Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, during a recent briefing, confirmed that the Federal Government has doubled the minimum monthly salary of Nigerian soldiers from N49,000 to N100,000. While this is a welcome development, Musa emphasised that the new wages don’t come close to solving the problem.
Speaking in a preview clip ahead of an interview set to air on News Central’s NC Exclusive programme on Friday, Musa was blunt when asked whether the current defence budget was adequate. His response left no room for interpretation: “It’s not enough.”
The salary jump is significant on paper. Recall that before the Tinubu administration took office 3 years ago, a private soldier was taking home N49,000 monthly, a figure that hadn’t moved in years, even as inflation steadily eroded its real value.
“We tried so hard; now he’s collecting N100,000,” Musa said. That doubling of the base pay aligns with the broader national minimum wage increase the federal government pushed through, which also triggered a salary review across the armed forces.
Nigeria’s defence budget for 2026 is ₦3.16 trillion, which is the highest it has ever been. The problem is that prices are going up so fast that it feels like money isn’t even worth as much as it used to be.
76% of the budget goes to paying the soldiers, leaving only 15% for buying new equipment and related items. This is the amount they have spent on equipment since 2021.
So the military is spending a lot of money. Most of it will go toward paying the soldiers. At the time, they are not spending as much on equipment and other important things as they used to.
For the soldiers who are actually fighting, ₦100,000 per month is not a lot of money in today’s Nigeria. People who study security say that when soldiers are not paid well, they have trouble focusing on their job.
It can even cause them to leave the military or not follow the rules. Musa said that the money is better than it used to be. He also said that they are trying to get more money for the soldiers.
The minister also talked about how he wants the laws to be tougher on people who kidnap others. He thinks that the laws are too soft and that is why criminals are not afraid to kidnap people.
He said, “There has to be a way to stop people from doing things. If people know that they will get in trouble if they do something they will not do it.” He even thinks that people who kidnap others should be put to death if they are found guilty.
The welfare conversation didn’t stop at salaries either. Musa pushed back against viral claims that Nigerian soldiers are poorly fed, alleging that a social media influencer known as Justice Crack had deliberately instructed soldiers to remove portions of their food before filming, making the meals appear inadequate when they were not. Justice Crack was arrested in March alongside several soldiers following the circulation of those videos.
The wider picture is one of a military fighting on multiple fronts simultaneously — against insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers in the field, while battling underfunding and morale challenges at home. Doubling soldiers’ salaries is a start, but as the minister himself admitted, it is nowhere near the finish line.
