By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Several African countries have been reported to face prolonged conflict and armed struggle as non-state actors have literally taken control of large swathes of land, displacing thousands of people amid the helplessness of state and sometimes regional forces.
According to the Geneva Academy of International Law and Human Rights, Africa has at least 35 non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) taking place in different countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
It comes second in the number of armed conflicts per continent, behind the Middle East, which has 45. Asia comes third with 21, Europe has 7, while Latin America has 6.
But, worried by how global leaders have prioritised investment in war over development and human welfare, Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, while speaking on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi, India, recently stressed that while billions of dollars are being poured into conflicts, millions of people continue to suffer from hunger, inadequate healthcare, and lack of access to essential services.
“Too much money is going into war when people are starving, people are dying. Babies are dying, pregnant women are dying when they shouldn’t be dying,” Ablakwa said, pointing out that over $380 billion has already been funnelled into the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
He continued, “We can use that to solve problems, to solve the lack of clean water, to solve the lack of hospitals, the lack of childhood vaccines. Global leaders must get our priorities right, we must stop shifting resources away from human development and using it to build killing machines.” The minister questioned the global obsession with military expansion, arguing that funds could instead be used to combat homelessness, provide electricity and other facilities that contribute to human and community development.
Undeniably, most of the social welfare needs highlighted by Ablakwa are well domesticated in Africa, but despite that, even seemingly poor countries, including Sudan and South Sudan, have invested a large chunk of their resources to import “killing machines” while neglecting human development that is the core of governance. With an average GDP of $109.33 billion, according to official data from the World Bank, Sudan, according to a finance ministry source, spent about $1.6 billion in just about three months in 2004 to equip fighters in camps inside and outside the country in its war against the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a conflict that has lingered since April 2023.
DR Congo and M23 Conflict
Despite its endowment with exceptional natural resources and rich mineral deposits such as cobalt and copper, hydropower potential, expansive arable land, immense biodiversity, and the world’s second-largest rainforest, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is still considered a very poor country. According to a World Bank source, DRC is among the five poorest nations in the world, as the nation’s wealth has not trickled down to the majority of its citizens.
An estimated 73.5% of Congolese people lived on less than $2.15 a day in 2024, while about one out of six people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) lives in DRC, data from the World Bank Group show. The East African country has had a prolonged history of conflict and political instability that has taken a toll on the treasury and indirectly impacted the quality of social investment available to the populace.
While there is no accurate data on how much DRC has spent in its war against the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 in recent years, it is estimated that billions of dollars have gone into building a stockpile of arms shipped from foreign lands for the country’s security forces countering the rebels’ hostilities. The financial cost is in addition to the socio-economic disruptions that have come with the conflict.
In regions controlled by the M23 rebels, banking operations have been brought to a standstill, as most commercial banks have been shut down for fear of attacks, leading to a liquidity crisis. The closure of Bralima Brewery in eastern DRC has also had severe economic implications, affecting local businesses, including bars and retail outlets, as commercial activities have been crippled.
The conflict has also impacted the easy flow of goods from neighbouring countries like Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, as key supply routes have been blocked, leading to a high cost of essential goods. As Foreign Minister Ablakwa pointed out, the shifting of resources from real issues comes with grave consequences.
The war-battered DRC ranks 164 out of 174 countries on the 2020 Human Capital Index, reflecting decades of conflict and fragility, and constraining development. Five years on, the situation remains unchanged. DRC’s Human Capital Index is 0.37, which is below the Sub-Saharan African average of 0.4. This means that a Congolese child born today can expect to achieve only 37% of their potential, compared to what would have been possible if they had benefited from a full, quality schooling experience and optimal health conditions, thanks to the ongoing conflicts.
South Sudan — Arms In Face Of Acute Food Shortage
Created in 2011 following independence from Sudan, South Sudan is the youngest country in the world. It suffered a deadly civil war that lasted for five years, ending in a 2018 peace pact between President Salva Kiir and his rival and First Vice President Riek Machar, who enjoys the loyalty of an ethnic militia, the White Army.
