Public Affairs analyst, Mahdi Shehu has criticised Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, over his renewed call for the construction of a physical border wall to curb terrorism and cross-border crimes.
According to Shehu, only the invisible wall of justice and equity can prevent Nigeria’s disintegration.
Shehu made the remarks in a post shared on X on Friday, reacting to comments by the defence minister in which he reaffirmed his belief that a border wall is necessary to stop terrorists and bandits from entering Nigeria from neighbouring countries.
In his post, Shehu described the proposal as outdated and disconnected from modern security realities.
“Only the invisible wall of justice and equity can save Nigeria from disintegration,” he wrote.
He argued that advocating the erection of concrete walls along Nigeria’s borders shows a poor understanding of history, geography, and contemporary warfare.
“For the defence minister to begin advocating for physical concrete walls across Nigeria’s borders as a solution to insecurity means he is a poor student of history, geography and modern warfare,” Shehu said.
The analyst pointed to historical examples of famous walls that failed to provide lasting security, including the Berlin Wall, the Great Wall of China, and the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, noting that none ultimately stopped conflict or collapse.
He also questioned the practicality of such a project, given Nigeria’s long and porous borders as well as its fragile and aggrieved neighbours.
“It shows he does not appreciate the difficulty of erecting physical walls with porous borders and neighbouring countries facing their own challenges,” Shehu added.
Shehu further argued that warfare has evolved beyond physical barriers.
He stressed that technology, intelligence, and digital surveillance now play a far greater role in security.
“It means he is unaware of the speed with which science and technology have taken over warfare and that digital warfare is now the inthing. It means he needs a refresher course at the Chinese war College to expose him to modern war techniques from the comfort of a command center.
“It seems he is only after the huge budget for the construction contract and what comes out of the said budget,” Shehu wrote.
Only invisible wall of justice can save Nigeria – Shehu tells Defence Minister Musa
Only invisible wall of justice can save Nigeria – Shehu tells Defence Minister Musa
