Mcbussy:


Yes,true,but do u think in a standard military, there shouldn't be enuf equipment?...that u'll have to deploy everything and not have some permanently reserved for training purposes. Even if they had deployed everything to d front,don't u think d wise thing to do is to buy new ones to train your troops with?

If every AK47 was deployed to the NE, what would they use to train the fresh cadets?...see?...that's dsame reason why there is need to have reserved a reasonable number of every necessary military hardware for training purposes.

Good question. Ask why the military has been gutted and permitted to fall into decay. Simple. 30 years of military rule. In whose interest is a strong, well equiped military. No one. Not even the military itself. Who is responsible for this. We all are. That is our revenge against an institution that violated us in our youth. Now we need their strength to save us....once again.. Only simple minds will point fingers at individuals. Nigerians are all responsible.

kellyJames5:


Sorry to still ask;
From that 1983-1999,were there provision for military in every year budget and allocation?

Oh yes....the issue is, how much does the new jet fighter cost? Or the new warship? Or even a single rifle.? (A lot of money).

And it is not just getting budget allocation....is it enough to buy the new toys?. (A young student I knew from a poor family was getting N2000 per annum from his dad when he was in Uni. Yes...there was provision for him in the family budget....it obviously was not enough. He has since graduated, and found a good job BTW).

P.S...I use 1983-99 as a reference point because in the 1970's.....we could afford weapons from the old Soviet Union...at cheap prices...because the Soviets too themselves were benefiting from the high oil prices back then..which meant they could afford to sell weapons to us at low prices.

The US are only interested in the things that affect them and don't give a damn about everything else.

Why donate warship to Nigeria when what we need at the most are military helicopters and fighter jets to annihilate bokoharam insurgents once ane for all time?

The way I see it, this so called war ship is merely aimed at tackling oil theft in the gulf of guinea as contious oil theft means the commodity is readily available, hence the falling price of oil.

US indegenous oil coys spend so much in oil exploration and refining and stand to lose a lot and possibly fold up if the price of oil continues to drop. This why the why they want to mitigate this trend and avoid the massive job losses that would be a fall out should these companies go under.

Nigeria as a country therefore needs to present a bargaining chip to the US so that the two parties can strike a common ground and come to the aid of the other.

Nigeria can no longer afford to reamain naive and expect the whole world to rush to its aid just because a gang of rebels are killing people and destroying properties.

It is high time we mapped out our strategies with a view to identifying those that need we have so that we can form alliance and nuke these retromingent gilfnards down the north.

Of course there is genocide in kenya, there is ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, there is insurgency in Libya, Egypt, Syria and Pakistan. Why should the US care about Nigeria and not any or all of the above countries?

From here you will know GEJites

Where is d 4trillion already spent on security ooo... Confess!

America and their cunning ways.

Didn't they provide equipments and trainers to Afghanistan, Iraq and so many countries fighting insurgency? Why should Nigeria be different?

abuyuunus:


You hate USA? Why are you guys running for greener pastures in the same USA?

Think about it and answer this new question:

Do you hate USA?

It is you guys who run there for salvation at the expense of your country that need to do the soul searching because one thing you're not is patriotic. At this point in time any true patriot will be deeply displeased with the actions of the US and if they persist will manifest in hate towards that country. We are not an island in this. Peoples of several countries have no respect for the US and so do I.

When we went into the Congo, Liberia, S/Leone, Mali we didn't ask them for anything or compel them to do anything. We went in solidarity, period. The US is not friendly towards us and they know it. They should just leave us alone.

iv4fb:
Now I think the Nigerian government might be right. Their reason was that the US said they should provide equipments which were in the war front with Boko Haram and that involves moving those equipments from the NE. They rejected the offer coz same equipment were needed in the fight against the Boko Haram.

Which equipment na? Yet some 2000 peeps in borno were slayed recently for no just cause. Its seems som1 somewhere in the nigerian govt doesn't want the training to be completed. Because once that is done, bH will be a thing of the past as they will learn more tactics for combating the insurgents. Seems some people wana keep making money off the defence budget.

papawemba:


I lost six relatives( two couples and two dads) last year due to his ineptitude in combating Boko Haram. They lost their lives, businesses and I have 8 additional people to cater for in addition to my parents and other relatives. If those people were alive and doing businesses the responsibility to cater for these orphans and fatherless kids wouldn't have been heaped on me.

