While French, Chad and other forces chase terrorists
out of Mali, Nigeria is yet to send 20 per cent of its
pledge.
The deployment of Nigerian soldiers as part of the
Africa-led International Support Mission to Mali
(AFISMA) is turning out to be a complete charade as
army authorities and the Ministry of Defence are
having a hard time coping with basic logistics such as
provision of the right uniforms, food, and proper
transportation for troops, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.
Morale is said to be at the lowest ebb among the first
batch of 160 soldiers led by Colonel Gagariga already
in Mali as they have resorted to skipping meals as
their food provisions run out, military insiders have
told this newspaper.
Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan said the
Federal Government has spent $34 million (N5.1
billion) on the deployment of 1200 troops to the
troubled West African country and pledged a further
$5 million (N750 million) in assistance.
But three weeks after the first batch of 160 soldiers
was sent to the Malian capital, Bamako, the army is
having a difficult time getting the remaining troops
combat ready.
Discontent is rapidly growing among the troops who
believe that some highly placed individuals in the
army are siphoning logistics supports and provisions
meant for them, defence sources told PREMIUM
TIMES.
The Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Centre (NAPKC) led
by Major General, J.S Zaruwa could not provide
fatigues and proper transportation for troops, our
sources said.
Plagued by inadequate logistical support and
managerial inefficiency, 800 soldiers from the 81
battalion in Ibadan and 280 from the 333 Artillery
Regiment, after completing preliminary training for
the Malian mission, have been rendered redundant at
the NAPKC in Kachia, Kaduna.
“We are just at the NAPKC doing nothing,” a troop
member said.
Even as French troops and soldiers from Niger, Chad
and Burkina Faso enter Kidal, the last known
stronghold of the Al Qaeda-linked Islamists, neither
the army authorities nor the Ministry of Defence know
when the bulk of Nigerian soldiers will be in Mali.
The new army spokesperson, Brigadier Ibrahim
Atahiru, said in a telephone interview that “they will
be deployed very soon.”
Director for Defence Information, Brigadier General
Mohammed Yerima, who refused to speak about the
training and readiness of troops, said the ministry
only becomes responsible for the soldiers after they
(soldiers) have been handed over for deployment.
“At present there are 162 soldiers in Mali. We will
deploy more as soon as they are handed over to us,”
he said.
This contradicts reports by some newspapers (not
PREMIUM TIMES) credited to an officer in the office of
the Director for Defence Information, Wabi
Mohammed, that 768 troops have been deployed to
Mali.
Putting Soldiers in harm’s way
In the early hours of January 19, a convoy of Mali-
bound soldiers on its way to Kaduna for pre-
deployment training was ambushed allegedly by a
breakaway faction of Boko Haram, Jama’atu Ansarul
Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan (JAMBS) in Okene, Kogi
State. Two soldiers lost their lives and five others
were seriously injured.
They were unnecessary casualties.
The lives of the soldiers would have been saved if the
army had been faithful to the original plan of
conveying the soldiers by air, officials said.
Another defence source, who asked not to be named,
suggested that some army top brass cornered the
funds provided to airlift the soldiers.
“The boys are being moved by vehicle from Ibadan to
Kaduna for training against the flight proposals made
for them,” the source said.
Our source also said that the NAPKC, which is in
charge of getting the troops ready for the mission, has
refused to provide uniforms meant to be used during
training and no explanation has been given for this.
According to our source, there is widespread
discontent among the troops stationed at NAPKC as a
result of neglect and inadequate provisions.
“The boys back home are not very happy as they are
not adequately taken care of at the NAPKC,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES further learnt that there are plans to
move the soldiers for further “mission specific
training” in Sokoto. The training is expected to last for
six weeks.