Krak:

I pray he is ok.

me 2 bro.

DEATHMACHINE:
We are in control of Damboa ,operation ongoing in Gwoza town. sirus did the right thing pls put us in your. Prayers

please,what do you mean by "sirius did the right thing?"

jteku: @sirius black I hav a suggestion, why don't I giv you my mail adderess and u'll be sending pix and stories to my box, while I publish it on this trend,,,,,,it will be nice as no one can get to you.

NAIRALANDERS do you guys concur to this.

eejo: sirus black please tell us who control damboa and gowza

Na person wey una go put inside hot pepper soup you dey find, Army Chief Of Staff say make Sirius close shop, you say make the innocent man take style open new market. Army never torture you before abi? Them go insert broom stick or tooth pick inside your 'long thing' and your piss go change colour.

Abeg no put Sirius Black inside trap o. If una wan confirm war news, enter bus go Damboa, sebi your village fit cover you with African insurance.

.
Here is what you all want to hear.....

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/boko-haram-nigerian-troops-launch-counter-offensive-to-retake-gwoza/186016/

http://www.newspotng.com/borno-soldiers-wives-stop-husbands-from-confronting-boko-haram/

http://www.channelstv.com/2014/08/11/nigerian-soldiers-wives-protest-husbands-deployment/

.

But come to think of it, what is our airforce doing?I don't just get it, what are they really doing, innocent soldiers are killed daily, moral in the army is zero.

Osama10: But come to think of it, what is our airforce doing?I don't just get it, what are they really doing, innocent soldiers are killed daily, moral in the army is zero.

.....that one wey unna get for nigeria naa airforce! Thank God for war sometimes if not we will not be thinking of getting new hardware. An airforce that most of his attack helos crashes due to mechanical faults, an airforce that cannot boast of a fourth generation attack helos. Least 50 ! Airforce that still uses J7 and alpha jets as attack and multirope jets. When the republic of chad can boast of SU29 . Then that means chad can attack nigeria @ anytime and our airforce can't do a damn thing! Corruption btw politicians and our top rednecks. They say by dis month end our airforce is going to take delivery of some new USA and russia helo we r in another month we haven't heard of any and yet gallant men are dying. The state of nigeria armed forces is bad all our equipment and hardwares is nothing to write home about. I wonder when they say nigeria army is d 4th strongest country in africa I think they have to re-do that list ! God bless those brave gallant soldiers !

bidexiii: .....that one wey unna get for nigeria naa airforce! Thank God for war sometimes if not we will not be thinking of getting new hardware. An airforce that most of his attack helos crashes due to mechanical faults, an airforce that cannot boast of a fourth generation attack helos. Least 50 ! Airforce that still uses J7 and alpha jets as attack and multirope jets. When the republic of chad can boast of SU29 . Then that means chad can attack nigeria @ anytime and our airforce can't do a damn thing! Corruption btw politicians and our top rednecks. They say by dis month end our airforce is going to take delivery of some new USA and russia helo we r in another month we haven't heard of any and yet gallant men are dying. The state of nigeria armed forces is bad all our equipment and hardwares is nothing to write home about. I wonder when they say nigeria army is d 4th strongest country in africa I think they have to re-do that list ! God bless those brave gallant soldiers !

you do not need airforce to take on boko haram. artillery and armor can take care of them.

tit:

you do not need airforce to take on boko haram. artillery and armor can take care of them.

In CION operations air supremacy is vital and key and and as proven essential in iraq,ahfgan,isreal and other CION operations !

agaugust:




Na person wey una go put inside hot pepper soup you dey find, Army Chief Of Staff say make Sirius close shop, you say make the innocent man take style open new market. Army never torture you before abi? Them go insert broom stick or tooth pick inside your 'long thing' and your piss go change colour.

Abeg no put Sirius Black inside trap o. If una wan confirm war news, enter bus go Damboa, sebi your village fit cover you with African insurance.

R u trying to scare me, if u tot so, then sorry u jst failed...........I knw watin I match

jteku:
R u trying to scare me, if u tot so, then sorry u jst failed...........I knw watin I match

Person wey soldier grab put for inside DMI underground torture dungeon no dey match anything o ! Ordinary stupefying injection go turn the person to adult mumu.

Not trying to scare you sir, just warning ALL people not to put Sirius Black inside army interrogation dungeon of torture by asking him to violate the orders of a whole army chief of staff !

If you know how soldiers are dealt with.....during interrogation for offence, they torture the hell out of you, they can put live electric wires with controlled voltage on your 'manhood or womanhood' and make you feel the gates of hell small small.....like you run away/deserting the force in war, they will surely fire some AK-47 hot bullets inside your skull live and direct...that is what army life is.

Sirius Black, you must hibernate and stay hibernated until Army HQ permits you officially to talk publicly. A word is enough for the wise.

A word is enough for the wise.

agaugust:

Person wey soldier grab put for inside DMI underground torture dungeon no dey match anything o ! Ordinary stupefying injection go turn the person to adult mumu.

Not trying to scare you sir, just warning ALL people not to put Sirius Black inside army interrogation dungeon of torture by asking him to violate the orders of a whole army chief of staff !

If you know how soldiers are dealt with.....during interrogation for offence, they torture the hell out of you, they can put live electric wires with controlled voltage on your 'manhood or womanhood' and make you feel the gates of hell small small.....like you run away/deserting the force in war, they will surely fire some AK-47 hot bullets inside your skull live and direct...that is what army life is.

Sirius Black, you must hibernate and stay hibernated until Army HQ permits you officially to talk publicly. A word is enough for the wise.

A word is enough for the wise.

I'm starting to totally agree with you...Sirius did a good job..if we think that the DHQ will officially ask him to resume, its impossible..this thread is over...olukolade's crew has been shameful...at the heat of the Egyptian political crisis, the Egyptian army appointed a young charismatic colonel as its spokesman...very brilliant and talkative chap...PR during this CT-COIN campaign has been terrible...a few flimsy photos on the DHQ site per week...while sirius uploaded close to 300 in just a month! he promised us combat videos...bt I think we all know why he held on to that..why can't the DHQ create a 1hr documentary on the conflict and put it on youtube? And upload them is series...spiced with combat footage and military operations? Is at all about those nonsensical press conferences? Sirius did the best PR this army has ever had...now let's not put the dude in trouble...am sure some peeps are already after him..useless generals.

celeron40: I'm starting to totally agree with you...Sirius did a good job..if we think that the DHQ will officially ask him to resume, its impossible..this thread is over...olukolade's crew has been shameful...at the heat of the Egyptian political crisis, the Egyptian army appointed a young charismatic colonel as its spokesman...very brilliant and talkative chap...PR during this CT-COIN campaign has been terrible...a few flimsy photos on the DHQ site per week...while sirius uploaded close to 300 in just a month! he promised us combat videos...bt I think we all know why he held on to that..why can't the DHQ create a 1hr documentary on the conflict and put it on youtube? And upload them is series...spiced with combat footage and military operations? Is at all about those nonsensical press conferences? Sirius did the best PR this army has ever had...now let's not put the dude in trouble...am sure some peeps are already after him..useless generals.

1million likes for you

celeron40: I'm starting to totally agree with you...Sirius did a good job..if we think that the DHQ will officially ask him to resume, its impossible..this thread is over...olukolade's crew has been shameful...at the heat of the Egyptian political crisis, the Egyptian army appointed a young charismatic colonel as its spokesman...very brilliant and talkative chap...PR during this CT-COIN campaign has been terrible...a few flimsy photos on the DHQ site per week...while sirius uploaded close to 300 in just a month! he promised us combat videos...bt I think we all know why he held on to that..why can't the DHQ create a 1hr documentary on the conflict and put it on youtube? And upload them is series...spiced with combat footage and military operations? Is at all about those nonsensical press conferences? Sirius did the best PR this army has ever had...now let's not put the dude in trouble...am sure some peeps are already after him..useless generals.

bidexiii: In CION operations air supremacy is vital and key and and as proven essential in iraq,ahfgan,isreal and other CION operations !

