The Federal Government has inaugurated a committee to prepare a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a rolling Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan for Nigeria.
The committee was inaugurated on Wednesday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, with a mandate to submit the two documents within 90 days for the consideration and approval of the President.
Inaugurating the committee, a statement by the SGF’s media aide, Yomi Odunuga, said Akume urged members to approach the assignment with professionalism, objectivity, urgency and patriotism, stressing that it was of considerable national importance.
He said the initiative was aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to understand, anticipate, plan for and respond effectively to an increasingly complex and evolving security environment.
Akume noted that contemporary security threats had become increasingly interconnected and adaptive, with the capacity to exploit gaps between institutions, jurisdictions and operational theatres.
He said although the Armed Forces and other security agencies had recorded significant successes across different theatres in recent months, the government needed to move beyond responding to individual security challenges and establish a system capable of anticipating threats, setting priorities, allocating resources rationally and sustaining operational momentum.
According to him, the strategic framework must ensure that national security objectives are consistently translated into measurable outcomes.
The SGF said the committee was expected to establish a coherent strategic system in which Nigeria’s assessment of threats would determine operational objectives, while the objectives would determine the capabilities required, adding that the capability requirements should subsequently inform expenditure, procurement, force development and industrial priorities.
“In simple terms, we must establish a clear path from threat to objective, from objective to capability, from capability to resource, and from resource to measurable outcome,” he said.
Akume explained that the assessment would provide the government with a comprehensive and objective understanding of the country’s security landscape, including existing and emerging threats, their strategic implications and possible responses.
He said the assessment would provide a common planning basis for the Armed Forces, intelligence services and other relevant security agencies, while helping government distinguish between immediate threats and emerging challenges requiring early investment in intelligence, technology, infrastructure, training and other capabilities.
The Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, he said, would translate the threat assessment into practical and prioritised operational requirements, among others.
He, however, said the plan would operate on a rolling basis and be reviewed annually to accommodate emerging threats, changing operational realities, technological developments and lessons from ongoing operations.
“Under its Terms of Reference, the Committee is to review the principal security threats facing Nigeria, including existing and emerging threats, and assess their relative urgency and strategic implications. It is also mandated to define operational priorities and identify the capabilities required in each theatre; identify capability gaps and the equipment, logistics, infrastructure, technology, personnel and support requirements necessary to address them; and determine procurement priorities based on assessed threats and operational requirements rather than institutional preferences.
By: Solomon Odeniyi
