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Why Tinubu chose General Christopher Musa as new Defence Minister
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated General Christopher Gwabin Musa as the new Minister of Defence, subject to his screening and confirmation by the Senate.
In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu conveyed General Musa’s nomination as the successor to Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned on Monday, a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, (Information and Strategy), said.
General Musa, 58 on December 25, is a distinguished soldier who served as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) from 2023 until October 2025. He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa, who hails from Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, Kaduna State, received his primary and secondary education there before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.
General Musa was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1991 and has since had a distinguished career. His appointments include General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member, Training Team, HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations, Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.
In 2021, General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.
In the letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in General Musa’s ability to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
A recipient of the national honour of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), sources say his nomination is meant to correct what many saw as the anomaly of a nation facing serious security challenges parading two Defence Ministers with zero military backgrounds.
His choice is also said to be strategic in that he has been involved directly in the war against terror in the Lake Chad Region generally and the North East geo-political zone in particular, especially as Theatre Commander, as well as his serving as CDS overseeing the entire operations of the different arms of the military.
The current CDS, Chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Intelligence, are Officers who must have served under Gen. Christopher Musa in one capacity or the other, especially when he was CDS. It is expected that they will flow seamlessly together to achieve the common goal of reversing the current narrative of insecurity.
His appointment is also seen as strategic from the point of view of the fact that being a Christian from the predominantly Christian South of the crisis-prone Kaduna State, the international community, especially the United States, which declared Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) on account of genocide against Christians can be reassured that genuine efforts are being made to address the situation.
It is expected that the Senate will, expeditiously, screen and confirm his nomination, and it is also expected that the Tinubu presidency, and international partners, will support him to wage the war against terror frontally by making available all that is required to execute the campaign that he must embark upon with immediate effect.