While the war between Kiir’s government forces and Machar’s ethnic militia group continued, a large chunk of the country’s resources, 95% of which comes from oil production, was invested in military spending despite widespread hunger. A 2017 data report showed that of the gross oil income of $3.38 billion, the sum of $884 million was paid to Sudan for the use of its pipeline and other fees, while another deduction of $781 million was made in loan to donors and international financiers, leaving the country with only $1.715 billion, which was again spent on the acquisition of arms. There is no record of significant investment in agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, education, or shelter.
“The bulk of evidence suggests that famine is a result of protracted conflict and, in particular, the cumulative toll of military operations undertaken by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A) in Government in southern Unity State, denial of access to humanitarian aid, and population displacement resulting from the war,” a UN report stated.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, African countries in 2023 spent a total of US$51.6 billion, accounting for 2.1% of the world total and marking a 22% increase from the previous year. Incidentally, two African countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, registered the highest year-on-year increases in military spending worldwide.
The institute states that DRC’s military spending saw the highest increase globally in 2023. Its US$794 million expenditure was 105% higher than in 2022, while South Sudan had the second-highest increase. Following a 108% rise in 2022, the country’s military spending increased by another 78% in 2023, reaching US$1.1 billion.
A South Sudan Poverty and Equity Assessment (PEA) Report released in December 2024 by the World Bank indicates that poverty is endemic, and vulnerability is almost universal following a decade of economic decline. The most recent South Sudan Household Budget Survey, conducted in 2022, found that 76% of citizens live below the national poverty line of 358,724 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) per person per year.
“Food insecurity is a widespread issue in South Sudan and has worsened recently with the spike in inflation. High food prices limit access to food, even in rural areas where over half of households depend on market purchases to acquire food. Insecurity, population displacements, and low agricultural investment have reduced food production, contributing to the high rates of food insecurity. Investing in agriculture and road infrastructure would enhance market integration, connect rural areas with towns, and improve food delivery, thereby lowering staple food prices and reducing import dependence,” World Bank Senior Economist for South Sudan, Frank Adoho, stated. However, the war between Kiir and Machar has greatly channeled investment on arms procurement.
Nigeria’s Prolonged Insurgency
In Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, the nearly two-decade conflict between government security forces and the Al-Qaeda-linked Boko Haram insurgency group has intensified the humanitarian crisis, especially in the country’s northern region, amid the government’s widening defence and security spending.
According to Dataphyte, which cited budget documents from the Ministry of Defence, Nigeria’s defence budget increased by 134.80% in five years. The total allocation to the defence sector in 2019 stood at N589.955 billion, but by 2023, the country budgeted N1.383 trillion for defence, marking a 134.8% increase.
During the 2025 budget presentation before the National Assembly, President Bola Tinubu proposed N4.91 trillion for the defence and security sector, out of his N49.7 trillion total proposal, making it the highest budget ever presented in Nigeria’s history.
Closely following defence and security, N4.06 trillion was allocated to infrastructure, while N2.48 trillion was set aside for health, and N3.52 trillion for education. A close observation shows that more investment has been directed towards arms acquisition than most of the social sectors Ablakwa highlighted.
Despite this enormous budgeting, communities in the country’s North West and North East regions have been displaced by the insurgency group, aided by other armed groups simply classified as “bandits” without any clear-cut ideology but linked to numerous abductions of schoolchildren, travellers, and community members. Stories have been told of how malnourished these non-state actors appear, often leading them to invade communities to loot food barns.
Alarmingly, poverty remains endemic in Nigeria, with about 70% of its population living in poverty, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). As far back as 2022, the National Multidimensional Poverty Index revealed that 63% of Nigerians, representing approximately 133 million people, live in poverty, with Northern Nigeria experiencing the highest rates. This is despite the country’s abundant agricultural and mineral deposits, particularly in the security-volatile northern regions.
Like Ablakwa warned, global and African leaders must get their priorities right by paying attention to real issues, building alliances, and forging new frontiers. “We should not be fighting each other. Let’s unite. Let’s come together. Let’s build a fair, just and prosperous wealth for our people,” he urged.
Ablakwa also appealed for the strengthening of continental initiatives, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to enable African nations to trade and cooperate more, thereby building wealth and reducing over-reliance on foreign powers.
