The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has said every Nigerian should be able to undergo military training, arguing that such an experience would build discipline, endurance and provide people with a different perspective on life.
Musa made the remarks in an interview on the African Leadership Podcast with Ken Giami, released on YouTube on Monday.
He said military training would also help Nigerians appreciate the sacrifices involved in protecting the country and understand the importance of teamwork.
Musa said: “For me, I think it’s the best. If I have my way, every Nigerian should be able to go through military training. I can tell you for free.
“It will give you a different perspective about life. You will now understand what it means to stay hungry, what it means to walk in days without sleep. It will show you what endurance means, that when you walk kilometres and you are tired, but you still need to keep up going.
“You have not eaten, you have not taken well, because of the nature of the thing. And because you are doing it to protect. Just like what the Bible says, that there’s no greater friend than he who will give his life for his friend.”
Musa, who was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1991 after joining the Nigerian Defence Academy as a cadet in 1986, said military personnel regularly put their lives at risk to protect the country.
He said: “And that’s exactly what the military men are doing, putting their lives at stake for their country to move around. And so that’s why sometimes it’s very painful when you see people insulting the military and telling them they don’t need, or we don’t want this to end. Nobody’s dying now, doesn’t want it to end.
“Everybody wants peace. And I think that’s very important. And so we always try to let them understand that, look, these people we are talking to, they are fathers, they are brothers, they are sisters of people.
“They have families that they’ve left behind, staying there, whether it is rain, it is dust, it is night, it is day.
“They are walking, making sure that the country is secure.
“So I think they deserve some commendation.”
The minister said military training also teaches people to work collectively rather than operate alone.
He said: “No man is an island.
“No man is, so you need a team, and the military is a team that works together. So that’s very critical for us.”
Musa also spoke about the sacrifices made by military personnel and their families, recalling that his military career kept him away from his family for long periods during the early years of his marriage.
He said: “Like I told people, for the first 17 years of our marriage, I never spent 30 days at a straight with my family. Never.
“So you can imagine how 17 years of my marriage, never spent 30 straight days together.
“So you have kids that are growing up, and those are formative years for your children, because you need to have that. Once they get to school, start going to universities, they are gone.
“So these are the sacrifices that people make.
“So when you hear people saying, look, what are they doing?
“It’s really demoralizing. And if you demoralize your troops, they can’t give you their best.”
On Nigeria’s security challenges, Musa said tackling insecurity required both military and non-military approaches.
He said: “That’s why we say in every – dealing with insurgency, you need both working together, both the kinetic, which is about 25, 30 percent.
“Seventy percent is about non-kinetic, and then the ability to have – when people can eat, feed well, when they have good roads, they have hospitals, they have good schools, they are secured, and all this is working together.”
The minister also urged Nigerians to believe in the country, describing patriotism as essential to national development.
Musa said: “I think the important thing is for Nigerians to believe in the country. That’s very critical.
“If you don’t love your country, you can’t defend it.”
He said the military would continue working to maintain peace and security across the country, while appreciating Nigerians for their support.
Musa said: “We (troops) really appreciate them. Nigerians appreciate them. We want Nigeria to be peaceful, as it used to be in the past.
