ABSTRACT
In spite of the growing criticism of the deficiencies of military rule, there has been, since the soldiers handed over power, no sign of the expected civilian criticism of the high proportion of the Federal budget devoted to defence, still the highest single item in the 1981 budget. Nigerians seem to feel that they have a duty to match their political importance in Africa and the world with military strength. The recent apparent threat to West African countries from Libya’s activities in Chad has strengthened this view; and, however unrealistically, in the future they see a showdown with South Africa. But slowly the total numbers in Nigeria’s armed forces are falling; they now number perhaps a hundred thousand less than at the end of the Civil War. But more money is being spent on equipment and training, and the President has promised that Nigeria’s defence system will become “the best in Africa” and “comparable to the best in the world”. A modernised and well-equipped force “can be expected to discharge creditably and positively the task of defending the largest Black nation on earth; and only such a force can give adequate credibility ahd expression to Nigeria’s strong foreign policy posture”. This is an attitude with which “radicals” as much as “conservatives” agree. Criticism of military intervention in politics does not lead to demands for cuts in military spending. And the unpublicised presence of a large number of British instructors at the Staff College at Jaji shows that defence is more important than politics.
