Newslodge has received the following article as a ‘right of reply’ to our analysis of the challenges facing the former governor of Jigawa. Muhammadu Badaru as Nigeria’s new defense minister. You can read our article here. The right of reply from an associate of Mr. Badaru is reproduced below.
Writing about the above headline on August 23, 2023, Newslodge journalist in Jigawa state, Abubakar Maishanu, reportedly been forgiven for some of his claims about the competition and lack of security knowledge of the current Defense Minister. , Muhammadu Badaru, that something is needed to prepare it to deal with the myriad security challenges facing the country, were it not for the need to keep records in order.
Mr Maishanu’s invective and ignorance of the profile of the new Defense Minister led him to maliciously accuse the Defense Minister of being known “only as a businessman before joining politics”. He also wrongly described the Defense Minister as a “scrap dealer before turning his Talamiz Nigeria Limited into a construction conglomerate.”
Describe a brilliant young entrepreneur who built from scratch a multi-billion-dollar naira conglomerate specializing in automobiles, manufacturing, agriculture, livestock and commodity distribution, and who served as Vice President II of the West African Chamber of Commerce Federation as as well as a member of the National Privatization Council, who was also the national president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture as a scrap dealer was not only offensive but also disgraceful.
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Playing the ostrich again, refusing to acknowledge the emergence of the new Defense Minister as one of the best decisions made by President Bola Tinubu and an emerging trend to address complex security situations globally, the journalist described his emergence as one of the long lists of Nigerian politicians appointed to head the Ministry of Defense with no security background.
The report would have been dismissed as one of those writings sponsored by opponents who fear the beginning of the end for Nigeria’s security challenges. Still, the fact that the reporter lives and reports from Jigawa and yet has not understood the dynamic that led to the state being free of security challenges despite being surrounded by the northeast is reason to question his thoughts. .
But before I talk about the emerging global security management architecture, let me say that since 2015, when Muhammadu Badaru took office as Executive Governor of Jigawa State, security issues ranging from clashes between farmers and herders, skirmishes communal and territorial, banditry and threats of terrorism were nipped in the bud.
For example, in an article published by the Cogent Social Science Journal in 2022 (the study focused on 2014-2016, two years with Governor Badaru at the helm), Philip Ndubueze described the security architecture introduced by the state government that recognizes the The role of traditional and religious leaders in crime prevention and the cordial working relationship established to ensure coordination reduced crime incidents to a significantly low level (Full article: Policing and crime control in the urban state of Jigawa, Nigeria (2014-2016) (tandfonline.com)
During his eight years in Jigawa State, cases of insecurity were reduced to a minimum, the crime rate fell by 39 percent and the state’s economy increased by 47 percent, making Jigawa State one of the states with appreciable economic growth despite COVID-19 and subsequent economic downturn. There is a link between these achievements and the security architecture established by Governor Badaru, who not only analyzed the root causes of crime and riots, but worked hard to eradicate them through policies and integrated structural coordination between the state, agencies security, traditional structures, and deliberate interventions to alleviate poverty.
Today, Nigeria is faced with myriad security challenges that require a critical evolution of reforms and, with the global trend where 29 percent of current defense ministers are civilians, the singular act of naming civilians as stone The cornerstone of President Bola Tinubu’s administration was not only deliberate but It is a coup that reflects the cliché of Nigeria’s new ideas to nip growing security challenges in the bud. Badaru, as Defense Minister, conveys the message that intellect, agility, experience, education and knowledge in human management are needed today to lead Nigeria to peace and stability.
Nigeria had previously tested military retirees as defense ministers, and today Nigeria is testing a civil defense system led by Badaru as defense minister and Nuhu Ribadu as national security adviser. This deliberate and calculated decision-making is rooted in global trends. It is also designed to unite sense and boots to meet the nation’s myriad security challenges, and Nigerians will be celebrating shortly.
Hassan Aliyu Karofi writes from the financial office in Wuye, Abuja and can be reached at hassankarofi@gmail.com