₦airaland Forum

Stephandeswardt:
If our BHT issues keeps growing, as it is already in about 5 countries in west Africa, we would be invaded , and the only thing that can save us, is a Syria- Russia ype of alliance, and the bill would be crazy.....we just have simpletons as leaders, who cant see more than the money they want to eat, if not, boko haram would be scared to attack our bases for fear of been hit , we are in a better position than syria, BHT are isolated, they dont live in cities and within villages, what we need is sustainable sustained massive strikes, at least 5 major different strikes every 3 or 4 days.....not these piecemeal 1 or 2 alpha jet strikes, that are not effective...... and for special forces to basically become a hunter - strike team, with right vehicles and WEAPONS.

You see, international politics is not guguru and epa politics,it is politics of interest. World powers won't just commit billions of dollars and various strategic military hardwares into a conflict simply because they watched our suffering on CNN and were moved to tears.

For the mean time,the major foreign powers have very little strategic interest in West Africa, unlike what obtains in the Middle East. Invading Nigeria will cause an implosion in sub-saharan Africa,everyone is aware of that.

I think the war will be won decisively when those in charge become more serious.

Tobiloba2407:
tell that to iraq, Libya and Syria

Nigeria is not Iraq, Libya or Syria.

I think you should study more on the origin and dimensions of the present conflicts in those countries.

jpphilips:
I dont expect you to be smart enough to understand that what is happening now have wider implications, with ISWAP having photo sessions with our trucks, APCs, mortar and SF rifles, it means that Nigeria and the whole of Sahel region is at a huge risk of foreign invasion.
This is how it will play out;

Nigeria with its huge population will continue supplying fighters in droves for ISWAP, hitting military targets monthly will continuously supply them with arms & equipments, stolen APC's will make subsequent hits easier (already playing out), it's just a matter of time, their operations will grow beyond the NE, stretch into the NW to connect the Lower Sahel, to continue feeding and raising funds through Jizya tax, Kano will go but im certain they won't want to push southwards but northwards for obvious reasons.

I hear the ignorant arguement of ISWAP wishing to control territories, they learnt some lessons in the Arabian peninsula and will not make that mistake again, for west africa, its a mobile force with capability to take out government presence and take control of civil rule, extorting businesses and civilians, any attempt to dislodge them will be met with stiff resistance from nowhere after which they disperse and become civilians once again, several intels have confirmed this.

You may argue that you stand a chance of taking out their equipments with air strikes, make no mistakes, with the last attempt to capture an MLRS, all its rockets were taken, so far, ISWAP is utilizing those rockets in an improvised fashion, you still cant guess the end of this road? they are coming for our Roland it is just a matter of time, how effective will our airforce be afterwards?

The next phase will be consolidating their gains by taking control of businesses, factories, industries in controlled regions, that will get the attention of the security council who won't wish them to be more financially capable but first of all sanction Nigeria with an arms embargo for aiding ISWAP, Nigeria becomes glaringly inefficient and helpless that will be the only justification they need to invade Nigeria and closely expand their global reach.
The Sahel region has a lot of uranium deposits, the security council will never allow any of it to fall into ISWAP's hands even if it means destroying Nigeria, with these interests at the back of our minds, gentlemen, they are coming.

Denying the realities of the next decade is not in anyone's interest except you dont stay in Nigeria, what must be done is report this situation to the security council and log it in as a growing global threat to be countered, Nigeria must swallow her pride and request for an arms recovery taskforce, a pocket size modern foreign special forces & equipments mixed with our guys that are good enough and monitored by the security council, their objective will be to recover or destroy anything these guys take, it could be a one nation action plan or a coalition of nations.

Our guys in foreign affairs are not making this move now because the military consistently lives in denial, we always argue if the CIC is onboard of this development. What is happening in Nigeria has serious global consequences.
You can not do anything in Foreign Affairs if the guys on ground keeps pushing out pleasant narratives, the time to act is now.

Nigeria has almost contracted out her infrastructure to China to the extent that 50% of our recurrent expenditure go to them, our guys in Foreign affairs can bring this deal to china already looking for a launch pad to protect her vast interest in Africa, this could be the deal China is waiting for, by limiting it to a task force, CAATSA provisions will not be violated & Nigeria's interest in the SC protected.

This proposal will have serious political consequence no doubt but I bet it's nothing compared to the political consequence of a UN arms embargo and western invasion. we must choose the less of both evil.