...am sorry about your loss bro...I can imagine how you feeling right now, the change we seek is still within the pdp..this situation has been politicised by some greedy folks but not Jonathan..is it buhari that has been clamouring for total implementation of sharia law in Nigeria is the change?

iv4fb:
Now I think the Nigerian government might be right. Their reason was that the US said they should provide equipments which were in the war front with Boko Haram and that involves moving those equipments from the NE. They rejected the offer coz same equipment were needed in the fight against the Boko Haram.

maybe the expected Nigeria to buy new ones for the purpose of Training, nd remember it was in the agreement, did d Nigerian Government nt read the Agreement b4 the signed...

God help us, we re so damn confused, I prefer buhari to Jonathan one because he was a retired military leader, military ruler tho embezzled money lyk abacha and the rest, work!! Majority of the solid infrastructures hav now re all done by military leaders, most esp creation of states and all, now buhari coming as a civilian is good, because I hav a feeling boko haram ll stop, dey want dey northern person to rule dey get him. But den he is a MUSLIM the last I checked in his last regime u see wat apned to xtains, dunno knw if dat ll apn again, but Jonathan on the other hand is a weakling, he is not a strong, committed leader with passion...he rules again, boko haram continue to kill and even more, all am saying in essence is dat Nigerians, dis election is lyk a life and death issue, BTW unity peace and development in Nigerian, let's drop sentiment, let's drop selfishness, let's ask God to help and assist dat irrespective of brides and cheat done by the electorate let God's own man rule, let d person he chooses succeed d throne, we should drop argument and pray!!

bushdoc9919:


Oh yes....the issue is, how much does the new jet fighter cost? Or the new warship? Or even a single rifle.? (A lot of money).

And it is not just getting budget allocation....is it enough to buy the new toys?. (A young student I knew from a poor family was getting N2000 per annum from his dad when he was in Uni. Yes...there was provision for him in the family budget....it obviously was not enough. He has since graduated, and found a good job BTW).

P.S...I use 1983-99 as a reference point because in the 1970's.....we could afford weapons from the old Soviet Union...at cheap prices...because the Soviets too themselves were benefiting from the high oil prices back then..which meant they could afford to sell weapons to us at low prices.

That the USA Army is ranked if not the best in the world today is because of the attention their Heads of state paid to them,in terms of allocation and budget-if I'm not mistaken,their military budgets supercedes any other in the world,even though they manufacture weapons in their land,
Now the question is;
Why did the past leaders always allocate 'peanuts' to the military knowing fully well that their equipments are costly and are also sourced outside the country?

All this talk boils down to this part of the conversation.

We are still talking about a number of equipment, different kinds of helicopters that can be more appropriate to that kind of thing. But, what are our human rights considerations? When I got here about two years ago, there were discussions about the conduct of the Nigerian Army in the North-east about the treatment of the civilian population. It was reported in your media. This is not something we came up with.

“Nigerians themselves were focusing on it. So, we have had a lot of discussions with the Nigerian Army about the need to, as you fight terror, you also have to protect the civilian population and keep them on your side.

papawemba:


Abeg ooo! Dont say it out loud before they enter your name in the same book with ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram and co. I no dey ooo.

Are they no more the apostles of free speech. Didn't they berate North Korea for kicking against a movie jest about the assasination of their premier. They give, they should take.

fydence:
not everyone is running to the usa for whatever colour of pastures...some of us have learnt hw to create wealth here.

Correct. That's what we want to hear. Remain patriotic.

Hmm...Americanz Americanz,i pity their future

Reference:


Are they no more the apostles of free speech. Didn't they berate North Korea for kicking against a movie jest about the assasination of their premier. They give, they should take.

i think america is biting more than it can chew..

kellyJames5:


That the USA Army is ranked if not the best in the world today is because of the attention their Heads of state paid to them,in terms of allocation and budget-if I'm not mistaken,their military budgets supercedes any other in the world,even though they manufacture weapons in their land,
Now the question is;
Why did the past leaders always allocate 'peanuts' to the military knowing fully well that their equipments are costly and are also sourced outside the country?

