General Christopher Musa, Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, recently explained why budget for Defense in the country seems high. He clarified that while the military receives a large amount of money in Naira, most of the equipment needed for defense are purchased in foreign currencies. He said when converted, the value of the Naira drops significantly.
In a live coverage by TVC from 6:06, General Musa said one precision missile from a military drone costs $200,000, meaning that firing just one missile equals that amount of money. He said even fueling a military ship requires over 20 trailers of fuel, which further highlights how costly it is to maintain military operations.
General Musa said while it might appear that the defense sector receives substantial funds, the high cost of foreign equipment, fuel, and technology makes defense spending extremely expensive.
In General Musa’s words: “One precision missile from a drone is $200,000, once you fire that missile $200,000 is gone. So consider how many missiles and drones and aircraft we would need to buy. Fuelling a ship alone takes over 20 trailers. So it is extremely very expensive”