God bless Nigeria!!!

Your proposal is absolutely preposterous!.

It undermines our fundamental principles as a democratic nation, and ultimately, our sovereignty. The political consequences of what you are suggesting is best imagined. If anyone in government were to push for such a plan,I would recommend immediate neutralization of such a person. Are you even a Nigerian at all?.

I think you are blowing things out of proportion. The suggestion that we should parcel out the country to the UNSC and foreign powers as a solution to this crisis is way overboard. ISWAP can be defeated by the Nigerian military if the right things are put in place.

ugo4u:
Bokoharam crises is quite different from herdsmen banditry but with the turn of events we can't be too sure if elements of BHT haven't form a pact or alliance with killer herdsmen.
Nobody is saying anyone should chase away fulanis they are also Nigerians, I have very good friends who are fulanis. The issue is tackling the criminal and murderous element amongst them decisively rather than romancing them, we all know how the military responded in OPC uprising during OBJ who was a Yoruba man, we also saw how the army reacted to IPOB. Now why can't a comprehensive mop up action be taking against these guys? rather they get emboldened by Miyetti Allah with ridiculous demands. People from other sections not the country are watching how the government is adresini the issue. We should not decieve ourselves the issue of grazing reserve will never work even in the north talk more of down south where land is not as abundant as in the north and also the fact that people have ancestral inclination to lands. Solution is simple ranch your cattles or by land from willing sellers the government can help with soft loans and extension services.
The notion that fulanis don't have land is not really true they occupy large swathes of land from Katsina even down to Sokoto and they're minorities don't get it twisted cos alot of people mistaken them for Hausas. The way things is moving in this country we're tilting towards another civil war if something is not done, they're gradually turning the heat on the South west, which have led to calls for ethnic militias by Yoruba kings, we will ball be playing the ostrich till a prominent king or personality in that region is killed then all hell will be let loose because any attempt to even send the military to quell any uprising will be seen as a calculated attempt to side the bandits. We should arrest the situation now while we still can, over the years the north has proven to be a huge burden to other parts of the country (no hate intended) resources that should have gone to profitable ventures are being used to sustain the war, the question here is how long shall we continue like this?

As always, I agree with most of your submissions. However, you are once again comparing the fulani crisis to OPC and IPOB. OPC was a dangerous tribal sect and IPOB is a deviant group whose stock in trade includes the use of propaganda and psychology terrorism; both of these groups are different from the fulani herdsmen who possess genuine grievances.

First,we must understand the root of the problem,then tackle it from there. I agree that military action should be taken against radical elements among the fulani people, the President is being soft probably because he is a fulani man and he is surrounded by fulani advicers, or maybe because he is still holding on to the archaic dream of resuscitating the grazing routes.

But the stick must be accompanied by the carrot. Even the Fulanis who don't carry guns are sympathetic to those who do because they feel oppressed by both the local communities and authorities. We are talking about the 6th largest ethnic group and the guardians of Islam in Nigeria.


It is true that the North is a burden and a parasite today, it's a failure of leadership,not the fault of the people. When leaders fail to educate their people,how can the people be progressive?.

ugo4u:
I don't get it when you say Ghana can't confront Bokoharam or their brand of fighting.
It takes decisive leadership to tackle terrorism, look at what they did to troublesome herdsmen. In Nigeria we romance evil because our kinsmen is involved. That Nigeria has not solved this problem big terrorism and banditry is simply because we are not yet ready to fight terrorism, all we do is to loot and pilfer resources when we have the opportunity. The leadership of this country (military and political) have failed us, you need no magician to tell you that Nigeria is 70% becoming a failed state, if nothing is done about this issue even the military which is the last bastion holding the unity of the country will be balkanized along ethnic and religious lines. The signs are already there, some of the soldiers are complaining bitterly, we might witness an implosion. God forbid

When I say Ghana cannot confront this kind of conflict,I mean they are not militarily capable of doing so,neither do they have the finances needed to sustain an impromptu armament program. However I do agree that they have far better leadership.

Now,this issue of Fulanis,let's stop comparing the fulani crisis with Boko Haram. Are you advocating that the government chase away fulani people because Ghana is doing so?, It's like saying that the government should chase away a major ethnic group simply because they have no land. We cannot always solve things with force and violence, cutting off the head isn't the cure for headache.

giles14:
BH kind of insurgency would be possible in Ghana.


