President Bola Tinubu directed top defence and intelligence chiefs to produce a comprehensive national threat assessment and a 5-year strategic defence operations plan within 90 days, shifting security policy toward proactive risk prevention. The directive marks a significant shift from Nigeria’s traditional reactive approach to security, which has often seen the government scrambling to respond to crises after they occur.
The President’s directive comes as Nigeria faces multiple security challenges, from banditry and kidnapping in the North-west to insurgency in the North-east and separatist violence in the South-east. The 90-day timeline reflects the urgency of the task. The plan is expected to provide a blueprint for coordinating Nigeria’s security response across agencies and ensuring resources are directed to the most pressing threats. The directive follows the Secretary to the Government of the Federation's inauguration of a committee to produce the plan.
This echoes the 2015 National Security Strategy, which also sought to provide a framework for Nigeria’s security response. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a plan that required implementation.
The winners: the security agencies, which will have a coordinated framework; and the Nigerian public, who may benefit from improved security. The losers: the terrorist and criminal groups, which face a more coordinated response; and the Nigerian government, which must implement the plan.
Bottom Line: Tinubu has ordered a 90-day security plan. The shift is from reaction to prevention. The question is whether the plan will be implemented or remain on paper.