That is the US playbook.
You do not have raptors and tomcats and eagles.

First ask yourself why do you need aircraft?
to bypass hostile territory and "reach" a distant enemy?
artillery can deliver precision messages to someone 45 km away.

tit:

That is the US playbook.
You do not have raptors and tomcats and eagles.

First ask yourself why do you need aircraft?
to bypass hostile territory and "reach" a distant enemy?
artillery can deliver precision messages to someone 45 km away.

then am asking you don't we have artillery to deliver such precision to wipe out those bastards ! Look good,brave and gallant men are dying for sirius to comment that we should pray for the army. Let me start by saying not untill we have the SU30,harrier jets, J17 and terminator choppers that's when will start delivering deadly blows. Let's use the little and outdated rusty AK's,so called IFV,T-50 and our alpha and J7 jets put them into use and maximize them and I think there is a lot wrong with our millitary doctrine ! I don't think we have those type of artillery that can deliver such deadly precision, if what you r saying is right then why is it not changing the tide of the war why must we suffer heavy casualties. But from the air even with our alpha jet we can weaken enemy stronghold to nothing and these is a tactics/doctrine employed by developed countries of the world as back as the WWII till now and that was what hitler used for him to have fought the whole world to have lasted so long and not untill united state step in and used the same air power that was when the tide of war begin to change for the allies and artillery is very dangerous because of civilians am beginning to think we might even av those precision artillery but those bastards as employed a different tactics they av left the desert for the rural area if care is not taken it will be a full fled urban warfare and can the NA as the equipment and capabilities to handle that . Using artillery gun will be difficult in such area and I think that's why the army authorities as result to fight a man to man war battle but my point is from the air you are merely untourchable with the jets and bokoharam dosent av surface to air missiles for now, so why not pick them and eliminate them from the air. Let's maximize our enemy from the air. I rest my case !

bidexiii: then am asking you don't we have artillery to deliver such precision to wipe out those bastards ! Look good,brave and gallant men are dying for sirius to comment that we should pray for the army. Let me start by saying not untill we have the SU30,harrier jets, J17 and terminator choppers that's when will start delivering deadly blows. Let's use the little and outdated rusty AK's,so called IFV,T-50 and our alpha and J7 jets put them into use and maximize them and I think there is a lot wrong with our millitary doctrine ! I don't think we have those type of artillery that can deliver such deadly precision, if what you r saying is right then why is it not changing the tide of the war why must we suffer heavy casualties. But from the air even with our alpha jet we can weaken enemy stronghold to nothing and these is a tactics/doctrine employed by developed countries of the world as back as the WWII till now and that was what hitler used for him to have fought the whole world to have lasted so long and not untill united state step in and used the same air power that was when the tide of war begin to change for the allies and artillery is very dangerous because of civilians am beginning to think we might even av those precision artillery but those bastards as employed a different tactics they av left the desert for the rural area if care is not taken it will be a full fled urban warfare and can the NA as the equipment and capabilities to handle that . Using artillery gun will be difficult in such area and I think that's why the army authorities as result to fight a man to man war battle but my point is from the air you are merely untourchable with the jets and bokoharam dosent av surface to air missiles for now, so why not pick them and eliminate them from the air. Let's maximize our enemy from the air. I rest my case !

you do not have the airborne assets.
It would take some time to train aircrew on the new aircraft
in that time BH would continue to spread their own fear factor and win converts.

But you have artillery.

tit:

you do not have the airborne assets.
It would take some time to train aircrew on the new aircraft
in that time BH would continue to spread their own fear factor and win converts.

But you have artillery.

you have a point there ...... but are we saying the alpha jets are not that good after all we are not fight prorussians that as ground to air missile.

Got this from AUGUSTINE on BEEGEAGLE BLOG.

Nigeria is fighting rag tag insurgents, mostly illiterate men who have never been to world class military academies in Europe….and we are sweating like this?

What if Nigeria is fighting Sudan, Ethiopia, or Algeria ?

Our soldiers will run to hide inside water bore hole ?

Boko Haram has exposed the weaknesses of Nigerian military.

1. Poor equipment and obsolete weapons
2. Outdated public relations management policy, principles and methodology
3. Insufficient or very low number of weapons/equipment
4. Financial corruption and greed
5. Selfishness and mediocre patriotism
6. Poor foresight
7. Weak communication, command, and control
8. Bad supply chain management
9. Wrong procurement priorities and choices
10. Faulty doctrine, combat tactics, and war strategy

If Nigerian military goes to war in this condition, Algeria will pound us into humiliating surrender, and Chad will shock us to the point of calling ECOWAS/AU/UN for peace negotiations.

========================================================

The perplexing question….

Is Nigerian military well equipped ?

The shameful answer….

NO.

Any proof ? Of course yes !

I leave out the Navy, they are winning their own war against piracy with world class results.

Nigerian air force….F-7NI jets…flying coffins….mostly absent in battle….Invisible Super Tucano….mysterious 4th generation jet fighter we don’t see we don’t know….Helicopter gunships with no guided air to ground precision weapons….few numbers of scanty Mi-35 Hind….tired and overworked Alpha jets with no laser guided bombs….Mysterious MBB 339 jets and L-39 jets….two crashes in ‘training’ in wartime…..poorly guarded Air base invaded by terrorist.

I leave it there.

============================================================

Is the 150 year old Nigerian Army well equipped ?

Big NO !

Any proof ? Easy….

There are only two praise worthy weapons in Nigerian army…Palmaria and Bofors artillery guns.

Will they save us now ? No.

We dare not use Palmaria and Bofors on Gwoza, similar Israeli artillery used on Gaza against insurgents, killed 1,000 innocent women, children, men, and new born babies in 30 days !

Will Nigerian army kill innocent Nigerian ? You answer, not me,

Does Nigerian army have enough equipment/weapons to fight this Boko Haram war? No !

Nigerian army is built to fight conventional war, and we lack the exact type of equipment needed to fight unconventional war or terrorist insurgency.

Nigeria is about 4 times the size of Great Britain

North Eastern Nigeria alone is about the size of Great Britain

Great Britain is defended by an army of about 120,000 soldiers
Nigerian North East the size of Britain is defended by an army of about 30,000 men

British army defends their land with about 6,000 armoured vehicles
Nigerian army defends North East with (estimated) about 600 armoured vehicles

Be the judge, not me….I keep quiet

============================================================

The only infantry fighting vehicle in Nigeria army is BTR-3U, we have the poorly armed version that fails to pass NATO standard definition of IFV, we have 14.5mm machine guns on them instead of 20mm cannon…and we have only 47 units of BTR-3U IFV to defend about 250,000 Sq Km land in the north east, bigger than Great Britain !

Cobra APC is the most prominent and fastest armoured vehicle in Nigeria (Apart from Spartan Mk III that has unknown numbers in service, but I assure you we have very few, we hardly see them, it’s all Cobra and Toyota we see).

Nigerian Cobras are the poorest types, base versions, poorly armed and have no smoke dispensers to blind the Bokos in battle.

Cobras, we see with 5,56mm guns and 12.7mm guns, when manufacturer has built Cobra to carry 30mm auto multiple grenade launchers, 20mm cannon manual or remote control, anti-tank missile launchers, etc.

