Nigeria’s Global Military Ranking Drops To 36 Out Of 145 Countries

Nigeria's global military ranking dropped to 36 out of 145 countries, as per Global Fire Power (GFP), which ranks nations based on currently available firepower.

While the Nigerian military was ranked 35 out of 142 countries last year, this year the ranking has dropped one position to 36 out of 145 countries.

"For 2023, Nigeria is ranked 36 of 145 out of the countries considered for the annual GFP review. The nation holds a PwrIndx* score of 0.5587 (a score of 0.0000 is considered 'perfect')," Global Fire Power mentioned on their official website.

The ranking is provided by the organization based on currently available firepower in the country.

"The finalized Global Firepower ranking below utilizes over 60 individual factors to determine a given nation's Power Index ('PwrIndx') score with categories, ranging from the number of military units and financial standing to logistical capabilities and geography," as per GFP.

Timothy Avele, who serves as Group Managing Director at Agent-X Security Group, explained the reason behind this drop. Avele explained that it could be due to a lack of awareness of the latest hardware and accidental bombing.

"There are a lot of factors that may be responsible for the lower ranking," he said, Punch reported. "One of the key factors is the lack of official information on the latest military hardware. I suspected that the Air Force mishap could have also contributed. However, this ranking does not really show the true military power of a nation."

According to reports, on Jan. 24 a bomb explosion followed by an airstrike in a village named Rukubi killed more than 50 people, as reported by saharareporters.

The Coalition of Pastoralists Association (CPAN) also leveled allegations of such airstrikes. "The recent airstrikes at Akwanaja village of Rukubi Ward, Doma LGA of Nasarawa have killed at least 32 Fulani herders, 15 Hausa drivers, and truck boys while offloading cattle. Another 62 sustained various degrees of injuries, some life-threatening," they said, Punch reported on Feb. 1.

CPAN alleged that, "before the incident, the Benue State Livestock Guards had raided and confiscated 1,254 cows at Rukubi, Nasarawa-Benue border communities in Doma LGA of the state. The guards insisted that the herders should pay hefty penalties running to millions of naira."

"Apart from this, on Dec.3, 2022, soldiers killed innocent pastoralists in Rugan Waziri, at Rafin Sarkin Fatika village," the association claimed.