The Federal Government has ordered an overhaul of military tactics to tackle Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, who stated this on Wednesday in Abuja, said what is the relevance of the Senate’s proposed national security summit, arguing instead for renewed strategy.
He said the country needed a more realistic strategy rather than a security summit.
The Senate on Tuesday is 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 was sequel to a motion sponsored by Jimoh Ibrahim, senator representing Ondo south, at the resumption of plenary.
According to the Minister, “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 said it was not true that terrorists had superior firepower over the Nigerian military, adding that the nation’s Armed Gorces are better equipped.
He said, “ Yesterday, the Representatives said 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. “
Badaru revealed that 10 of the 53 companies under the Defence Industrial Complex have commenced production of drones, aircraft components, helmets, and safety vests with a view to enhancing Nigeria’s military self-reliance,
He said the government plans to make 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.
