Posted on April 26, 2010


Following the initial high attained during the Nigerian Civil War, the Nigerian Armed Forces switched gear in its quest to acquire military hardware in the year 1975 which ended on a high note with the delivery in December 1975 of a squadron of MiG-21MF jet fighters for which orders had been placed by the ousted Federal Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon around 1973


Following the initial high attained during the Nigerian Civil War, the Nigerian Armed Forces switched gear in its quest to acquire military hardware in the year 1975 which ended on a high note with the delivery in December 1975 of a squadron of MiG-21MF jet fighters for which orders had been placed by the ousted Federal Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon around 1973.

Ever since, the Nigerian Armed Forces have scarcely looked back as they press on in the quest to acquire modern military hardware for the nation. Between 1976 and 1979, the military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo acquired the first-ever armoured tanks fielded by the Nigerian Army. This coincided with the movement of the 3 Armoured Division and its relocation from Port Harcourt to Jos in 1976. The 1 Infantry Division had earlier in 1972 also relocated from Enugu to Kaduna. The military regime of Obasanjo also acquired Soviet 122mm artillery guns and penned deals for a MEKO 360 frigate which was delivered in the 1980s under the Shagari regime’s watch, Hippo-class Landing Ships (Tank) and British Vosper Thornycroft corvettes.

As far as military hardware acquisition goes, the Shagari regime which held office between October 1979 and December 1983 holds the record. The Shagari regime splashed out 6 billion pounds sterling on military hardware between 1980 and 1982. This was expended on the acquisition of everything from French Combattante III and German Lurssen missile-armed Fast Attack Craft, Italian-made G222 military airlift planes and a squadron of Aermacchi MB-339 advanced trainer/light attack jets, Oto-Melara 105mm artillery guns and Palmaria 155mm self-propelled artillery systems.

From France, the Shagari regime penned deals and/or took delivery of Roland Surface to Air missile systems and Aerospatiale (now Eurocopter) Puma helicopters. Also delivered were American-made C130-H30 Hercules (the stretch variant, that is) and anti-aircraft artillery guns. Contracts were signed and deliveries made of Swedish-made Bofors FH-77A 155mm artillery guns, Austrian-made Steyr 4K-7FA armoured personnel carriers, Swiss-made MOWAG Piranha armoured personnel carriers, British-made Vickers Mk.3 Eagle main battle tanks and Alvis Scorpion light tanks, squadrons of Franco-German Alpha jets and Franco-British Jaguar jets, German-made Fox armoured cars, Dornier Do-228 utility aircraft and Soviet-built MiG-21 jets, 122mm artillery guns and BM-21 122mm rocket artillery.

Deliveries on some the procurement deals penned by the inimitable President Shehu Shagari, a quiet and modest man, continued well into regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Some of his successors penned new deals for repeat business on deliveries of Scorpion and Eagle tanks and self-propelled artillery, continuing into this decade.

The shortlived regime of General Buhari signed deals for additional deliveries of Scorpion light tanks and Vickers Eagle battle tanks and penned a deal for the delivery of Brazilian-made Engesa Cascavel heavy armoured fighting vehicles in an oil-for-arms barter trade deal. The Buhari regime was soon swept aside by General Babangida.

The Federal Military Government of Nigeria under General Babangida signed deals for further deliveries of Palmaria self-propelled artillery, Alpha jets and Dornier Do-228 utility planes. It additionally signed fresh deals for the delivery of two squadrons(24 units) of L39 Albatross advanced trainer-light attack jets from Czechoslovakia, Romanian-made APR-21 122mm rocket artillery, Italian-built mine countermeasure vessels, British and French coastal patrol craft, Panhard Sagaie armoured fighting vehicles and VBL scout cars.

The Abacha regime came and went while the Abdulsalaam Abubakar regime had little time to leave its footprints.

