Inadequate Funding, Manpower Challenges Of Security Operatives- COAS

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja has identified inadequate funding and shortage of manpower as key challenges facing the Nigerian Army.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) made this statement while delivering an address at the University of Ilorin during the commemoration of the United Nations International Day of Peace.

The Army Chief who was represented by the Chief of Training (Army), Major General Sanni Gambo Mohammed, said that the inadequacy in funding is affecting the level of equipment held by the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), which has a direct bearing on performance. 

“The pursuit of national development which goes alongside national security is a costly endeavour as defence policy is capital intensive. The entire AFN had a budget of about $2.8 billion in 2023, with an additional supplementary of about 1 billion dollars. However, not all the budgetary provisions were eventually released.

“Although, funding for the AFN, as a whole, has been improving yearly since 2017, unfortunately, the downturn in the economic performance of the country has eroded the value of what is released.

“The inadequacy in funding is affecting the level of equipment holding of the AFN, which has a direct bearing on performance.

“The significant gap in resources is being exploited by criminal elements. To address this issue, it is crucial to invest in expanding and strengthening security forces, ensuring they have adequate personnel and resources.”

Lagbaja, who also said that there is a poor understanding of what security entails by many Nigerians, added that security requires all citizens to be part of the security architecture to enhance vigilance and build trust and community engagement.

The lecture of Lt. Gen. Lagbaja, which also focused on the roles and contributions of the Nigerian Army to national development, identified some of the contributions of the Nigerian Army to national development such as internal security, combating external threats and peace support operations.

Though some of the military hardware is now produced in the country, Lt. Gen. Lagbaja said more than 90 per cent of military requirements are imported due to lack of industrial base.

In his speech, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole advocated continuous maintenance of peace and security for development.

Also speaking, the Director of the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Professor Ibrahim Jawondo, said the Centre offers short-term capacity-building training for professionals.

He added that officers from the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies have benefitted from the programmes of the university.

Lantana Nasir