The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has called on Nigerians to learn combat techniques as part of essential life skills to help protect themselves in times of danger.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, General Musa compared combat training to driving and swimming, describing it as a necessary survival skill.
Asked whether he would recommend such training for citizens, he said, “That one 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.”
General Musa suggested that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) should be used to equip graduates with unarmed combat knowledge and other basic defensive skills.
He said, “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.”
The defence chief also stressed that safeguarding the nation should not be left to security agencies alone, urging citizens to stay alert and watch for suspicious activity in their surroundings.
