The math is diabolical
Nigeria’s military is falling off global charts despite increased funding
Good morning, Big Brains. Again, what a slow ass week! Why is January such a sassy lady? At this rate, I’m mentally jumping to February. You guys can enjoy the rest of January.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1, 000
Reading time ~ 4 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigeria’s military is falling off
2025 isn’t starting with a lockdown
The Big Deal
Nigeria’s military is falling off
2025 might be the year Nigerians will lose the right to say Naija no dey carry last because it’s starting to sound like self-mockery. This isn’t a random thought; it is a conclusion we drew after seeing the Nigerian military is now three places lower in the global military ranking.
It wouldn’t have been a problem if this had started in 2024, but the losing streak started in 2023. Our military is now ranked 39th in the world and 4th in Africa. It’s not such a bad number, but when you compare it to the 35th position it held in 2022, you’ll see that it’s worth raising an eyebrow about.
The report, which Global Firepower published, says over 60 different factors were used to calculate each country’s score.
It explains that the Global Firepower ranking is based on factors such as a country’s military size, financial strength, logistics, and geography. These were combined to create each nation's final "PowerIndex" score.
Why is this a big deal?
Security received the highest allocation in the 2023 budget. In 2024, President Tinubu doubled down by allocating about $4 billion (12% of the total budget) to Defence and Security, the largest allocation any sector received in the budget. He followed up with a bold claim that his administration would improve internal security architecture.
In the first seven months of 2024 alone, the military spent ₦63.6 billion on equipment and ammunition, while South Africa, currently ranked third in Africa, allocated only R51.8 billion (equivalent to approximately $2.75 billion) to defence and security in the same year. If you do the maths, you’ll see that that’s significantly lesser than Nigeria’s allocation.
Nigeria’s military isn’t underfunded compared to South Africa (and it hasn’t been since President Tinubu became president). These increased budget allocations should improve the military’s global relevance or at least help it maintain its previous rank. This consecutive drop suggests that we might be throwing money at something that’s not working, which would be unfortunate.
The military now has more trouble on its radar with the emergence of the Lakurawa terrorist group and the resumed attacks of Boko Haram. If there was ever a perfect time to drop the ball, it's not 2025 (especially not with all the money Tinubu is pouring into security). The math isn’t just mathing; someone has some explaining to do. Unfortunately, we won’t be getting one soon because the Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur refused to grant Punch Newspaper’s request for comments on Nigeria’s drop on the global chart.
2025 isn’t starting with a lockdown
Some bearers of bad news (not us) woke up one day and decided to spread the misinformation that the world would be going on another pandemic-inspired lockdown. But according to Dr. Margaret Harris, the spokesperson of the World Health Organization (WHO), this is not the case. So, take a deep breath— 2025 isn’t going to look like 2020.
During a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, January 7, Dr. Harris addressed the buzz around respiratory viruses in China, especially human metapneumovirus (hMPV), a name that sounds scarier than it really is.
While Dr Harris confirmed that there’s been a rise in respiratory infections in China, she also said it’s just something that comes with winter. The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention also confirmed that the usual culprits are making a comeback—seasonal flu, RSV, hMPV, and even COVID-19.
Seasonal flu seems to be the main culprit, with over 30% of flu-like cases testing positive in late December. But this is the main gist – there’s no emergency declaration.
So here’s what WHO wants you to do next: stick to the basics– wash your hands, wear a mask in crowded places, and let in some fresh air if you can. Basically, just pick back the old habits you got used to during COVID-19.
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s your biggest goal in 2025?”
Ikanke-Abasi’s response - “I want to grow my mind, gain new experiences and take chances.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Ikanke-Abasi’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
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