By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has stressed need for strategic defence management as a vital tool to stem the tide of insecurity and ensuring socioeconomic progress.
He gave the recommendation in a lecture titled“Strategic Defence Management in Nigeria: Ministry of Defence in Perspective” delivered to the Participants of the National Defence Academy Course 33, on Thursday, 10th July 2025.
The Minister said this was necessary as the current security environment is increasingly complex, marked by the presence of multiple actors including state forces, insurgents, civil society, the media, and foreign interests all operating within a volatile regional and global context.
He highlighted the Ministry’s central role in addressing Nigeria’s evolving security challenges through institutional reforms, strategic planning, and collaborative defence mechanisms.
Badaru noted that with a population of over 200 million and a large, dynamic economy, Nigeria is actively tackling a wide spectrum of threats like insurgency in the North-East, banditry and communal violence in the North-West and North-Central, secessionist movements and oil theft in the South, as well as maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.
He further stressed the influence of regional instability in the Sahel and Nigeria’s leadership role in ECOWAS and the African Union in shaping national defence policies.
The Minister commended the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for recognizing the strong linkage between national security and development. He cited ongoing reforms aimed at recalibrating the nation’s security architecture through capacity building, military modernisation, and investment in local defence production.
Underscoring the MOD’s core responsibilities, HE Badaru explained that the Ministry is tasked with formulating and executing the National Defence Policy, ensuring readiness of the Armed Forces, and driving strategic initiatives that integrate defence planning, policy, and resource management. He reiterated that efficient defence management must be grounded in forward-looking frameworks and guided by both national interest and global realities.
In his remarks, the Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral James Ohimai Okosun, thanked the Honourable Minister of Defence for delivering a timely and insightful lecture, describing it as vital to shaping future military leaders. He also praised the Ministry’s ongoing reforms under the Minister’s leadership, noting they are setting new standards in defence governance and institutional efficiency.
