EDITORIAL: The Oshiomhole Suggestion

It says much about the dysfunction in our national security architecture that only one other senator publicly supported the call by Senator Adams Oshiomhole for an audit of Nigeria’s defence spending.

The majority position in the Senate, which favoured retreating into a secret session, raises legitimate questions. Legislators may need to re-examine their understanding of oversight in a constitutional democracy. They should also undertake a comparative review of how parliaments across the world scrutinise defence expenditures, assess operational effectiveness and ensure that taxpayers’ resources are delivering measurable outcomes.

Oversight is not an act of hostility towards the military; it is a democratic obligation. Indeed, a rigorous examination of defence spending, its costs, priorities and effectiveness, is itself a critical component of any serious national security strategy. Without such scrutiny, the nation risks throwing good money after bad, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

History offers important lessons. Since the beginning of organised conflict, money and military strategy have been inseparable. Inevitably, prolonged wars and security crises create a military-commercial class whose interests become tied to the continuation rather than the resolution of conflict. It was this danger that former United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously warned against in his farewell address when he cautioned about the growing influence of the military-industrial complex.

Significantly, his successor, John F. Kennedy, took that warning seriously. Kennedy recruited Robert McNamara, then the chief executive of Ford Motor Company, to reform defence management. McNamara introduced the Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS), a framework designed to align military spending with strategic objectives and measurable outcomes. The goal was simple: ensure that every defence dollar contributed effectively to national security.

Nigeria would do well to revisit similar principles. Otherwise, we risk remaining trapped in an endless cycle of insecurity sustained by those who profit, directly or indirectly, from conflict. There is precedent for such thinking in our own history. The late Omowale Kuye attempted to introduce comparable reforms during his brief tenure as Federal Director of Budget under the administration of Shehu Shagari. Unfortunately, the military intervention that ended the Second Republic also swept away many reform initiatives that might have improved public financial management.

Today, the effectiveness of our security architecture must be subjected to the same scrutiny as the size of the budgets allocated to it. The key question is no longer how much is being spent, but whether the spending is producing the desired results. In a nation confronted by terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal violence, citizens deserve answers.

We therefore support greater transparency, a comprehensive audit of defence expenditures and a fundamental review of Nigeria’s defence strategy. Public patience is wearing thin. Despite enormous allocations over the years, security conditions remain troubling. The country can no longer afford business as usual.

Senator Oshiomhole’s suggestion should not be dismissed or buried behind closed doors. It should be the beginning of a long-overdue national conversation on accountability, efficiency and victory in the fight against insecurity.

Briefly…….

India’s recent decision to expand the use of ethanol as fuel for vehicles is commendable. It follows the path charted decades ago by Thailand, which pioneered cassava-based ethanol, and Brazil, where sugarcane-derived ethanol powers a significant proportion of automobiles.

As usual, Nigeria appears absent from the conversation. A political establishment largely fixated on consumption rather than production remains indifferent to the transformative possibilities of research, innovation and value addition. The country’s negligible investment in Research and Development speaks volumes about this mindset.

Nigeria is the world’s second-largest producer of cassava, behind Thailand. Yet the question remains: what are we doing with this enormous resource? Sadly, not enough.

A robust ethanol industry built around cassava could create thousands of sustainable jobs, stimulate rural economies, generate substantial revenues for governments at all levels and provide a cheaper alternative to petrol. The economic and environmental benefits would be immense.

The time has come for a serious national conversation. The National Assembly should take up this issue as a matter of urgency, beginning with televised public hearings that bring together researchers, farmers, investors and policymakers. Nigeria has the raw materials. What is lacking is the vision and political will to turn potential into prosperity.