Former Nigerian Air Force spokesman, Group Captain Sadiq Shehu (rtd), has warned that Nigeria’s approach to security funding and military strategy is fundamentally flawed.
He cautioned that the country is attempting to fight modern, asymmetric threats with conventional methods and misallocated resources.
In an interview with Arise News on Thursday, Shehu highlighted that while Nigeria dedicates 12 to 14 per cent of its annual budget to security levels comparable to countries like Pakistan and India, the majority of the funds were consumed by salaries and allowances rather than operational needs, logistics, and equipment.
“Nigeria spends about 12 to 14 per cent of its total budget on security. That is commensurate with what countries like Pakistan and India spend.
”But the devil is in the details. About 65 to 75 percent of that goes to salaries and allowances, leaving very little for operations, logistics, maintenance, or training,” Shehu said.
The retired air force officer, who previously served as Director of Defence Information, said this trend has left the military unable to respond effectively to threats.
“When you spend 60 to 70 per cent of your budget on recurrent expenditures, you’ll have a military that cannot fight.
”We are putting the money where it is not supposed to be.
“In defence, it’s not how big you spend, it’s how smart you spend. And we are not spending smartly, ” he said.
Shehu also criticised lawmakers for failing to provide adequate oversight of security allocations, arguing that the National Assembly often pressures the armed forces to fund constituency projects unrelated to national security.
“You’ll see the Navy opening massive buildings that have nothing to do with improving security. It’s unfortunate.
”Lawmakers should stop asking security agencies to build projects in their villages. It’s a disservice to the country,” he said.
On inter-agency cooperation, Shehu acknowledged incremental progress under the current military leadership but stressed that true coordination remains a challenge.
“Coordination must start from joint training, especially at operational and strategic levels.
”Otherwise, we’ll keep duplicating efforts and wasting resources,” he added.
The retired officer also pointed to the military’s overstretched manpower and insufficient equipment as major obstacles.
“With a maximum of 270,000 personnel across all services, Nigeria’s military is grossly inadequate for its size and challenges.
“The new CDS was right to admit that the armed forces lack equipment. It’s long overdue that our leaders start telling the truth, ” he said.
Shehu called for a restructuring of the defence budget to ensure that no more than 45 per cent goes to personnel costs, with the remaining funds directed to operational readiness, equipment, logistics, maintenance, and research and development.
“If we don’t restructure our defence spending and hold both politicians and the military accountable, we’ll continue to have a large but ineffective budget.
“Nigeria must spend smarter, not just bigger, ” he said.
