There has been this back and forth among security experts and observers on whether the federal government should consider the option of hiring mercenaries to support our military to tackle the menace of terrorism and banditry in parts of the country.
While I agree that a decision should be made with the nation’s interest at heart, I feel that the newspaper editorial board failed to understand the huge consequences of hiring foreign fighters in the face of insecurity.
I align myself with the Nigerian military’s consistent opposition to the idea for many valid reasons.
Mercenaries are private soldiers who fight for independent contractors, primarily for monetary rewards. Mercenaries are not motivated by patriotism, nor are they bound by responsibility, regulation, transparency, political concern, human rights and so on; and that is why they are capable of killing and slaughtering people without the fear of accountability while fighting.
In four days, between 27 and 31 March, 2022, over 300 Malian civilians were killed with the alleged involvement of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group, one of the world’s most effective army of mercenaries run by a close ally of Vladimir Putin in the central Malian town of Moura, Mopti Region. This was after the said mercenaries signed a deal and sent 1,000 troops to protect the military junta in the country and train the Malian military, as well as protect senior members of the government.
This is just one out of many examples of how the presence of foreign fighters has caused more harm than good in Africa. Nigeria can do without a foreign mercenary scandal like Wagner Group or Blackwater etc.
While I concede that no country can be an island as we can always rely on our foreign counterparts for advice and experience sharing, it is only the Nigerian government and armed forces that can win the war against insurgency. If foreign mercenaries get directly involved in this fight, now or in the future, the short-term gains could soon give way to dire long-term consequences.
The recruitment of such mercenaries is also extremely expensive, especially for a very broke country whose debt servicing bill exceeded its revenue by over 300 billion naira in the first quarter of 2022. According to European sources, Wagner is getting $10.8million (N5.7 billion) a month for its services in Mali.
What baffles me is how some agitators want the Nigerian state to cough up some extra millions of dollars on some foreign fighters after all the billions of dollars we have invested in training our military men and buying game-changing weapons like the Tucano Jets.
If we pay the foreign fighters now, when they finish the fight and go back, does that mean every time we have a challenge, we will run to this same group of people again? Why don’t we use this same money to provide our troops with whatever it takes to get the job done? Why don’t we equip and empower the Police and paramilitary agencies to support the Military in getting the job done?
The presence of the mercenaries can also dampen the morale, affect the frame of mind and psychological disposition of troops in the national force. The engagement of external fighters is like telling the Nigerian soldiers that they are not good enough.
I opine that social crisis and political instability would not cease to be an everyday situation in Nigeria until the issue of restructuring is given serious attention. Weak institutions are to blame not only for our security challenges but also for our economic distress and political complication. Restructuring our polity to make room for State and Local Police is crucial if we want to nip criminalities in the bud. This is the only universal cure because there is no way a unitary layer of security architecture can secure more than 200 million Nigerians.
Lastly, I contend once again that we don’t need to recruit foreign fighters to get the job done. We should take pride in the brilliancy and efficiency of some of our officers who have been winning laurels from all over the world.
