President Bola Tinubu has been urged to complement the salary increase he recently approved for the Armed forces by providing for them adequate military gadgets and hardware needed in modern warfare.
A foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, made the call in Enugu via a press release he issued in reaction to the substantial pay rise for the armed forces and expansion of Nigerian Army Divisions from eight to 12.
He said that combining enhanced remuneration and provision of adequate modern equipment for operational efficiency would encourage them to win the war against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other security threats.
“Like millions of Nigerians, I wholeheartedly applaud Mr. President for improving the welfare of our gallant Armed Forces, who daily risk their lives in defence of our nation,” he said. But he was quick to add that more incentives were still needed in the area of providing modern equipment for the Armed forces.
In the new salary increase announced last week, which would take effect from September 1 armed forces personnel from the rank of Privates to Staff Sergeants would now earn 80 percent more than their current salaries. Warrant Officers to Colonels received 50 percent pay rise, while 30 per cent increment was added for Brigadiers to Generals, alongside the creation of four additional Army divisions.
However, Okechukwu advised Mr. President not to treat the pay rise as a stand-alone incentive in the battle against insecurity but should follow it up with the provision of modern military equipment in order to build a formidable fighting force.
He warned that enhanced remuneration alone could not guarantee victory over insurgency, terrorism and banditry “without corresponding investment in superior technologies that define modern warfare”.
The ruling party chieftain stressed the need for the modernisation of the Armed Forces, saying that “Nigeria must avoid fighting 21st century wars with 20th century military orthodox doctrines.
Though he backed the salary increase for the Armed forces, Okechukwu raised some pertinent economic issues that could arise from its implementation.
He said that he was compelled by patriotism to ask a fundamental question bordering on the sustainability of the pay rise without hurting the already strained economy.
“How will our administration, in an era of lean fiscal resources and under budget implementation sustain such a significant increase in recurrent expenditure while adequately funding critical sectors such as healthcare, education and infrastructure without triggering hyper-inflation?”
Okechukwu, who is a former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) expressed his “candid concern (about) the big elephant in the room amidst huge debt.
He pointed out to Mr. President that “a pay rise of almost 30 percent across the board with little or no export product outside fluctuating oil price may trigger off hyper-inflation and monetary paralysis”.
The ruling party foundation member also reminded Tinubu of the imperative of extending the pay rise to other security agencies and paramilitary organisations.
He said: I know Mr. President is aware that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Therefore, the Police, other paramilitary agencies, and the wider civil service will naturally demand aggressively for comparable salary adjustments, to face the same market”.
As a way out of the possibility of triggering wage increase demands by other federal government employees, Okechukwu offered an alternative approach to wage adjustments that would satisfy public sector workers without hurting the economy.
“I believe that 30 percent budget addition to kitchen table welfare enablers to the greatest number of Nigerians among which are members of the Armed Forces and other public servants (would serve better purpose), ” he said.
According to him, “comprehensive healthcare, quality educational opportunities and and affordable mortgage home schemes, will better spread joy, strengthen purchasing power, encourage productivity and employment. It is on record that 80 percent of the Armed Forces have no mortgage homes.”
On the expansion of the Army, Okechukwu argued that military superiority in the 21st century is determined less by the size of an army than by the sophistication of its technology.
“Today’s battlefields are dominated by drones, satellite surveillance, electronic warfare, cyber operations, precision-guided weapons, artificial intelligence and real-time intelligence.
“Victory no longer belongs to the side with the largest number of boots on the ground, but to the side with superiority of AI-driven intelligence capabilities,” he stated.
Drawing lessons from the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, he noted that Ukraine’s effective deployment of drones, Starlink and other enabled advanced intelligence systems has jolted President Vladimir Putin, who had erroneously assumed he will win the war in less than one month.
