Underequipped, underpaid troops cannot win Nigeria’s war- Ndume

Chief Whip of the Senate and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Army, Senator Ali Ndume, says Nigeria cannot win the fight against terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers unless President Bola Tinubu urgently boosts troop welfare, upgrades military technology, fixes the country’s broken tracking and satellite systems, and redirects government spending, including trimming National Assembly activities, to frontline security needs. In this interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, monitored by David Lawani, Ndume insists that only bold and immediate reforms can halt the nation’s slide into more profound insecurity

You recently had an argument with the Senate President regarding Nigeria’s satellite capacity. Have you been able to go back and do some more research on the situation? Because it appears you have your own facts about the number of satellites that we have. Have you made your own calls?

Well, what happened is unusual. Number one, I am a senior senator. The Senate President sitting there is just presiding. When I speak, he should have allowed me to speak my mind freely. If the information I provided is not factual, he can enlighten me. I take so many things these days, and it isn’t very comfortable sometimes. How can he say, for example, “don’t go there”? I am a senator.

Maybe he thinks it is a sensitive security matter?

He can say that this motion is sensitive, but we need to discuss every motion about it. But what is sensitive about the information that I am giving? I know that Akpabio has been in the business of communication, but that doesn’t mean somebody like Ndume is ignorant. I was in the GSM business before I entered politics, too. One of the fundamental problems we face in the security sector is the inability to track criminals in real time. And the satellites we are talking about — Nigeria only has four. That is significant, but it is not adequate to solve our security challenges. Why are we not able to trace the General who is missing in action? It is because we don’t have an adequate tracking system. You can Google yourself now to find my position, and you can do it in Google Maps. You will see it, and it can direct you. But that is not to say you can visit us from a satellite from the studio, not to mention what we are discussing.

We need technology to fight the war. And you were a member of the Senate Committee on the Army. Where do we have the insufficiency? It is embarrassing that these ragtag groups are making a nonsense of the military. What do we have, and what do we need to fight this battle? Do we have the workforce?

When we were talking about Boko Haram 15 years ago, I was nearly sent to prison because, as I was talking the way I am talking now, the government then wanted to make me a scapegoat. But that is beside the point. It is not about frustration or lamentation; we must admit that we have a problem. Fortunately, the government is now looking more responsive with the measures it has taken recently. It is commendable, but that is not enough. The major problems are known: training, equipment, and ammunition. We have invested in satellites. The CCTV cameras that were supposed to be installed across Abuja — who collected the money, and where are they? These are supposed to fight crime. The Federal Government should come forward and tell us how many satellites we have and why we cannot track these criminals. Nigeria has three satellites in orbit, which I think is one of the highest in Africa. The satellites are orbital in nature. If you want to track information, you need more in outer space so you can get your information as the satellites orbit back over Nigerian stations. We don’t have that capacity. If we did, beginning from the Chibok girls and all that — when America was giving us information, they had their satellites on us. That is why they were able to provide further details, because if you zoom in, you will get it. But in the Nigerian case, it is not there. We don’t have the required satellite images. We only have aerial photos. The Nigerian Air Force has what they call UAVs—about 6 of them. We have about 12 Tucanos. We have attack helicopters. But all of this cannot work effectively if you don’t have coverage showing where your people are and where your enemies are located. You can only do that through satellites. It is not something the Nigerian government can do immediately; it is something we can achieve by collaborating with bigger countries like China, Russia, France, and particularly the US. The US has about 8,500 satellites out there. We only have four. When you say you want to have authentic images, I don’t know where that information is coming from. If you use Google, you can see what is happening in your house through installed cameras. You can attach it to your device and see it here in the studio. You cannot see what is happening in Sambisa Forest or the forests of Kebbi. You need to get that technology. But most importantly, if we have satellites and the capability, why don’t we locate the girls? As we speak, about 13 teenage girls from my constituency have been taken since Friday or Saturday, and up till now, no news — only one of the married women among them escaped. We have been calling and shouting, yet we have received no information. General Uba is missing in action, and up till now nobody can say whether he is dead or alive. I heard Mr President, in his speech, accept that he is dead. But even if he is dead, where is the body? The schoolgirls taken in Kebbi, witnesses said they were carried away on motorbikes. Let us assume one bandit carried three girls; divide that by 60. They would not have travelled more than 30 minutes. If we had the technology, it would be easy to track them. What do you think?