A 1000 well trained ,kitted ,disciplined and fully equipped force is much better than a 100000 rascals walking around disobeying the law killing and beating up unarmed civilians.

I am not interested in arguing. If you believe Ghana can actually confront such a conflict,then it is your much entitled opinion.

giles14:
there are Fulani in Senegal, Burkina Faso,Ghana,Niger,Mali,chad,Sudan etc so in essence their are all Nigerians?

If you read my post very well,I clearly said that other West and Central African states have Fulani populations. The same way some other West African states have indigenous Hausa and Yoruba populations.

It is to be noted that due to their nomadic nature,the Fulanis are largely a stateless people. However, a number of them have settled into communities since time immemorial. There are Fulanis indigenous to Nigeria,infact,Nigeria has the highest fulani population in the world.

BabaOwen:
go to chibok and ask the people there if Nigeria is a failed state or not,how do you even know I am presently in Nigeria Bandits and herdsmen are wrecking havoc in the north west, those people there can't there don't even have power supply not to talk of having phones.

I will never forget my journey to kafancha when we got robbed by Fulanis, they came with POS. A full luxurious bus was robbed on a major expressway in fact, the idiots stripped everyone of us naked, both male and female, young and old. Before they left they prayed to Allah for a successful operation

There are Yoruba and Igbo thieves and bandits too,so?,because you encountered a bunch of fulani thieves,does that mean the entire population of Fulanis are bad people?.

Talking about experiences, I recently met an Igbo man who cheated me of a considerable sum of money. He didn't hold a gun,he merely played "smart",and because I wasn't familiar with the environment,he succeeded. It happened in Onitsha. I decided to forget the issue. Now,does this mean that all Igbo people are thieves?.

That these things happen doesn't mean the country is failing. If you ask the black families that have witnessed brutality(or even loss of life) from white policemen in the US: "Is the US a failed state?", guess what their response will be. But in the end it doesn't mean anything,it's only out of emotions.

BabaOwen:
You don't still understand me, a terrorist group like boko haram can never exist in a country like Ghana, have you been to Ghana before? SARS brutality can never happen in Ghana like the way is happening in Nigeria. Only in failing states like Nigeria do crazy things happen.

If boko haram was causing this sort of havoc they are causing in Nigeria in Ghana, most of you Nigerians would have been saying it can't happen in Nigeria cause the Nigeria military is the most powerful in west Africa.

See in Senegal, if a military officer try any shit and hits a civilian and the civilian hits him back, he can't go to the barrack and call his men for them to cause havoc on the streets and beat people. The rubbish that happened in Odi, bayelsa state can't happen in a country like Senegal.

Police and military brutality is more rampant in Nigeria without any consequences, this things hardly happen in other west Africa countries I have lived in.

If what you are trying to say is that Nigeria is a lawless society,I agree with you. I have been to Benin Republic,and I have friends who have been to other West African nations(including Ghana); the verdict is that Nigeria is not organized and everyone lacks discipline,compared to almost all other West African countries.

But when it comes to military capabilities,there is simply no basis for comparison.

BabaOwen:
so how should Fulani's not having lands be the problem of other Nigerians? So because they have no land give them the right to be fomenting troubles and killing people all over the country

By the time Fulani's come into your village, almost wipe out everybody living there and make your villagers refugees in another community, then you will truly know the difference between a failing state and a failed state.

More than 48 people were killed in a village in Niger state last week, you should go and ask those people if Nigeria has failed them or not.

A village with no power supply, no good road the people there only earn a living by farming. Now Fulani herdsmen invaded their village and killed them... To those villagers, is Nigeria a failed state or not?

Do you even know the meaning of a failed state?,you wake up comfortably to operate your phone this morning,and yet you call your country a failed state.

These fulani we are talking about are the most marginalized ethnic group in Nigeria,it is only their population and political dominance that is preventing us from seeing it. Government formulate policies in favor of farmers all the time(fertilizer subsidies,enhanced seeds, mechanization,loans,grants, etc),have government ever benefitted these herdsmen at any time?,these are things that pile up to cause problems.

I am not supporting the way they have decided to go about doing things, I think I have even commented on this before. But let us not pretend that there haven't been attacks from the farmers and communities.

Again,it's a matter of government incompetence.

