CDS explains reasons why Nigerian military is under-equipped

The Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has opened up why terrorism thrives in the West African country despite the huge financial budgetary allocation the military receives on a yearly basis.

The military chief said this in an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday.

The CDS explained that the military have been struggling to secure enough fighting gadgets to tame the strength of the raging non-state actors in the country because not all the funds allocated to military were released.

In the 2024 Appropriation Bill, N3.25tn was allocated for defence, while in 2023, defence got N2.98tn, representing 13.4 percent of the N21.83tn budget.

However, the CDS stated, “In the past, you heard large sums of money approved for the military but the question is, how much do we get? That is very important. Also, we don’t manufacture any of the items we use; we buy them in dollars. If you look at the amount released and you convert to dollars, how much is it?

“For instance, the $1bn released in the past, the 12 Tucano (fighter) jets that were bought cost over $600m.

How much do you buy MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle), Armoured Personnel Carrier, tanks, ships, aircraft, so you find out that the money released, when you convert them to dollars, you are not even getting much. Every piece of ammunition we buy is in foreign currency and we buy them in billions because we use them quickly.

“Yes, we cannot get all we need; no country does. The President (Bola Tinubu) has signed the bill for DICON (Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria). We must produce what we need. Even with your money, you cannot buy most of the equipment you need off the shelf.

“You have to order for them and wait before you get them and that takes time. It is when the industrial complex comes on stream and we start producing what we need, it will be a lot better for us. We will continue to move, and as much as we get equipment, we will continue pushing.”

Commenting on when the the fight against terrorism would end in Nigeria, he said, “That is an elephant in the room. My take is that no country should allow terrorism to start, because it is difficult to eradicate, because the centre of gravity of the terrorist is their ideology, and their ideology is in their mind, so changing the mindset is what we require.”

On the latest accidental discharge that killed nearly 100 people I’m Kaduna, “We are putting in our best to make sure that we defeat the terrorists, and mistakes do happen. It has nothing to do with tribe or religion, but anyone who has that kind of a thought is not being truthful or sincere.

“That community is a mixture of Christians and Muslims and different ethnic groups. Sometimes, when people don’t have full information, they tend to react differently.”

He added, “After receiving information on the threat of attack within the general area, they followed up and saw individuals moving, just the same way the terrorists move. And then they went to congregate under a tree just the way the terrorists do, and from there they felt it was time for them to act and they reacted.

“It was based on intelligence, but I think they missed it. We want to convey to Nigerians that humans make mistakes and it is highly regrettable. We will make amends and avoid a repeat. We are going to review what has happened and ensure that we are more precise in the future.”