We have 203 Cobras officially.disclosed. Some overseas, peace keeping, some taken over by Boko Haram, some destroyed in Niger delta war, some destroyed in Boko war, many deployed in 30 other states of Nigeria, we see them in Lagos riot, Kaduna city, Abuja etc.

Likely we have about 100 Cobras in combat zone North East.

VBL is a designed to be a recce-scout car and not a combat platform, we have maybe 50 units in NE zone doing the job of a heavy IFV…with toy VBL ?

Those are the two most prominent ‘fighting vehicles’ we see in Boko war…..

Is Nigerian army well equipped ? No sir !

Has anyone counted how many Big Foot MRAPS and Spartan MK III APC we deployed in NE ?

They are not all over the place in large numbers. China is reported to plan for 10,000 mostly Big Foot MRAPS, for her 1.5 million man army.China is NOT at war.

Means Nigerian army should by 1,000 Big Foot MRAPS by comparing our size with China.

Do we have 1,000 MRAPS ? Any proof ? We are poorly equipped as an army, truth !

We are good at buying weapons is small numbers, Iraq bought 600 Cobras.

The photos of T-55 and Vickers MBT shows rusty metals, Shilka AAA unreliable, poorly armed Steyr APC shows the rusty metals we hate to see, the Sagaie Armoured vehicle is few in number we bought 46 units some ancient years ago, maybe 12 left in good service.

You call that an army in year 2014 to defend land bigger than Britain ?

Nigerian army in battle is more of a large number of men riding Toyota’s to go fight an entrenched enemy in a fortified strong hold prepared for about 30 days, Boko having 14.5mm to 23mm guns to shoot and kill us from 3km away, we die before we enter the fortress.

COIN war is a game of fire-power in general, and protection when attacking a fortified position or to survive ambush, one mumu terrorist can use AK-47 to kill a Colonel.

Boko RPG in Afghan war Vs USSR mode will use ‘soft part’ multiple hits to disable out few tanks, Bokos inside houses, hiding behind windows, RPG, Bokos on roof-tops with 14.5mm guns, mowing down our AK-47 infantry, tearing Toyots Hiulx apart, Vickers becomes vulnerable to targeted soft spot RPG and any likely Boko ATGM when there is no infantry support, tank commanders don’t see well, poor situation awareness you get from tanks without infantry support….dying infantry already retreating back to base falling under superior firepower of Boko Haram….wonder why they say we lost a tank…captured by Bokos? Vickers at 60 km/hr, Boko Toyota at 100 km/hr, tank commander retreating, Boko is faster, oga abandons tank, runs into bush or waves down our Toyota to rescue him with speed….back to base…uprooted in battle….Nigerian army fighting at home and getting beating blue black by half illiterates?

Am I done yet on equipment, No….I leave it till tomorrow

=======================================================

Is Nigerian army tactics bad? Yes !

Good weapons, poor tactics, you still lose battles like Ghaddafi’s Libya in the 1980s, best weapons in Africa those days, lost every war and every battle…Libya beaten by Chad.

How did Nigerian army march into Gwoza like kings hoping to win because they are Nigerian army? Do we have Recces? British recces crept at night from Atlantic ocean in small boats into Falkland Islands and destroyed Argentina’s air force at the airport, went back to sea safely….they had destroyed enemy air power to give the British army balance of power for army vs army ground war…they won !

British SAS, against Sierra Leone rebels called west side boys, British soldiers had been in the bush close range, with Binoculars for many days, I say many days, spying on the rebels, drawing maps of sentries, armoury, best weapons positions, and daily routine of the enemy….then on D-Day, helicopters landed the special forces and the west side boys became history…wiped out.

Nigerian army, did you ‘Recce’ Gwoza? Did you know estimates of Boko men and equipment? Best weapons, heavy weapons positions? Daily routine? Prayer time when they are vulnerable? Sentry positions? Entry points and exit points? Routes for pincer attack formation? Route for tanks and mortar spearhead attack? Routes for light infantry? Soft positions of Boko Haram fortress? Ammunition stores? Number and discipline of fighters? Likely commanders?

Poor spy intelligence.

Why did you march into Gwoza without doing your home work on good tactics based on recce reports? Did you attack with ruse/deception/bluff/tricks on the enemy?

Okay, now can you still win? Yes !

Get your acts right.

are we really outgunned by the BH read this i got it from beegeagle blog[color=#006600][/color]

zed says:
August 12, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Sorry if i sound callous guys, but i am afraid what we are seeing is a continuation of the softening of the Nigerian Armed forces. championed by the latest television wars between mis- matched parties
US vs Taliban
US/Allies vs Iraqis
Isrealis vs Hamas etc.

We have become soft, We now believe war is fought from 9am to 1pm, break for lunch resume by 3pm after siesta and finish for the day by 6pm, total casualty count (1 soldier, who stubbed his toe on a rock). Once you run into the enemy, hunker down and call in air support. After airstrike go in and mop up, and resume advance.

I have said before that given the equipment i saw on Sirius thread, the Nigerian Army can be better equipped, but clearly for this war against Boko Haram, lack of equipment cannot qualify as an excuse for what we are seeing and hearing in Damboa, Gwoza etc..

I will attempt to outline everything i have seen in the Boko arsenal based on all we have seen and read , and then i will show on the other side the solutions NA has in its arsenal to counter them:

Rifles
—–Boko Haram (AK 47) vs NA (options of AK-47 or FN), the FN out ranges the AK comfortably (dont know why we now only see them at the annual range competitions)

RPGs
——Boko (RPG 7) vs NA (RPG7, recently sighted semi auto grenade launchers)

Machine Guns
Boko (Chinese GPMGs) vs NA (FN MAG, Chinese GPMGs, RPK Light MGs etc.)

Heavy MGs
Boko (Russian 12.7mm DHsKs) vs NA (Browning 50cals) the DhsK out ranges the 50cal marginally, but at regular combat ranges, the differences of 2-300m are not as significant as we sometimes like to make out. Actually most of the fighting happens at 200 to 400m, comfortably within the killing range of both these heavy machine guns and the GPMGs.

Sniper rifles
Boko (unknown) vs NA (Steyr, and Russian Dragunov)

Mortars
Boko (unknown but few if any) vs NA (60mm, 81mm) covering ranges from 0.5km to 7km. This means that when the technicals sit out at 800m range and batter our positions, a mortar battery of 2 or 3 mortars can give them a really bad day from a position sheltered from fire, either a trench or a bunker

Artillery
Boko (Unknown) vs NA (105mm howitzers, 122mm guns, 130mm guns, 155mm howitzers) able to hit targets as far as 12-25km away.

Air power
Boko (None) vs NA (3 Alphajets, 2 helo gunships) i am assuming all the rest is dysfunctional, which of course cannot be. Grossly insufficient, but should be more than adequate for a point battle like we have now in Gwoza

Armour
Boko (few captured NA or Camerounian APCs) vs NA ( Cobra APCs, Scorpion Tanks, Panhard Sagaie1/2, T55s, Vicker Eagle etc.)

Based on the foregoing, we would probably be embarrassed if we were fighting Cameroon, or chad or Sudan and based on that we need to rapidly re-equip. However, we are not fighting them (yet), so i really dont see why we should not win this current fight and much more easily than we are doing today.

In my view our real challenges are
– In-experienced soldiers, who are encouraged by the political press (sahara et al) to believe that if they make sufficient noise this cup will pass over them

– A public that has not understood that this is a war, same blood, guts and sweat scenario the made Churchill make his famous speech.

