Billions of dollars worth of new weapons and increased training of soldiers in special warfare are giving Nigeria’s military a massive boost in recent times in its fight against insurgents in the North.

The ongoing acquisition of new weapons and platforms is the biggest in the country since 1983, when the pace of weapons procurement and qualitative training of soldiers fell drastically as a result of the military’s intervention in politics and fears of coups by the military regimes of the time.

Nigeria is currently the largest importer of military equipment in sub-Saharan Africa, a response to the country’s ongoing battle with Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Africa’s largest economy has been facing internal conflicts affecting its economic growth and stability since 2009, with piracy, militancy in the Niger Delta, banditry in the North-West and a growing insurgency in the South-East forcing the government to spend more on weapons and training.

Since the conflict in the Niger Delta in 2003, Nigeria’s military has consistently performed poorly against the formidable range of security threats that have further endangered the country’s continued existence. “As a result,” said Michael Page, an associate fellow at Chatham House, “Africa’s largest economy and the most populous country faces increasing risks to its long-term stability, socioeconomic health, investment climate and relationships with key external partners….