President Bola Tinubu, last week, restructured the army, raising the number of divisions from 8 to 12. He said the aim was to position the military better to deal with the seemingly intractable challenge of insecurity. Speaking with some traditional rulers after that, the president explained that “the creation of four additional divisions was ” to ensure that the military responds swiftly to acts of insecurity wherever they happen.” He added that the 12 divisions “are now better motivated to tackle the insecurity in the country that has festered for long.” The expanded 12-division structure will retain headquarters in eight cities, with the new formations covering parts of the central, northeastern and southern parts of the country. The expansion will be implemented in two phases, with the 5th, 9th and 10th divisions operational by September and the 83rd Division in Benin City some months later.
This change in the army structure is arguably the most extensive and ambitious in the nation’s history. Not even during the 30-month civil war in the late 60s was this kind of review undertaken. The only military man who added to the number of army divisions was the late Muhammadu Buhari. Even so, he did it only after he had retired from the army and become an elected president. Traditional praise singers, some in the military, have commended the president for his action. A former army chief, Lt.- Gen. Tukur Burutai, describes it as “a powerful affirmation of democracy itself. A strong, well-equipped, and professionally motivated military is the ultimate guarantor of democratic governance.” I fail to see how increasing militarization of national life will help democracy. If anything, I fear that Nigerians will be more restrained in their movement and how they conduct their businesses. It’s like we are being reminded of Orwellian Big Brother watching every move we make.
Secondly, if numbers were just what we needed to defeat those who threaten national security, our 230,000-strong military would have “neutralized” the enemy long before now. A lack of professionalism, poor equipment and low moral are some of the challenges that have clipped the wings the military. Only few days ago, a senior army officer was arrested allegedly for selling arms and ammunition to insurgents. What more, we couldn’t have forgotten too soon the alert raised by former President Goodluck Jonathan that Boko Haram had infiltrated the top echelon of the military and the government. I don’t remember that the infiltrators have been purged. If they are still there, it means that more army formations will only bolster their number and make the campaign against insecurity an Everest to climb.
