December 21, (THEWILL) — First, it was a presidential spokesperson, Daniel Bwala. Next, it was the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani. Before both of them, Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum had lamented the technological superiority of terrorists over security agencies’ fire power.
According to Bwala, tracking terrorists is tough because they use other countries’ Internet, particularly Starlink. For the minister, bandits operating across the country deploy superior technology to evade tracking.
Lamenting the superior fire power of terrorists in the fight against insecurity in the country, Governor Zulum, sometime in October, called on the Federal Government to conduct an immediate and a comprehensive review of the nation’s air safety and defence mechanisms.
According to the governor, while on a visit to victims of terror-related attacks Zulum in Mafa, Boko Haram terrorists deployed a drone to attack a military formation in Borno State, signalling a dangerous escalation in the capabilities of the terrorist group.
The governor, while briefing on the occasion, expressed grave concern over the emergence of this new threat. He stated that the successful use of a drone by the terrorists to target a key military asset exposes a critical vulnerability in Nigeria’s airspace security.
These official disclosures may sound informative on the surface. But deep down, they are actually an admission of terrorists’ superiority. And are these admissions not an indictment of the government itself?
Come to think of it, the cost of Starlink, manufactured by American aerospace company Spacex, owned by Elon Musk, is affordable by individuals, let alone the government.
Starlink, is a mini compact, “portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go.”
In Nigeria, the cost of the hardware is said to be within the range of N590,000 for the standard kit, including subscription fees, while fees for the business/mobile are slightly higher at N167,000. On the other hand, the cost of drones for fighting terrorism is said to vary vastly.
On the other hand, drones are as cheap and varied in the technology market, either of the Chinese type or American and European types. They cost between N3 million ($2,000 for Do-it Yourself, DIY, or commercial drones used by non-state actors) to N30 million for advanced military-grade systems like the MQ-9 Reaper. Specialised surveillance drones like the Black Hornet and counter- drone interceptors even cost less. Counter drone systems like interceptor drones cost N7.5 million at $5,000. Are these costs unaffordable by the government? Or is the war against insecurity so overwhelming it is beginning to be self-inflicted?
For a government, whose citizens are virtually held in the jugular by terrorists, open admission of helplessness in the face of superior fire power by the enemy is untenable. Harassed Nigerians should be saved from the agony of these lamentations.