In 1999, General Obasanjo again took the elm as democratically elected President and returned to meet an arsenal which had been blighted by sanctions and embargoes. He did very well in the event, acquiring fifteen Chengdu F7 jet fighter-bombers from China, Agusta AW 139 and A109 Power utility helicopters, Russian-built Mi-34, Mi-17, Mi-24V and Mi-35P choppers and gunships, T72 tanks, MT-LB armoured combat support vehicles, Ukrainian-made BTR-3 armoured personnel carriers, BTR-60 and BTR-70 armoured personnel carriers, Mowag Grizzly armoured personnel carriers, Turkish-built Otokar Cobra infantry fighting vehicles, French-made AMX battle tanks,Sea Eagle Offshore Patrol Craft, many dozens of gunboats and utility landing craft, logistics ships, Unmanned Surface Vehicles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and a comprehensive coastal radar systems.

The Obasanjo government also signed deals for additional deliveries of Panhard VBL scout cars, Oto-Melara 105mm artillery, Palmaria 155mm self-propelled artillery systems, T55 and Vickers Eagle battle tanks and Alvis Scorpion light tanks.

The Obasanjo regime was succeeded by the government of President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007 and since then, it has paced orders for or taken delivery of a squadron of twelve Agusta A109LUH choppers, another squadron of twelve Eurocopter AS-550 Fennec attack helicopters, ATR-42MP Surveyor radar planes, five Eurocopter dual-purpose Puma radar helicopters, Shaldag Mk.II Fast Patrol Interceptor Craft, gunboats and combat catamarans and British-built Offshore Patrol Vessels.


https://beegeagle./2010/04/26/nigerian-armed-forces-the-post-1975-trend-of-military-hardware-acquisitions/

Allow Buhari, Babangida, Abdusalami and OBJ to defend themselves on this matter or consult Nigerian Military for record of deliveries.

What do you expect in the news when we always have yearly Defence Budgets? It's either they sign fictitious contracts as a cover or they resupply the arsenals in their stores as new consignment to cover for the amount budgeted.

Signing a contract is not same as delivering the contract.

Moreover, the testimony from Sen. Saleh corroborates with President Jonathan's assertion

Babangida Disarmed the Military



The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Mohammed Saleh said it was impossible for the military to win the terrorism war with the present obsolete equipment and the alleged fraud in Ministry of Defence and the Military Service.

Meanwhile, Senator Saleh has said that after the Gideon Okar coup of 1990 during the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, the military was systematically and comprehensively disarmed which now makes it impossible for the army to effectively confront any external aggression.Soldier

Speaking at the National Assembly Joint Committee on Defence Thursday, the Chief of Defence Staff said that since the declaration of state of emergency in the three North East states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, the Armed Forces had been engaged in a sustained operations against the terrorists.

According to Air Marshal Badeh, “In the last one month, troops have sustained on-going offensive operations both in and outside seven division areas of operation to shape the theatre, establish fighting positions and limiting Boko Haram freedom of movement within the area of operation.

“Significantly, troupes are currently carrying out unlimited offensive operations aimed at denying Boko haram freedom of action and from achieving its aim to isolate and control areas around Maiduguri.

“Additionally, the involvement of the international community which led to the establishment of the joint planning committee on the 12 of May, 2014, the initial mandate of the joint coordination and planning committee which is championed by America and Britain was the fusion of intelligence for the rescue of abducted Chibok girls.

“But this gradually is being extended to other aspects of the operations. I want to state here that the military is highly engaged in operations in view of achieving favourable outcomes.

“Moreover, the continued attacks by the terrorists justify the imposition and extension of state of emergency because there is no alternative. Let me just say that Nigerians need not lose hope in the military but continue to support her in a bid to defeat the terrorists.

“Secondly, all other elements of national power should contribute more in support of military operations. Right now, the element of national power we are using is the military. Other elements of national power are not being engaged sufficiently.

“There is also the need for diplomatic lobbying for our foreign partners to provide more assistance in areas of equipment and whatever they can give us.”

