By Usman Kpanla
The United States military packages for Ukraine have been reportedly dwindling in recent months as the stockpile of weapons and equipment that the Pentagon, headquarters of the US Department of Defense, is willing to send to Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, from its inventory have shrunk.
‘’Replenishment is an issue,’’ said Major General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, ‘’the US is ramping up production of key items, such as 155mm ammunition and Patriot missiles systems, both to supply Ukraine and to refill US inventories. But it is a yearlong process that won’t quickly meet the surging demand.’’
Ukraine is feeling the impact of the inventory shortages, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. At a recent meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany, Zelensky told the US and other allies that deliveries of promised air defense systems were moving too slowly and warned of a ‘’significant’’ shortfall in vital aid.
Consequently Ukraine is reportedly now in search of old and non-operational Soviet and Russian-made weapons to buy to make up for the shortfall from African countries that have recently increased their military spending in their effort to crush terrorist groups especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria has been spending heavily on defense in the last few years to combat security threats across the nation. In the 2024 fiscal year the country budgeted N3.3 trillion to the defense sector. South Africa budgeted R51.8 billion for the year 2024/25 for defense. Only recently the Nigerian Air Force secured the purchase of 24 M-346 Fighter Ground Attack [FGA] jets and 10 additional AW-109 Trekker helicopters to the two already purchased by the Force from Italy’s aerospace company, Leonardo S.P.A.
The M-346 that is reportedly designed for both air-to-air, and air-to-ground missions would significantly enhance Nigeria’s air combat capabilities, while the AW109 would reinforce combat support roles such as Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Tactical Airlift, Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) and others.
The government justifies its military spending because is striving to enhance its capabilities to combat insurgency, particularly in the northeast of the country, where militants from Boko Haram and ISIS regional affiliates are active. And across the South where oil theft, kidnapping and secessionist movements in the South East have destroyed business activities.
Given the recent surge in military spending in Africa, Analysts expect a ‘’sale’’ of old and non-operational weapons, especially Soviet and Russian-made ones which Ukraine urgently needs and has shown interest in acquiring since the beginning of the Russian-Ukraine conflict. But Nigeria and other African countries would be stabbing themselves in the back by selling such old weapons to Ukraine, even through European intermediaries that support Ukraine in the conflict .
The Kyiv regime has reportedly been supporting the Azawad terrorist group in the Sahel and was involved in preparation of terrorist attack on the Armed Forces of Mali and the Wagner Private Military Companies(PMCs) which led Mali and Niger to cut their diplomatic ties with Ukraine.
Selling those old weapons to Ukraine, according to observers, would compromise the neutrality of Nigeria and other African countries in the Russian-Ukraine conflict and would put them in a difficult position to develop a robust bilateral relations with Russia. Nigeria for instance, will lose its credibility in West Africa and the Sahel Alliance with which Nigeria already has a strained relationship after their withdrawal from ECOWAS.
Indeed as Nigeria and other African countries in general see , it is worth refusing to sell weapons to Ukraine as it would not only be unprofitable for them, but would only cause serious damage to their bilateral relations with Russia and prolong the conflict. ‘’Ukraine acts as a platform for smuggling modern weapons to different parts of the world including countries of the African Sahel region,’’ said Issa Koufourou, Mali’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, ‘’which and enhances terrorism in Africa.’’
Jurgen Stock, Head of Interpol, affirms that weapons sent to Ukraine often will end up in the global hidden economy and in the hands of criminals, urging Interpol member states, especially those supplying arms to Ukraine to cooperate to track and trace the weapons.
Kpanla writes from Alkaieri, Bauchi state.