But the two that are operational, do they have military capability?

It is not about capability. There are communication satellites and military satellites.

Can the operational ones give us real-time information during military operations?

I am not a military man, but I know if you want to track anything, you must get real-time information. As I said, we have about six UAVs with the Nigerian Air Force. One of the significant problems we have, which he said we should not discuss, is that we are talking about the Nigerian Army, not the police or the civil defence. All these put together are supposed to secure Nigeria. The Nigerian Army is supposed to be deployed when others are overwhelmed, like what is happening in some countries. Most importantly, now that the President has declared an emergency over insecurity, it is a good thing. Let him recruit 20,000 soldiers, that is good, and another 30,000 security agents. That is about 50,000 additional boots on the ground. But that is not enough. You have to equip them.

What do you make of the withdrawal of police from VIPs?

I have been calling for that since. This is one of the commendable things that Mr President has done. And it should be implemented effectively. We should see it on the ground. I went to the National Assembly today, and I saw so many police officers.

You mean the ones with Senators and House of Representatives members should be withdrawn?

Yes, from everybody. If you secure Abuja, why do you need police attached to anybody?

Even your own?

I don’t have police. I only have an orderly. One police officer thought I was not politically exposed, so I was attached to three police officers. But that was a big crowd for me, and I refused. I insisted that if there was going to be any police attached to me, it should be an orderly. And you know why? I was an accused person. So I needed the police to monitor me so that next time they won’t say I had a meeting with so-and-so. I required that plain-clothes police officer beside me so he could testify to my movements and who I interacted with, not to protect me. Some of our colleagues and ministers’ wives have police attached to them. What is their business with that? One politically exposed person’s son, who is mature, moves with a convoy of DSS and police. That is wrong. It is an insult to the office. I went to one of my colleagues’ houses for dinner and saw more than 10 police officers, including my junior colleague. When you see some of them coming, you would pull back, thinking it is the President or Vice President. Even the President’s convoy is too much.

Secure the place, and when the President goes, withdraw. Secure Abuja, and the President can even drive out himself. When you secure personalities in Nigeria, ordinary people become vulnerable, and we don’t care. If you secure Abuja, you can drive at night. I recently travelled to Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire. I was scared of going out, but the people in the hotel told me, “You can move; there is nothing.” No kidnapping, no armed robbery. In Ghana, the same thing. One time, they heard of armed robbery; it was Nigerians who wanted to introduce it there, and before you know it, they were apprehended. In Ghana, I arrived at night and wanted to get some nuts. I saw a mall sign, and the receptionist told me I could go out, it is safe, and the ladies were moving about. In Nigeria, can you do that? Even at your house here, can you take a walk to Asokoro?

The President has said to recruit more. What must we urgently do?

Honestly and urgently, we must discuss everything as far as I am concerned. We must cut down on some discretionary services.

Like what?

Starting with the National Assembly. Cut it down to once or quarterly, and ask us to sit. We sometimes sit, depending on our workload, and are paid accordingly. And you equally do the same. The 2025 budget is not running, but we are in 2025. Recurrent and overhead are running. And who is benefiting? Less than 5% of Nigerians. And it is a lot of money. Why not shut down these things and use the money to secure the people first?

You might be in trouble with your colleagues over this statement?

I have been in trouble many times. We will go on suspension again.

To shut down the NASS?

