Nigerian Army
| Nigerian Army | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the Nigerian Army | |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Country |  Nigeria |
| Type | Army |
| Role | Land warfare |
| Size | 160,000 (2020)[1] |
| Part of |  Nigerian Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Nigerian Army Headquarters,Armed Forces Complex,Muhammadu Buhari Way,Abuja,FCT |
| Motto(s) | "Victory is from God alone!" |
| Anniversaries | Nigerian Army Day(6 July) |
| Engagements | Congo Crisis Nigerian Civil War First Liberian Civil War Sierra Leone Civil War Conflict in the Niger Delta Boko Haram insurgency Northern Mali War Invasion of the Gambia Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria Nigerian bandit conflict |
| Website | army |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | PresidentBola Tinubu |
| Chief of Defence Staff | GeneralChristopher Musa |
| Chief of Army Staff | Lieutenant GeneralTaoreed Lagbaja |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
TheNigerian Army(NA) is theland forceof theNigerian Armed Forces.Tracing its history to British colonial forces in West Africa, it is the largest component of the armed forces. ThePresident of Nigeriais the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is theChief of Army Staff,who is the highest rankingmilitary officerof the Nigerian Army.[2][3]It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC).[4]The Nigerian Army is operationally and geographically divided into ten divisions, the basic field formation. The army has been involved in operations throughout the country, most especially during theNigerian Civil War,and has undertaken major operations abroad. Nigerian Army officers have served aschiefs of defencein other countries, with Brigadier GeneralMaxwell Khobeserving as Sierra Leone chief of staff in 1998–1999,[5]and Nigerian officers acting as Command Officer-in-Charge of theArmed Forces of Liberiafrom at least 2007.
History
[edit]Formation
[edit]The Nigerian Army traces its history to LieutenantJohn Hawley Glover'sConstabulary Force,which was largely composed of freedHausa slavesin 1863.[6]The Constabulary Force was established with the primary goal of protecting theRoyal Niger Companyand its assets from constant military incursions by the neighboringAshanti Empire.[7]This policing force would slowly grow in size and capability to meet the needs of the British Empire in its West African territories, and would later form the nucleus of both the Gold Coast and the Hausa Constabulary, both of which would become theGhana RegimentandSouthern Nigeria Regimentrespectively by 1879. These regiments would be incorporated into theRoyal West African Frontier Force(RWAFF) in 1900 by the BritishColonial Office,following British military experiences in theBenin Expedition of 1897,as well as wider British efforts of complete reorganization of its African colonial units such as that of theEgyptian Armyearlier in the year. During theSecond World War,British-trained Nigerian troops saw action with the1st (West Africa) Infantry Brigade,the81stand the82nd (West Africa) Divisionswhich fought in theEast African Campaign (World War II)and in the Far East.
Independence
[edit]The roots of the ethnic cleavages which started to rip through the army after independence had some of their origins in colonial recruiting practices, with line infantry and the artillery being raised from the North, but during the expansion of the force during theSecond World Wara large proportion of more educated southerners being brought in to take up posts that required more technical training. Like inGhana,there was significant pressure to "Nigerianize" the armed forces, with, for example, two officers being promoted to Brigadier as a concession to public opinion on the occasion of the last British commander arriving inLagos.From a force of 8,000 in five infantry battalions and supporting units,[8]strength rose to around 120,000 in three divisions by the end of theNigerian Civil Warin 1970.[9]In terms of doctrine, the task of the Federal Nigerian army did not fundamentally change: its task remained to close with and defeat an organized enemy.
Civil War
[edit]The rapid expansion of the Nigerian Army in the wake of the civil war witnessed a severe decline in troop quality.[10]The expansion process overseen by the Nigerian army command staff led to an extreme shortage of commissioned officers, with newly created lieutenant-colonels commanding brigades, and platoons and companies often commanded by sergeants and warrant officers. This resulted in tentativecommand-and-controland in rudimentary staff work by Nigerian army personnel.[11]One result of the weak direction was that the federal government's three field divisions fought independently, and competed for men and material. Writing in a 1984 study, Major Michael Stafford of theUnited States Marine Corpsnoted the following: "Inexperienced, poorly trained and ineptly led soldiers manifested their lack of professionalism and indiscipline by massacres of innocent civilians and a failure to effectively execute infantry tactics."[12]Among the results of this failure of command experience and professionalism was the1967 Asaba massacre,resulting in the deaths of some one thousand civilians and individuals ofIgbodescent.
