In his speech while declaring his intention to run for a
second term in office, President Goodluck Jonathan made mention of the fact
that until recently, never in the history of Nigeria has the country ever been
elected into the Security Council of the United Nations twice within a spate of
four years. Maybe one of the factors that worked in Nigeria’s favour to attain
that feat was the country’s “Big Brother” role in the African continent.
Incidentally, the role has been played even outside Africa.
Nigerians were actively involved as members of the UN Protection Force in the
former Yugoslavia in the 1990s as well as the UN Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM).
In Liberia too, the efforts of Nigeria to keep the peace during the war that
ravaged the country from Gbanga to Buchannan, Monrovia and other parts will
never be forgotten.
From there to Sierra Leone, to Darfur, Nigeria’s soldiers
were largely acclaimed for outstanding performance. To some old Generals, it
wouldn’t come as a surprise. The likes of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Olusegun
Obasanjo and others took part in peace-keeping missions and right from the
first, the UN Operation in Congo in 1960, Nigeria’s peace-keepers have dazzled
like a million stars.
Up till some months ago, the average Nigerian soldier was a
man other men would want to stand beside in a battle. That has however changed
now. Even Nigerian citizens now doubt the capability of their country’s armed
forces.
The military meddled into Nigerian politics back in 1966 and
that changed the psyche of the defenders of Nigeria’s territorial integrity to
that of rulers of the people. Apart from dumping soldiering for politicking, many
damn good soldiers have been lost to coups and “intra-military” politics.
Examples abound; soldiers who were trained on weapons handling in Pakistan and
Sandhurst, like Brigadiers Samuel Ademulegun and Zakari Maimalari, General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi and Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi among
others were all gunned down in the 1966 coups. Apart from the likes of Colonel
Shande, Major Isaac Boro and other brave men who fell during the Civil War, the
1976 coup ended the lives of Gen. Murtala Mohammed and gallant men like Ibrahim
Taiwo and the Commander-in-Chief’s ADC, young Captain Akinshehinwa. The
depletion of the population of well-trained officers in the army continued with
the execution of Col. Buka Dimka, General Iliya Bisalla and others.
As bloodless as the 1983 coup was planned to be, Brigadier
Ibrahim Bako was one of those who lost their lives. A few years later, it was
General Domkat Bali, the Minister for Defence that announced that General Maman
Jiya Vatsa and some other brilliant officers had been “summarily executed” for
plotting to overthrow the Babangida regime. In 1990, Major Gideon Orkar and
another crop of officers suffered the same fate after their attempt to oust
General Babangida failed. The President’s Aide de Camp, Colonel U.K Bello was
shot dead during an exchange of fire that April morning.
But for providence, General Oladipo Diya, Major Seun Fadipe,
Col. Ajayi and co would have gone down
too after they were arrested for planning to overthrow General Abacha. Major
Olu Akiode was however not that lucky as he died in detention.
Apart from coups, the Nigerian Army is one that has been
purged using various criteria. In 1992, NAF 911, a C 130 Hercules crashed in
Ejigbo, 3 minutes after it took off. On board were 157 army officers, including
some who graduated with first class honours from the Defence Academy. Though it
was reported that three engines failed after the plane took off, the results of
the investigation into the crash was not made public. Meanwhile, it was alleged
that the crash might not be an accident after all.
Officers are also known to have been frustrated or eased out
of the army. One of the Civil War veterans, Brigadier Alabi-Isama insinuated in
his book, The Tragedy of Victory, that
some elements wanted him out of the army back in 1977. General Bali knew it was
time to leave when he was deployed from the Ministry of Defence to a ministry
that was considered lower.
The existence of mafias did not also help the army. Notable
were the Kaduna and Langtang Mafias. Loyalty soon became major issues
especially in the 1990s. After a time, some elements tagged “Babangida Boys”
were eased out of the military. A particular officer was in the middle of a
thanksgiving service in church to mark his promotion when news got to him that
he has been retired.
Apart from the politicization of the army, low morale is one
other factor that has affected it over time. It gradually crept in as a result
of shortage of supplies.
While any have wondered how our soldiers descended so low as
to flee in the face of insurgents, findings have shown that from way back,
Nigerian soldiers have faced factors that reduced their pride and dignity. For
instance, in May, 1993, more than 600 soldiers from the 245 Recce Battalion in
Enugu were deployed to Somalia to join the UN Forces. The soldiers left Nigeria
with two months’ supply of food. By the third month, no supply came from
Nigeria. One of the soldiers disclosed on the condition of anonymity that “but
for the contingents from the US, France and the UN that gave us some food
supply, we would have starved. Our pride was reduced. ”
The soldier added that they were ill equipped as they did
not have the proper uniforms and equipment for the terrain. “We did not have
uniforms that suited the cold mornings, no pullovers, no good boots and even
the uniforms we had tore off within two months.” He also revealed that back
then, the 7 armoured personnel carriers that the army took to Somalia were not
in good shape. He went on to say that the uniforms Colonel Oyinlola, their
Commanding Officer then sourced from America were rejected by the Nigerian
government.
21 years after, the situation seems to have worsened.
Nigeria’s great fighting machine has been reduced to an incompetent lot by the
Boko Haram terrorist organization. Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the group
claims his men are better equipped than the Nigerian Army. He backed his claims
that soldiers cannot stand Boko Haram’s firepower with video evidence of his
men overrunning a military base with soldiers fleeing and hurriedly climbing
nearby hills for safety.
The insurgents have defied Nigeria’s sovereignty and have
established caliphates in captured territories.
If there had been grounds for disbelief that the army was
ill equipped, the fact that Nigeria keeps losing men and territory to
insurgents is enough to send signals. Also, two military helicopters going down
within a week speaks volumes, either about the age and status of the choppers
or about the anti-aircraft guns of the terrorists. Meanwhile, the Cameroonian
forces that repelled the Boko Harm terrorists days ago confirmed the use of 150
mm guns.
Sadly, army officers who asked to be better equipped before
being deployed to the war front were described as cowards. Some were angered by
the situation, to the extent of firing at the commanding officer. Meanwhile, at
any point in time, the Nigerian soldier finds himself not only under equipped
but also outnumbered by insurgents most times at a ratio of 1: 10.
A Nigerian Major, who was injured in Sudan was on hospital
bed when he was told that he might face a court martial for not holding
position, leading to the capture and death of his men. The Major quickly
squealed that his men were under-equipped. He stated that none of them carried
more than 60 rounds of ammunition at any time, which was the regulation of the
army.
Mubi in Adamawa State was taken under circumstances that were
beyond the comprehension of even the residents. Some claimed that fleeing
soldiers came to beg them for clothes as they shed their uniforms.
Though Nigerians have heard promises that insurgency will
end soon, a large percentage of the country’s 160 million strong population doesn’t
know who to believe. The reason is not farfetched; in spite of the assurance
from the government, terrorists have changed their hit and run strategy into
that of occupation. They now overrun communities and hoist their flag. And when
the military dislodges them from one village, they move to occupy another.
While many Nigerians believe the solution is in getting the necessary
equipment for the armed forces, it may also be necessary to re-orientate the Nigerian
soldier. The absence of qualitative opposition for so many years left the army
dormant and as such, drills should be organized on a regular basis.
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