Security situation is deteriorating—Sen. Saleh

But a member of the Senate Joint National Assembly Committee on Defence and an All Progressives Congress Senator from Kaduna Central, Senator Ahmed Saleh appeared to have dashed the hope of the military winning the war against terrorism even as he said that the situation was getting worse on daily basis.

[b]Senator Saleh, a retired army general said, “What I am going to say is based on my experience as an insider. Our duty here as senators of the federal republic transcends the extension of state of emergency. Our duty of oversight should ensure that high standards must be maintained in addition to acquiring all necessary equipment required to maintain a strong force.

“When the Chief of Defense Staff was appointed in January this year, the service chiefs made a categorical statement that within three months they will crush Boko haram. But unfortunately, what we are seeing is a complete deterioration of the situation, so it is incumbent on us to find out why that deterioration. We have heard about our soldiers’ mutiny, it is also our responsibility to find out why that is happening.

“For us to understand why that is happening, we need to go back to the Babangida (Gen. Ibrahim Babangida) era. After the 1990 Okar coup, the Federal Government of Nigeria systematically and comprehensively disarmed the military.

“All the tanks, all the artillery guns were disarmed and locked up. All the aircraft were parked in Ilorin and other places, flying stopped, training stopped to ensure regime security not national security.

“All the good officers of the Nigerian army were hounded out of the military. And there was over concentration of power at the centre which was the army headquarters. Prior to that, General Officers Commanding used to have training and maneuver grants.

“They had the power and responsibility to train their troops and battalions and to ensure an efficient logistics and service support system. All that stopped. Everything was from Army headquarters, everything was from Air Force headquarters, everything was from Naval headquarters.

“The attendant result was decay. Training was no longer going on at the battalion level, soldiers lost their skills and since then, no additional military equipment was purchased for the Nigerian Army. Even things as little as machine guns were in short supply, ammunition was in short supply.

“An individual soldier’s professional skill was to be a matchman, to shoot and hit his target but can he do that if he has no ammunition? We have a duty to rebuild this army, to rebuild this armed forces, and unless we understand these basic facts, we are not going anywhere.

“Also, after some time the fighting doctrine of the Nigerian Army was changed. We were essentially British brought up. That means we knew how much materials we had, the tasks before us and so on. But along the line during the Obasanjo (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo) regime, General Obasanjo brought Americans here and our doctrine approach was change to warfare.

“I make bold to tell you that up till today nobody understands that. I know it is a strategic concept of warfare but in Nigeria we are applying it to the operational and tactical level. It has created a lot of confusion within our army.

“Apart from that, our involvement in foreign operations and the kind of training we give to our soldiers for operations was a kind of defensive posture. You don’t kill until you are killed, you don’t attack until you are attacked.

“That also helped to change the orientation of some of our soldiers. Then again, I must mention here fraud within the ministry of defense, fraud within the military service systems themselves has contributed a lot to diminishing our fighting capability.

“Further to that again, we have the issue of our combat service support. Because of fraudulent activities, we monetized everything. Out supply services, our medical services are completely inefficient and are unable to support the fighting in the North East now. Right now I stand to question how our soldiers are being fed.”
[/b]
Speaking earlier, Chairman Senate Committee on Defence, Senator George Thompson Sekibo said that the essence of the meeting was to know why the issue of insurgence persists in the country and the conflicting reports on the fight against Boko Haram in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

Senator Sekibo said, “Nigerians are worried over the security station. Rather than abate its worsening. The spokesperson of the military and the press are contradicting each other. We want to find out the true situation of the attacks.

“You will observe that the joint committee of the National Assembly on Defence met here with the Chief of Defence staff and other security chiefs from 10am to 3pm to get situation reports on insurgency problem in the three affected north eastern states as part of follow up to the approval of state of emergency in the affected state in May this year.

