Buratai’s tenure marked by deliberate reforms — Defence minister

The Minister of Defence, Lt Gen Christopher Musa (retd.), has described the tenure of former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.), as a period of deliberate reforms in training, equipment, welfare and professionalism in the Nigerian Army.

Musa stated this in Abuja on Wednesday at the public presentation of a book, Military Transformational Leadership in Action: The Buratai Era, authored by Dr M.S. Abubakar.

The minister said the book was significant because it preserved institutional knowledge from a period when the Nigerian Army was confronted with major security challenges, particularly terrorism and insurgency.

He said Buratai’s tenure “was marked by deliberate reforms in training, equipment, welfare and professionalism that must anchor any armed force answerable to constitutional order.”

Musa recalled Buratai’s demanding schedule and his commitment to troops deployed in the North-East.

He said, “Any time he wanted to visit Maiduguri, he would leave Abuja at 12 midnight, and by 6 a.m. he was already in Maiduguri. He would be there all through the day until it was night”.

Urging serving military personnel and others interested in leadership to read the book, he noted that it contained lessons on sacrifice, commitment and institutional transformation.

Musa said the book went beyond documenting the former army chief’s tenure, adding that it is a record of how institutional change could be achieved through policy, discipline and sustained reforms.

“What you hold today is not simply a record of the Chief of Army Staff’s tenure; it is a working document on how institutional change is actually made through policy, through discipline and through the patient reform of systems that outlast any officer’s time in command,” he said.

The minister, who described himself as a beneficiary of Buratai’s leadership, particularly highlighted his ability to identify and develop future military leaders.

“I think what distinguished him the most was his ability to identify future leaders,” Musa said.

He noted that several officers who served under Buratai subsequently rose to become service chiefs and senior generals.

Also speaking, the Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammadu Sanusi II, traced Nigeria’s security challenges to deeper social divisions, saying it predated the emergence of banditry, Boko Haram and terrorism.

“The security crisis in this country did not begin with the violence as we see it. It did not begin with banditry. It did not begin with Boko Haram and terrorism. It started with the violence in words that we saw in the media, that we heard from politicians, where we started categorising ourselves not as Nigerians but as Northerners and Southerners, Muslims and Christians,” he said.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor stressed that poverty, unemployment and lack of education in the country needs to be addressed as these factors are the major contributors to insecurity.

He urged the government to expand economic opportunities for young Nigerians as part of measures to address insecurity.

Sanusi said people without education, food, jobs or hope for the future could lose their stake in society and become vulnerable to insecurity.

“If people do not have an education, if they don’t have food to eat, if they do not have jobs, if they do not have a future to look forward to, they do not have a stake in the system,” he said.

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Speaking further, Sanusi called for an end to the politicisation of ethnicity and religion, urging Nigerians to identify primarily as citizens and focus on national development.

He said politicians should prioritise education, healthcare and a functional economy, while religious matters should be left to religious leaders.

“We need to stop politicising institutions. The military, the police, the Central Bank, the judiciary, the press — these are institutions that are going to hold political society in check,” Sanusi said.

The author, Abubakar, said the book was the product of 10 years of research, interviews and observation, beginning in 2016 as the war against Boko Haram raged.

“This is not a praise song. It is a leadership document,” he said.

Abubakar said the book documented reforms including welfare schemes, the Nigerian Army University Biu, the Resource Centre and manufacturing complexes, while also examining Buratai’s leadership in the North-East and the combination of kinetic and non-kinetic strategies.

He said the book was intended to preserve institutional memory and provide lessons for future military leaders.

“Because you cannot shoot your way out of an insurgency alone. You need doctrine, institutions, and transformational leadership that can reform an organisation while fighting,” he said.

Abubakar warned that failure to document the country’s experience in confronting insurgency could lead to the loss of institutional knowledge.

“In short, when a nation at war fails to write, it fails to learn. And a nation that fails to learn is condemned to fight the same war again and again,” he said.

Also speaking, the Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, urged Nigerians to accept responsibility for the quality of political leadership in the country.

“Politics is people. Politics is we that run democracy. And what is democracy? It’s government of the people, for the people and by the people,” he said.

Ndume said citizens should examine their own role in producing political leaders rather than placing the entire blame for the country’s challenges on politicians.

“From all discussions now, the blame goes down to us, and we are your product,” he said.

Former Commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps, Lt Gen Domenico Giani (retd.), in his remarks, stressed the need for military reforms to go beyond combat operations, saying lasting peace required strong institutions, civilian protection and socio-economic development.

Giani said terrorism could not be defeated through military force alone, stressing that intelligence and regional cooperation must be complemented by education, justice and economic opportunities.

“A terrorist organisation that changes form must be met by a state that learns faster than its enemy. Intelligence and regional cooperation are essential, but so are schools, justice and opportunity. If the state arrives with weapons but not services, the vacuum returns,” he said.

Giani said the lessons from Nigeria’s counter-insurgency experience should remain open to examination, accountability and institutional learning, adding, “Transformation is measured by institutions strengthened, civilians protected, trust earned.”