The improved equipment will certainly come, in fact we are already seeing it in Sirus pix, but we must win the battles before that with what we have. it will mean higher casualties than if we had improved equipment, but what is the choice really? Wait for Boko to enter Bauchi and Jos, and then counter attack with SU25s, MRAPs and every soldier carrying Tavors? In the mean time what would be the situation of the displaced population? we already have a sorry situation with a few thousands displaced from Damboa and Gwoza.

We need to pull up our socks and fight this war, if Boko Haram can storm into the fight carrying only AKs, RPGs and Heavy machine guns, are our soldiers now so soft that they cannot match them except they are comfortably ensconced in air conditioned MRAPS, with jet fighters watching their every move? To think that the heros of Liberia and Sierra Leone didnt even have body Armour!!! What has become of us?
Reply

deji68: are we really oitgunned by the BH read this i got it fron beegeagle blog

zed says:
August 12, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Sorry if i sound callous guys, but i am afraid what we are seeing is a continuation of the softening of the Nigerian Armed forces. championed by the latest television wars between mis- matched parties
US vs Taliban
US/Allies vs Iraqis
Isrealis vs Hamas etc.

We have become soft, We now believe war is fought from 9am to 1pm, break for lunch resume by 3pm after siesta and finish for the day by 6pm, total casualty count (1 soldier, who stubbed his toe on a rock). Once you run into the enemy, hunker down and call in air support. After airstrike go in and mop up, and resume advance.

I have said before that given the equipment i saw on Sirius thread, the Nigerian Army can be better equipped, but clearly for this war against Boko Haram, lack of equipment cannot qualify as an excuse for what we are seeing and hearing in Damboa, Gwoza etc..

I will attempt to outline everything i have seen in the Boko arsenal based on all we have seen and read , and then i will show on the other side the solutions NA has in its arsenal to counter them:

Rifles
—–Boko Haram (AK 47) vs NA (options of AK-47 or FN), the FN out ranges the AK comfortably (dont know why we now only see them at the annual range competitions)

RPGs
——Boko (RPG 7) vs NA (RPG7, recently sighted semi auto grenade launchers)

Machine Guns
Boko (Chinese GPMGs) vs NA (FN MAG, Chinese GPMGs, RPK Light MGs etc.)

Heavy MGs
Boko (Russian 12.7mm DHsKs) vs NA (Browning 50cals) the DhsK out ranges the 50cal marginally, but at regular combat ranges, the differences of 2-300m are not as significant as we sometimes like to make out. Actually most of the fighting happens at 200 to 400m, comfortably within the killing range of both these heavy machine guns and the GPMGs.

Sniper rifles
Boko (unknown) vs NA (Steyr, and Russian Dragunov)

Mortars
Boko (unknown but few if any) vs NA (60mm, 81mm) covering ranges from 0.5km to 7km. This means that when the technicals sit out at 800m range and batter our positions, a mortar battery of 2 or 3 mortars can give them a really bad day from a position sheltered from fire, either a trench or a bunker

Artillery
Boko (Unknown) vs NA (105mm howitzers, 122mm guns, 130mm guns, 155mm howitzers) able to hit targets as far as 12-25km away.

Air power
Boko (None) vs NA (3 Alphajets, 2 helo gunships) i am assuming all the rest is dysfunctional, which of course cannot be. Grossly insufficient, but should be more than adequate for a point battle like we have now in Gwoza

Armour
Boko (few captured NA or Camerounian APCs) vs NA ( Cobra APCs, Scorpion Tanks, Panhard Sagaie1/2, T55s, Vicker Eagle etc.)

Based on the foregoing, we would probably be embarrassed if we were fighting Cameroon, or chad or Sudan and based on that we need to rapidly re-equip. However, we are not fighting them (yet), so i really dont see why we should not win this current fight and much more easily than we are doing today.

In my view our real challenges are
– In-experienced soldiers, who are encouraged by the political press (sahara et al) to believe that if they make sufficient noise this cup will pass over them

– A public that has not understood that this is a war, same blood, guts and sweat scenario the made Churchill make his famous speech.

The improved equipment will certainly come, in fact we are already seeing it in Sirus pix, but we must win the battles before that with what we have. it will mean higher casualties than if we had improved equipment, but what is the choice really? Wait for Boko to enter Bauchi and Jos, and then counter attack with SU25s, MRAPs and every soldier carrying Tavors? In the mean time what would be the situation of the displaced population? we already have a sorry situation with a few thousands displaced from Damboa and Gwoza.

We need to pull up our socks and fight this war, if Boko Haram can storm into the fight carrying only AKs, RPGs and Heavy machine guns, are our soldiers now so soft that they cannot match them except they are comfortably ensconced in air conditioned MRAPS, with jet fighters watching their every move? To think that the heros of Liberia and Sierra Leone didnt even have body Armour!!! What has become of us?
Reply

.....omo you don talk finish...gbam..

jteku: Got this from AUGUSTINE on BEEGEAGLE BLOG.

Nigeria is fighting rag tag insurgents, mostly illiterate men who have never been to world class military academies in Europe….and we are sweating like this?

What if Nigeria is fighting Sudan, Ethiopia, or Algeria ?

Our soldiers will run to hide inside water bore hole ?

Boko Haram has exposed the weaknesses of Nigerian military.

1. Poor equipment and obsolete weapons
2. Outdated public relations management policy, principles and methodology
3. Insufficient or very low number of weapons/equipment
4. Financial corruption and greed
5. Selfishness and mediocre patriotism
6. Poor foresight
7. Weak communication, command, and control
8. Bad supply chain management
9. Wrong procurement priorities and choices
10. Faulty doctrine, combat tactics, and war strategy

If Nigerian military goes to war in this condition, Algeria will pound us into humiliating surrender, and Chad will shock us to the point of calling ECOWAS/AU/UN for peace negotiations.

========================================================

The perplexing question….

Is Nigerian military well equipped ?

The shameful answer….

NO.

Any proof ? Of course yes !

I leave out the Navy, they are winning their own war against piracy with world class results.

Nigerian air force….F-7NI jets…flying coffins….mostly absent in battle….Invisible Super Tucano….mysterious 4th generation jet fighter we don’t see we don’t know….Helicopter gunships with no guided air to ground precision weapons….few numbers of scanty Mi-35 Hind….tired and overworked Alpha jets with no laser guided bombs….Mysterious MBB 339 jets and L-39 jets….two crashes in ‘training’ in wartime…..poorly guarded Air base invaded by terrorist.

I leave it there.

============================================================

Is the 150 year old Nigerian Army well equipped ?

Big NO !

Any proof ? Easy….

There are only two praise worthy weapons in Nigerian army…Palmaria and Bofors artillery guns.

Will they save us now ? No.

We dare not use Palmaria and Bofors on Gwoza, similar Israeli artillery used on Gaza against insurgents, killed 1,000 innocent women, children, men, and new born babies in 30 days !

Will Nigerian army kill innocent Nigerian ? You answer, not me,

Does Nigerian army have enough equipment/weapons to fight this Boko Haram war? No !

Nigerian army is built to fight conventional war, and we lack the exact type of equipment needed to fight unconventional war or terrorist insurgency.

Nigeria is about 4 times the size of Great Britain

North Eastern Nigeria alone is about the size of Great Britain

Great Britain is defended by an army of about 120,000 soldiers
Nigerian North East the size of Britain is defended by an army of about 30,000 men

British army defends their land with about 6,000 armoured vehicles
Nigerian army defends North East with (estimated) about 600 armoured vehicles

Be the judge, not me….I keep quiet

============================================================

The only infantry fighting vehicle in Nigeria army is BTR-3U, we have the poorly armed version that fails to pass NATO standard definition of IFV, we have 14.5mm machine guns on them instead of 20mm cannon…and we have only 47 units of BTR-3U IFV to defend about 250,000 Sq Km land in the north east, bigger than Great Britain !