In November 1970, theU.S. intelligence communityconcluded the following: "The Nigerian Civil War ended with surprisingly little rancor. The defeated Igbos are accepted as fellow citizens in many parts of Nigeria, but not in some areas of former Biafra where they were once dominant. [Iboland] is an overpoperated, economically depressed area, where massive unemployment is likely to prevail for some years." Furthermore, U.S. analysts would go on to state that: "Nigeria is still very much a tribal society, in which clan, tribal and regional jealousies, hostilities and interests count for more than national attachment.General Gowon,Head of the Federal Military Government (FMG), is the accepted national leader and his popularity has grown since the end of the war. The FMG is neither very efficient nor dynamic, but the recent announcement that it intends to retain power for six more years has generated little opposition so far. The Nigerian Army, vastly expanded during the war, is both the main support to the FMG and the chief threat to it. The troops are poorly trained and disciplined and some of the officers are turning to conspiracies and plotting. We think Gowon will have great difficulty in staying in office through the period which he said is necessary before the turnover of power to civilians. His sudden removal would dim the prospects for Nigerian stability. "[13]
The influence of individual personalities is generally greater in the armies of developing states, as they tend to have weaker institutional frameworks. Key personalities involved in Nigeria included then-ColonelOlusegun Obasanjo.Obasanjo was particularly important due to his efforts to reorganize his command,3 Division,during the civil war to improve its logistics and administration. The reorganization he instituted permitted 3 Division to successfully conduct the offensive operations that would ultimately lead to the end the civil war in Nigeria. The Nigerian Army fought the Civil War significantly under-resourced; Obasanjo's memoirs chronicle the lack of any stocks of extra equipment for mobilisation and the "haphazard and unreliable system of procurement and provisioning" which lasted for the entire period of the war.[14]Arms embargoes imposed by several Western countries made the situation more difficult.
Post-war
[edit]At the end of the Civil War, the three divisions of the Army were reorganised into four divisions, with each controlling territories running from North to South in order to deemphasise the former regional structure. Each division thus had access to the sea thereby making triservice cooperation and logistic support easier. This deployment formula was later abandoned in favour of the present assignment of sectors to the divisions. Thus 1 Division with HQ at Kaduna is allocated the North West sector; 2 Division with HQ at Ibadan South West sector, 3 Division with HQ at Jos North East sector and 82 Division with HQ at Enugu South East sector.[15]
Recent history
[edit]Its formations include the1 Division,headquartered inKadunain the north-west, and2 Division(HQIbadanin the South-West, which includes 32 Artillery Brigade atAbeokuta).[16]2nd Division also possibly includes 4 Brigade atBenin City,with 19 Battalion atOkitipupaand 195 Battalion atAgenebode.52 Signal Regiment may be the divisional signals unit.3 Division's headquarters is at Rukuba Cantonment,Jos,in the North-East, and includes 21 Armoured BrigadeMaiduguri,23 BrigadeYola,and 33 Artillery Brigades.[17]81st Division(Amphibious) HQ in Lagos, which includes the 9 Brigade, based atIkeja Cantonmentin northern Lagos,82nd Division(Airborne and Amphibious) HQ inEnuguin the South-East, which includes the 2 Brigade at Port Harcourt, 13 Brigade at Calabar and the 34th Artillery Brigade atObinze/Owerri.The Composite Division at Enugu was formed in 1964 as 4 Division, in 1975 became Lagos Garrison Organization; in 1981 became 4 Composite Division; became a Composite Division in May 2002.[18]3rd Armoured Division was responsible in 1983 for the security of areas borderingChad.[19]
Lagos and Abuja have garrison commands, with the Lagos garrison as large as a division. 81st Division was previously the youngest division, formed on 26 May 2002 when the Lagos Garrison Command (as it then was) was upgraded to divisional status. The Division, therefore, inherited the security roles hitherto performed by the defunct Lagos Garrison Command.[20]However a later undated article in a Nigerian online newspaper says the 81st Division was later again renamed the Lagos Garrison Command. In the 1980s, the Army's brigades included the 7th Infantry Brigade in Sokoto. There are also Divisional Artillery Brigades, among which are the 32 and 34 Artillery Brigades,[21]ordnance corps units as well as Combat Engineer Regiments, and many other service support units spread across the country.
