The National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) has highlighted insufficient funding and manpower as challenges hindering the nation’s armed forces from fully leveraging technology to enhance operational effectiveness.

Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, coordinator of the centre, stated this while delivering a lecture during the inauguration of the Naval Warfare Course 10 in Calabar on Friday.

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

Mr Laka emphasised that emerging technologies, especially the advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, had become a major tool in operational effectiveness among military forces in the Western world.

He, however, noted that Nigeria was still struggling to make headway with the technology owing to a lack of robust artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The coordinator explained that assessment of ongoing research and development initiatives indicated that advanced AI applications remained underdeveloped and insufficiently integrated into the core operational systems.

“Consequently, while institutional efforts have signalled growing recognition of AI importance, gaps in funding, technical expertise, coordination, and strategic focus continue to dim the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on operational effectiveness.

“This infrastructure includes high-performance computing systems, data storage and processing platforms, secure networks, base transceiver stations, fibre optic platforms, satellite lanes, and reliable broadband connectivity.

“The country needs 80,000 base stations for optimal speed required for 4G or 5G networks, but only has about 53,460 base stations, which are short of what is required,’’ he said.

Mr Laka said that this had resulted in poor data quality and integration across services.

He added that, as a result, the lack of robust AI infrastructure constituted a neutral impediment to the effective use of AI by the armed forces to enhance operational effectiveness.

He noted that Nigeria ranked 86 out of 117 countries in terms of digital well-being, with poor internet connectivity.

Mr Laka said that while Nigeria invested $4 billion in probation and communication technology infrastructure between 2010 and 2021, Rwanda invested over US$12 billion within the same period.

The coordinator added that the shortage of AI-trained specialists undermined the armed forces’ ability to exploit large volumes of data generated by Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms.

Mr Laka said that without sufficient expertise in designing and training algorithms, validating outputs, and integrating AI insights into decision-making processes, commanders would be unable to fully leverage AI for real-time threat detection and predictive analysis.

“Furthermore, AI development, being a relatively new field, is taught in a few tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

“Therefore, the shortage of AI-trained specialists impedes the technical capacity of the armed forces, thereby undermining the ability to exploit large volumes of data generated from ISR platforms,’’ he said.

However, he said efforts were being made to change the narrative, beginning from the first quarter of 2027, adding that it would be achieved through dedicated funding and partnerships with local AI institutions.

Mr Laka said that the institutions would provide technical expertise, facilitate knowledge transfer, and support collaborative research projects.

Speaking also, the commander of the Naval War College, Rear Admiral Mohammed Muye, said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) had been progressively reorienting its focus towards the increasing use of technology to drive its operations.

He said the strategic shift was being driven largely by the increasing exploitation of technologies by the nation’s adversaries in recent times.

According to him, this has compounded the complexity of countering multidimensional surface-area and show-based threats within Nigeria’s maritime domain.

The commander said 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.

Similarly, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Chiedozie Okehie, urged the participants to imbibe and reproduce what they would be taught in operational effectiveness of their respective security agencies.

(NAN)