Cobra APC is the most prominent and fastest armoured vehicle in Nigeria (Apart from Spartan Mk III that has unknown numbers in service, but I assure you we have very few, we hardly see them, it’s all Cobra and Toyota we see).

Nigerian Cobras are the poorest types, base versions, poorly armed and have no smoke dispensers to blind the Bokos in battle.

Cobras, we see with 5,56mm guns and 12.7mm guns, when manufacturer has built Cobra to carry 30mm auto multiple grenade launchers, 20mm cannon manual or remote control, anti-tank missile launchers, etc.

We have 203 Cobras officially.disclosed. Some overseas, peace keeping, some taken over by Boko Haram, some destroyed in Niger delta war, some destroyed in Boko war, many deployed in 30 other states of Nigeria, we see them in Lagos riot, Kaduna city, Abuja etc.

Likely we have about 100 Cobras in combat zone North East.

VBL is a designed to be a recce-scout car and not a combat platform, we have maybe 50 units in NE zone doing the job of a heavy IFV…with toy VBL ?

Those are the two most prominent ‘fighting vehicles’ we see in Boko war…..

Is Nigerian army well equipped ? No sir !

Has anyone counted how many Big Foot MRAPS and Spartan MK III APC we deployed in NE ?

They are not all over the place in large numbers. China is reported to plan for 10,000 mostly Big Foot MRAPS, for her 1.5 million man army.China is NOT at war.

Means Nigerian army should by 1,000 Big Foot MRAPS by comparing our size with China.

Do we have 1,000 MRAPS ? Any proof ? We are poorly equipped as an army, truth !

We are good at buying weapons is small numbers, Iraq bought 600 Cobras.

The photos of T-55 and Vickers MBT shows rusty metals, Shilka AAA unreliable, poorly armed Steyr APC shows the rusty metals we hate to see, the Sagaie Armoured vehicle is few in number we bought 46 units some ancient years ago, maybe 12 left in good service.

You call that an army in year 2014 to defend land bigger than Britain ?

Nigerian army in battle is more of a large number of men riding Toyota’s to go fight an entrenched enemy in a fortified strong hold prepared for about 30 days, Boko having 14.5mm to 23mm guns to shoot and kill us from 3km away, we die before we enter the fortress.

COIN war is a game of fire-power in general, and protection when attacking a fortified position or to survive ambush, one mumu terrorist can use AK-47 to kill a Colonel.

Boko RPG in Afghan war Vs USSR mode will use ‘soft part’ multiple hits to disable out few tanks, Bokos inside houses, hiding behind windows, RPG, Bokos on roof-tops with 14.5mm guns, mowing down our AK-47 infantry, tearing Toyots Hiulx apart, Vickers becomes vulnerable to targeted soft spot RPG and any likely Boko ATGM when there is no infantry support, tank commanders don’t see well, poor situation awareness you get from tanks without infantry support….dying infantry already retreating back to base falling under superior firepower of Boko Haram….wonder why they say we lost a tank…captured by Bokos? Vickers at 60 km/hr, Boko Toyota at 100 km/hr, tank commander retreating, Boko is faster, oga abandons tank, runs into bush or waves down our Toyota to rescue him with speed….back to base…uprooted in battle….Nigerian army fighting at home and getting beating blue black by half illiterates?

Am I done yet on equipment, No….I leave it till tomorrow

=======================================================

Is Nigerian army tactics bad? Yes !

Good weapons, poor tactics, you still lose battles like Ghaddafi’s Libya in the 1980s, best weapons in Africa those days, lost every war and every battle…Libya beaten by Chad.

How did Nigerian army march into Gwoza like kings hoping to win because they are Nigerian army? Do we have Recces? British recces crept at night from Atlantic ocean in small boats into Falkland Islands and destroyed Argentina’s air force at the airport, went back to sea safely….they had destroyed enemy air power to give the British army balance of power for army vs army ground war…they won !

British SAS, against Sierra Leone rebels called west side boys, British soldiers had been in the bush close range, with Binoculars for many days, I say many days, spying on the rebels, drawing maps of sentries, armoury, best weapons positions, and daily routine of the enemy….then on D-Day, helicopters landed the special forces and the west side boys became history…wiped out.

Nigerian army, did you ‘Recce’ Gwoza? Did you know estimates of Boko men and equipment? Best weapons, heavy weapons positions? Daily routine? Prayer time when they are vulnerable? Sentry positions? Entry points and exit points? Routes for pincer attack formation? Route for tanks and mortar spearhead attack? Routes for light infantry? Soft positions of Boko Haram fortress? Ammunition stores? Number and discipline of fighters? Likely commanders?

Poor spy intelligence.

Why did you march into Gwoza without doing your home work on good tactics based on recce reports? Did you attack with ruse/deception/bluff/tricks on the enemy?

Okay, now can you still win? Yes !

Get your acts right.

..................its just painfull if our leaders and those top rednecks are reading this. how can someone get these to them...!

[b]

