Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has linked Nigeria’s rising insecurity to the breakdown of family values, stressing that rebuilding the home front is essential for peace and stability.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking on Thursday at the closing ceremony of the 2025 edition of Exercise Haske Biyu at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna, Musa said the exercise highlighted family values, civic duty, and moral resilience as critical to addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.
“The family is the bedrock of every community. Without the family, there can’t be a good community,” Musa said.
“What we have realised is that because the family system is failing, insecurity is growing, which means if we address the family issues, insecurity will go down.”
He noted that families must instil discipline, respect, and love in their wards to produce responsible citizens.
“That is why you have the regulations. That is how people grow up to understand what it is to be human, what it is to respect one another and what it is to love one another,” he added.
The CDS stressed that family unity is a foundation for national cohesion.
“If families are united, then we are our brothers’ keepers and will not allow harm to happen to any other person, and Nigeria will be better,” he said.
Exercise Highlights
Musa said the theme of this year’s exercise, “Family and National Security”, was timely, adding that security begins with strong families and cohesive communities, not just the efforts of security agencies.
He praised the AFCSC for shaping internal security through joint training and intellectual engagement, while also fostering collaboration with ministries, departments, and agencies.
Musa further commended the participation of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, whose keynote address at the opening ceremony, he said, underscored the importance of civic responsibility and left a lasting impression on participants.
Institutional Role
Musa described the AFCSC as a “vital institution for producing mission-ready officers and strengthening international partnerships.” As part of the closing activities, he inaugurated the remodelled staff duties wing of the college.
Commandant of the AFCSC, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Alhaji, echoed Musa’s concerns, warning that weak family systems could fuel extremism, radicalism, and disunity.
He said the exercise allowed participants to generate practical solutions to national challenges and empowered them as stakeholders in Nigeria’s development.
Alhaji disclosed that next year’s exercise will consolidate on the gains of 2025 by involving all arms of government and wider segments of society, including persons with disabilities.
