Nigeria. The Need To Plough Back Recovered Funds Into Arms Procurement
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Over the past few months, a huge amount of money allegedly embezzled by public functionaries who served in the past Federal administration in Nigeria have been recovered through the anti-corruption efforts of the Muhammadu Buhari regime. These public officials include civilian and military officers, some of who are currently being tried in the courts of law.
A sizeable chunk of these funds were said to have been illegally taken out of the budgeted amount meant for purchasing weapons, platforms and necessary devices for the use of the Nigerian Armed Forces. As the recovery of the said looted funds continues, one question on the lips of strategic experts is whether the government would use these monies for re-equipping the military as was originally intended.
That question arises when one considers the growing threats before Nigeria. While the danger posed by the terrorists operating in the country’s north east have been significantly diminished and the capacity of that group to hold territory destroyed, the porous borders along Nigeria’s north eastern frontier continues to pose a grave threat, as weapons could still be illegally imported into that part of the country from as far away as Libya. When the activities of freelancing fundamentalist organisations operating in Mali and Mauritania to the north west of Nigeria are factored in, the need for the country’s military, especially her air force, to have the capacity and capability to engage those threats far beyond Nigeria’s borders easily comes into perspective.
Down south, in the Niger Delta and in the adjoining Gulf of Guinea, several maritime threats exist—ranging from the actions of economic saboteurs, to the determined, albeit illegal enterprise of pirates and crude oil thieves. Nigeria’s neighbours to the west—the Republics of Benin and Togo—have equally come under threats from pirates who have hijacked ships within their territorial waters. The Republics of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have not been spared as well, having suffered similar fate at various times. These threats require a robust naval presence, enhanced by the availability of various platforms, ranging from small, fast boats, to frigates and landing platform docks equipped with appropriate weapons and systems.
The likelihood of international connivance in favour of the illegal activities going on in these waters makes it imperative that the Nigerian Navy possesses extensive over-the-horizon surveillance systems and long-range missile capabilityto deter rogue states from messing in Nigeria’s territorial or adjoining waters.On land, the proliferation of small arms and the activity of ethnic irredentists and religious bigots suggest that the Nigerian Army continues to not only train appropriately to respond to such threats in support of civil authority, but also update its own fighting vehicles and other platforms.
Sadly, the economy of the country is presently facing significant liquidity challenges, but these threats, if not adequately confronted, would make any effort at economic recovery ineffective and exacerbate the suffering of the citizenry. This is why it has become important for the administration of President Buhari to ensure that if not all, at least a sizeable chunk of what has been recovered from the stolen defence funds is actually ploughed into defence procurement to enhance the capability and professionalism of the Nigerian Armed Forces as earlier intended. The Nigerian Air Force in particular is in need of airframes with strategic capability to ensure protection of not just Nigeria, but close neighbouring states who lack the economic and military resources with which to secure their own borders and people. Not taking this step urgently would only embolden purveyors of these threats to Nigeria and her neighbours, and undermine the integrity of their individual and collective sovereignty.
A sizeable chunk of these funds were said to have been illegally taken out of the budgeted amount meant for purchasing weapons, platforms and necessary devices for the use of the Nigerian Armed Forces. As the recovery of the said looted funds continues, one question on the lips of strategic experts is whether the government would use these monies for re-equipping the military as was originally intended.
That question arises when one considers the growing threats before Nigeria. While the danger posed by the terrorists operating in the country’s north east have been significantly diminished and the capacity of that group to hold territory destroyed, the porous borders along Nigeria’s north eastern frontier continues to pose a grave threat, as weapons could still be illegally imported into that part of the country from as far away as Libya. When the activities of freelancing fundamentalist organisations operating in Mali and Mauritania to the north west of Nigeria are factored in, the need for the country’s military, especially her air force, to have the capacity and capability to engage those threats far beyond Nigeria’s borders easily comes into perspective.
Down south, in the Niger Delta and in the adjoining Gulf of Guinea, several maritime threats exist—ranging from the actions of economic saboteurs, to the determined, albeit illegal enterprise of pirates and crude oil thieves. Nigeria’s neighbours to the west—the Republics of Benin and Togo—have equally come under threats from pirates who have hijacked ships within their territorial waters. The Republics of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have not been spared as well, having suffered similar fate at various times. These threats require a robust naval presence, enhanced by the availability of various platforms, ranging from small, fast boats, to frigates and landing platform docks equipped with appropriate weapons and systems.
The likelihood of international connivance in favour of the illegal activities going on in these waters makes it imperative that the Nigerian Navy possesses extensive over-the-horizon surveillance systems and long-range missile capabilityto deter rogue states from messing in Nigeria’s territorial or adjoining waters.On land, the proliferation of small arms and the activity of ethnic irredentists and religious bigots suggest that the Nigerian Army continues to not only train appropriately to respond to such threats in support of civil authority, but also update its own fighting vehicles and other platforms.
Sadly, the economy of the country is presently facing significant liquidity challenges, but these threats, if not adequately confronted, would make any effort at economic recovery ineffective and exacerbate the suffering of the citizenry. This is why it has become important for the administration of President Buhari to ensure that if not all, at least a sizeable chunk of what has been recovered from the stolen defence funds is actually ploughed into defence procurement to enhance the capability and professionalism of the Nigerian Armed Forces as earlier intended. The Nigerian Air Force in particular is in need of airframes with strategic capability to ensure protection of not just Nigeria, but close neighbouring states who lack the economic and military resources with which to secure their own borders and people. Not taking this step urgently would only embolden purveyors of these threats to Nigeria and her neighbours, and undermine the integrity of their individual and collective sovereignty.