Daily Cycle

🚨₦150 Million Gone With One Shot: Ex-Defence Chief Reveals Cost of Drone Missiles

Nigeria’s former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (rtd.), has revealed the staggering financial reality behind modern warfare, disclosing that one medium-range precision missile used in drone operations costs about $100,000 — roughly ₦150 million.

Musa made the statement during his ministerial screening at the Senate, stressing that the country must budget and deploy carefully as the cost of contemporary military technology continues to rise.

According to him, each missile fired represents ₦150 million gone instantly, whether it hits the target or not. He noted that such equipment is largely imported and paid for in foreign currency, making defence expenses even more difficult for a naira-based economy.

Musa used the disclosure to argue for more strategic planning, stronger intelligence, and disciplined deployment of weapons, rather than reactionary operations. He added that while drones and precision strikes are necessary, Nigeria’s current security challenges cannot be solved by firepower alone: community engagement, intelligence frameworks, and coordinated interventions are equally critical.

Lawmakers questioned Musa extensively on issues ranging from troop withdrawals before recent school abductions to the loss of senior officers in active operations. Despite tough scrutiny, his emphasis on cost efficiency and a broader national security strategy resonated, and he was later confirmed as Minister of Defence by the Senate.

His revelation underscores a wider truth about Nigeria’s defence effort: the battle against insurgency, banditry, and terror is not just fought on the field, but also on the budget sheet. As Musa noted, every missile fired carries a price tag high enough to demand precision, planning, and accountability.

The new minister now faces the challenge of turning this awareness into practical reform — ensuring that each decision, each operation, and each shot fired counts.
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🚨Kebbi School Abduction: A Stark Reminder of Nigeria’s Deepening Security Crisis

The recent abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State—carried out by armed bandits who stormed the community and marched students into nearby forests—has once again exposed the fragile state of security across northern Nigeria.

While security forces and vigilante groups have launched coordinated search efforts, the incident highlights broader challenges: weak rural security, lucrative ransom-driven kidnapping networks, and the growing threat to education in the region.

Over the past decade, schools have become repeated targets, leading to declining enrollment, teacher flight, community trauma, and long-term setbacks for human capital development. The government’s ban on ransom payments has not stopped the trend, underscoring the need for deeper reforms—stronger intelligence, school security infrastructure, community collaboration, and economic interventions that address the roots of banditry.

This attack—the first major school abduction since March 2024—serves as a sobering reminder that the safety of Nigeria’s children remains a national emergency, demanding urgent, coordinated, and sustained action.
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🚨Founder and Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY & ARISE News Set to Create Nigeria’s First Major Homegrown Social Media Platform

Nduka Obaigbena, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY and ARISE News, has announced plans to launch an African-owned social media platform, Lekeelekee, in January 2026. Designed to counter U.S.–China dominance in global content distribution, the platform aims to give Nigerian and African creators greater control over their narratives, data, and monetization.

Speaking at the All Nigeria Editors Conference, Obaigbena emphasized that AI and foreign-controlled platforms are reshaping global media in ways that risk sidelining African voices. Lekeelekee will function as a low-data, creator-focused multimedia hub built to empower local journalists, storytellers, and digital entrepreneurs.

If successful, this could mark a significant step toward Nigeria’s digital sovereignty — and reposition Africa in the global media landscape.
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