The Leadership Center for Civil and Post-Trauma Rehabilitation has written to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pointing out measures that need to be taken to make the security emergency which he recently declared a success.

The Open Letter dated December 5, 2025 is entitled, “ADDRESSING INTERNAL VULNERABILITIES FOR THE SUCCESS OF SECURITY EMERGENCY”. It was signed by Center Secretary, Dr Manzo Abubakar, and copied the Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, and Chief of Army Staff.

The Open Letter reads:

Mr. President,

Your declaration of a security emergency on November 26, 2025, and the concomitant directives to bolster counter-security efforts through expanded recruitment and deployment of personnel, signal a resolute commitment to Nigeria's stability. The Nigerian Army's subsequent suspension of statutory and voluntary retirements for key officers underscores a strategic operational pivot, aligning with your administration's "Renewed Hope" agenda. This move, lauded by civil society, is a critical step toward fortifying the security apparatus.

However, the existential threat posed by unconventional adversaries—bokos, insurgents, and bandits—transcends mere numerical augmentation of forces. The metastasizing nature of these crises, fueled by systemic vulnerabilities, demands an introspective recalibration. The specter of internal moles and the festering discontent among officers with stagnated promotions, as evidenced by recent apprehensions for unprofessional conduct, constitute a metastable risk. Allowing such grievances to fester risks converting erstwhile defenders into unwitting saboteurs or, worse, defectors to terror networks.

Philosophically, the security emergency paradigm necessitates an "all-encompassing" approach, where internal cohesion is as paramount as external fortification. Stagnated promotions, emblematic of systemic inertia, corrode institutional trust and operational efficacy. Officers nursing grievances, faced with the binary choice of statutory/voluntary retirement or exit, may channel their disillusionment into subversion, undermining the very fabric of your mandate. The existential calculus is clear: a disgruntled security cadre is a liability in asymmetric warfare.

Operationally, the recent low number of promotions of those moving from Brigadiers to Major General juxtaposed with exit options risks seeding resentment. Your directive, aimed at extraordinary measures, must therefore address this Achilles' heel.

A Presidential intervention to:

1. Expedite Promotion Reviews: Clear backlogs and rectify systemic bottlenecks.

2. Grievances Redress Mechanisms: Institutionalize transparent pathways for officer feedback and rehabilitation.

3. Morale-Enhancing Initiatives: Prioritize welfare, mental health, and post-trauma support for security personnel.

Imperatively, this is not merely administrative; it is a strategic enabler for the "Renewed Hope" security order.

In conclusion, we poised the big question as to who is flaunting Presidential order on the release of backlog of pending promotions: Is it the Chief of Defense Staff General Olufemi oluyede or the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff Lt. General Waidi Shaibu?

Mr. President, securing Nigeria's future demands harmonizing internal cohesion with external vigilance. Addressing stagnated promotions is a non-negotiable prerequisite for operational synergy and whoever constitutes a risk element by actions or inactions to the success of the security emergency must be hastily booted out.

Finally, we salute swift order of Mr President and gallantry of the Air and ground forces of Nigeria flushing out the coupist and prompt restoration of constitutional democracy in the Republic of Benin, a West African neighbor country true to the real name of big brother, Africa.

Sincerely,

Dr Manzo Abubakar

Center Secretary, Leadership Center for Civil and Post-Trauma Rehabilitation

cc: Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff.

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