jteku: Got this from AUGUSTINE on BEEGEAGLE BLOG.
Nigeria is fighting rag tag insurgents, mostly illiterate men who have never been to world class military academies in Europe….and we are sweating like this?
What if Nigeria is fighting Sudan, Ethiopia, or Algeria ?
Our soldiers will run to hide inside water bore hole ?
Boko Haram has exposed the weaknesses of Nigerian military.
1. Poor equipment and obsolete weapons
2. Outdated public relations management policy, principles and methodology
3. Insufficient or very low number of weapons/equipment
4. Financial corruption and greed
5. Selfishness and mediocre patriotism
6. Poor foresight
7. Weak communication, command, and control
8. Bad supply chain management
9. Wrong procurement priorities and choices
10. Faulty doctrine, combat tactics, and war strategy
If Nigerian military goes to war in this condition, Algeria will pound us into humiliating surrender, and Chad will shock us to the point of calling ECOWAS/AU/UN for peace negotiations.
========================================================
The perplexing question….
Is Nigerian military well equipped ?
The shameful answer….
NO.
Any proof ? Of course yes !
I leave out the Navy, they are winning their own war against piracy with world class results.
Nigerian air force….F-7NI jets…flying coffins….mostly absent in battle….Invisible Super Tucano….mysterious 4th generation jet fighter we don’t see we don’t know….Helicopter gunships with no guided air to ground precision weapons….few numbers of scanty Mi-35 Hind….tired and overworked Alpha jets with no laser guided bombs….Mysterious MBB 339 jets and L-39 jets….two crashes in ‘training’ in wartime…..poorly guarded Air base invaded by terrorist.
I leave it there.
============================================================
Is the 150 year old Nigerian Army well equipped ?
Big NO !
Any proof ? Easy….
There are only two praise worthy weapons in Nigerian army…Palmaria and Bofors artillery guns.
Will they save us now ? No.
We dare not use Palmaria and Bofors on Gwoza, similar Israeli artillery used on Gaza against insurgents, killed 1,000 innocent women, children, men, and new born babies in 30 days !
Will Nigerian army kill innocent Nigerian ? You answer, not me,
Does Nigerian army have enough equipment/weapons to fight this Boko Haram war? No !
Nigerian army is built to fight conventional war, and we lack the exact type of equipment needed to fight unconventional war or terrorist insurgency.
Nigeria is about 4 times the size of Great Britain
North Eastern Nigeria alone is about the size of Great Britain
Great Britain is defended by an army of about 120,000 soldiers
Nigerian North East the size of Britain is defended by an army of about 30,000 men
British army defends their land with about 6,000 armoured vehicles
Nigerian army defends North East with (estimated) about 600 armoured vehicles
Be the judge, not me….I keep quiet
============================================================
The only infantry fighting vehicle in Nigeria army is BTR-3U, we have the poorly armed version that fails to pass NATO standard definition of IFV, we have 14.5mm machine guns on them instead of 20mm cannon…and we have only 47 units of BTR-3U IFV to defend about 250,000 Sq Km land in the north east, bigger than Great Britain !
Cobra APC is the most prominent and fastest armoured vehicle in Nigeria (Apart from Spartan Mk III that has unknown numbers in service, but I assure you we have very few, we hardly see them, it’s all Cobra and Toyota we see).
Nigerian Cobras are the poorest types, base versions, poorly armed and have no smoke dispensers to blind the Bokos in battle.
Cobras, we see with 5,56mm guns and 12.7mm guns, when manufacturer has built Cobra to carry 30mm auto multiple grenade launchers, 20mm cannon manual or remote control, anti-tank missile launchers, etc.
We have 203 Cobras officially.disclosed. Some overseas, peace keeping, some taken over by Boko Haram, some destroyed in Niger delta war, some destroyed in Boko war, many deployed in 30 other states of Nigeria, we see them in Lagos riot, Kaduna city, Abuja etc.
Likely we have about 100 Cobras in combat zone North East.
VBL is a designed to be a recce-scout car and not a combat platform, we have maybe 50 units in NE zone doing the job of a heavy IFV…with toy VBL ?
Those are the two most prominent ‘fighting vehicles’ we see in Boko war…..
Is Nigerian army well equipped ? No sir !
Has anyone counted how many Big Foot MRAPS and Spartan MK III APC we deployed in NE ?
They are not all over the place in large numbers. China is reported to plan for 10,000 mostly Big Foot MRAPS, for her 1.5 million man army.China is NOT at war.
Means Nigerian army should by 1,000 Big Foot MRAPS by comparing our size with China.
Do we have 1,000 MRAPS ? Any proof ? We are poorly equipped as an army, truth !
We are good at buying weapons is small numbers, Iraq bought 600 Cobras.
The photos of T-55 and Vickers MBT shows rusty metals, Shilka AAA unreliable, poorly armed Steyr APC shows the rusty metals we hate to see, the Sagaie Armoured vehicle is few in number we bought 46 units some ancient years ago, maybe 12 left in good service.
You call that an army in year 2014 to defend land bigger than Britain ?
Nigerian army in battle is more of a large number of men riding Toyota’s to go fight an entrenched enemy in a fortified strong hold prepared for about 30 days, Boko having 14.5mm to 23mm guns to shoot and kill us from 3km away, we die before we enter the fortress.
COIN war is a game of fire-power in general, and protection when attacking a fortified position or to survive ambush, one mumu terrorist can use AK-47 to kill a Colonel.
Boko RPG in Afghan war Vs USSR mode will use ‘soft part’ multiple hits to disable out few tanks, Bokos inside houses, hiding behind windows, RPG, Bokos on roof-tops with 14.5mm guns, mowing down our AK-47 infantry, tearing Toyots Hiulx apart, Vickers becomes vulnerable to targeted soft spot RPG and any likely Boko ATGM when there is no infantry support, tank commanders don’t see well, poor situation awareness you get from tanks without infantry support….dying infantry already retreating back to base falling under superior firepower of Boko Haram….wonder why they say we lost a tank…captured by Bokos? Vickers at 60 km/hr, Boko Toyota at 100 km/hr, tank commander retreating, Boko is faster, oga abandons tank, runs into bush or waves down our Toyota to rescue him with speed….back to base…uprooted in battle….Nigerian army fighting at home and getting beating blue black by half illiterates?
Am I done yet on equipment, No….I leave it till tomorrow
=======================================================
Is Nigerian army tactics bad? Yes !
Good weapons, poor tactics, you still lose battles like Ghaddafi’s Libya in the 1980s, best weapons in Africa those days, lost every war and every battle…Libya beaten by Chad.
How did Nigerian army march into Gwoza like kings hoping to win because they are Nigerian army? Do we have Recces? British recces crept at night from Atlantic ocean in small boats into Falkland Islands and destroyed Argentina’s air force at the airport, went back to sea safely….they had destroyed enemy air power to give the British army balance of power for army vs army ground war…they won !
British SAS, against Sierra Leone rebels called west side boys, British soldiers had been in the bush close range, with Binoculars for many days, I say many days, spying on the rebels, drawing maps of sentries, armoury, best weapons positions, and daily routine of the enemy….then on D-Day, helicopters landed the special forces and the west side boys became history…wiped out.
Nigerian army, did you ‘Recce’ Gwoza? Did you know estimates of Boko men and equipment? Best weapons, heavy weapons positions? Daily routine? Prayer time when they are vulnerable? Sentry positions? Entry points and exit points? Routes for pincer attack formation? Route for tanks and mortar spearhead attack? Routes for light infantry? Soft positions of Boko Haram fortress? Ammunition stores? Number and discipline of fighters? Likely commanders?
Poor spy intelligence.
Why did you march into Gwoza without doing your home work on good tactics based on recce reports? Did you attack with ruse/deception/bluff/tricks on the enemy?
Okay, now can you still win? Yes !
Get your acts right.

[/b]

A very objective analysis of the on-going war in the north east. Gallant soldiers are being lost as a result of the foregoing post.

Which way Nigeria? My heart bleeds.

What is it that Ihejirika got right that Minimah is getting wrong? Because during Ihejirika reign as COAS, things weren't as bad as this. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I can bet that there are more equipment now than when Ihejirika was COAS. Or is it that Boko haram are making/made more serious recruitment now than during Ihejirika ' tenure?

Meanwhile kudos to the guys at Beegeagle blog. I believe they mean well for the military and if the military/FG adopt their suggestions, this war will be over in no distant future

deji68: are we really outgunned by the BH read this i got it from beegeagle blog[color=#006600][/color]

zed says:
August 12, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Sorry if i sound callous guys, but i am afraid what we are seeing is a continuation of the softening of the Nigerian Armed forces. championed by the latest television wars between mis- matched parties
US vs Taliban
US/Allies vs Iraqis
Isrealis vs Hamas etc.

We have become soft, We now believe war is fought from 9am to 1pm, break for lunch resume by 3pm after siesta and finish for the day by 6pm, total casualty count (1 soldier, who stubbed his toe on a rock). Once you run into the enemy, hunker down and call in air support. After airstrike go in and mop up, and resume advance.

I have said before that given the equipment i saw on Sirius thread, the Nigerian Army can be better equipped, but clearly for this war against Boko Haram, lack of equipment cannot qualify as an excuse for what we are seeing and hearing in Damboa, Gwoza etc..

I will attempt to outline everything i have seen in the Boko arsenal based on all we have seen and read , and then i will show on the other side the solutions NA has in its arsenal to counter them:

Rifles
—–Boko Haram (AK 47) vs NA (options of AK-47 or FN), the FN out ranges the AK comfortably (dont know why we now only see them at the annual range competitions)

RPGs
——Boko (RPG 7) vs NA (RPG7, recently sighted semi auto grenade launchers)

Machine Guns
Boko (Chinese GPMGs) vs NA (FN MAG, Chinese GPMGs, RPK Light MGs etc.)

Heavy MGs
Boko (Russian 12.7mm DHsKs) vs NA (Browning 50cals) the DhsK out ranges the 50cal marginally, but at regular combat ranges, the differences of 2-300m are not as significant as we sometimes like to make out. Actually most of the fighting happens at 200 to 400m, comfortably within the killing range of both these heavy machine guns and the GPMGs.

