Senate confirms Musa as defence minister
Barely 24 hours after receiving the letter of his nomination as defence minister from President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian Senate yesterday confirmed the immediate-past Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Christopher Musa (retd), as defence minister, a development that was only to be expected.
The Senate subjected Musa, who was born in Sokoto, but hails from Southern Kaduna, to five-hour drilling on what he would do to stem the rising tide of insecurity in the country.
Responding to some specific questions about abductions and killings, he said, “It is very unfortunate and really painful. I want to assure Nigerians that we will not stand by and have terrorists have the capacity to do such.
“We are going to go after them fully, working together with all the security agencies and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (of government). We are going to investigate fully.
“The Armed Forces have a way, and then from the defence, we are going to make sure that we continue with the oversight over their activities.”
He said that he would investigate the recent killing of a brigade commander in Borno State, Brigadier General Musa Uba, by ISWAP.
“I pledge to do my best to ensure that Nigeria is secure and safe.
“We need the support of everyone, every Nigerian, working together as a team, because it’s going to be a team effort.
“The enemies we are dealing with are evil forces that don’t mean well for this country and have no respect for human lives… If we don’t work together, we will allow them to perpetrate the evil acts they have been doing,” he said.
Musa, a tested soldier, comes on board amid heightened waves of terrorism across parts of Nigeria, with accusations levelled against some politicians, Islamic clergymen, traditional rulers, and even government functionaries, as being sponsors of the violence.
