The Executive Director of the Patriotic Awareness Forum, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to scrap the office of the Minister of State for Defence and immediately relieve Bello Matawalle of his duties, citing “grave national security concerns”.
Shinkafi made the appeal in a statement on Tuesday, warning that the rising wave of terrorism, banditry and insurgency demanded “decisive and urgent reforms” in the Ministry of Defence.
He said the recent appointment of former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (retd.), as Minister of Defence was widely celebrated by Nigerians who viewed him as a seasoned military leader with the competence to confront the worsening insecurity.
According to him, national defence required “a unified command”, stressing that the current arrangement—where strategic defence institutions are split between the senior and junior ministers—was weakening coordination and fuelling inefficiency.
He lamented that terror attacks had escalated across the North, forcing some state governments into negotiations with bandits who now impose levies on rural farmers.
Shinkafi expressed particular worry over the spread of banditry into Kano State, describing it as “a deeply unsettling development” for a state previously known for its relative stability and importance to the Northern economy.
He noted that Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and parts of Niger State remained the primary hotbeds of banditry, worsened by porous borders that aid the inflow of illegal arms, drugs and foreign fighters from the Sahel.
Shinkafi said it was untenable for the Ministry of Defence to operate under two parallel authorities, especially when the nation was battling terrorism in the North and militancy, piracy, oil theft and kidnapping in the South.
The activist was emphatic that Matawalle had “outlived his usefulness”, insisting that allegations surrounding his tenure as governor and now as minister had eroded public confidence.
“Matawalle carries too many baggages,” he claimed, arguing that the minister lacked the public trust, political depth and leadership credibility required to serve at a time Nigeria faced “a state of emergency on security”.
He said the President must act swiftly in the national interest, adding that national security should trump partisan politics.
Shinkafi argued that General Musa must be given full authority to restructure the Ministry of Defence, stressing that his leadership had been widely endorsed by citizens.
He criticised the division of critical responsibilities—such as the maritime domain, the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria and the Military Pensions Board—between the senior minister and his junior counterpart, saying such fragmentation worsened security lapses.
According to him, the country needed a single, coherent command structure.
He said: “The safety of Nigerians is too important to allow overlapping authorities that slow down decision-making.”
Shinkafi commended former Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru for resigning recently, saying many Nigerians expected Matawalle to follow suit “in the spirit of patriotism”.
He urged President Tinubu to heed the calls of “millions of concerned citizens” who, he said, believed the scrapping of the office of Minister of State for Defence was necessary to restore efficiency.
He prayed for divine guidance for the President as he navigates the nation through its security challenges.
