Former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, has criticised the alleged diversion of Nigeria’s defence funds toward the construction of shopping malls, hotels, and universities by security agencies.
Speaking on Politics Today, aired live on Channels Television on Friday night, Sani decried the misuse of military resources, insisting that every naira allocated to defence must be spent strictly on combating insecurity if Nigeria truly wants to win the fight against terrorism and banditry.
He condemned the trend of security institutions building infrastructure unrelated to warfare while frontline personnel face shortages.
“Defence and security funds should go for defence; money meant for the Ministry of Defence and military should not be used to build plazas, hotels for the National Association of Navy, and military wives. It is for those on the battlefield to achieve the desired results. Today, almost all security apparatuses have markets, plazas and shopping malls. I even heard they have universities,” he lamented.
Sani stressed that such misallocation of funds undermines the country’s fight against insurgency, calling on the government to intensify its efforts using more advanced strategies. He described terrorism as a global crisis that demands sustained and realistic efforts.
“It is a known fact that the Nigerian state as a country is faced with a war against banditry, which has been going on for a decade. It is also a fact that what we are fighting in the country is not just about us against the terrorists but the same problem is facing other nations like Niger Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso.
“We have talked too much about insecurity, but what is needed for us is to step up our action because our action as a nation has not been able to eradicate the action of terrorism in the country. You cannot win the war against terrorism in 24 hours,” he said.