APC chieftain Osita Okechukwu has warned that Nigeria cannot defeat 21st century security threats using outdated military doctrines, arguing that improved salaries alone will not guarantee victory over insurgency, terrorism and banditry without matching investment in advanced technology.
Okechukwu made the remarks in a signed statement reacting to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of significant salary increases for members of the Armed Forces and the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight to twelve divisions. While commending the welfare improvements, he raised concerns about fiscal sustainability and strategic priorities.
The salary review grants 80 percent increases for personnel from Private to Staff Sergeant, 50 percent for Warrant Officers to Colonels, and 30 percent for Brigadiers to Generals. Four new army divisions were also created.
“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,” Okechukwu said. “However, patriotism compels one to ask a fundamental question: 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?”
He highlighted the risk of a cascading wage demand across the police, other paramilitary agencies and the wider civil service. “For a pay rise of almost 30% across the board with little or no export product outside fluctuating oil price may trigger off hyper-inflation and monetary paralysis,” he added.
As an alternative, Okechukwu proposed directing a 30 percent budget increase toward what he termed “kitchen table welfare enablers” — comprehensive healthcare, quality education and affordable mortgage schemes for the greatest number of Nigerians, including service personnel. He noted that 80 percent of Armed Forces members currently lack mortgage homes.
On the army expansion, Okechukwu argued that modern military superiority depends less on troop numbers than on technological sophistication. “Today’s battlefields are dominated by drones, satellite surveillance, electronic warfare, cyber operations, precision-guided weapons, artificial intelligence and real-time intelligence,” he said. “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.”
His intervention underscores a growing debate within policy circles about aligning Nigeria’s defence architecture with contemporary warfare realities while managing competing fiscal demands.