The7th Division(also known as JTF-RO) was established in August 2013 for the war againstBoko Haram.The creation of the new division brought to six the number of divisions. The 7th division is headquartered in Maiduguri.[22]The division includes a combat motorcycle unit as part of its 25th Task Force Brigade.[23]The purpose of this unit is stated as securing roads in Yobe and serving as a force multiplier in combat operations.[23]Training and Doctrine Command formed in 1981, and is located atMinna.It supervises the Army's schools, including the Depot.
On 27 April 2023, the Nigerian Army conducted the largestPresentation of Coloursin the Commonwealth onEagle Square, Abuja,issuing 53 new colors to preexisting units an 28 colors to newly established units 81 colours being issued).[24]
Organisation
[edit]The Nigerian Army as of 2016 consisted of some 6,000 officers and 150,000 enlisted personnel.[25]
Leadership
[edit]The army itself is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). It members include:
| Post | Current Holder |
|---|---|
| Chief of the Army Staff | Lieutenant GeneralTaoreed Lagbaja |
Departments
[edit]- Department of Army Policy and Plans
- Department of Army Administration
- Department of Army Training
- Department of Army Operations
- Department of Special Services and Programs
- Department of Civil-Military Affairs
- Welfare Limited/Guarantee
- Army Transformation and Innovation Centre
- Department of Army Logistics
- Directorate of Army Public Relations
- Cyber Warfare Command
Personnel corps
[edit]The Nigerian Army is functionally organized into combat arms, which are infantry and armoured; the combat support arms, which are artillery, engineers, signals, and intelligence.[26][27]
Formations
[edit]| Name | Headquarters | Subunits | Geographical distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Mechanized Division | Kaduna[28] |
|
|
| 2nd Mechanized Division | Ibadan[28] |
| |
| 3rd Armoured Division | Jos[28] |
| |
| 6th Amphibious Division | Port Harcourt[30] |
| |
| 7th Infantry Division | Maiduguri[28] |
| |
| 8th Division | Sokoto[31] |
| |
| 81st Division(Amphibious) | Lagos[28] |
| |
| 82nd Composite Division (Airborne and Amphibious) | Enugu[28] | ||
| Guards Brigade | Abuja,Federal Capital Territory |
|
Army locations
[edit]
The following are installations owned by the Nigerian Army:[33]
- Ribadu Cantonment (Kaduna)
- Adaka Boro Barracks (Elele)
- Giwa Barracks (Maiduguri)
- Maimalari Barracks (Maiduguri)
- Fort Nagwamatse (Kontagora)
- Obienu Barracks (Bauchi)
- Ejoor Barracks (Effurun)
- Camp Wu Bassey (Abuja)
- Niger Barracks (Formerly Fort IBB) (formerly Fort Obasanjo) inAbuja
- Mogadishu Cantonment (Formerly Sani Abacha Barracks) (Abuja)
- Mambilla Barracks (Formerly Yakubu Gowon Barracks) (Abuja)
- Aguiyi-Ironsi Barracks (Abuja)
- Lungi Barracks (Formerly Gado Nasko Barracks) (Abuja)
Personnel
[edit]Training
[edit]TheTraining and Doctrine Command(TRADOC) located inMinnais responsible for doctrinal, training and combat development, and supervises training centers. There are 17 Corps Training Schools and theNigerian Army College of Logistics(NACOL).[26][28]The Army sponsors theNigerian Military SchoolatZariaandCommand Secondary Schoolsall over the federation.
