Spiraling Insecurity: It’s Time to Engage Military Contractors

By Louis Achi

Last Friday, former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General TukurBuratai (retd.), narrowly escaped death after his convoy was ambushed by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State. The audacious attack which took place near a frontline military base, was confirmed by Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on Sunday evening, Ndume described the attack as a troubling sign of the worsening security situation in the region.

His words: “Just two days ago, General Buratai was attacked at the front operations base in Borno. His team responded gallantly, but the insurgents still managed to destroy several military assets.”

The attackers reportedly targeted and damaged high-value military equipment, including Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), tanks, and heavy machine guns. In some cases, the insurgents were said to have looted weapons and equipment after the assault.

Details regarding casualties from the encounter remain unclear, but a fierce exchange of gunfire reportedly took place between the insurgents and the troops accompanying the former army chief. The  Buratai attack understandably enjoyed saturation news reportage because he is a high-value target. Countless, unreported, bloody infamy are ongoing despite the gallant efforts of the nation’s armed forces to rein them in. Cut to the bone, it typifies the dangerous degeneration of the Nigerian state.

According to the renowned Austrian-American management sage Peter Drucker: “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Drucker’s thesis finds compelling validation in the ugly fact that for over 15 years, destabilizing insecurity has become one of the chief drivers of mass mortality and social disruption in Nigeria.

Yet, the prevailing shrill rhetoric, extant security architecture and governing philosophy by successive administrations have curiously employed yesterday’s logic to attempt to defeat what has morphed into a multi-faceted existential threat. This approach has clearly failed. It’s time to engage military contractors to complement the armed forces.

In 2015, at the height of its influence and control of territory, BokoHaram which translates literally to “Western education is forbidden” – was ranked the world’s deadliest terrorist group by the Global Terrorism Index, ahead of the Islamic State group (ISIS).

Since 2009, Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands of people in Nigeria, and has displaced more than three million others. The group does not call itself Boko Haram; its preferred name is the Jamaat-u-AhlisSunna-Lidda-AwatiWal-Jihad – “the organization committed to the propagation of the Prophet’s teachings and jihad.”

Its founder, Mohammad Yusuf, was a fiery preacher who rose to prominence in the early 2000s in the town of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state in Nigeria’s North East region.

But today, due to the mix of a dearth of strong, committed and visionary leadership, the story of national insecurity has morphed into multi-faceted cancerous state threats: terrorism, banditry, wanton kidnaping, genocidal land grabbing and more.

It is against this dark background that the imperative of engaging military contractors to decisively complement the efforts of the nation’s overstretched security agencies to defeat the festering cancer of insecurity enters the central discourse.

Senator Ali Ndume from the terrorism hotbed of Borno State in insurgency ravaged North-East zone has severally called on President Bola Tinubu to consider hiring military contractors to eradicate the remaining insurgents in Borno State after the tragic killing of six farmers by Boko Haram terrorists.

Despite praising the bravery and efforts of the Nigerian military and Civilian JTF, Ndume expressed concerns about their lack of adequate resources to tackle the insurgency effectively. He argued that even powerful nations engage military contractors to bolster their military operations, citing examples from the USA, UK, Russia, and France.

Engagement of military contractors to complement a standing army is often considered a form of legitimate outsourcing of state security functions, particularly in developed nations. Military contractors and mercenaries are often used interchangeably, but they are not always the same.

While military contractors are employed by private companies to perform military or security-related tasks, they are not necessarily mercenaries. The key distinction lies in the intent of their service and the lack of a formal legal framework:

Military contractors are individuals employed by private companies (Private Military Companies or PMCs) to perform military or security-related tasks which can range from combat roles to logistical support, training, and security services.

Mercenaries, on the other hand are individuals who take direct part in hostilities primarily for private gain (money or other material benefits). They are not considered prisoners of war if captured. While military contractors may be motivated by financial gain, it’s not their primary or sole reason for service. Mercenaries are primarily motivated by the desire for private gain.

Military contractors can offer a broader range of services, including security and training, beyond direct combat. Military contractors operate within a framework of private contracts, while mercenaries lack a permanent framework or vetting.

In essence, military contractors are a broader category that includes PMCs and other individuals employed by private security companies. Mercenaries, on the other hand, are a specific type of individual within that broader category, defined by their motivation and lack of formal legal status.

Nigeria’s use of military contractors is a complex issue with a history of both success and controversy, particularly in the context of combating Boko Haram. Notably, former President Jonathan’s use of military contractors towards the tail end of his abbreviated tenure – before the general election – recorded considerable successes.

While some see military contractors as a valuable asset, particularly in providing specialized training and support, concerns exist about accountability, potential for human rights abuses, and the long-term impact on national security.

Against the background of humungous annual security budgets, the successes recorded by the nation’s security agencies remain debatable. It is against this backdrop that debate for engagement of military contractors is scaling up.

The military itself may not like the idea of foreign intrusion into its statutory mandate theater but when the key challenges – technology, numbers, inter-agency rivalry, political interference as Prof. BabaganaZulum of Borno State recently alleged and more stack up, the logical way forward is to engage military contractors to get the job done.

At press time, the threat against the Nigerian state is increasing. In a 24 April 2022 report, HumAngle wrote: “The situation is not different in the North West, where local terrorists have held sway for close to a decade. The Nigerian military last week conducted multiple sweeping operations into the terrorists’ strongholds, leading to the killing of some notorious terrorist leaders who wield influence in rural communities across the region.

“People like HaliluSububu and some of his lieutenants drew their last breath in the hands of the men of Operation HadarinDaji. Sububu ran a criminal enterprise whose attacks on security officers and civilians have led to the death of hundreds of people and displaced thousands more in communities like Maradun, Faru, KauraNamoda, and Bakura, among others.

“The notorious terrorist also controlled illegal mining sites around Sumke Forest in Anka, Zamfara state, which he used to fund his largely successful gunrunning business due to his close ties with the French-speaking jihadists in the Sahel, a region responsible for a large chunk of global terrorism deaths since 2021.”

HumAngle further reported that, “Unlike other regions, the Northcentral seems to have a peculiar insecurity problem. Rural terrorists operate seamlessly, compounding the existing communal violence propelled by the thirst for land and mineral resources. Insurgency is also deepening its roots in the region, especially in Niger state, where Islamic extremists are now recruiting boys and forcing girls into marrying them.

“The security complexity of this region is partly geographical; most of the terrorised areas have proximity to states equally troubled with terrorism and insurgency, such as Kaduna, Sokoto, and Kebbi.”

While a feature of failed or weak African states, the outsourcing of security has been widely adopted by developed countries that realized the greater cost effectiveness and efficacy of private military contractors over standing armies. The use of PMSCs thus stems from the restructuring of state security functions that typify the neoliberal global order.

As Drucker stated, the greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic. The political leadership of the country must not continue to act with yesterday logic. The ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will need to consider an urgent tweak of its subsisting security trajectory. Bring in military contractors to help defeat these terrorists.