Defense Chief Urges Nigerians to Learn Combat Skills, Links Terror Financing to Gold

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has called on Nigerians to acquire basic combat and survival skills, stressing that self-defence is becoming increasingly necessary in today’s unpredictable world.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, the defence chief likened martial arts such as Karate, Taekwondo, and Judo to essential life skills. Asked whether Nigerians should be encouraged to learn combat techniques, General Musa replied, “That one should be taken as learning driving, learning how to swim. Whether we have war or not, it is a survival instinct. In Europe, swimming is compulsory. Learning and teaching about security (is compulsory) because you have to learn what security is.”

He maintained that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) ought to play a bigger role in training graduates on unarmed combat and other survival skills. According to him, “That’s what the NYSC is supposed to do, but the NYSC has been watered down to three weeks. I think it is important that we are able to give every Nigerian security awareness at whatever level. Self-defence is very important. Unarmed combat. Swimming. Driving. These are critical aspects for human endeavours. These are things we should never take for granted because they prepare you for the future. The world we are in now is dangerous. We have individuals who don’t mean people well. They kill for whatever reason.”

General Musa insisted that national security cannot be left solely to the Armed Forces. He urged Nigerians to remain alert and watchful, saying citizens must be able to identify suspicious movements in their surroundings.

On the challenge of terrorism financing, the defence chief disclosed that insurgents increasingly rely on gold transactions to sustain their operations. “Gold. They try to circulate this money, and that is why it is important for us to be able to track these things. The process is on. It has to do with a lot of legal issues, and because it has to do with international connections, some of them have funds coming from outside, we cannot do anything from within,” he said.

He admitted that logistical setbacks, including poor road networks and difficult terrains, often delay the military’s response to terror and bandit attacks. “A lot of people think (members of) the military are magicians; we are not, we are humans just like anybody. Most times, in these areas where attacks occur, there are either no networks or the roads are very bad. By the time the information reaches you, the terrorists or bandits already know—they strike quickly, and within five minutes they have disappeared because they have easier mobility to move out as fast as possible,” he explained.

In the North-East, Musa added, the widespread use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) further complicates troop movement. Nonetheless, he assured Nigerians that soldiers remain on the offensive and will not relent until insurgents are defeated.

Turning to the Southeast, the defence chief pointed to the arrest of Simon Ekpa in Finland last November as a turning point for the region. “He (Ekpa) is still undergoing prosecution in Finland. So, we are hopeful. When we talked about him, people thought we were making noise, but since he has been arrested, the Southeast is getting better. We are going to go after the likes of him, wherever they are, and whatever it takes until we bring them down. That’s why the Ansaru (leaders’ arrest) is a good win for all of us. There are other ones we don’t talk about, we will also look at them and pull them out.”

Musa revealed that the arrest of top Ansaru commanders was the result of carefully coordinated operations by the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force. He praised the renewed synergy among security agencies, saying it has boosted recent gains against terrorists. “What has changed is that we have synergy with all the organisations… and that is why we have seen all the successes.”

Looking ahead, the defence chief disclosed that Nigeria would host an African Chiefs of Defence Staff conference starting Monday to strengthen continental cooperation in the fight against terrorism.