I am not saying shut down the National Assembly. What I am saying is realistic: our house is on fire. We need everything to put that fire out. If that means the National Assembly will have to reduce its activities, fine. We will pay you less and use the money to concentrate on security. Many of my colleagues will agree. A lot of money is going to services, but those services are discretionary. You can shut them down and prioritise. That is why, in the US, spending is classified into discretionary and non-discretionary categories. When the government shuts down, essential services continue. Discretionary expenditures stop. People must find other work so the budget can be funded. That is how it should be in Nigeria. Now that the President has declared a security emergency, he should take his pen and issue executive orders: close this ministry, reduce NASS’s workload, save money, and use it to buy ammunition, train personnel, or pay those on the war front. Do you know that before President Tinubu took over, the basic salary of a private soldier was ₦50,000? Same with other security agents, including DSS. Police had theirs increased to ₦70,000. All of them were collecting ₦50,000 in 2023. ₦50,000 is about $35 a month — less than $2 a day. It has now been increased to ₦104,000. Mr President approved that. Do you know how much that is? About $67.08. A private soldier in the US earns no less than $2,114 per month, about ₦3 million. That man can put his life down. Before President Tinubu, DTA was ₦1,000. Now it is ₦5,000. Can ₦5,000 buy you a meal per day?

Which means the President should issue more consequential orders further to boost the morale of the men on the boots?

This is not the only problem. I was Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Army. I have worked closely with them. I have interacted with troops on the ground. One thing you cannot take from Nigerians is that many believe in Nigeria. Many are committed, especially in the Army. But a man must survive. How can you pay somebody ₦50,000 and expect him to put in his best? Even ₦100,000, let us be honest. How much is ₦100,000?

There must be urgent action to address the increase in wages and salaries in the armed forces.

There should be an urgent increase in the salaries and wages of the armed forces and other security agencies. Immigration and civil defence are the same thing. They are not paid well. Compared to what I am being paid, do you know how much a senator is being paid?

We understand you are paid in millions of naira?

Of course. I am saying we are being paid too much — more than the frontline staff. Even if they paid me the same salary and told me to go to Kebbi now, I would not want to go. I don’t want to die like that. And especially if someone dies there, nobody retrieves your body. A general’s body is still out there. How do you expect people to put in their best? Besides what we have discussed, they don’t have equipment. I tried to find out what the requirement is to form a task force battalion, since there is a prerequisite. Everything, including the cup’s class, is specified. But in Nigeria, you cannot find that. If there is an attack less than 15 minutes away, can we deploy more than 500 soldiers to that site?

If we have the special squad you talked about, with firepower and air surveillance that can move within an hour, and yet they were still taking schoolgirls on motorcycles, where do we go from here?

We can afford that. By the time you fly low and they know soldiers are around, they will throw their motorcycles and run away. They don’t have two lives.

Do we have the elite special squad?

We have. General Musa is a special-squad person. The Army is trying. Musa went into Sambisa on a motorcycle with about 15 officers pursuing ISWAP. He had three officers on motorcycles. There was no air surveillance support. You could hear their communication. We don’t have up to 200,000 soldiers. We have 135,000 to 150,000. The Navy has 20,000 to 25,000. The Air Force has 15,000 to 18,000. In each battalion, there should be a specific number of EMRADS, armoured tanks, gun trucks, and troops. I know battalions with only 400 people.

If you were in President Tinubu’s shoes, what would you be doing now?

He is taking bold steps. The next thing is to walk the talk. Even if he needs to sign executive orders, he should do so to make sure the Nigerian Army and other security agencies are equipped. Not only the Army. He can issue an executive order on security and line up actions. He should equip the soldiers. They are not equipped. A battalion should have what it takes — 500 to 900 personnel, all specified equipment: assault rifles, machine guns, snipers, rocket-propelled grenades, grenades, anti-tank missiles, vehicles carrying 50 to 90 troops, command vehicles, logistics tanks. The President should take note: recovery and maintenance vehicles, EMRADS — trucks with guns mounted. They can chase the terrorists anywhere.