By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has declared that as the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies continue to work tirelessly to improve the nation’s security, the non-kinetic efforts of the military have produced appreciable outcomes complementing its kinetic actions.
General Musa made the remarks at a one-day seminar organized by the Defence Correspondence Association of Nigeria (DECAN), on the theme, “Civil military relations: Non-kinetic Efforts of the Nigerian Military in Security Management, Challenges and Prospects,” held at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Asokoro District, Abuja, on Tuesday.
While insisting that the Armed Forces of Nigeria have recorded appreciable victory in the on-going war to secure the nation, General Musa admitted that the successes have not been without challenges.
He maintained that Nigeria was currently at war but that today’s war “is one which the enemy is not a state but a movement. A war without national borders – – a war between States and networks.”
He noted that looking at the way security threats have evolved, there was a global conflict transformation with increased and synchronized application of economic, diplomatic, political, psychological, informational, intelligence, technological and selective military means to achieve stated aims.
“Accordingly, the traditional notion of war relying heavily on kinetic means is gradually being relegated and we are now seeking to possess and apply non-kinetic approaches to project power, secure interests and solve problems,” he said.
While acknowledging that the overall power potential of the country was still being determined by conventional military artists, General Musa said “there is no doubt that the non-kinetic means are becoming more relevant in the power potentials of Nigeria.”
“The armed forces of Nigeria, being the key driver encountering the myriad of security threats nationwide, has sustained non-military and soft strategies as a means to an end of this multifaceted threats,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria as a diverse and complex nation faces a mirage of security threats – from separatism, insurgencies and terrorism to intercommunal conflicts, transnational organized crimes and other security challenges, stressing that the task of securing the nation was formidable, tasking, and demanding varying attention and concerted efforts of all stakeholders to address.
According to the CDS, “in tackling these threats, we are not unmindful of the shift from seeking victory through kinetic means. Our main focus remains the targeting of the will of the people through the application of a combination of soft and non-military means. We’ve seen it over and over that dealing with non-state actors everybody is struggling for the hearts and minds of the citizens.”
He added that the enforcement of Nigerians non-kinetic efforts was targeted towards winning the hearts and minds of citizens and encouraging other sectors of the society to take ownership of the situation in order to contribute meaningfully to defeating the multifaceted threats.
He identified some of the non-kinetic activities conducted by military to include the enforcement of Nigeria Operation Safe Corridor designed to deradicalize, rehabilitate and reintegrate surrendered, willing and repentant members of the terrorist groups. Others are civil military cooperation and engagement with key leaders of various communities and stakeholders, especially those that are directly affected by security as well as the veterans.
The CDS however emphasized that tackling threats in Nigeria was a continuous process whereby the development of resilience at societal, national and regional levels plays a key role.
“This involves the cooperation and integration of the military, private sector, local authorities, civil society organization, non-governmental organizations, the academia, international organizations, amongst others, with the sole aim of accomplishing strategic goals.
“It will therefore warrant a whole lot of society approach to address several critical areas including civil capacity, interagency education, training and exercises, effective planning, coordination and collaborations.
“Others will include cross organizational understanding of capabilities and interagency framework that establishes proper roles and responsibilities, unified assessment leading to a shared understanding of the operational environment, adequate statutory authorities and funding mechanism as well as sufficient information sharing,” he said.
He commended DECAN for organizing the seminar to provide a unique effort to brainstorm and profile actionable solutions towards addressing the security challenges nationwide.
Other speakers at the seminar included the Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Rear Admiral Yaminu Musa (Rtd), the Deirector-General of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Major-General Wahab Garba (Rtd), Director of Defence Media Operations (DMO), Major-General Edward Buba, the Director, Defence Information, Brig-General Tukur Gusau, Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Jibrin Baba Ndache and Group Captain Sadeeq Shehu (rtd).
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