“We have heard several stories from the media on alleged upper hand of the insurgents against the military and the military telling us here that such stories were speculative, making it difficult for us to know which of the stories to believe.

“The military In fact debunked stories of major cities being taken over by the insurgents in the three states , though admitted that the insurgents had one of the towns as stronghold which according to them would be taken over from them in a matter of time from now.

“We have also been informed by them that presidency is doing more for them in terms of procurement of new war ammunition and improve in welfare packages and other things being done to boost the morale of those at the war front.

“But the committee has resolved to reach out to Mr President for direct interaction on the national problem with a view to knowing what and what are being done to fight the war to its logical conclusion which will definitely afford us the opportunity to put in our own pieces of advice.

“We also resolved to submit all our findings at this meeting today to the respective chambers on resumption about 12 days to come”.

Senator Sekibo said the Joint Committee wanted to know, “Who has captured where. We are worried about the contradictions. We want to know, is the military still equipped or not, what is the state of our equipment, are you having difficulties accessing funds, if there are funds to buy the equipment the moral of the soldiers will raise.

“State of emergency is in the third stage and things are worse. Do we evacuate people there and go for full scale war, were the funds released to you? We should know the problem. We at National Assembly will not rest on our oars. Some of our people at the National Assembly can’t go back to our states,” he stated

www.freedomafric.com/politics/babangida-regime-disarmed-nigeria-military-after-okah-coup-safeguard-regime-sen-saleh-t1609.html

Ngwake you hide your own comment? Na wa o

ayukdaboss:
Ngwake you hide your own comment? Na wa o

Lmaooo. The guy is something else.

Oga Jona, your constant lies cant return you to Aso rock. Shame

ayukdaboss:
Ngwakwe you hide your own comment? Na wa o

I was resolving administrative error by anti-spambot that hid this thread and erroneously banned the author.

Ngwakwe:
Allow Buhari, Babangida, Abdusalami and OBJ to defend themselves on this matter or consult Nigerian Military for record of deliveries.

What do you expect in the news when we always have yearly Defence Budgets? It's either they sign fictitious contracts as a cover or they resupply the arsenals in their stores as new consignment to cover for the amount budgeted.

Signing a contract is not same as delivering the contract.

Moreover, the testimony from Sen. Saleh corroborates with President Jonathan's assertion




www.freedomafric.com/politics/babangida-regime-disarmed-nigeria-military-after-okah-coup-safeguard-regime-sen-saleh-t1609.html

Of course I wasn't expecting you to accept that report Ngwaks. As long as it stated that weapons were actually purchased under Buhari's regime contrary to what a drunk Jonathan was saying yesterday, you must notice discrepancies in the report.

Do it your self....

http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/values.php

ayukdaboss:

Of course I wasn't expecting you to accept that report Ngwaks. As long as it stated that weapons were actually purchased under Buhari's regime contrary to what a drunk Jonathan was saying yesterday, you must notice discrepancies in the report.

Where are the weapons? We want delivery notes not media publicised signing.

Can you imagine the number of contracts Nigeria have signed for new refineries? Where they built?

As I said before and I repeat, let's wait for Buhari to refute the allegations. Thank goodness, he is on political campaign trail.

Ngwakwe:


Where are the weapons? We want delivery notes not media publicised signing

Can you imagine the number of contracts Nigeria have signed for new refineries? Where they built?

As I said before, I repeat, let's wait for Buhari to refute the allegations. Thank goodness, he is on political campaign.

You've not finished asking Jonathan to show weapons he purchased recently in the last four years after allocating the Military the highest budget for those years + 1 billion dollars borrowed. You want to see Buhari's weapons of 1985? Coupled with that Buhari faced and defeated a terrorist group. What did they use? Bows and arrows? This man...hope say sleep no dey your eye?

ayukdaboss:

You've not finished asking Jonathan to show weapons he purchased recently in the last four years after allocating the Military the highest budget for those years + 1 billion dollars borrowed. You want to see Buhari's weapons of 1985? Coupled with that Buhari faced and defeated a terrorist group. What did they use? Bows and arrows? This man...hope say sleep no dey your eye?

