By Chesa Chesa
Security and policy experts have called for an urgent restructuring of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), saying Nigeria must redesign its security architecture to address threats such as disease outbreaks, food insecurity, climate change and power shortages alongside insurgency and banditry.
The recommendation was contained in a report titled Beyond Guns and Boots: Why Nigeria’s National Security Apparatus is Fighting an Intractable War, authored by Olive Aniunoh and Chinecherem Maryjames Nneli.
Olive Aniunoh is a Senior Legal, Policy and Research Analyst at Nextier, working at the intersection of governance, peace, security, and development. Chinecherem Maryjames Nneli is a Bilingual Policy and Research Analyst at Nextier, working on global issues of peace, conflict, gender, and social inclusion.
The analysts argued that Nigeria’s national security system remains heavily focused on military responses while neglecting wider dangers threatening citizens’ welfare and state stability.
They proposed transforming the Office of the National Security Adviser into a multidisciplinary hub with public health experts, economists, climate scientists and infrastructure specialists playing central roles in decision-making.
According to the report, the office has historically been dominated by military, police and intelligence personnel whose training is largely centred on confronting physical threats.
The authors maintained that while insurgents, bandits and separatists remain serious concerns, overreliance on force-based solutions has left Nigeria exposed to non-military crises that continue to cost lives and weaken institutions.
They cited Lassa fever as one example, noting that Nigeria recorded 1,148 confirmed cases and 215 deaths across 22 states in 2025, with fatalities worsened by delayed treatment, poor sanitation and weak healthcare systems.
The report also warned that about 35 million Nigerians could face acute food insecurity during the 2026 lean season, especially in Borno State, Adamawa State and Yobe State.
It further described chronic electricity shortages as a national security challenge, saying unstable power supply affects hospitals, vaccine storage systems and businesses that could provide jobs for vulnerable youths.
Other recommendations included adopting a broader national security strategy that recognises health, food, energy and environmental risks as co-equal threats, realigning budgets toward prevention systems, and prioritising strategic competence in future appointments.
The report concluded that Nigeria’s battle against insecurity is being undermined not by lack of courage or firepower, but by a narrow understanding of the threats confronting the country.
