Defence budget increases by 134.8 per cent in five years, yet Nigerians remain unsafe

Nigeria’s defence budget has risen by 134.80 per cent in five years, a review of the budget documents of the ministry of defence has revealed.

According to details on the official budget documents of the country, the total allocation to the defence sector in 2019 stood at N589.955 billion. The country, however, budgeted N1.383 trillion to defence in 2023 which is an increase of 134.8 per cent in five years. 

Nigeria’s defence ministry consists majorly of the Army, Navy and Airforce.

Nigeria also increased its capital expenditure on security within the period under review. Capital expenditures aim to ensure the development of infrastructures and facilities that aids the work of the Ministry of Defence.

The country has also increased its spending on policing. A review of the budget shows the budget for the Ministry of Police Affairs increased by 104 per cent between 2020 and 2023.

The capital budget for the Ministry of Police Affairs increased by 300 per cent from N15.556 billion in 2020 to N60 billion in 2023.

The budget of the country’s Ministry of Interior which houses the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Fire Service, has also been on the increase since 2020.

However, the capital expenditure component has been inconsistent in terms of increase and decrease.

The office of the country’s National Security Adviser, which consists of; the Directorate of State Security Service, the National Intelligence Service, and the National Counter-Terrorism Centre has also witnessed growth in budgetary allocations.

The office has also seen an increase in budgetary capital expenditure in the years.

Despite these increases in spending by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Police Affairs, insecurity and civil strifes are still rife across the country.

A review of budget performance documents shows that these appropriations are always utilised, and cash backed, sometimes, even more than the annual budget.

Non-state actors, terrorists and insurgents have continued to wreak havoc in almost every region of the country. 

The cumulative deaths in the nation blamed on Boko Haram increased from 16,984 at the end of 2019 to 18992 at the end of 2022, showing that another 2,008 persons were killed by the Islamist group in the period under review, according to data sourced from the Council for Foreign Relation’s national security tracker.

Between the end of 2019 and 2022, the cumulative deaths blamed on sectarian actors increased by 2,497 persons.

Activities of sectarian actors and other non-state actors recently led to the Independent National Electoral Commission warning that Nigeria’s general elections scheduled for February may be postponed.

A security expert and analyst, Senator Iroegbu told Dataphyte that while inflation may reduce the purchasing power of the budgeted amounts, those in government need more political will to tackle insecurity. 

He noted that ‘the government likes throwing money around without commensurate policies’. 

“The government loves throwing money around but the key question remains if there are policies that are needed to tackle insecurity across the country, tackling insecurity goes beyond money”.

Iroegbu stated that Nigeria must also tackle corruption in the security sector to get the full value of amounts budgeted.

“Nigeria must tackle corruption in the security sector. A case where the money budgeted fails to be utilized for purposes they are meant for will reduce the ability of the country to tackle its security challenges,” he said.

He advised that the government must look at its approach to fighting insecurity and enshrine transparency and accountability in the country’s security sector.