The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has given a 33-member committee four weeks to review Nigeria’s 2019 National Security Strategy and develop a new framework to tackle emerging security threats.

Ribadu set the deadline during the committee’s inauguration at the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in Abuja on Thursday.

Representing the committee’s Chairman, Maj.-Gen. Sarkin Yaki Bello (Rt), Ribadu said the new National Security Strategy 2026 must reflect the country’s changing security environment and provide practical solutions to its evolving challenges.

He said Nigeria’s domestic, regional, and global security landscapes have changed significantly since the last review in 2019, making it necessary to reassess the country’s security priorities.

“Our national security landscape is undergoing rapid and profound transformations. Since the last review of our strategy in 2019, the domestic, regional and global security environments have changed dramatically,” Ribadu said.

He identified terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cyber threats, misinformation, economic challenges, food insecurity and environmental problems as issues the new strategy must address.

According to him, the National Security Strategy 2026 will provide an overarching framework for coordinating national security, resilience and sustainable development.

“The National Security Strategy 2026 will serve as an overarching compass for coordinating national security, resilience and sustainable development for Nigeria.

“It must reflect our current realities, anticipate future disruptions and directly support the realisation of our national objectives amid the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the areas of human security, economic transformation and national cohesion,” he said.

The NSA urged committee members to engage relevant institutions and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive, realistic and implementable strategy.

“Engage robustly with our resource institutions and strategic stakeholders to produce a comprehensive, realistic and actionable document. Nigeria demands a strategy that is realistic and implementable,” he said.

He assured the committee that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) would provide the administrative, technical and logistical support required to complete the assignment successfully.

The Deputy Chairman of the committee, retired Maj.-Gen. Evi Onumajuru, said the changing nature of security threats required a comprehensive realignment of the country’s security priorities.

He noted that conventional threats, including terrorism, insurgency and banditry, had become increasingly intertwined with non-kinetic challenges such as cyber vulnerabilities, economic instability, food insecurity and climate change.

“To address these complexities, our nation requires an overarching framework that moves beyond reactive measures. The National Security Strategy 2026 must be an inclusive, forward-looking and highly actionable blueprint,” Onumajuru said.

He added that the committee would consult resource institutions, private-sector representatives, and traditional leaders to ensure the strategy addressed a broad range of national security concerns.

Describing the four-week deadline as demanding, Onumajuru said the committee would have to begin work immediately to meet the target.

“Our timeline is quite unyielding. We have exactly four weeks from today to submit our final draft copies to the National Security Adviser. So, it demands immediate, focused momentum,” he said.

The committee is chaired by Maj.-Gen. Bello (Rtd) and comprises representatives of government ministries, the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, law enforcement bodies, civil society organisations and academia.

Other institutions represented include the Defence Headquarters, the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, National Intelligence Agency, Defence Intelligence Agency and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. (The Nation)