Military budget is the portion of the discretionary financial outlay of a nation-state allocated to the Ministry of Defense. On a broader perspective, it is the portion of the budget that goes to any military-related expenditures. It is from the military budget that payment for salaries, training, and health care of uniformed and civilian personnel are made. It is also military budget that maintains arms, equipment and facilities, funds operations, and develops and buys new equipment.
Published in Chapter:
Military Budget, War Against Boko Haram Insurgency, and Its Impact on Nigerian Politics and Economy
Moses Metumara Duruji (Covenant University, Nigeria), Sunday Idowu (Covenant University, Nigeria), Okachukwu Dibia (Bureau of Public Enterprises, Nigeria), and Favour U. Duruji-Moses (Destewards Enterprises, Nigeria)
Copyright: © 2018
|Pages: 21
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-4778-5.ch022
Abstract
This chapter examines the relationship between the components of defense spending, the fight against insurgency in Nigeria, particularly Boko Haram in the Northeast, and its impact on the politics and economics of the country for the period 2009-2017. The long duration of military rule in Nigeria contributed significantly to under-developing the military, a strategy by the military men in power to secure their hold on power. Added to this was the general poor performance of the military administrations in Nigeria that suppressed civil society in the country. Consequently, the widening of political space when the country transited to democracy in 1999 opened up the space for bottled-up agitations that gave rise to ethnic and religious sect militias propagating diverse agendas. One of such is the Boko Haram which waged an insurgency against Nigeria in the northeast region of the country. To tackle the challenge, the budget for the military was increased. The chapter also discusses the military budget as a result of the counter insurgency, its management in the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram, and its impact on the Nigerian economy.