Apart from the global dimension of the ongoing Iran-Isreal conflict, it should also be a time for introspection for Nigeria as a nation. The truth which many may not agree to is at every point in time, as a country, you must be prepared for war. That is why it is prudent for every nation to procure military hardware as a means of safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring national security.
Threats can emerge from anywhere and we shouldn’t be caught unaware. Reading through stories of what is coming out from the ongoing conflict even with the U.S intervention, one could easily deduce that military preparedness serves as a crucial deterrent to aggressors. Take how Israel is confronting Palestine and the way it is fighting Iran as example.
Israel’s military approach in Gaza shows how nations actually calibrate their tactics based on the strength of their adversaries.
Against Hamas in Gaza, we all can see how Israel is employing overwhelming force, launching airstrikes, blockades, and ground incursions with little fear of major retaliation. They know there is relatively limited threat in that area. Israel’s strategy toward Iran is far more cautious and calculated, largely because Iran is a regional power with significant military capability and influence.
While Israel has invested heavily in advanced defense systems like the Iron Dome, F-35 fighter jets, and precision-guided missiles, with the manner Iran is firing missiles, it is easy to conclude that Iran’s strength lies in its powerful ballistic missile program as It possesses one of the largest missile arsenals in the Middle East.
So what exactly is Nigeria’s strength? I am worried. Though, I am not asking that our dear country go all out to look for trouble but even in centuries before, nations and aggressors fear states with high military capabilities. This may also give us reasons why Nigeria is currently bedeviled with various insurgent groups.
A well-equipped armed force can discourage hostile actors and provide a country with the capacity to respond swiftly to crises.
The truth is a nation without such preparedness risk becoming vulnerable to coercion or invasion even from small terrorist organisations.
I read that he United States as it is known possesses the most advanced missile arsenal globally, with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) such as the Minuteman III, which can travel over 13,000 kilometers and it is capable of delivering nuclear warheads across continents.
It also has submarine-launched missiles like Trident II with similar range and precision-guided cruise missiles like the Tomahawk, which can strike targets up to 2,500 kilometers away.
In the ongoing conflict, one of Isreal’s operations Code-named Operation Narnia, Israeli operatives have reportedly used a “secret weapon” to simultaneously kill nine of Iran’s top nuclear scientists as they slept in their beds, according to Israel’s N12 news outlet.
Even in Gaza, as far back in 2023, the war has provided an unprecedented opportunity for the Israel’s IDF to deploy an AI target-creation platform called “the Gospel”, which significantly accelerated a lethal production line of targets that officials have compared to a “factory”.
Yes, I acknowledge that Nigeria may not need to go to this extent because our security priority is internal. And this is also acknowledging our socio-economic dynamics. But the reality is that Nigeria does not have enough military arsenal to adequately protect it from relatively small external aggressors. It is worrying and it should worry our military and leaders.