The Nigerian Army has defended the Federal Government’s plan to spend $1bn on fighting the insurgency.
During an appearance on Monday, on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, the Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche, Mr John Enenche, explained that among other things, the fund will help to phase out the military’s obsolete weapons.He explained that specifically, it will enable the military’s air, land and sea forces to purchase more sophisticated weapons and machinery.
This according to him, would help in stepping up its fight against insurgency as the military until now uses obsolete weapons.
He said, the “$1bn fund will enhance what we have been doing and it will enable the armed forces to come to the level that has been expected earlier than now, sooner than expected.
“Take for instance, you have 10 days to achieve an objective, I tell you, if you make your effort 10 times what you have, you are going to achieve that objective in one day.
“We’ve been using the AK 47 to prosecute a special war, whereas the AK 47 is used to prosecute a conventional operation,” he stated.
Mr Enenche who came along with a sample of the AK 47 which he said the military currently uses, as well as another “more sophisticated” weapon, noted that the latter is what should be used to prosecute the war in the north east.
He, therefore, lauded the governors for the decision of approving the funds, adding that when compared to the benefits attached, the sum of $1billion is not too much.
“The government has in the time past, provided a handful, which we have used. This is supposed to be for special forces and in fact by all standards, it is supposed to be the personal weapon of every soldier, every sea man or every air man.
“It is what we need to bring the war against insurgency to an end as fast as possible.
“It is the extant best international practice for you to fund your operations or to fund a war through extra budgetary provisions.
“The governors took the best decision as far as we are concerned because they are they Chief Executive Officers in the states where these things are happening.”
The military director also noted that despite having substandard equipment, they (the military) had made reasonable progress with the fight against insurgency, stressing his point that if given more sophisticated weapons, it will do much more.
“If it were to be in Russia for instance, this is supposed to be the personal weapon that the soldier uses now to confront insurgency and terrorism, Yet the Armed forces of Nigeria has been prosecuting with the AK 47 of the second world war and we have achieved this far.
“It is a lot of money but when you look at the advantages of what we stand to gain, in the time that we need to eliminate terrorism,” he stated.
