By Olusegun Olanrewaju
A former National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) chieftain and ex-arms dealer, Abimbola Aboderin, has canvassed that, for Nigeria to effectively contain acts of insurgency and economic sabotage, the nation must upgrade its military might and purchase submarines.

He forcefully advocates that Nigeria urgently needs to upgrade its military equipment to curtail oil thefts and raise its profile as a continental giant.

This is the summary of his position as captured in an interview in his Allen Avenue, Ikeja offices in Lagos yesterday, and excerpts from his recently-launched book, ‘Democracy and the Untold Story of June 12’.

He also disclosed how successive military coups have derailed the country’s march to reckoning on the military turf between 1979 and 1998.

According to Aboderin, a former arms contractor with the Armed Forces and the Police, Nigeria is in the throes of national insecurity orchestrated by insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, militants, oil thieves and the likes, who have made life and living hellish for their fellow men, women and children.

The author argues that, had Nigeria taken some steps to expand the nation’s security architecture in the period under consideration, the country would have been rubbing shoulders with those in its ilk, like Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil, among others, on the military level, today.

“We badly need to upgrade our security architecture by procuring submarines,” he said, adding that he had once offered to help the nation out in the past, but all attempts were derailed by recurrent military coups that featured in the President Shehu Shagari regime and the aftermath in the period in the period earlier listed.

The author revealed how he led several missions with top military officials to negotiate arms deals to upgrade Nigeria’s military armoury in the past, especially to German, the USA and Argentina.

The American-trained economist and banker told the correspondent: “For us to check oil theft, we need to get submarines for coastal defence. In the US where I trained at the University of San Fransisco and Golden Gate University, they call them coast guards, and the police the coasts and shorelines for criminalities.”

He added, “it’s a big shame here that we call ourselves a continental giant, but we cannot boast of guarding our coasts or air space with submarines and heavy grade radars.

He disclosed that at a point in the early 80s in the country’s history, the Nigerian Navy was in need of five submarines, at a cost of $15 million each, but contracts were frustrated by the game of musical chairs in coups which derailed agreements.

Today, he sadly reflects, Nigeria has no single submarine “because the cost has astronomically gone beyond reach. South Africa boasts of submarines, Egypt have, but a continental giant (Nigeria) does not. Pity.”

“Nigeria messed up. I took officers to Germany, others, for demonstrations on my own expense, and as a patriot (Admirals) Murtala Nyako, Arinola et cetera. But nothing came out of it because of coups.

“I was into big projects, some $4 billion then , back in the 80s. They studied everything radars. We studied radars. We went to every key centres in Nigeria; they said they needed three radars, but nothing came out of it.

“In the south, we need strong interceptors to check oil thieves that have been milking the nation dry. We need radars to aid the air force in checking insurgency and foreign invaders but sadly, these are lacking,” Aboderin told ThisNigeria.

On insurgency, he said, “if there are plans, things can go well. In America, I was the only black person in our set. I used to say we are proud of our country, even at inter-racial meetings. We have to show the world that the black man can do it military power.

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He also berated calls for secession in the country, saying civil war would make life terrible for his compatriots.

“America fought a civil war, but they are back together and working together. I know that (IPOB leader) Kanu has his reasons – fear of marginalisation, but there is a difficult assessment.

“We must find a way of addressing issues. Secession is not good for us. We are better without it. Let’s work together as a country,” he offered.

On the issue of selection of candidates for the presidency, he advised that all qualified candidates should be allowed to contest.

“Whatever differences are to arise would be settled in conventions,” Aboderin concluded.