Nigerian Armed Forces

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Nigerian Armed Forces
Military history of Nigeria
List of engagements
RanksMilitary ranks of Nigeria

The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the military forces of Nigeria. The armed forces consist of three service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, exercising his constitutional authority through the Ministry of Defence, which is responsible for the management of the military and its personnel. The operational head of the AFN is the Chief of Defence Staff, who is subordinate to the Nigerian Defence Minister. With a force of more than 230,000 active personnel, the Nigerian military is one of the largest uniformed combat services in Africa.[5] According to Global Firepower, the Nigerian Armed Forces are the fourth-most powerful military in Africa, and ranked 35th on its list, internationally.[6]

The Nigerian Armed Forces were established in 1960 as the successor to the combat units of the

1966 & 1983).[7]
Nigeria's armed forces would continue to remain an active element in combat operations throughout the African continent over the proceeding decades, with notable engagements including its 2017 involvement as part of the
ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia.[8]

Legal standing

The roles of a country's armed forces are entrenched in her constitution. The defence of the territorial integrity and other core interests of the nation, form the major substance of such roles. Section 217-220 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria thus addresses the Nigerian Armed Forces:

  • (1) There shall be an armed forces for the federation, which shall consist of an army, a navy, an air force, and such other branches of the armed forces of the federation, as may be established by an Act of the National Assembly.
  • (2) The federation shall, subject to an Act of the National Assembly made in that behalf, equip and maintain the armed forces as may be considered adequate and effective for the purpose of –
  • (a) defending Nigeria from external aggression.
  • (b) maintaining its territorial integrity and securing its borders from violation on land, sea, or air;
  • (c) suppress insurrection and act in aid of civil authorities to restore order, when called upon to do so by the President, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly; and
  • (d) perform such other functions as may be prescribed by an act of the National Assembly.
  • (3) The composition of the officer corps and other ranks of the armed forces of the Federation shall reflect the federal character of Nigeria.

History

The origin of the Nigerian Armed Forces lies in the elements of the Royal West African Frontier Force, that became Nigerian, when independence was granted in 1960. In 1956, the Nigeria Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) was renamed the Nigerian Military Forces, RWAFF, and in April 1958, the colonial government of Nigeria took over from the British War Office control of the Nigerian Military Forces.[9]

Shortly after its formation, the NAF was engaged in combat operations against the secessionist state of Biafra, during the Nigerian Civil War from 1967 to 1970. At this point in time, the Nigerian military ballooned in strength from 85,000 personnel in 1967, to more than 250,000 troops by the war's end.[10] In the years following the civil war, the Nigerian Armed Forces were halved in size from its post-war height to approximately 125,000 men. In spite of this contraction in the size and funding of its armed forces, Nigeria would boast the only military in West Africa capable of engaging in foreign military operations, such as during its intervention in Liberian civil war in 1990.[11][12]

The great expansion of the military during the civil war further entrenched the existing military hold on Nigerian society, carried over from the first military regime. In doing so, it played an appreciable part in reinforcing the military's nearly first-among-equals status within Nigerian society, and the linked decline in military effectiveness. Olusegun Obasanjo, who by 1999, had become president, bemoaned the fact in his inaugural address that year: "... Professionalism has been lost... my heart bleeds to see the degradation in the proficiency of the military."[13]

Today, the NAF faces a number of domestic challenges which continue to undermine stability within Nigeria and the region as a whole. Some of these threats include the ongoing conflict against the

jihadist rebel group, Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, which has been in effect since July 2009. Likewise, Nigeria has been engaged in a long-running anti-piracy campaign in the Niger Delta, which has threatened the vital petroleum industry in the country, which is the source of 90% of Nigeria's exports and 35% of the government's revenue.[14][15] Compounding this state of affairs is the role corruption plays in the ongoing attempts to strengthen the armed forces. Corruption has historically weakened the Nigerian military's capacity to face internal security threats and is cited as being responsible for the continued longevity of rebels and terrorists operating throughout the nation.[16][17]

In spite of these challenges to its operational readiness, the Nigerian Armed Forces have committed to a number of wide-ranging modernization programs to bolster the discipline and firepower of its troops. This includes the acquisition of new armored vehicles, combat aircraft and aerial reconnaissance drones, and the refurbishing of naval vessels, which had suffered from a prolonged periods of poor or minimal maintenance. These trends in the development of the armed forces as a fighting force, as well as efforts to combat corruption within the ranks of military personnel and government bureaucracy, have been critically important in the ability of Nigeria to confront challenges to its national security and stability in the wider region of West Africa as a whole.[18][19][20][21]

Structure

Command structure

The President of Nigeria functions as the

Chief of the Defence Staff, who is subordinate to the Nigerian Defence Minister. The current chief is General Christopher Gwabin Musa
.

The National Defence Council has been in existence since 1979 and advises the President on matters relating to the armed forces. The NDC is chaired by the president, and its members include the Vice President of Nigeria, the National Security Adviser, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of State for Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air Staff, as well as others the president is empowered to appoint.

Service branches

Army

Main article: Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the largest among the armed forces. Its major formations include the

Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, who was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.[22] The Nigerian Army has been playing a major role in defence of Nigerian Democracy since the first republic till date.[23]

Navy

Main article: Nigerian Navy

The Nigerian Navy (NN) is the sea branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The Nigerian Navy command structure today, consists of the Naval Headquarters in Abuja as well as three other operational commands with headquarters in

Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla.[24]

Air Force

Main article: Nigerian Air Force
Roundel of the Nigerian Air Force

The Nigerian Air Force was formally established in January 1964, with technical assistance from

MiG-17 aircraft were presented by the Soviet Union
in 1966.

