By Ike Uchechukwu, Calabar

The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) has identified inadequate funding and manpower shortages as major challenges hindering the Nigerian military from fully leveraging technology to enhance operational effectiveness.

The Coordinator of the Centre, Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, disclosed this while delivering a lecture at the inauguration of Naval Warfare Course 10 in Calabar on Friday.

Laka, who was represented by the Director of Intelligence at the NCTC, Brig. Gen. Peter Gbor, spoke on the topic Leveraging Technology-Driven Intelligence for Effective Operations in the Military: AFN in Perspective.

He noted that emerging technologies, particularly advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, have become critical tools for operational effectiveness among military forces in Western countries. However, he said Nigeria is still struggling to make significant progress in this area due to the absence of robust AI infrastructure.

According to him, assessments of ongoing research and development initiatives show that advanced AI applications remain underdeveloped and poorly integrated into core operational systems.

“While there is growing institutional recognition of the importance of artificial intelligence, gaps in funding, technical expertise, coordination and strategic focus continue to limit its transformative impact on operational effectiveness,” he said.

Laka explained that essential infrastructure required for effective AI deployment includes high-performance computing systems, data storage and processing platforms, secure networks, base transceiver stations, fibre-optic platforms, satellite links and reliable broadband connectivity.

He revealed that Nigeria requires about 80,000 base stations to achieve optimal 4G and 5G network speeds but currently has only about 53,460 base stations, resulting in poor data quality and weak integration across services.

He added that the lack of robust AI infrastructure constitutes a major impediment to the effective use of artificial intelligence by the armed forces.

The NCTC coordinator also disclosed that Nigeria is ranked 86th out of 117 countries in terms of digital well-being, largely due to poor internet connectivity. He further noted that while Nigeria invested about four billion dollars in information and communication technology infrastructure between 2010 and 2021, Rwanda invested over 12 billion dollars within the same period.

Laka said the shortage of AI-trained specialists further undermines the armed forces’ capacity to exploit the large volumes of data generated from Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platforms.

“Without sufficient expertise to design and train algorithms, validate outputs and integrate AI insights into decision-making processes, commanders are unable to fully leverage AI for real-time threat detection, predictive analysis and operational planning,” he said.

He explained that AI development, being a relatively new field, is currently taught in only a few tertiary institutions in Nigeria, thereby limiting the pool of trained specialists and weakening operational effectiveness.

However, Laka said efforts were underway to reverse the trend from the first quarter of 2027 through dedicated funding and strategic partnerships with local AI institutions to provide technical expertise, facilitate knowledge transfer and support collaborative research.

Earlier, the Commander of the Naval War College, Rear Admiral Mohammed Muye, said the Armed Forces of Nigeria was progressively shifting its focus towards increased use of technology to drive military operations.

He explained that the shift was necessitated by the growing exploitation of technology by adversaries, which has increased the complexity of countering multidimensional threats within Nigeria’s maritime domain.

According to him, these evolving security dynamics underscore the need for accelerated decision-making, improved situational awareness and optimal mission outcomes. He added that, in response, the college curriculum had been reviewed from nine to eight modules to align with current operational realities.

Muye also disclosed that participants in Naval Warfare Course 10 were drawn from the Nigerian Navy, Army and Air Force, as well as from Liberia, Cameroon and Ghana.

In his remarks, the Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Chiedozie Okehie, urged participants to effectively apply the knowledge gained during the course to enhance the operational performance of their respective security agencies.