Because...for the most part....we just did not have enough money to buy US weapons....even if we raised the army budget to half the national budget.

I have read some posts on the topic and I am frankly astounded by the naivety and gullibilty of some Nigerians. I do not see anything wrong with the opinions or views of the US Ambassador. Most of us know the issues plaguing our country but refuse to accept the harsh realities : our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered in the North by BH, a large number of refugees have been taken in by communities or villages including families without any iota of aid or assistance from the goverment of the day who are focused on the next election. Currently, some areas in the North have been seceded to BH's caliphates. Our NA are poorly equipped and inadequately trained to deal with the threat. There have been numerous human right abuses by our forces - not just the army and these abuses go beyond the frontline. We have numerous instances of civilains being assaulted and property damaged or destroyed. What is the problem with recognizing that there have been extrajudical killings and finding ways to tackle the issue? What is wrong with training or providing the necessary tools to assist our troops who are fighting a war they did not cause? As far as I am aware constant training and deployment will keep us sharp on the evolving terrorist threat and update our intelligence capabilities. It is a competitive world out there, the colonial blame everyone else but ourselves mentality will get us nowhere. We have to knuckle down and assertively deal with our problems. We need action and I am tired of all the talk. I am not going to be dragged into all the conspiracy theories. Wars are expensive and the US realize it is business and we as the customers have to work as partners or form alliances with other countries. That is diplomacy. What's the use of having Nigerian envoys in other countries if they cannot sustain or maintain the interests of Nigerians? There is saying it is good to have " fresh eyes" a third party can always give you constructive criticism in order to develop insight into your strengths or weakness when tackling any issue or truly assessing performance. Why can't we accept constructive criticisms as Nigerians without resolting into a psycho babble of ethnic or religious or political hoghwash?

Oklander:
US should go and sitdown!

THEY SEND THIS MAN HERE TO COME AND SCHOOL US! Did anyone understand this man? He said "we should provide trainers" what's the essence of them coming to nigeria if not to come and train nigeria army WILL YOU TRAIN AN ALREADY KNOWLEDGEABLE PERSON? Talking about EQUIPMENT, THEY SAID THEY ARE NOT GOING TO SELL MILITARY HARDWARES TO NIGERIA, AND THEY SAY WILL SHOULD WITHDRAL THE ONES WE ARE AT WAR FRONT these guys are taking us for a fool AND AM SURE THEY ARE WORKING HANDS IN HANDS WITH NORTHERN MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT BASE ON MISS-INFORMATION, DIS-INFORMATIONS AND COOKED LIES! YOU A VIOLENT FREE ELECTION THE OPPOSITIONS ARE SINGING WAR, SHOUTING WAR and RIGINIG ELECTION YOU PAT THEIR BACK, BECAUSE THEY ARE OPPOSITIONS for GOD sake how long will i continue recieving slaps and abuses from my wife simply because am the husband and the head of family! MR AMBASSADOR PLEASE STOP SCHOOLING ME.

bushdoc9919:


Because...for the most part....we just did not have enough money to buy US weapons....even if we raised the army budget to half the national budget.

So why is that the present administration suffers the blame of ill-equipping the military?
How is it their fault?

Some people are literate yet they lack knowledge! Some Nigerians will never learn to reason with their brains. Whatever rocks the F.g's boat

kellyJames5:


That the USA Army is ranked if not the best in the world today is because of the attention their Heads of state paid to them,in terms of allocation and budget-if I'm not mistaken,their military budgets supercedes any other in the world,even though they manufacture weapons in their land,
Now the question is;
Why did the past leaders always allocate 'peanuts' to the military knowing fully well that their equipments are costly and are also sourced outside the country?

Nigerians and collective amnesia or should I call it the attention deficit of toddlers. Thank goodness you lot won't lead this country like the 'clueless' ones we are quick to criticise.

Abeg I was already on Nairaland (just a while ago) that Nigerians were frothing at the mouth about the 'huge' defence budget and agreed with the UN that defence budget be reduced to a smaller percentage of GDP in favour of education, health and others in order to attain the millenium goals. Was it not this same madam Ngozi Iweala working for OBJ who started the dis-investment and proudly showed us the figures every budget year.

