ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria‘s Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), proposed that every citizen of the country undergo military training to gain a clearer understanding of national security demands on September 21, 2026.
Okay News reports that Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.) made the proposal during an appearance on the African Leadership Podcast with Ken Giami.
The defence minister said military training exposes individuals to physical strain, exhaustion, and hunger, which changes personal perspectives on life and civil protection responsibilities.
“Every Nigerian should be able to go through military training. It will give you a different perspective about life. You will now understand what it means to stay hungry and what it means to work in days without sleep,” Musa said.
“It will show you what endurance means when you walk kilometres and you are tired but you still need to keep on going. You have not eaten; you have not taken one because of the nature of the thing and because you are doing it to protect,” he added.
Musa compared the sacrifices made by security personnel to religious principles of selflessness and urged citizens to refrain from criticizing military personnel.
“And that’s exactly what the military men are doing, putting their lives at stake for their country to move around,” he said.
“And so that’s why sometimes it’s very painful when you see people insulting the military and telling them they don’t need it or we don’t want this to end. Nobody’s dying now, and they don’t want it to end,” he added.
“Everybody wants peace, and that is important, so we want them to understand soldiers are fathers, brothers and sisters of people. They’ve families they’ve left behind, staying in the weather, rain, dust, night or day, staying there to ensure the country is secured,” he said.
Addressing regional border security, Musa stated that the withdrawal of three Sahelian nations, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, increased border infiltration risks, prompting Nigeria to strengthen bilateral security arrangements with Cameroon.
