Nigeria Military and National Development

HARNESS NIGERIA MILITARY RESOURCES FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The modern state is a product of historical experiences, including Nigeria. In our over 40 years of independence we have encountered so many problems which required us to appreciate the justification for establishment of a military force. The intrusion of the military shortly after independence was as a result of the civil society yearnings for a military intervention to save the emerging internal security threats. Till date every Nigeria acknowledges the role the military played in keeping this Nation as a single indivisible entity. They were applauded at the early stages unfortunately, the military lost their focus and the civil society cried out clearly for the disengagement of military governance. Nigeria seems to be enjoying relative steady civil governance following the flamboyant handover displayed on 29 may 1999. We are also experiencing a near total civil control over the military.

Since 1999, I have continued to watch the Nigerian Armed Forces with keen interests. I have visited the defense headquarters as part of my civic responsibility with a view to understanding the essence of a standing military force in peace time. Whenever I go to visit any of my friends at the headquarters, I do not cease to wonder over the extent of development in the Nigeria military. In terms of human resource development, the Nigerian military seem to have the greatest pool of highly trained personnel. At the post graduate school in the University of Abuja, I have formed the habit of explaining to my classmates of what the Nigerian armed forces can contribute towards national development. I think a good number of them are beginning to appreciate my views. It is on the basis of the foregoing that I prepare this paper. The focus of this paper is to discuss how government could harness the military towards national development.

I start by stating it clearly that officers of the Nigerian armed forces are the most trained Nigerians. I have not found any sector of the socio-political economy of Nigeria that has a rich base of trained personnel. All officers in the Nigerian armed forces are expected to have completed a minimum of 6 professional training courses before they can wear their first star as generals. During the period of their training, they are exposed to issues relating to tactical and strategic training. No too many civilians are privileged to such intellectual luxuries even when they work in the oil and gas industry. I have come to realize that our military officers who have passed through the National Defence College are better trained in international diplomacy, political economy and strategic studies. Many of them are trained abroad for these courses and they come back to Nigeria to serve the nation.

The question that emerges is that after such investments on these sets of officers, what does the nation benefit? Well if you must know, Nigeria as a nation does not benefit from these well trained officers. Instead, they are retired and dumped. Many of them end up in officers’ mess where they drive and discuss intellectually and probably die of burden. The political conscious ones do find their ways into politics and they start applying those trainings in manipulating the system.

11 July 2009, Saturday