Nigerian Army to Increase Personnel Strength to 200,000

Source: THISDAY LIVE

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt General Tukur Buratai, has disclosed that the army will embark on an ambitious expansion programme to address the manpower needs of the force to respond appropriately to contemporary threats to national security.

To this effect, Buratai said the army planned to increase its personnel strength from its present 100,000 to slightly above 200,000 in the next eight years.

The COAS, while delivering a lecture titled: ‘Nigerian Army: Challenges and Future Perspectives,’  at the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja, added that 12,000 personnel would be recruited in 2016 alone to fill the vacancies created as a result of the new establishments in the army.

He explained that the army’s expansion programme was aimed at boosting its response capacity while stressing that its capabilities to effectively deal with its present challenges were however not in doubt.

According to him, the contemporary national security needs and Nigeria’s territorial size require more than what the army presently have in terms of personnel strength.

Buratai noted that the citing of the Special Forces Training Centre in Buni Yadi in Yobe State, which is one of the theatres of the Boko Haram war, was an indication of the army’s determination to end insurgency.

In his lecture, Buratai identified Nigeria’s weak industrial base, the effect of climate change on the environment and Nigeria’s porous borders as some of the factors fuelling armed conflict in Nigeria.

The army chief said the force would establish a new division in Borno State. 

He said the establishment of the 8 Division, Nigerian Army,  located in the northern part of Borno State,  was part of strategic plan by the army to boost military operations against terrorists particularly in areas around the Lake Chad Basin.

The Nigerian army under the then COAS,  Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd),  in August 2013, established the 7 Infantry Division in Maiduguri to boost the military’s counter-insurgency operation in the North-east.

Even though detail of the new establishment was not disclosed, Buratai said the new division would soon become fully operational with logistics and manpower deployments.

The army chief also disclosed that plans were underway to establish another division to be known as the 6 Division, Nigerian Army,  with Headquarters in yet to be identified location in the South-south region of the country.

According to him, “The establishment of the new divisions is part of a strategic plan to improve on the Nigerian army’s operational capabilities in the face of emerging threats to national security.”Buratai noted that the establishment of the additional formations would bring the number of divisions in the Nigerian army to eight.

He said: “Emerging threats to the security of our nation which have been aggravated by the proliferation of armed groups have added to the task of the military in protecting the lives of Nigerians and the integrity of its territory.

“The focus of the Nigerian army today, is to find lasting solutions to these contemporary threats posed by the activities of the armed groups and their allies.

“The Nigerian army therefore remains poised to the extermination of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria; today, they can no longer hold any territory as it used to be in the past, which is why they have resorted to the use of IEDs to hit soft targets.”

“We have established the 8 Division located in the northern part of Borno State specifically to clear the area of the remaining terrorists elements while another division, 6 Division, will be established in the South-south.”

Meanwhile, responding to Buratai’s lecture, the Commandant of the NDC, Rear Admiral Samuel Alade, said the army boss’ presentation would be invaluable to the strategic plan of the armed forces.

Alade said participants of the NDC’s strategic leadership course would draw valuable lessons from the experience shared by the army chief.

A United Kingdom military training team will be deployed in Nigeria as part of the ongoing efforts to train Nigerian armed forces to combat the Islamist terrorists group, Boko Haram.

Over 35 personnel drawn from the Second Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment (2 R ANGLIAN), will be deployed to deliver infantry training to Nigerian military personnel preparing to tackle the extremist group in the North-eastern part of Nigeria.

The development was contained in a statement by the Press and Public Relations Affairs Officer of the British High Commission in Nigeria, Joe Abuku.

Last month, Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, announced a step up in training to help Nigerian forces stamp out the threat posed by Boko Haram.

UK Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, had said: “We stand united with Nigeria in its efforts to defeat the murderous Boko Haram extremists.

“Stepping up our training efforts will help support the armed forces of Nigeria for crucial counter-insurgency operations.”

The enhanced commitment announced last month by the defence secretary included an intention to more than double the number of British personnel deployed on training tasks in Nigeria in the coming year, with up to 300 expected to provide support during 2016, the deployment of a specialist team to provide assistance in countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as well as medical training and advice.

It also included a new RAF training team to improve the knowledge and skills of the Nigerian Air Force in airfield defence and counter insurgency, which is part of the 300 personnel.

2 R ANGLIAN, based in Cottesmore, Rutland, provided support to the Nigerian armed forces throughout 2015, which included the deployment of Short Term Training Teams, and support to smaller training tasks to assist the resident British Military Advisory and Training Team which had grown in size last year.

Around 130 UK military personnel were deployed to Nigeria on a wide range of training tasks last year.

This included training in infantry skills, civil-military affairs, media operations, command and leadership, IED-awareness, and support to Nigerian military training schools and establishments.

Almost 1,000 Nigerian Army personnel had benefited from training to prepare them for counter-insurgency operations in North east Nigeria, and the work by 2 R ANGLIAN, known as The Poachers, is now well-recognised across the AFN.

The UK also supports a Nigerian intelligence and analysis cell focussed on the North-east and based in Abuja, and nearly 30 UK armed forces personnel are deployed in Nigeria on an enduring basis in training and advisory roles.