Military forces abroad
[edit]
In December 1983 the new régime of the Head of State of Nigeria, Major GeneralMuhammadu Buhari,announced that Nigeria could no longer afford an activist anti-colonial role in Africa.Anglophonemembers of theEconomic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) establishedECOMOG,dominated by the Nigerian Army, in 1990 to intervene in thecivil war in Liberia.[34]Smaller army forces had previously carried out UN and ECOWAS deployments in theformer Yugoslavia,Angola,Rwanda,Somalia,andSierra Leone.[35]
The anti-colonial policy statement did not deter Nigeria under GeneralsIbrahim Babangidain 1990 andSani Abachain 1997 from sending peacekeeping troops as part ofECOMOGunder the auspices of ECOWAS into Liberia and later intoSierra Leonewhen civil wars broke out in those countries. PresidentOlusegun Obasanjoin August 2003 committed Nigerian troops once again into Liberia,[36]at the urging of the United States, to provide an interim presence until the UN's forceUNMILarrived.Charles Taylorwas subsequently eased out of power by U.S. pressure[37]and exiled to Nigeria.
In October 2004, Nigerian troops were deployed intoDarfur,Sudan to spearhead anAfrican Unionforce to protect civilians there.[38]
In January 2013, Nigeria began to deploy troops to Mali as part of theAfrican-led International Support Mission to Mali.[39][40]
Nigeria claimed to have contributed more than twenty thousand troops and police officers to various UN missions since 1960. TheNigeria Police Forceand troops have served in places likeUNIPOM(UN India-Pakistan Observer mission) 1965,UNIFILinLebanon1978, the UN observer mission,UNIIMOGsupervising the Iran-Iraq ceasefire in 1988, formerYugoslavia1998,East Timor1999, and in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo(MONUC) 2004.
Equipment
[edit]Despite a disproportionate emphasis on the materiel and sophistication of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and despite possessing some formidable hardware, the Army has been hamstrung by technical deficiency and an exceptionally poor standard of maintenance.[41]Its overabundance of foreign suppliers, includingAustria,Brazil,France,Germany,Italy,Sweden,Switzerland,Romania,Turkey,Ukraine,the formerSoviet Union,theUnited Statesand theUnited Kingdom,has also complicated logistics. Calculating the size and scope of replacement inventories alone is impossible given the menagerie of equipment in use.[41][42][43]
The Nigerian Army maintains at least eighty-two different weapon systems and 194 types of ammunition, of sixty-two different categories, from fourteen manufacturers.[41]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^The International Institute of Strategic Studies (14 February 2020).The Military Balance 2020.Routledge, Chapman & Hall, Incorporated. p. 493.ISBN9780367466398.
- ^"Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan sacks military chiefs".BBC News.Retrieved9 June2015.
- ^"The Nigerian Army - Chronicle of Command".Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2011.Retrieved3 August2010.
- ^Parliament of Nigeria."Nigerian Armed Forces Act, 1994"(PDF).International Red Cross.Retrieved12 March2015.
- ^"Account Suspended".Dawodu.
- ^"History of the Nigerian Army".Nigerian Army.Retrieved29 May2021.
- ^"celebrating nigerian army at 152".Thisdaylive.Archived fromthe originalon 5 July 2015.Retrieved9 June2015.
- ^Gutteridge, Military in African Politics, 1969, 97.
- ^Scott report,Sunday Telegraph,11 January 1970, via N.J. Miners,The Nigerian Army 1956–65,Methuen and Co. Ltd, London, 1971, p. 229
- ^Sieff, Kevin (10 May 2015)."The Nigerian military is so broken, its soldiers are refusing to fight".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Retrieved24 August2021.