In 2007, the Air Force had a strength of 10,000.[25] It flies transport, trainer, helicopter, and fighter aircraft. By 2021, the number of the Air Force personnel had increased to 18,000.[26]

The Air Force sponsors the

Hassan Bala Abubakar.[27]

Training establishments

Training establishments in Nigeria include the prestigious officer entry: Nigerian Defence Academy at Kaduna, the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, and the National War College at Abuja.[28] The U.S. commercial military contractor, Military Professional Resources Inc. has been involved around 1999–2000 in advising on civil-military relations for the armed forces.[29]

Nigerian military operations abroad

In December 1983, the new Major General

Pax Nigeriana.[33]

That policy statement did not deter Nigeria under Generals

Charles Taylor
was subsequently eased out of power and exiled to Nigeria.

In October 2004, the Nigerian troops were deployed to Darfur, Sudan, to spearhead an African Union force, to stop the genocide in Darfur.[35] Nigeria has contributed more than 20,000 troops/police to various UN missions since 1960. The Nigerian Police Force and troops have participated in:

Nigerian officers have served as Chiefs of Defence in other countries, with Brigadier General Maxwell Khobe, serving as Sierra Leone Chief of Staff in 1998–1999,[41] and Nigerian officers acting as Command Officer-in-Charge of the Armed Forces of Liberia from at least, 2007.

References

  1. ^ "Armed forces personnel, total – Data". Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Nigeria Military Strength". Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Disenchanted soldiers". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Nigeria 2021 Signed Budget - Pages 22 - 51". Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Armed forces personnel, total – Data". Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Nigeria Military Strength". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  7. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  8. ^ "Nigeria sends troops, jets to Senegal for Gambia force". Yahoo.com. 2017-01-18. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  9. ^ "Library of Congress Country Studies, Nigeria". loc.gov. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  10. ISBN 978-1-85109-919-1
    .
  11. ^ "Report: Corruption in Nigeria - Military Capabilities". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Waging War to Keep the Peace: The ECOMOG Intervention and Human Rights (Human Rights Watch Report, June 1993)". Hrw.org. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  13. ^ Obasanjo, quoted in Herbert M. Howe, Ambiguous Order: Military Forces in African States, Lynne Rienner, Boulder/London, 2001, p.54. Obasanjo has also been accused of misuse of his personal position for profit.
  14. ^ "UPDATE 2-Nigeria will boost oil output if OPEC asks". Reuters. 2011-03-08. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  15. ^ Bank, World (August 2004). "Taxation and State Participation in Nigeria's Oil and Gas Sector". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ "Military graft undermines Nigeria's fight against Boko Haram: Transparency International". Reuters. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Report: Corruption in Nigerian Military Benefits Boko Haram". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Nigerian Army fields Isotrex armoured vehicles". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Nigerian Air Force inducts three JF-17 Thunder multirole aircraft". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Nigeria buys two M-346 squadrons". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  21. JSTOR 10.7249/j.ctt3fh07g.13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link
    )
  22. ^ "Buhari appoint Major General Farouk Yahaya as new Chief of Army Staff". BBC News Pidgin. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  23. ^ Ozoemenam, Mbachu (2012). Nigerian Military in Nation - Building.
  24. ^ "Nigerian Navy release new appointments of senior officers". The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  25. IISS
    Military Balance 2007
  26. ISBN 9781032012278
    .
  27. ^ "Nigerian Air Force trains 200 personnel abroad". The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News. 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  28. ^ "National Defence College - Background and History". Archived from the original on 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  29. ISBN 0-8014-4114-5
  30. ^ a b "Former Yugoslavia: UNPROFOR". Department of Public Information, United Nations. 31 August 1996.
  31. ^ "United Nations Official Document". www.un.org. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  32. ^ "The 5 previous West African military interventions". www.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  33. OCLC 1027486570
    .
  34. ^ "Military". UNMIL. 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  35. ISSN 1657-8953
    .
  36. ^ "UNITED NATIONS INDIA-PAKISTAN OBSERVATION MISSION (UNIPOM) – Facts and Figures". peacekeeping.un.org. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  37. ^ "UNIFIL Troop-Contributing Countries". UNIFIL. 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  38. ^ "UNITED NATIONS IRAN-IRAQ MILITARY OBSERVER GROUP (UNIIMOG) – Background (Full text)". peacekeeping.un.org. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  39. ^ "UNMISET: United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor – Facts and Figures". peacekeeping.un.org. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  40. ^ "MONUC Facts and Figures – United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". peacekeeping.un.org. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  41. ^ "BARRACKS". Retrieved 24 January 2017.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military of Nigeria.
  • Idang, Gordon J. "The Politics of Nigerian Foreign Policy: The Ratification and Renunciation of the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement." African Studies Review 13, no. 2 (1970): 227–251.
  • Robin Luckham, The Nigerian military; a sociological analysis of authority & revolt 1960–67, Cambridge [Eng.] University Press, 1971.
  • N.J. Miners, ‘The Nigerian Army 1956–66,’ Methuen and Co. Ltd, London, 1971
  • Jimi Peters, 'The Nigerian Military and the State,' 1997,
    ISBN 1-85043-874-9
  • Nigerian Army Education Corps and School, History of the Nigerian Army 1863–1992, Abuja, 1992

External links

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