Is it a wild coincidence then that Boko took one look at the fattened old professors 'chopping' fattened education budgets and declared with one voice, 'down with books' now give our sector back the cash. The sword must resume its might against the pen.

Hahaha. I laugh in naija.. Abeg who is going to square this circle and deliver my people from this conundrum. Now it is the spiteful civilians even willing to donate their 'widows mite' to their former tormentors to save them.

So security is now as important as education and without education you breed Boko.

airlord2020:
All this talk boils down to this part of the conversation.

We are still talking about a number of equipment, different kinds of helicopters that can be more appropriate to that kind of thing. But, what are our human rights considerations? When I got here about two years ago, there were discussions about the conduct of the Nigerian Army in the North-east about the treatment of the civilian population. It was reported in your media. This is not something we came up with.

“Nigerians themselves were focusing on it. So, we have had a lot of discussions with the Nigerian Army about the need to, as you fight terror, you also have to protect the civilian population and keep them on your side.

Of course and we are still shooting ourselves in the foot. Playing politics with governance. I continue to say that the state of a country correlates with the state of its people and nothing more.

iv4fb:


My brother, you should be old enough to present your own argument and not insult. Grow up!

Don't mind him.
But you self fall hand now.
This training will benefit us more than the US. How many equipment do they want to provide? Can't the president have one of his big men that contributed to his reelection throw 'Common' 1 billion naira at it? I mean... We all want to see the end of BH. Don't our govt want same.?

iv4fb:
Now I think the Nigerian government might be right. Their reason was that the US said they should provide equipments which were in the war front with Boko Haram and that involves moving those equipments from the NE. They rejected the offer coz same equipment were needed in the fight against the Boko Haram.

Don't mind the US and their tongu-in-cheek "offers"

Missmossy:
Some people are literate yet they lack knowledge! Some Nigerians will never learn to reason with their brains. Whatever rocks the F.g's boat

You forgot the FG is actually rocking private jets...not boats

The US is stil the best and Nigeria has a lot to learn......All Nigeria had to do was to provide support yet the US volunteered some of the best trainers......Nigeria needs the support of the US and Israel in this fight.....No China, I dont like their government.

iv4fb:
Now I think the Nigerian government might be right. Their reason was that the US said they should provide equipments which were in the war front with Boko Haram and that involves moving those equipments from the NE. They rejected the offer coz same equipment were needed in the fight against the Boko Haram.

Those people? Anytime I hear the US all I can think of is Shady Shady Shady. ..

Listen to what you are saying. So ALL of Nigeria's weapons are being used to fight boko haram? Does this mean if another country invades Nigeria from the South we are finished?

The fact is the military is so poorly equipped that they do not even have equipment for training of future forces. this is a serious situation because the future of the military is at stake even after we defeat boko haram given we have no equipment to train and develop our military further.

Face up to your deficiencies and stop blaming the US.

iv4fb:
Now I think the Nigerian government might be right. Their reason was that the US said they should provide equipments which were in the war front with Boko Haram and that involves moving those equipments from the NE. They rejected the offer coz same equipment were needed in the fight against the Boko Haram.

herald9:



You forgot the FG is actually rocking private jets...not boats

Hehehe you should know I meant that on the literal meaning

ttmacoy:
Listen to what you are saying. So ALL of Nigeria's weapons are being used to fight boko haram? Does this mean if another country invades Nigeria from the South we are finished?

The fact is the military is so poorly equipped that they do not even have equipment for training of future forces. this is a serious situation because the future of the military is at stake even after we defeat boko haram given we have no equipment to train and develop our military further.

Face up to your deficiencies and stop blaming the US.

Did i say all?

kellyJames5:


So why is that the present administration suffers the blame of ill-equipping the military?
How is it their fault?

1,They are benefiting from an oil boom...so they should have spent more.

2.They are not promoting Nigeria getting off oil.

But for me....the reason why the Army ain't beating boko is simple....they are fighting boko like it is a regular war. The same mistake the soviets made against Afghanistan. War is as much as about tactics than about equipment.