Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (Rtd.) has lamented shortage of manpower for the Nigeria Armed Forces, saying it is a challenge in confronting the various security challenges.
He spoke in Abuja on Monday when presenting the scorecard of his ministry at the 25th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari’ (PMB) Scorecard Series organised to showcase the achievements of the government.
“Adequate manpower is paramount for any military forces to perform effectively.
“As at 2022, Nigeria with an estimated population of about 220 million people has a total military strength of about 223,000 personnel.
”This gives a ratio of military personnel to population of approximately 11,000. This is lower than those of Nigeria’s neighbours except Niger (Republic),” he said.
In addressing the challenge, the minister stressed the need to enhance the capacity of the Police and other para- military agencies to enable them discharge their primary responsibility of internal security.
According to the minister, Nigeria also needs consistent recruitment of about 12000 soldiers bi-annually to enhance the capabilities of the military to meet the security challenges of the country.
He said the operations of the military in the Niger Delta region has helped to curb the activities of crude oil thieves. He said 492 vessels had been arrested by the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), from 2015 till date.
He explained that through the numerous operations conducted, the AFN successfully detected and arrested several vessels operating illegally within Nigeria’s territory and waterways.
The minister that significantly, MT Heroic IDUN, a crude oil vessel that attempted to sail out of Nigeria after illegally loading crude oil from the Total Akp Oil Field, deep offshore in Bonny was arrested.
He also said that the AFN also arrested MV CHAYANEE NAREE, adding that the ship was laden with 32.9kg of cocaine, which was valued at N6.5 billion.
