

The minister was addressing an international audience of diplomats, security practitioners, and representatives from the United Nations, African Union (AU), and ECOWAS, emphasised that Nigeria’s security challenges like every other country have national impacts, regional consequences, and global implications.

He said, “Our recognition that we cannot address these challenges alone is not a statement of dependence; rather, it is an acknowledgement of the multidimensional character of modern security threats and the importance of collective action.

“Sustainable security requires resilient communities, effective institutions, inclusive development, and good governance.”

The minister at the event themed; “Confronting Nigeria’s Multidimensional Security Challenges: A Whole-of-Society and Partnership-Based Approach,” detailed decisive measures being implemented under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu that include the recruitment of an additional 22,000 personnel into the Armed Forces and the expansion and reorganization of the Nigerian Army’s divisional structure, ongoing steps toward establishing state police and dedicated forest guard arrangements to secure rural and border communities and the implementation of a presidential approval for a unified intelligence and reconnaissance programme to eliminate operational silos, enhance situational awareness, and build interoperability across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

He also highlighted the strengthening of domestic defence production through support for the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to build self-reliance and reduce dependence on external arms sources and the integration of advanced technological assets, including drones for real-time surveillance and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detection, alongside the rollout of a comprehensive national criminal database and major strides by the government.

A statement by the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media Leah Katung-Babatunde said the meeting featured a panel discussion moderated by Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to the President and Minister of External Affairs, who recalled Nigeria’s concentric-circles foreign policy and stressed the need for Africa to position itself as an active contributor to global frameworks, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The Special Adviser on Homeland Security Major General Adeyinka T. Famadewa (Rtd) advocated intelligence fusion, integrated response capabilities, and citizen reporting protection systems to anticipate emerging threats.