Daily Digest Online

In a move to revitalize Nigeria’s security architecture, President Bola Tinubu has formally sworn in former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (rtd), as the new Minister of Defence, tasking him with immediate investigations into recent high-profile operational failures and attacks. President Bola Tinubu officially swore in General Christopher Musa as the substantive Minister of Defence on Thursday during a ceremony at the State House, Abuja. The appointment follows the Senate’s confirmation after an extensive five-hour screening session on Wednesday, where lawmakers pressed the former military chief on critical security lapses. General Musa assumes office at a pivotal moment, inheriting a defence portfolio strained by persistent terrorism, banditry, and a crisis of public confidence.  During his Senate screening, he faced intense questioning over the controversial withdrawal of troops from the Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School in ...

Nigeria's war against terrorism and banditry is being waged on two fronts: one against insurgents in the forests, and a more insidious one within the corridors of power, where personal loyalty and political patronage too often supersede competence, accountability, and the national interest. The recent, very public defense of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, by former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, is not an isolated incident of political rhetoric. It is a symptom of a chronic national ailment—the prioritization of elite self-preservation over collective survival.  In a country where villages are sacked weekly, kidnappings are a thriving industry, and citizens live in perpetual anxiety, the spectacle of a powerful figure defending a controversial appointee on the sole grounds of a 15-year friendship is more than an insult; it is a diagnosis of a profound governance failure. The Architecture of Distrust At the heart of this ...