Defense Planning and the Nigerian Armed Forces Modernization Process (1970-991):An Institutional Analysis

One of the most problematic and intractable areas of public policy in Nigeria since the civil war concerns the development of a professional defense establishment adequate enough to meet the challenges arising from the altered parameters of its security environment. This article is at once a review and a critique of the major facets of this modernization and augmentation process of the Nigerian armed forces within the operative context of the new dimensions in threat perception and the strategic parameters that guided Nigerian military planning since the civil war in 1970. The major focus, therefore, will of necessity center on the structural decisions concerning the procurement, allocation, and organization of the "men, money, and material" that are intended to sustain Nigeria's strategic policy in the African region.