- ^Neville Brown, "The Nigerian Civil War," Military Review, vol. 48, October 1968, p. 28, cited in Major Michael Stafford, Quick Kill in Slow Motion, Marine Corps CSC, 1984, athttp:// globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/SMR.htm
- ^Stafford study, 1984
- ^Central Intelligence Agency (2 November 1970),National Intelligence Estimate 64.2–70: Prospects for Postwar Nigeria(PDF),United States Department of State,archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 August 2009,retrieved17 August2013
- ^Olusegun Obasanjo,My Command: An Account of the Nigerian Civil War,Heinemann, Ibadan/London/Nairobi, 1980, p. 61
- ^"Nigerian Army Logbaby".logbaby.Archived fromthe originalon 12 June 2020.Retrieved22 January2020.
- ^"Home".Thisdayonline.Archived fromthe originalon 15 January 2011.Retrieved15 February2015.
- ^"The Nigerian Army - 3 Division".Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2011.Retrieved3 August2010.
- ^Orbat,Concise World Armies 2006
- ^Jimi Peters, The Nigerian military and the state, I.B. Tauris, 1997, p. 174, viaGoogle Books
- ^"Nigerian Army".Archived fromthe originalon 25 July 2011.Retrieved3 August2010.
- ^Saxone Akhaine,Army chief decries military's involvement in politicsArchived3 March 2016 at theWayback Machine,Guardian, Kaduna, 13 October 2008
- ^John Pike."Nigeria – 7th Infantry Division".Globalsecurity.org.Retrieved15 February2015.
- ^ab"Nigerian Army Inducts Combat Motorbikes Battalion To Fight Boko Haram".Defense World. 29 February 2016.Retrieved3 January2017.
- ^Onyedinefu, Godsgift (27 April 2023)."Nigerian Army unveils new regimental colours".Businessday NG.Retrieved4 May2023.
- ^"Nigerian Army plans to double in size | IHS Jane's 360".Archived fromthe originalon 11 June 2016.Retrieved13 May2016.
- ^ab"Nigerian Army Order of Battle".globalsecurity.org.Retrieved16 February2019.
- ^Soldiering as a Career.Nigerian Army.
- ^abcdefg"Nigerian Army- Official Website".Army.mil.ng.Archived fromthe originalon 4 October 2022.Retrieved5 February2017.
- ^abcdefgh"Nigerian Army Order of Battle".Retrieved7 September2021.
- ^Emmanuel, Ankeli (28 November 2016)."Nigeria: Army Council Approves 8 Division for Sokoto".AllAfrica.
- ^"Preventing Coups in Nigeria".gamji.Retrieved3 October2020.
- ^"Barracks".gamji.Retrieved3 October2020.
- ^"Waging War to Keep the Peace: The ECOMOG Intervention and Human Rights (Human Rights Watch Report, June 1993)".Hrw.org.Retrieved6 February2017.
- ^"Nigerian Army Order of Battle".globalsecurity.org.Retrieved27 October2019.
- ^"Nigerian troops off to Liberia".News24.Retrieved6 February2017.
- ^"Nigeria would shield Taylor from trial".CNN.10 July 2003.
- ^"BBC NEWS | Africa | Rwandan soldiers arrive in Sudan".news.bbc.co.uk.15 August 2004.Retrieved6 February2017.
- ^"Nigeria expends N7bn on troops, logistics to Mali – Jonathan – Vanguard News".Vanguard News.30 January 2013.Retrieved6 February2017.
- ^"U.S., Africa say Mali action counters growing Islamist threat".Reuters.23 January 2017.Retrieved6 February2017.
- ^abcJohn Olukayode Fayemi."NThreats, Military Expenditure and National Security: Analysis of Trends in Nigeria's Defence Planning, 1970 – 1990"(PDF).University of London. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 March 2015.Retrieved12 March2015.
- ^"Nigerian Army Uses Trump's Words to Justify Fatal Shooting of Rock-Throwing Protesters".Retrieved4 November2018.
- ^"Army better equipped, motivated under Buhari – Army Chief".The Informant247.29 May 2022.Retrieved30 May2022.