The Federal Government has called for an overhaul of military tactics to address Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
This, it said the country needed rather than a security summit.
The Senate on Tuesday resolved to hold a two-day national security summit to brainstorm a solution to the rising wave of killings and other forms of insecurity in the country.
The decision followed a motion sponsored by Jimoh Ibrahim, senator representing Ondo south, at the resumption of plenary.
peaking during the ministerial briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, questioned the relevance of the Senate’s proposed national security summit, arguing instead for renewed strategy.
He said, “On the summit, yes, strategy is far more important than summit. But summit will give you some inputs for the strategy. When you hold a summit, you have people, they talk. We take what they expect, and we go back to design or renew our strategy.
“And then the chief of Defence staff gives operational orders based on the strategy they developed. So what the National Assembly is trying to do may be to bring people together to discuss issues.
“I visited most of the past defense ministers. I visited most of the past service chiefs to discuss issues of security during their time and what we see today and how we do. And I’m sure the service chiefs also did the same.
So, the summit can help, but the strategy is much more important.”
Badaru also dismissed the idea that terrorists possess superior firepower compared to the Nigerian military, insisting that the nation’s armed forces are better equipped.
He said, “ Yesterday, the House of Assembly said that the terrorists have better weapons than us.
“That is absolutely not true. That is absolutely not true. We have much more sophisticated weapons and we have much more sophisticated drones.
“The issue is, this war is not a conventional war. It’s like a guerrilla war. They watch us, they have informant around us .
They help the people that we try to protect. And they give them information. And they jump at us the way we don’t expect.
“So, they don’t have more equipment than us. We have much more. We have much more sophisticated equipment. “
On domestic efforts to enhance Nigeria’s military self-reliance, Badaru revealed that 10 of the 53 companies under the Defence Industrial Complex have commenced production of drones, aircraft components, helmets, and safety vests.
He said the government targets at least 20 firms to be fully operational by year’s end, with exports beginning in 2026.
“We’re also working on reviving sections of Ajaokuta Steel to support military hardware production,” he disclosed.
The minister’s comment came amid a fresh wave of deadly attacks that claimed the lives of an Army captain and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Borno and Benue.