Another lies in attempt to repackage over dented ragtag veteran and a man with zero democratic experience.

dem no dey tire.

wondering about like a wounded lion looking for old news to defend the retired tired general

Ngwakwe:


I was resolving administrative error by anti-spambot that hid this thread and erroneously banned the author.

Can your administrative error unban my pendy79 moniker too since it was same silly administrative error that banned it.

Ngwakwe:
Allow Buhari, Babangida, Abdusalami and OBJ to defend themselves on this matter or consult Nigerian Military for record of deliveries.

What do you expect in the news when we always have yearly Defence Budgets? It's either they sign fictitious contracts as a cover or they resupply the arsenals in their stores as new consignment to cover for the amount budgeted.

Signing a contract is not same as delivering the contract.

Moreover, the testimony from Sen. Saleh corroborates with President Jonathan's assertion




www.freedomafric.com/politics/babangida-regime-disarmed-nigeria-military-after-okah-coup-safeguard-regime-sen-saleh-t1609.html

How does your post about a senator saying his own assumption counter the exposee I put up.

Is the Senator the Army Chief or Chief of Defence Staff to know what transpired in the military then?

Anyway, Buhari left Government years before the Orkar Coup and I don't know how Orkar's coup concerns or relate to the speech of GEJ who said "the MAN never bought a SINGLE RIFLE"

when a President who is privy to information and classified information openly exhibited dumbness and ignorance of all that transpired few years before he took power then it shows how stupid and daft the one we call PRESIDENT is.

Defence purchase and ammunitions are never remove from the log of manufacturers, it is outright silly of GEJ to say what he said yesterday in Lagos. It smacks of one who is uninformed or maybe and most likely LYING and PLAYING to the GALLERY to earn immediate applause believing all Nigerians are as stupid as him and his mumuish set of supporters.

Buhari engaged Maistastine Cult group in his regime, Did the Military use Bows and Arrows then or did they use catapault ni?

Who gave this guy PhD?

Ngwakwe:



Another lies in attempt to repackage over dented ragtag veteran and a man with zero democratic experience.

Point the lie out and objectively counter it

pendicle:


Can your administrative error unban my pendy79 moniker too since it was same silly administrative error that banned it.

You lack courtesy hence I'm no longer interested in your case.

Bye

GEJ didn't make his research well before saying Buhari never Bought a Single rifle while in office..

I pray stops Attacking personalities rather than telling us his manifesto and laudable achievement that will warrant his Re-Election..

meracool:
GEJ didn't make his research well before saying Buhari never Bought a Single rifle while in office..

I pray stops Attacking personalities rather than telling us his manifesto and laudable achievement that will warrant his Re-Election..

GEJ is very correct. Was Buhari the head of state in 1982? https://www.nairaland.com/2082831/another-apc-lie-bursted

Ngwakwe:



You lack courtesy hence I'm no longer interested in your case.

Bye

You mean i should prostrate to you online after you admittedly made a goof, sorry to disappoint you, not everyone is cut out for a.sslicking.

I dont know what case you have if you like ban it till the day of resurrection.

pendicle:


You mean i should prostrate to you online after you admittedly made a goof, sorry to disappoint you, not everyone is cut out for a.sslicking.

I dont know what case you have if you like ban it till the day of resurrection.

When will you learn, I saw a new thread marked as spam by AntispamBot and suspected that the programmed Bot that hid the thread may have also banned you.

I could've easily allow it until you report but since it's not in my character to sheer away from such responsibility notwithstanding who is involved.

What is there that you can't understand? Is Ngwakwe the antispambot?

Ngwakwe:


When will you learn, I saw a new thread marked as spam by AntispamBot and suspected that the programmed Bot that hid the thread may have also banned you.

