When in November 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari named retired Brig.Gen Mansur Dan Ali as his defence minister, I was somewhat at a loss. I was at a loss for two reasons. One was the fact that the name does not ring a bell in complex military operations or counterinsurgency operations, and two was also the fact that Nigeria was in a precarious security situation with the Boko Haram insurgents gaining more and more grounds in northeast Nigeria. I doubted it was a good choice. And three years down the line, that position hasn’t changed, but further enhanced.

In my curiosity, I carried out covert research on the personality of the defence minister and his contributions to lasting peace in Nigeria.

“Dan Ali was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army in 1984 through the Short Service Commission at the Nigerian Defence Academy. Dan-Ali served in different command and staff capacities, some of which include commanding the Nigerian contingent supporting the United Nations Africa Hybrid Mission in Sudan. Dan Ali was on the Directing Staff of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji from 2003 -2005 and was Chief Instructor (CI) at the Nigerian Defence Academy in 2010. He was also Acting Director Military Training before getting posted to the Ministry of Defence’s Logistics Department as Deputy Director. He retired from the Nigerian Army on August 30, 2013.”

I was therefore not surprised by the way he has carried on with his duty as the defence minister. How could one also justify the rampant killings in Zamfara state? I would draw a hasty conclude here.

And the conclusion is that it is one thing to know what is expected of you and it is another thing to have the capacity to deliver. This is at variance with other climes where the defence ministry manages all branches of the Armed Forces to maintain a modern, competent, and professional military force for the protection of the national territory.

But the case of Nigeria has been different. So much so that one is tempted to ask what are Dan Ali’s achievements since he assumed political leadership of the Defence ministry? Has he demonstrated a commitment to the entrenchment of peace in all parts of the country?

Has he carried on with so much vigour that speaks volume of the sensitive office he occupies? Has he risen above sentiments in the discharge of his responsibilities as defence minister? Has he been able to galvanize the various services of the armed forces into greater productivity? The answers are resounding.

There is a clear-cut policy direction from the defence ministry as regards the various security challenges confronting the country.

The best that can be ascribed to the ministry is the issuance of press statements on casualty figures either in North East Nigeria and even in his home state of Zamfara.  This is what the office of the ministry of defence has been doing. I dare say that as one that is conversant with the operations of the military, if not for the efforts of the Chief of Defence Staff and other service chiefs, that decided to take initiatives, Nigeria would have long been had it worse.

Also, looking at the critical area of equipping the Armed Forces with the needed weaponry which falls under the purview of the defence ministry, what has it done?

The PDP had accused ministry of defence of being insensitive to the plight of the soldiers waging war against Boko Haram in the North-East.

By Callistus Ijeh

Ijeh is a security analyst based in Lagos.