The Federal Government’s approval of a new salary structure for personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces has been widely welcomed as an important intervention in the welfare of those defending the country. However, since what is good for the goose is also good for the gander, this pay rise has raised a cocktail of posers, key among which is: Should improved remuneration also be extended to personnel of other security agencies whose duties increasingly expose them to similar threats, operational pressures, and sacrifices? BERTRAM NWANNEKANMA reports.

For thousands of Nigerian soldiers deployed across the country’s multiple theatres of conflict, the new salary structure represents more than an increase in earnings. It is being viewed as recognition of years of sacrifice under difficult and dangerous conditions.

The salary increase, ranging from 30 to 80 per cent depending on rank, has consequently been welcomed as a significant morale booster. However, security experts and retired officers argue that for greater impact and in view of the enormous security threats besetting the country, the intervention should not be limited to the Nigerian Armed Forces.

They contend that Nigeria’s increasingly complex security challenges require a comprehensive welfare policy covering the entire security architecture. Police officers, personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), immigration and customs officers, intelligence personnel, and other paramilitary services and specialised security agencies are also exposed to significant risks while protecting lives, national assets, and the country’s borders.

Indeed, many are of the view that improving the welfare of the military while leaving other critical agencies behind could create disparities in morale and conditions of service at a time when greater inter-agency cooperation is required.

In many instances, these agencies work alongside the military in joint operations or provide intelligence, logistics and other forms of support. Their responsibilities, therefore, form parts of a single national security system.

Pay Rise as a morale booster
THE importance of the military salary review cannot be understated. For years, Nigerian troops have been deployed across multiple theatres of conflict, often for prolonged periods away from their families.

Ranging from confronting terrorist groups in the North-East, bandits in the North-West, to attacking kidnappers and criminal gangs in other parts of the country, as well as oil theft and other criminal activities in the Niger Delta and coastal areas, their job is simply enormous.

The new salary structure, effective from September 1, therefore, provides increases of up to 80 per cent for personnel from the rank of private to staff sergeant, 50 per cent for officers from warrant officer to colonel and 30 per cent for officers above the rank of colonel.

For lower-ranking personnel, who constitute a significant proportion of front-line troops, the adjustment could provide meaningful relief amid rising living costs. It could also strengthen recruitment and retention by making military service more competitive and reassuring serving personnel that their sacrifices are recognised.

For Retired Rear Admiral Abraham Adaji, the increase is timely considering that military personnel face considerable risks that should be reflected in their remuneration.

However, welfare goes beyond salaries. Accommodation remains a major concern, particularly for personnel serving in difficult operational areas. Healthcare, education for personnel’s children, insurance, pension administration, and support for wounded or retired personnel are equally important.

Families of personnel who die in active service also require prompt and adequate support.

According to Adaji, a young person’s decision to remain in a demanding security career is influenced not only by monthly income but also by the assurance that the institution will protect the officer’s and family’s welfare.

The military salary review could therefore serve as a template for a broader assessment of remuneration and welfare across Nigeria’s security agencies.

“The objective should not be uniformity for its own sake. Every agency has a distinct mandate, and salaries need not be identical. Rather, the emphasis should be on fairness and proportionality. Where personnel face comparable levels of risk and responsibility, their conditions of service should adequately reflect the demands of their roles,” Adaji said.

A retired Assistant Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Dr Bille David Urbanus, also believes that the Federal Government should consider extending improved remuneration to other security institutions as part of a coordinated national security reform.

According to him, while the military salary increase is a welcome development and an important motivation for personnel, security remains a collective responsibility.

“The salary increase is another form of motivation that will encourage personnel to put in their best. But when you increase the salary of one part of the security architecture, the others may become disenchanted,” Urbanus said.

His concern goes to the heart of the debate, given the fact that security challenges are no longer confined to conventional warfare.

Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, oil theft, piracy, communal violence, smuggling, attacks on critical infrastructure and other forms of criminality require the involvement of several security institutions.

The argument becomes stronger against the backdrop of Nigeria’s changing security environment. The traditional distinction between military and internal security functions has become increasingly blurred.

Police officers now confront heavily armed criminals and kidnappers. NSCDC personnel operate in dangerous environments while protecting critical infrastructure. Immigration and customs officers face risks along difficult and porous borders, while intelligence personnel operate in an increasingly complex security environment.

These personnel may not perform identical duties, but they are all components of the national security system. Therefore, a significant disparity in pay and welfare among agencies operating within the same security environment could affect morale, recruitment, retention and inter-agency cooperation.

Urbanus said security agencies had for years agitated for improved salaries and better conditions of service, with their respective leaderships making representations to the Federal Government.

Welfare must match operational capacity
While broader salary increases could strengthen morale, security experts caution that better pay alone cannot solve Nigeria’s insecurity.

The Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, Dr Kabiru Adamu, described the military salary increase as an important morale booster but warned against treating it as a complete solution.

“Improving soldiers’ welfare is commendable, but morale alone cannot defeat insurgency,” Adamu said, arguing that front-line personnel require sustained access to modern weapons, intelligence, drones, armoured vehicles, secure communications and adequate logistics.

“Military welfare must go hand in hand with operational capability,” he added.

Senator Ali Ndume, whose Borno South district has experienced years of insurgency, has similarly emphasised the need for adequate ammunition, gun trucks, attack helicopters and other operational assets.

According to him, a motivated security officer must also have the tools to perform effectively.

The challenge extends beyond procuring new equipment. Security agencies require sustained funding for maintenance, fuel, training, communications and logistics.

An aircraft that cannot fly because there is insufficient funding for maintenance or aviation fuel provides little operational value. A patrol vehicle without fuel is effectively immobilised, while a sophisticated surveillance system without trained personnel to operate and analyse it cannot deliver its full potential.

This raises an important policy question: Is Nigeria’s security challenge simply about how much the country allocates to security, or also about how efficiently those resources are released, procured and deployed? The answer is likely to involve both.

Nigeria needs adequate security spending, but it also needs stronger financial discipline to ensure that approved funds translate into operational capabilities.

Urbanus warned that better remuneration must similarly be accompanied by adequate funding, modern equipment, operational tools and decent accommodation.

“Salary increase is one of the motivating factors. The other factors are welfare and operational equipment and tools,” he said, adding that criminal groups could acquire increasingly sophisticated weapons if the state failed to continually upgrade the capabilities of security personnel.

“When non-state actors continue to acquire more sophisticated weapons, the government must equally upgrade the capabilities of security personnel. The balance of firepower must not favour criminals,” he said.

This makes accountability equally important. Every naira allocated for weapons, surveillance equipment, training, fuel, or logistics should be traceable from approval through delivery to deployment. Procurement must be transparent, maintenance contracts must deliver value, and equipment must reach the personnel who need it.

Increased funding should therefore be accompanied by stronger oversight to ensure that larger budgets result in greater operational capacity rather than merely higher expenditure.

The psychological welfare of personnel must also form part of this equation. Security personnel exposed to violence, prolonged deployment, separation from their families and the loss of colleagues can experience considerable psychological pressure.

Professional counselling, rehabilitation and appropriate support should therefore become integral components of security-sector welfare. Mental health support should be regarded as an element of operational readiness rather than a luxury.

Housing and post-service welfare are equally important. Personnel who spend years serving in difficult and dangerous locations should have confidence that the state will provide decent accommodation, healthcare and adequate support.

That assurance should extend beyond retirement. Pensions, insurance, medical care and rehabilitation for personnel injured in the line of duty should form part of a comprehensive welfare framework. Families of personnel killed during operations should also receive timely and transparent support.

Intelligence, accountability must drive reform
The debate over improved remuneration must also be situated within a wider reform of Nigeria’s security architecture.

Adaji argued that terrorist and criminal organisations cannot sustain sophisticated operations without financing. He noted that security agencies must therefore look beyond individuals carrying weapons and target the networks that provide the money, logistics and other resources that enable criminal operations.

This requires stronger financial intelligence, better inter-agency cooperation, effective tracking of suspicious transactions and prosecution of individuals who sponsor or facilitate violent criminal activities.

Nigeria cannot win an endless arms race simply by purchasing more weapons. It must also make it increasingly difficult for criminal organisations to obtain the resources required to acquire and deploy those weapons.

Intelligence sharing is equally critical, as no single agency possesses all the information required to confront Nigeria’s complex security threats.

The military may have battlefield intelligence, while the police may possess information on criminal networks. The DSS may provide intelligence on terrorism and other national security threats, while immigration and customs personnel can provide valuable information on cross-border movement.

The NSCDC and other agencies also possess specialised knowledge of critical infrastructure and specific areas of national security.

The effectiveness of the system, therefore, depends largely on how efficiently information moves between institutions.

Better pay can contribute to this process by improving morale and reducing financial pressures that may encourage personnel to seek alternative means of survival. But institutional reforms are equally necessary to establish effective mechanisms for intelligence sharing, joint operations and coordinated responses.

Adaji stressed that the Federal Government’s decision to improve military salaries should consequently be viewed as an opportunity to rethink the entire security architecture.

According to him, the next step should be a comprehensive review of the welfare and operational needs of other security agencies, covering salaries, allowances, accommodation, healthcare, insurance, pensions, training, equipment, transportation, communications and retirement benefits.

Such a framework, he said, should also provide for regular reviews so that remuneration does not remain stagnant for years before another major adjustment becomes necessary.