The Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. (retd.) Christopher Musa, on Friday said Nigeria had stepped up efforts to tackle insecurity but noted that addressing the challenge required informed policies, credible institutions, technological innovation and a comprehensive understanding of the human dimensions of conflict.

Musa spoke during the inauguration of the TETFund Centre of Excellence in Security Management, tagged the “CG Musa Security Management Hub”, at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State.

He said, “Solving Nigeria’s insecurity requires informed policies, credible institutions, technological innovation and a comprehensive understanding of the human dimensions of conflict.

“The academia occupies a strategic place in our national security management architecture. The battlefield may reveal the immediate manifestations of insecurity, but the university provides the intellectual environment to interrogate its causes, evaluate responses and develop sustainable solutions.”

The minister said the prolonged security challenges in the country were partly due to difficulties in accessing the weapons and ammunition needed to tackle them, stressing the need for local production.

He said, “Nigeria needs to begin to produce what she needs to end insecurity.

“Our intention is to expose our local producers to foreign and international manufacturers so that we can continue to produce what we need or what we rely on.

“Why insecurity continues to be prolonged is that we do not produce all we need. Most times, when we go to buy, even with cash at hand, you can’t get them off the shelves.

“And now, with the wars going on in Ukraine, Russia and the Strait of Hormuz, it has become extremely difficult to buy even ammunition to use, not to talk of Armoured Personnel Carriers.

“Since our local manufacturers are doing their best, we need to escalate to an international level. The security challenges confronting our nation have become increasingly complex, interconnected and multidimensional.

“The threats we face continue to test our national resilience. We will continue to encourage collaboration between defence institutions and centres of learning to ensure that our security policies and operational approaches benefit from research, innovation and evidence-based analysis.”

Musa added, “We have stepped up our game in the field and are gradually improving the security situation. It is also important that everybody plays a part because it is a whole-of-nation approach. If you see something, say something.”

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, thanked the donor for providing a facility from which current and future generations would benefit.

He said the university would ensure that the centre became an epicentre of security research in Africa.

“We hope and believe that this hub serves as the nexus for multidisciplinary research and a convening ground for policymakers and academics. The facility must not become a museum of security artefacts but must be used to generate data that will guide the Ministry of Defence and our security agents,” he said.

The lead researcher and technical officer at the centre, Prof. Isaac Albert, thanked the minister for fulfilling his promise to the institution and urged him to ensure that more funds were made available for security management research and projects that would inform appropriate security policies.

“It is also important for security agencies to patronise the centre and engage with its resource persons towards formulating and implementing the right security policies,” Albert said.

Earlier, the Director of the TETFund Centre of Excellence in Security Management, Prof. Benjamin Aluko, thanked the minister for donating the building to the centre.

He also urged Nigerians to enrol for the MSc and PhD programmes in Security Management at the University of Ibadan to benefit from the expertise of leading academics in the field.