It appears it has taken a decade of jihadist violence and other internal security issues for one of Africa’s strongest military forces to be considered tested. For some reasons, Nigeria’s military warfare against terrorists in its North-east region is not yielding the expected result – ending the terrorism. Although the North-east conflict is an ideological war fought by jihadists who have employed guerrilla tactics of hit-and-run to prolong total victory, there may be other reasons why Nigeria is not winning the war. Agreeably, there has been a nationwide spike in security issues continually begging for the attention and engagement of Nigeria’s military forces already stretched thin in the war against terror in the North-east region. Nigeria has an estimate of 120,000 active personnel in the military forces from an over 200 million population. Pakistan, as populated as Nigeria and also battling with terrorism, has a military strength of 1,204,000 personnel and 550,000 as reserves. Nigeria with no reserve has her troops deployed in almost all the states across the federation to support Nigeria police force. However, the security personnel is largely inadequate, considering the country size and inherent security challenges.
For a country bridled by security challenges, Nigeria spends less than one per cent of her GDP on defence. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank recommend at least 1.5 per cent of a nation’s GDP on security for countries even without security issues. Even as funding inadequacies remain a big issue, corruption in the system has also worsened the situation as budgeted resources are never effectively used for its purposes. Banini (2019) reaffirms that corruption within the defence sector weakens the military’s capacity to respond to security threats swiftly. The issues that exist within the Nigerian military ultimately affects the perception and morale of soldiers in waging wars for the Nigerian state. According to a study, low morale in soldiers can affect their capability to win a battle. Last week, the application for voluntary retirement of about 356 Nigerian soldiers were received and approved by Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters. The retiring soldiers cited ‘loss of interest’ as the reason for their disengagement. A report claims that a majority of them were attached to the North-east operations.
The trend of disenchanted soldiers needs to be stopped. There have been reports of soldiers complaining about poor weapons, unimproved allowances and continuous losses to the insurgents. In June 2019, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai lamented that some officers’ insufficient commitment was affecting the success of counter-terrorism operations in the country. One year after, the challenges are yet to be addressed. For Nigeria to do better in the North-east armed conflict, it must examine the problems within its military organisation. The concerns of disenchanted soldiers must be investigated. The Boko Haram insurgency is a war that must be won but not without addressing the issue of low morale in soldiers fighting the battle. According to the Christian Science Monitor, morale is one of the most powerful intangibles in warfare. The Nigerian army should commission independent investigation that will examine the reasons for recent lamentations by some soldiers, the low morale within the ranks and other issues that may be posing problems for military engagements.
Nigeria must also commit to a defence sector reform. The reform should be hinged on three prongs. First, it must address issues within the military; deployment and leave, structural imbalances, remunerations and welfare benefits for soldiers and their families and inadequacy of military equipment. There should also be periodic psychosocial support for active personnel to help them through the travails of the war. This will help to cultivate and communicate a sense of purpose and belonging. Second, there should be a review of military tactics employed in the counter-terrorism battle to ensure that it is in touch with human rights and current realities in the North-east. This should also capture investments in promoting civil-military relations that will restore the disconnect between the military and society. Third, military reforms should also include accountability measures that will ensure that budgeted resources are not embezzled. In essence, the Nigerian state should conduct a periodic independent audit for military budgets and expenditures. It will help to curb the corruption in the system. Boko Haram’s ideological war may be a difficult battle, but it becomes even harder with disenchanted soldiers, insufficient weaponry, among other inherent challenges.