CENTRE For The Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has estimated that war against military junta in Niger Republic to restore constitutional democracy in that country would cost Nigeria a minimum of $2 billion annually.

Dr. Muda Yusuf, the CEO of
the Lagos- based CPPE (an economic pressure group), therefore, called on the ECOWAS leaders headed by Nigeria ‘s President Bola Tinubu, to contemplate the colossal effects military intervention would have on  countries of the sub region and their citizens.

He said that the financial cost of a military campaign could be quite staggering and unpredictable.

Profiles of Nigeria Military Operations In ECOWAS
” There are valuable lessons to learn from the Nigeria’s military operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone over two decades ago.

Nigeria was the arrow head of the then Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group [ECOMOG], the intervention force at the time. 

We lost over 500 soldiers during the Liberia war with hundreds sustaining various degrees of injuries. The war became protracted, lasting for about 7 years, [1990 to 1998]. 

At the peak of the war, there were 16,000 ECOMOG troops in Liberia, 80% of them were Nigerian troops.  The cost to Nigeria of the Liberia war was an estimated $8 billion dollars.

Shortly after the Liberia military operation, Nigeria led another military intervention in Sierra Leone to restore democracy in that country following the coup that toppled the then democratically elected President, Tejan Kabbah.

The story of Nigeria’s military campaign in Sierra Leone was not different.

Nigeria spent over $4 billion and lost about 700 soldiers. The war lasted about five years from 1998 to 2002.

The lesson here is that the cost of military interventions can be very prohibitive.

Similar military operation at this time may cost considerably higher, given the inflationary trend over the past 25 years. 

At the very minimum it would cost Nigeria a minimum of $2 billion annually to prosecute a military operation in Niger, taking into account the prevailing geopolitical dynamics in the Sahel.

It will be difficult to accommodate such huge financial commitment at this time without putting a serious strain on our fiscal operations and foreign reserves.

With the benefit of hindsight, it is doubtful whether Nigeria got any significant benefit from the military interventions in both Liberia and Sierra Leone. 
Yet the operation was a huge financial burden on Nigeria.

The costs to Nigeria were colossal. Military spending in a war situation is largely in foreign currency. 

It could therefore be a major drain on the Nigeria’s reserves.

The loss of lives was also a tragic outcome of the war.

At the end, there was no concrete benefit for Nigeria for expending so much of its financial and human resources,” he said.