Chief of Defense Staff: Nigerians should learn how to protect themselves
General Christopher Musa, Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), has advised every Nigerian to learn self-defense skills to protect themselves.
The General made the statement on Thursday evening in an interview with Channels TV where he discussed the successes and challenges of Tinubu’s administration as regards security.
On Politics Today program, Musa affirmed the importance of self-defense as he appealed to every Nigerian to make it a necessity to acquire martial arts skills.
According to him, karate, taekwondo, and judo should be seen in the same light as driving, swimming and other survival skills that are considered important for human existence.
“That one [combat skills] should be taken as learning driving, learning how to swim. Whether we have war or not, it is a survival instinct.
“In Europe, swimming is compulsory. Learning and teaching about security (is compulsory) because you have to learn what security is,” he said.
Speaking further, Musa criticized the 3-weeks camping program for youth corps insisting that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) ought to train Nigerian graduates on unarmed combat skills for day-to-day survival.
“That’s what the NYSC is supposed to do, but the NYSC has been watered down to three weeks.
“I think it is important that we are able to give every Nigerian security awareness at whatever level. Self-defence is very important. Unarmed combat. Swimming. Driving. These are critical aspects for human endeavours.
“These are things we should never take for granted because they prepare you for the future. The world we are in now is dangerous. We have individuals who don’t mean people well. They kill for whatever reason,” he added.
On the issue of insecurity, the chief of defense staff maintained that no country is 100 percent crime free.
However, he affirmed that the security has improved drastically over the past 2 years.
He, therefore, enjoins every Nigerian to be situationally aware of their surroundings to fish out strange and suspicious faces because security is the business of all Nigerians.
