A former Lagos State Chairman of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), Henry Bassey, has criticised the call by Senator Francis Fadahunsi (Osun East) urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to replace the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, with a retired military officer.
Senator Fadahunsi, in a statement issued through his Special Adviser on Media, Sam Segun-Progress, and published across various online platforms on December 2, had asked the President “to further reorganize the nation’s security management team by appointing a retired military officer as National Security Adviser.” He also advised that Ribadu be “redeployed to another area of national service where his competence would be better utilised.”
But responding on Tuesday, Bassey described the senator’s position as “a narrow and outdated interpretation of what national security entails,” arguing that the comment “should not go unanswered.”
According to him, “Senator Fadahunsi’s suggestion reflects a dangerous direction of thought that is completely inconsistent with global best practices and Nigeria’s evolving security needs. What Nigeria needs now is results, not recycled arguments rooted in outdated assumptions.”
He stressed that modern national security had expanded far beyond traditional military boundaries, noting: “National security today involves physical, political, economic, environmental, food and energy dimensions. Military power is only one of many tools—certainly not the essence of national security.”
Bassey argued that leading democracies, including the United States, have consistently appointed civilians with deep policy expertise to similar roles. “Jake Sullivan, a civilian lawyer, is the current U.S. National Security Adviser, and his predecessor was a political scientist and lawyer,” he said. “Across the world, the office is often held by individuals with intellectual understanding of the complex realities that threaten national security.”
He noted that Nigeria itself has a history of appointing non-military figures to the role, saying: “Few Nigerians remember that two police chiefs—Gambo Jimeta and Aliyu Isma’ila Gwarzo—once served as NSA under both military and civilian governments. Their performance was outstanding because they understood the interplay between the civilian and military spaces.”
On Ribadu’s suitability, Bassey insisted that the former anti-corruption czar embodies the qualities needed to address Nigeria’s largely internal security challenges.
“Nigeria is confronted mostly by internal conflicts that require ideas, intelligence and strategic coordination—not tanks,” he said. “Mallam Ribadu brings experience in intelligence, law enforcement, inter-agency collaboration and counter-terrorism policy. The NSA is not a combatant position. It is a strategic one requiring intellectual depth, integrity and an understanding of the socio-political drivers of conflict.”
He dismissed the notion that only a military officer can command respect within the armed forces, calling it “a dangerous and undemocratic idea that has no place in a modern security architecture.”
“In a democracy, the military respects the authority of the President and any official he appoints,” Bassey stated. “Promoting the idea that the armed forces can only respect one of their own is harmful and misleading.”
He urged Nigerians to resist attempts to “remilitarize an office that needs a civilian-led, holistic approach,” adding that Nigeria’s military is already overburdened with responsibilities that should be handled by the police and other internal security agencies.
Bassey concluded that President Tinubu made the right choice in appointing Ribadu, saying: “The results delivered so far show that Nigeria is on the right track. What we need is continuity, not disruption by a myopic few.”
Bassey currently serves as the Head of Community Engagement, Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices, South West.
