A former Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim (retd.), has warned that Nigeria’s relative prosperity and porous borders are fuelling the country’s security challenges, leaving it vulnerable to both external threats and internal destabilisation.
Speaking on Saturday night at the reunion of the 42nd Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy in Abuja, Ibrahim said Nigeria’s economic potential continues to attract outside actors, even as citizens struggle with daily hardships.
“One of our sins is that Nigeria is prosperous. You know what prosperity does to a nation? It invites many things in. And our borders are very porous. We are paying the price for being prosperous,” he said.
He added: “If you live in Nigeria for too long, you may not be able to swear that we are prosperous. But people who see us from outside believe they can come and harvest where they never sowed. And then there are others in our midst who are more interested in identity. There are also people out there who are strategic and who never want this country to bear a name at all — Nigeria everywhere. Look, I have never seen anyone in a village who speaks proudly about prosperity and does not have a problem — especially in the case of Nigeria.”
Ibrahim cautioned that predictions made almost a decade ago that Nigeria would disintegrate remain relevant.
“Remember, some people thought this country would disintegrate almost 10 years ago. Those people are still at war. You understand what I am saying? Because you live with us every day, you can see what other people see. Are you with me? They want to make this country disintegrate.”
Describing Nigeria’s current security situation as “turbulence,” he noted that members of the 42nd Regular Course were trained to manage challenges of this scale.
“Your generation was prepared for the turbulence that defined this country today. I am quite sure you must have been in one sector or the other, managing the kind of turbulence that has tried to consume the essence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Turbulence, I call it, specifically because our generation saw the problem we are solving now as if it was a child’s play.”
He urged senior officers to maintain strong professional bonds, stressing that national security cannot be handled alone: “Not one person can do it alone. Apart from NDA uniting all of us, we have no other country but Nigeria.”
Reflecting on his military career, Ibrahim said he was proud to have overseen key security reforms, including the creation of new military divisions in the North-West and North-East.
“I am very glad that, as Chief of Defence Staff, I was at the head of the table when we created the division in the North-West and the division in the North-East, because we understood that a joint task force could not efficiently manage the kind of challenge we were faced with,” he said.
In his welcome remarks, the President of the 42nd Regular Course, Maj. Gen. Folusho Oyinlola described the reunion as a moment for reflection, celebration, and renewed commitment among members. He also paid tribute to fallen colleagues, describing their sacrifice as a reminder of the ideals of service and patriotism.
While predictions of Nigeria’s disintegration have not materialised, Ibrahim warned that the forces and interests behind them remain active, urging vigilance and unity in confronting the country’s security challenges.