Who is the present Minister of Defence?

Alh. Mohammed Badaru is the incumbent Nigeria’s Minister of Defence. Badaru was a former Governor of Jigawa State.

He will be assisted by Bello Matawalle (Minister of State Defence) who is also a former Governor (Zamfara), North-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

Understanding The Ministry of Defence

Defence of a country is key and nearly all countries around the world have a dedicated ministry for the management of the Armed Forces.

It may be called a different name elsewhere but in Nigeria, like most of countries, it is cal the Federal Ministry of Defence.

The ministry is headed by a minister who is a political appointee of the president. Most times, someone who has a military background is appointed because of their knowledge about the internal mechanisms of the military.

But this isn’t a rule as we’ve seen Nigerian Presidents like Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan appointed defence ministers who had no military background.

The minister who plays the role of a coordinator is assisted by those who are experts in air, land, and water military capabilities.

Apart from advisers to the minister, there are also agencies or parastatal in the Federal Ministry of Defence headed by experts in their field who help the minister to optimally carry out their responsibilities.

As such, the agencies are divided into military and civilian components. The military components house the Defence headquarters, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Airforce, and the Nigerian Navy. They carry out military operations.

Apart from the agencies, there are 15 departments in Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence. Since defence is still under the exclusive list, no other state in Nigeria has a ministry for defence. States may have ministry of information, finance, and sports among others.

7 Core Mandates of Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence:

1) To provide administrative support to the Nigerian Armed Forces for them to be able to perform optimally at protecting the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

2) Overseeing the welfare of members of the Armed Forces in a way not to dampen their morale when the time arises for them to defend the country or perform other security roles.

3) To defend the budget allocation of the ministry before the National Assembly.

4) To table before the president the military needs of the Armed Forces in terms of equipment, training, and allowances.

5) Making provision for the welfare of the men of the Armed Forces in terms of training, accommodation, health care, and other benefits aimed at boosting their morale.

6) To enhance the capability and sophistication of the country’s Defence Industries in order to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign sources of supply.

7) To represent the interest of Nigeria in defence-related symposiums, workshops and seminars.

Parastatal of Defence Ministry

According to the organogram of Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence, the structure outlines 13 agencies under the ministry, they are:

Defence Parastatal	Year of Establishment
Defence Headquarters	1958
Defence Intelligence School, Lagos	June 1986
The Nigerian Army	1960
Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Asokoro, Abuja	June 6, 1986
Defence Mission
The Nigeria Airforce	April 18, 1964
The Nigerian Navy	June 1, 1956
Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC)	1982
National Defence College	1992
Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna	1976
Military Pension Board, Abuja	1975
Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON)	1964
Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna	February 1964

Roles of Parastatal of Nigeria’s Defence Ministry

Defence Headquarters

To militarily coordinate the activities of the Nigerian Armed Forces to enable them to discharge their responsibilities of protecting Nigeria’s territory against external aggression

Defence Intelligence School, Lagos

To teach members of the Armed Forces the basic knowledge of gathering intelligence for the protection of Nigeria

The Nigerian Army

To wade off external aggression through the land borders

Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Asokoro, Abuja

To provide an efficient system of obtaining military intelligence for the Nigerian Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence.

The Nigeria Airforce

To protect Nigeria’s airspace

The Nigerian Navy

To protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity through the waterways.

Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC)

To enable retiring members of the Armed Forces to integrate into civil society and enjoy post-service life.

National Defence College

To train senior military officers in Nigeria in order to increase their capacity

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna

To produce operational-level military officers and ensure standardization of Staff Duties in the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Military Pension Board, Abuja

To make provision for the welfare of retired military officers. To ensure that their pension and other emoluments are paid on time for a better life post-service

Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON)

To manufacture defence equipment and civilian products in order to reduce importation and reliance on foreign-made military equipment

Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna

It’s a military university to train military men and women in the act of defence.

Departments of Nigeria’s Defence Ministry

1. Human Resource Management Department
2. Finance and Accounts Department
3. Planning, Research and Statistics Department
4. Procurement Department
5. Legal Department
6. Medical Services Department
7. Joint Service Department
8. Army Affairs Department
9. Navy Affairs Department
10. Airforce Department
11. General Services Department
12. Education Department
13. Reforms Coordination and Services Improvement Department
14. Press department
15. Special Duties Department

Challenges of Nigeria’s Defence

While the efforts of the members of Nigeria’s Armed Forces should be appreciated for always taking deadly risks at protecting Nigerians and the integrity of the country day and night, they need to do more.

For instance, one of the agencies, Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, saddled with the responsibility of producing military equipment is manufacturing 1990s equipment that has been overtaken by technology.

In October 2021, UK-based News Magazine, The Economist, boldly says in its report that Nigeria’s military is only big on papers, alleged that soldiers sell weapons to Boko Haram members, it was refuted by Nigerian authority.

But foreign investors may be discouraged at investing in Nigeria considering similar allegations that have been leveled against some of the members of the military.

The former Chadian president Idriss Déby made a similar allegation in April 2020, when accused the Nigerian troops of releasing captured Boko Haram fighters.

It’s inexplicably ridiculous how members of Boko Haram overrun military bases in Nigeria several times killing several soldiers.

It is also sad that since the insurgency in the Northeast over a decade ago, the government has been unable to make public names of sponsors of Boko Haram while a faraway country like the United Arab Emirates was able to track such sponsors in their country as their place of abode.

Several findings have shown that the activities of Nigeria’s Defence have been politicised which is affecting the military effectiveness of the members of the Armed Forces. Politicians should allow the military to carry out their job without interference.