Sniper rifles
Boko (unknown) vs NA (Steyr, and Russian Dragunov)

Mortars
Boko (unknown but few if any) vs NA (60mm, 81mm) covering ranges from 0.5km to 7km. This means that when the technicals sit out at 800m range and batter our positions, a mortar battery of 2 or 3 mortars can give them a really bad day from a position sheltered from fire, either a trench or a bunker

Artillery
Boko (Unknown) vs NA (105mm howitzers, 122mm guns, 130mm guns, 155mm howitzers) able to hit targets as far as 12-25km away.

Air power
Boko (None) vs NA (3 Alphajets, 2 helo gunships) i am assuming all the rest is dysfunctional, which of course cannot be. Grossly insufficient, but should be more than adequate for a point battle like we have now in Gwoza

Armour
Boko (few captured NA or Camerounian APCs) vs NA ( Cobra APCs, Scorpion Tanks, Panhard Sagaie1/2, T55s, Vicker Eagle etc.)

Based on the foregoing, we would probably be embarrassed if we were fighting Cameroon, or chad or Sudan and based on that we need to rapidly re-equip. However, we are not fighting them (yet), so i really dont see why we should not win this current fight and much more easily than we are doing today.

In my view our real challenges are
– In-experienced soldiers, who are encouraged by the political press (sahara et al) to believe that if they make sufficient noise this cup will pass over them

– A public that has not understood that this is a war, same blood, guts and sweat scenario the made Churchill make his famous speech.

The improved equipment will certainly come, in fact we are already seeing it in Sirus pix, but we must win the battles before that with what we have. it will mean higher casualties than if we had improved equipment, but what is the choice really? Wait for Boko to enter Bauchi and Jos, and then counter attack with SU25s, MRAPs and every soldier carrying Tavors? In the mean time what would be the situation of the displaced population? we already have a sorry situation with a few thousands displaced from Damboa and Gwoza.

We need to pull up our socks and fight this war, if Boko Haram can storm into the fight carrying only AKs, RPGs and Heavy machine guns, are our soldiers now so soft that they cannot match them except they are comfortably ensconced in air conditioned MRAPS, with jet fighters watching their every move? To think that the heros of Liberia and Sierra Leone didnt even have body Armour!!! What has become of us?
Reply

I think you are the best person I love his comment on dis thread I love it and u av said it all the only thing u did not mention is d corrupt and belly top red necks. Did u right dis or curb it from beegles blog, any which I love d piece !

I didnt write it...a guy from Beegeagle blog wrote it...excellent piece my best part was "but what is the choice really? Wait for Boko to enter Bauchi and Jos, and then counter attack with SU25s, MRAPs and every soldier carrying Tavors?" ...excellent piece!!

bidexiii: I think you are the best person I love his comment on dis thread I love it and u av said it all the only thing u did not mention is d corrupt and belly top red necks. Did u right dis or curb it from beegles blog, any which I love d piece !

.

deji68: are we really outgunned by the BH read this i got it from beegeagle blog[color=#006600][/color]

zed says:
August 12, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Sorry if i sound callous guys, but i am afraid what we are seeing is a continuation of the softening of the Nigerian Armed forces. championed by the latest television wars between mis- matched parties
US vs Taliban
US/Allies vs Iraqis
Isrealis vs Hamas etc.

We have become soft, We now believe war is fought from 9am to 1pm, break for lunch resume by 3pm after siesta and finish for the day by 6pm, total casualty count (1 soldier, who stubbed his toe on a rock). Once you run into the enemy, hunker down and call in air support. After airstrike go in and mop up, and resume advance.

I have said before that given the equipment i saw on Sirius thread, the Nigerian Army can be better equipped, but clearly for this war against Boko Haram, lack of equipment cannot qualify as an excuse for what we are seeing and hearing in Damboa, Gwoza etc..

I will attempt to outline everything i have seen in the Boko arsenal based on all we have seen and read , and then i will show on the other side the solutions NA has in its arsenal to counter them:

Rifles
—–Boko Haram (AK 47) vs NA (options of AK-47 or FN), the FN out ranges the AK comfortably (dont know why we now only see them at the annual range competitions)

RPGs
——Boko (RPG 7) vs NA (RPG7, recently sighted semi auto grenade launchers)

Machine Guns
Boko (Chinese GPMGs) vs NA (FN MAG, Chinese GPMGs, RPK Light MGs etc.)

Heavy MGs
Boko (Russian 12.7mm DHsKs) vs NA (Browning 50cals) the DhsK out ranges the 50cal marginally, but at regular combat ranges, the differences of 2-300m are not as significant as we sometimes like to make out. Actually most of the fighting happens at 200 to 400m, comfortably within the killing range of both these heavy machine guns and the GPMGs.

Sniper rifles
Boko (unknown) vs NA (Steyr, and Russian Dragunov)

Mortars
Boko (unknown but few if any) vs NA (60mm, 81mm) covering ranges from 0.5km to 7km. This means that when the technicals sit out at 800m range and batter our positions, a mortar battery of 2 or 3 mortars can give them a really bad day from a position sheltered from fire, either a trench or a bunker

Artillery
Boko (Unknown) vs NA (105mm howitzers, 122mm guns, 130mm guns, 155mm howitzers) able to hit targets as far as 12-25km away.

Air power
Boko (None) vs NA (3 Alphajets, 2 helo gunships) i am assuming all the rest is dysfunctional, which of course cannot be. Grossly insufficient, but should be more than adequate for a point battle like we have now in Gwoza

Armour
Boko (few captured NA or Camerounian APCs) vs NA ( Cobra APCs, Scorpion Tanks, Panhard Sagaie1/2, T55s, Vicker Eagle etc.)

Based on the foregoing, we would probably be embarrassed if we were fighting Cameroon, or chad or Sudan and based on that we need to rapidly re-equip. However, we are not fighting them (yet), so i really dont see why we should not win this current fight and much more easily than we are doing today.

In my view our real challenges are
– In-experienced soldiers, who are encouraged by the political press (sahara et al) to believe that if they make sufficient noise this cup will pass over them

– A public that has not understood that this is a war, same blood, guts and sweat scenario the made Churchill make his famous speech.

The improved equipment will certainly come, in fact we are already seeing it in Sirus pix, but we must win the battles before that with what we have. it will mean higher casualties than if we had improved equipment, but what is the choice really? Wait for Boko to enter Bauchi and Jos, and then counter attack with SU25s, MRAPs and every soldier carrying Tavors? In the mean time what would be the situation of the displaced population? we already have a sorry situation with a few thousands displaced from Damboa and Gwoza.

We need to pull up our socks and fight this war, if Boko Haram can storm into the fight carrying only AKs, RPGs and Heavy machine guns, are our soldiers now so soft that they cannot match them except they are comfortably ensconced in air conditioned MRAPS, with jet fighters watching their every move? To think that the heros of Liberia and Sierra Leone didnt even have body Armour!!! What has become of us?
Reply

[size=14pt]With due respect to the writer of the above piece, you got it all wrong. 50% of the major Nigerian army equipment you listed above are obsolete, outdated, malfunctioning, or non-operational.

Army equipment has broken down or failed to fire sometimes in the middle of battle.

Most Nigerian army weapons were purchased from 1975 to 1985 and have become faulty, obsolete, and unserviceable.

Many of the equipment you listed were also purchased in very limited numbers, too few to protect Nigeria's almost 1 million square kilometers of land, and we cannot move all equipment to North East, or else Boko Haram can s.trike in the southern parts of Nigeria and gain upper hand there.

You listed the textbook theory and not the reality in practical.

You also failed to see that 90% of the Nigerian army equipment you listed above are for Conventional warfare, but Boko Haram insurgency is an UN-CONVENTIONAL warfare where the enemy masquerades and mixes up with civilains.