I could've easily allow it until you report but since it's not in my character to sheer away from such responsibility notwithstanding who is involved.

What is there that you can't understand? Is Ngwakwe the antispambot?

If the antispambot errorneously ban me and i call it silly, how does that relate to you taking offence? Is your name "silly administrative error" i was bringing it to your notice when you mentioned the observation that my main momiker was unjustifiably banned too by the admin error you quoted. If you saw this one then you ought to see the other one too and if you didnt i brought it to your notice.

It is not the first time and i dont complain anyway until the ban expires but you observed this and revert the ban on your own.

Ngwakwe:


Where are the weapons? We want delivery notes not media publicised signing.

Can you imagine the number of contracts Nigeria have signed for new refineries? Where they built?

As I said before and I repeat, let's wait for Buhari to refute the allegations. Thank goodness, he is on political campaign trail.

You used a media report to counter the OP, but saying you don't want any media report but Buhari to counter Jonathan. How do you reason?

Bruteforce101:


Lmaooo. The guy is something else.

Utterly shameless fellow. Never seen anything like him. Imagine coming here to type all that crap when he made no show in the other thread where a catalogue of purchases made under the General was presented with credible sources as opposed to the blatant and despicable lie his Lord Commander told the world yesterday! And as shameless as things go around here, that thread is still languishing in the dingy sections of the politics board.

Such a big shame.

I wonder how some people manage to live with themselves.

OrlandoOwoh:

You used a media report to counter the OP, but saying you don't want any media report but Buhari to counter Jonathan. How do you reason?

Dude is just shameless.

Buhari is going to be elected the President of Nigeria in Feb 14th 2015. I hope he does himself in when the result is announced.

Firefire:
dem no dey tire.

wondering about like a wounded lion looking for old news to defend the retired tired general

Is one supposed to use "new" news to burst lies told about history?? That is done only in PDP; refurbishing the past using present day lies.

Jonathan said "not a single rifle was purchased". Isn't that a terrible lie?? And this is a man with kids, a leader of the most populous black nation on earth. He speaks and exaggerates like a drunken man in a sleazy pub.

omenka:
Dude is just shameless.

Buhari is going to be elected the President of Nigeria in Feb 14th 2015. I hope he does himself in when the result is announced.

His overzealousness once cost him his post as a moderator. Seun had better do something about him because of the period - election, we are in.

ayukdaboss:

Of course I wasn't expecting you to accept that report Ngwaks. As long as it stated that weapons were actually purchased under Buhari's regime contrary to what a drunk Jonathan was saying yesterday, you must notice discrepancies in the report.

my dear the post was actually talking about some imaginary deals signed, but we are not interested in that. We are only interested in the amount of weapons added to the nigerian army weaponry during the regime of Buhari.

But wait a minute, why are you over-labouring yourself bearing another man's burden? I think it is Buhari's burden to defend himself. Buhari is alive today and why don't you allow him to defend himself?

omenka:
Is one supposed to use "new" news to burst lies told about history?? That is done only in PDP; refurbishing the past using present day lies.

[b]Jonathan said "not a single rifle was purchased". Isn't that a terrible lie?? [/b]And this is a man with kids, a leader of the most populous black nation on earth. He speaks and exaggerates like a drunken man in a sleazy pub.

Buhari should be in a better position to defend himself

Firefire:


Buhari should be in a better position to defend himself

Oh, really!!! And when you guys defend Jonathan here you don't imagine he can "defend himself", right??

Smh.

omenka:
Oh, really!!! And when you guys defend Jonathan here you don't imagine he can "defend himself", right??

Smh.

We are responsible for Jonathan’s defense and to defend our growing democracy without mincing words.

omenka:
Oh, really!!! And when you guys defend Jonathan here you don't imagine he can "defend himself", right??

Smh.

We are responsible for Jonathan’s defense and to defend our growing democracy without mincing words.

A selfless-service to our motherland