The problem of paucity of funds for the Nigerian security agencies is not hidden. What is not so obvious is the underbelly, the main causes of inadequate funding for the sector. So, it was an honor to have been trusted by a collaboration of UKaid/DFID-funded Nigerian Policing Program and Aminu Kano Center for Democratic Studies (Mambayya House), Bayero University Kano, to present a position paper and lead discussions on finding answers to the above question. Let me spare you the stress of pouring through the entire thesis of my paper, but here are my conclusion and key policy recommendations.
If there is one country that needs to improve security situation in her domain in order to project an image of a secured, attractive and welcoming country to the world, it is Nigeria. This is because the current levels of unemployment and poverty in the country necessitates that invest-able capital is attracted, especially from around the world, to help the industrial base and the general economy of the country. Sadly, the achievement of this developmental milestone continues to slip through our fingers as heightening insecurity in the country wards off investors.
To improve security and position the country as a secured destination for both local and foreign investments, a significant amount of money is required. But as my study shows, three main factors have constituted an albatross around the basket of funding for security agencies in Nigeria. These are: bureaucratic nature (impelling significant running costs) of the agencies, shortfall in the revenue of the major source of funding, and endemic official corruption in the system.
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Based on the above submissions, I offer the following recommendations to address issues around funding for security agencies in Nigeria.
- To address inefficiencies in the bureaucratic structure of the agencies, there is a need to set up an Efficiency Unit, tasked with the responsibility of optimizing all spending and expenses in each of the agencies. Detailed review of all layers of commands, departments and units needs to be undertaken and based on the review, these units should be rationalized, removed or merged. Overhead costs should also be thought-through and closely monitored.
- There is an urgent need to diversify source of funding for our security agencies. The current one-source funding is not sustainable. Ultimately, a kind of restructuring that makes local authorities responsible – become true chief security officials, and are therefore compelled to make deliberate budgets for security, will be the way to go.
- Security and welfare of the people are the primary responsibilities of government and any government that cannot guarantee these has lost legitimacy. Therefore, the primary assignment of government at all levels is to work round the clock to improve its capacity to meet these fundamental responsibilities. Ambitious targets supported with actionable implementation strategies need to be set for exploring and exploiting new sources of revenues, for the state in general and for security agencies in particular.
- The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris recently said that the Force requires about N1.3t annually to operate effectively. But sadly, only a paltry 25% (N332b) of this was approved for the Force in the 2018 appropriation. Meanwhile, it is doubtful if this total has actually been released to the Force. So, in order to address the problem of irregular and sub-optimal capital releases to security agencies, its high time Nigeria made security a first-line charge. This is where the passage into law of the Nigerian Police Force Reform Trust Funds (NPFRTF) bill will help greatly. The Bill not only seeks to achieve the objective of regular funding for the Police but to also expand its income base. Similarly, there is no more urgent time for the passage of the National Security Trust Fund bill into law. These two bills, when passed, will complement each other and give the much-needed legal backing for the attraction of private funding into a pool that could be deployed to equip and resuscitate the agencies.
- Lastly, ‘you can’t talk about security in Nigeria without talking about corruption’. With shortfall in oil revenue, security contract is now the new diesel for corrupt politicians. According to recent Transparency International investigations, a criminal gang of politicians, defense chiefs and contractors stole more than N3.1trillion security budgets through shady procurement between 2008 and 2017. In addition, more than N241billion is alleged to have been stolen annually by politicians, especially state governors through the ‘state-sanctioned corruption’ called ‘security votes’. That money is more than the 2018 budget of the Nigerian Army (N155billion), more than the budget of the country’s Navy and Air Force combined (N202.6billion) and represents about 70% of the approved budget of the Nigerian Police Force (N332billion).
Thus, to address the kleptocratic nature of the Nigerian security sector, permit me to use this medium to amplify the recommendations of Transparency International on shady procurement in defense contracting and the ‘evil’ called ‘security votes’ in Nigeria.
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- Given the brazen theft of state resources through security-related contracts, there is a need for using specially vetted legislators and team of auditors (drawn from public and private sectors) to monitor and exercise effective oversight on every security and defense contract.
- A federal legislation banning security votes at all levels of government is needed. In place of security votes, there should be a contingency security funds – backed by legislation – outlining best-in-practice budgetary procedures and modalities for spending such funds.
- Ultimately, every state government should be encouraged to establish State Security Trust Funds (SSTF). Laws establishing such a Fund must be passed by each state House of Assembly and recommendation (b) above must be similarly deployed to monitor and ensure that the Fund is administered prudently and honestly. Looking at how transparent, cost-effective, politically-independent and professionally-managed Lagos State Security Trust Fund is, it is suggested that other states understudy and use it as a model.
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Insecurity kills all that is beautiful. This country can’t afford to waste her amazing beauties on the altar of insecurity. We all have a role to play in securing this nation. And we need to put pressures on the political class to do the needful. In the spirit of the forthcoming election, let’s all be Peace Ambassadors. Crisis is costly and you never know how devastating it could turn and who will be victims. All said, we are one family and as we campaign, let’s not forget that we belong to each other. In this election circle, let’s give each other and the country that special gift – Peace!
Dr Adams Adeiza,
Dangote Business School,
Bayero University, Kano.
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