In such cases, 90% of your artillery is useless or else you k.ill your own innocent civilians you are trying to protect.

This is why Israeli army k.illed over 1,000 innocent civilain women, children, men, and new born babies in Gaza withing 30 days of artillery and tank bombardment of Gaza just this July/August.

You want NAF and NA to k.ill 1,000 innocent northern Nigerian women and children? You want to start inter-tribal war in Nigeria ?

Also, you cannot use air force aircraft against Boko Haram fighters that are hiding inside innocent peoples houses and shoo.ting at Nigerian army from roof top and windows, or from well dug in holes/trenches.

Please when you write about war, you have to use a balanced knowledge of military science.

If Nigerian army is well equipped, why did Sirius Black write a new and long list on this forum July 21 ? ...I copy him below :

https://www.nairaland.com/siriusblack/posts/3

SiriusBlack:

I hope the pilots were safe....

SHOPPING LIST FOR THE FRONTLINES.

A few months ago, defence blog, Beegeagle., reported that the President, GEJ, had requested that the National Assembly release 1bn dollars for the campaign going on in the North East..we were all estatic and greeted the news with joy...News trickling in, first as rumours, that an Mi-35 Gunship of the NAF. Had crashed has now been confirmed..Makes one wonder, will USD1bn be enough? Here is a "list" of things urgently needed at the frontlines..Mr President, if you are reading this, attend to the plight of your men from your position as Commander-in-Chief...Sir, its time to disregard analysis of ppl who are just trying to keep their jobs by saying that all is well..Sir, all is not well at all for the past 2 months..BH has continued to isolate military units and storm camps in their hundreds..Pls sir...this is what is urgently needed..

1. NVGs for all SF teams operating behind enemy lines...their work is suicidal..yet they go into the Night with songs of praises for the Army..they need NVGs.

2. Tavor rifles for all SF teams in the N.E: Sir, the cameroonian BIR troops, when engaging BH in gun battles, use rifles so accurate, its like taking candy from a baby..our SF teams too need Tavors.

3. Changing from 3mags per man system..Sir, some of the Bulletproof vests, do not have pouches for ammo..pls sir, Mag pouches are urgently need to be worn over vests without pouches...3mags in a gunfight is too small sir, especially with a weapon as inaccurate as an AK..at least, 6 mags per man.

4.Replacing all Hilux vehicles with MRAPs and APCs and relegating Hilux vehicles to mobile supply vehicles..

5.Needed infantry systems: AGLs, UGLs for AKs, NV binoculars, more desert camos, knee pads, elbow pads, and more importantly, ATGMs.

6. Firepower needed: at least 300 BMP-2s along with 600-100 Zsu-23-2 mounted guntrucks...For offensive operations...troops are tired of always defending bases..

7.Handheld drones: even Kenyan troops field them..for Company level surveillance.

8. Mosquito nets, desert goggles, and handcuffs.

9. Prayers of Nigerians.

Thank You.

https://www.nairaland.com/siriusblack/posts/3


[/size]

SiriusBlack: I hope the pilots were safe....
SHOPPING LIST FOR THE FRONTLINES.
A few months ago, defence blog, Beegeagle., reported that the President, GEJ, had requested that the National Assembly release 1bn dollars for the campaign going on in the North East..we were all estatic and greeted the news with joy...News trickling in, first as rumours, that an Mi-35 Gunship of the NAF. Had crashed has now been confirmed..Makes one wonder, will USD1bn be enough? Here is a "list" of things urgently needed at the frontlines..Mr President, if you are reading this, attend to the plight of your men from your position as Commander-in-Chief...Sir, its time to disregard analysis of ppl who are just trying to keep their jobs by saying that all is well..Sir, all is not well at all for the past 2 months..BH has continued to isolate military units and storm camps in their hundreds..Pls sir...this is what is urgently needed..
1. NVGs for all SF teams operating behind enemy lines...their work is suicidal..yet they go into the Night with songs of praises for the Army..they need NVGs.
2. Tavor rifles for all SF teams in the N.E: Sir, the cameroonian BIR troops, when engaging BH in gun battles, use rifles so accurate, its like taking candy from a baby..our SF teams too need Tavors.
3. Changing from 3mags per man system..Sir, some of the Bulletproof vests, do not have pouches for ammo..pls sir, Mag pouches are urgently need to be worn over vests without pouches...3mags in a gunfight is too small sir, especially with a weapon as inaccurate as an AK..at least, 6 mags per man.
4.Replacing all Hilux vehicles with MRAPs and APCs and relegating Hilux vehicles to mobile supply vehicles..
5.Needed infantry systems: AGLs, UGLs for AKs, NV binoculars, more desert camos, knee pads, elbow pads, and more importantly, ATGMs.
6. Firepower needed: at least 300 BMP-2s along with 600-100 Zsu-23-2 mounted guntrucks...For offensive operations...troops are tired of always defending bases..
7.Handheld drones: even Kenyan troops field them..for Company level surveillance.
8. Mosquito nets, desert goggles, and handcuffs.
9. Prayers of Nigerians.

Thank You.

I like this list edpecially the No)) 7 its a pity that its in time of problem then that's when will start having such things which is very bad, if its a war time they would av destroyed us before we buy them train our man before they know how to use this equipment I wonder what these top rednecks are doing ? Handhed drones are called "RAVEN'S" you use it to get real life images of the enemy so you know how,what and when to face the enemy these are very cheap equipment if countries like kenya,ghana.algeria e.t.c can av such south africa manufactures its own raven its a pity a country as big as nigeria with our economy don't av such hard wares in our inventry. Ravens would save a lot of lifes if employed american troops can do without ravens its a spy bird especially in deseart walfare and the northeast is a perfect place where such can be used. The nigerian armed forces and the federal goverment should stop reactive solution and employe proactive means these bokoharam surge is a big lesson to the NA. They keep saying bokoharam is too small for them that people should not over-rate them yet they have tried taking gwazo two to three times yet this bastards keeps pushing dem back.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/50-bharam-30-soldiers-killed-pilka-gwoza-one-week/

This COAS or his PR is a Joker, who is he fooling.
Where are the FIGHTER JETS they promised.
BH is chasing NA back to Base. A PITY.

EasternLeopard:

God bless you

That is the real SiriusBlack

There are several reports of Missing-In-Action of men and officers. If we remember clearly the COAS Minimah confirmed it and said people join the military out of unemployment and when faced with the realities of war, abandon their weapons and dissappear

The truth about the whole matter is that

1) Our Man-Know-Man recruitment process has ended up filling up our military ranks with unmilitary people to the point that 400 attack helicopters won't make a difference

2) Allowing muslims to join the fight against BH has created a loophole for BH supporters to gain access to military operations which are leaked to the detriment of soldiers

I will advise GEJ to review the recruitment process and deploy only Nigerian Military that are Christians.


As for BH, they can be rest assure that if this event result to war, the true military people will pick up arms and go against them fire for fire blood for blood lead for lead death for death

And if Muslim Northerners support them in operating outside their region, both them and Northerners will pay dearly for it.

Your Second point is faulted, We need to review our military intelligence process such that delicate information can not reach BH , and Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-Religious nations and we can not discriminate based on a perceived fear of BH intrusion into our NA

Second week of August still no sign of the new Helos

sweetgala:


Your Second point is faulted, We need to review our military intelligence process such that delicate information can not reach BH , and Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-Religious nations and we can not discriminate based on a perceived fear of BH intrusion into our NA

BH are muslims

It is impossible to identify bad Muslims from good Muslims

So best policy is to quarantine the Muslims and deploy only Christian soldiers