Buratai Warns of Military Overstretch in Nigeria's Security

Lt. Gen.

Tukur Yusuf Buratai (rtd.), former Chief of Army Staff and ex-Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, recently delivered a lecture highlighting the overstretch of Nigeria's military due to internal security operations. This observation, reviewed by Hassan Abdullahi, former director (Army) at the Ministry of Defence, calls for a national conversation on security.

Buratai argues that Nigeria cannot solely rely on military force to address insecurity, advocating for a fundamental restructuring of the country’s security architecture. He points out that the military is currently engaged in over 32 routine internal operations, which detracts from its primary role of defending Nigeria's territorial integrity.

Buratai identifies a range of security threats across Nigeria, including Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, separatist violence in the South-East, and oil theft in the Niger Delta. He emphasizes that the underlying issues are rooted in poverty, unemployment, and weak governance, suggesting that the military has become the default government in response to these crises.