By Lemmy Ughegbe, Ph.D
At no time in recent history have Nigerians so openly celebrated the appointment of a Minister of Defence as they did that of General Christopher Gwabin Musa.
The public reaction was not manufactured by party loyalists nor driven by propaganda. It was organic, emotional, and mainly born out of desperation.
In a country battered by terrorism, banditry, mass abductions, and a creeping sense of institutional paralysis, many Nigerians saw in Musa’s appointment a glimmer of hope that competence might finally meet responsibility.
The significance of this moment is heightened by the fact that General Musa served as Chief of Defence Staff until his retirement only weeks ago, before he was appointed a cabinet minister last week.
Unlike many past appointees who arrived at the Defence Ministry with political baggage and little or no operational memory, Musa steps into office with immediate familiarity with the battlefield, the chain of command, and the weaknesses of Nigeria’s security architecture. This continuity removes the usual excuse of a learning curve. It also doubles the weight of public expectation.
Goodwill, however, is a fragile currency. Nigerians have learnt, through repeated disappointment, that applause at appointment ceremonies does not guarantee safety on the streets or peace in communities.
The burden before General Musa is therefore not symbolic. It is urgent and unforgiving. Even as he acknowledges the wave of public goodwill that greeted his appointment, he must recognise a hard truth of public life in Nigeria.
The distance between love and resentment is often short. Public trust, once raised this high, quickly turns to anger when expectations are unmet.
Since his nomination and Senate screening, Nigerians have been waiting for concrete commitments. What they have heard so far are assurances. He has spoken about interagency collaboration, intelligence-driven operations, professional discipline, and renewed resolve.
These are not unimportant, but they are also familiar. They echo the language Nigerians have heard repeatedly over the last decade, as insecurity grew bolder and more lethal.
What remains missing are measurable benchmarks. There have been no clearly stated timelines, no publicly defined priorities with deadlines, and no concrete indicators by which citizens can assess performance.
In a country where security briefings often dissolve into diplomatic language and recycled promises, general commitments are no longer enough. Hope, once elevated to this level, now demands delivery.
This matters because Nigeria is no longer confronting isolated criminality. The country faces coordinated terror networks, heavily armed syndicates, and non-state actors exploiting weak governance and porous borders.
From the insurgency in the North East to mass killings in the Middle Belt and banditry in the North West, the theatre of violence is vast and evolving. Citizens want to know what will now be done differently.
The context of Musa’s appointment makes this question unavoidable. As Chief of Defence Staff, he was part of the system that many Nigerians believe underperformed. That reality does not disqualify him, but it sharpens scrutiny. If continuity of leadership results in continuity of failure, public patience will evaporate quickly. The privilege of familiarity must now deliver the discipline of reform.
It is essential to acknowledge that the Tinubu administration has intensified military operations across several theatres. Official figures released by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, indicate that since May 2023, security agencies have neutralised thousands of insurgents, arrested large numbers of suspects, and rescued many abducted victims. These gains should not be dismissed. In fact, they should be applauded.
Yet numbers alone do not tell the whole story. Nigerians measure security not by press briefings, but by lived experience. A single successful attack, especially one preceded by intelligence warnings, can erase months of reported gains. This is why leadership at the Defence Ministry must move beyond reaction and into prevention.
Nigerians are exhausted by condolences delivered after attacks that could have been prevented. They are wary of explanations built around operational complexities. The era of explaining failure must give way to the era of stopping it.
The first ninety days of General Musa’s tenure will therefore be decisive. They represent a narrow window to set direction, restore confidence, and demonstrate that this appointment reflects a reset rather than a reshuffle.
First, there must be a clearly articulated security roadmap. Not a slogan or a vision statement, but a concrete outline of priorities with timelines. Which regions take precedence? Which threats are ranked most urgent? What resources are being redeployed and why? Transparency here does not weaken security. It strengthens public trust.
Second, intelligence coordination must be visibly restructured. Repeated failures have shown that intelligence is often available but poorly acted upon. Musa must confront why warnings are ignored, why deployments are withdrawn without explanation, and why accountability rarely follows. Silence on these issues will be interpreted as tolerance of failure.
Third, command responsibility must be enforced. Security lapses cannot continue to end in vague assurances of investigation. Officers who abandon duty posts, ignore intelligence, or compromise operations must face consequences. Without this, morale erodes and impunity spreads.
Fourth, civilian engagement must become central. Communities are often the first to receive warnings from armed groups, yet their cries frequently go unanswered. A defence strategy that ignores community trust and early warning systems will remain incomplete.
Finally, General Musa must resist the temptation to engage in excessive public relations. Nigerians do not need more speeches. They need fewer graves, safer roads, secure classrooms, and the reassurance that the state still controls its territory. Credibility will be earned quietly, through outcomes rather than declarations.
The goodwill that greeted his appointment is both a gift and a test. It reflects how low expectations have fallen and how deeply Nigerians yearn for change.
If Musa rises to this moment, he could redefine civil-military leadership and restore confidence in the state’s capacity to protect its citizens. If he fails, the disappointment will be profound.
The goodwill that welcomed him into office must now be converted into results, because in Nigeria, the distance between public love and public anger is measured only by performance. The clock has started ticking.
Dr Lemmy Ughegbe, FIMC, CMC
Email: [email protected]
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