BabaOwen:
Ghana won't let any insurgency like boko haram exisit on their territory, they will crush them before they become powerful. You keep talking about NATO and Russia. Are they fighting terrorist on their territories? No terrorist can flourish, hold territories and move freely on NATO or Russian territory. Nigeria is struggling against terrorist on Nigerian territory.

I disagree with you. Ghana would have probably capitulated by now if faced with the magnitude of insurgency that BH presents. Winning an assymetric war is not by mouth.

Granted,our political and military leadership aren't trying at all. But compared to many other countries (some of them world powers), we have done fairly well. It is ridiculous trying to compare the NA with the Ghanaian or South African military, especially when it comes to CT/COIN warfare.

BabaOwen:
Terrorist can only flourish in failing states like Nigeria, Somali, Afghanistan etc can terrorist be dragging territories and controlling territories in serious countries like Ghana or SA. Did you saw the way Fulani herdsmen were ruthlessly dealt with by the Ghanian army? Did you watch what their COAS said to his troops? That's how you will know a serious country from a useless one.

Nigeria is the only country I have seen where herdsmen will come to your territory, kill you and the government will find and excuse for the terrorist.

I do laugh whenever I see some people always given one excuse or the other why the Nigeria military do lose against boko haram they will tell you boko haram do have an advantage in the raining season or tell you boko haram only attack FOB

The Lt colonel that was killed must be in charge of a FOB with 10 soldiers

Foolish talks

Territory?, Fulani are Nigerians, just like you and I. Of course,some other West and Central African countries have Fulani people too.

The problem is that about 70% of them are nomads,they move around to graze their cows,hence,they own very little land. That is what is generating the crisis.

NB: Nigeria is not a failed state.

Henry240:
Bros, you actually are an uneducated illiterate.

Do you even read?

The comment I quoted in my original post was not made by your everyday British Joe.

I directly quoted a British soldier who's directly involved in training front line Nigerian troops in Nigeria.

You, Evarn, most likely haven't been inside a barrack before. To claim you hold the same assessment as the British soldier is downright ridiculous.

Get a hold of this guy!!!

I actually agree with you,I am an uneducated illiterate(whatever that means) and I don't even know what the gates of a barrack looks like(LoL). I obviously don't know how to read,and my assessments are most definitely ridiculous.

Happy Sunday.

RIP , Lt. Colonel Azubuike.

Your country will forever be grateful.

Sizzorkay:
Now the word of a British soldier is gospel, if that had been said by a soldier from Kenya, it would be dismissed lol, unreal

If it had been said by a Nigerian "arm-chair military analyst",it would have been discarded. If someone here had said the same thing (like some of us have always been saying),we would have been insulted and called unpatriotic.

But of course,it's the British talking this time,why, those guys are the direct descendants of God himself, they hold celestial communion with heavenly beings on a daily basis, therefore they must be privy to some hidden dark knowledge that has eluded us poor Nigerian illiterates.

Covert1:
Every military is underfunded. The Nigerian military is not under-armed and lack discipline. The errors of a few does not make the whole. You see, there you go with sensational remarks that don't hold up to scrutiny.

Pls tell us which military hardware this president has ordered. The military is a continuous entity and what you see especially for the air force or navy has been in the pipeline since the advent of democracy from the Obasanjo years. The military has short term, medium term and long term acquisition plans. So tell us what this president ordered and pls don't mention the GULMA.

I hear you say poorer countries like Senegal et al, are better equipped than Nigeria. You see where you got no clue? Cos you hear high sounding armaments without knowing with what sub-munitions these countries acquire them. Most are stripped down weapons by their suppliers who are lobbied by regional and foreign powers to maintain the balance of power in the region. So Sudan is better armed but on its watch South Sudan split and is now a sovereign state and Darfur still in rebellion. Didn't see Sudan in game changing contact with the enemy. Didn't hear that about Biafra though, MEND, Liberia or Sierra Leone. Senegal is better armed but Nigeria brought the game changing hard assets that sent Jammeh scurrying from the state house in Banjul. And what was it that Senegal deployed that the lone NN stealth warship off the waters of Gambia and the NAF couldn't have used for target practice obliteration in a few hours or in days to make sure.

You are looking in the wrong places. Start looking at the real force posture in actionable terms. You really think those countries can stand a war with Nigeria then we just end the conversation to have even mentioned Chad that we whupped twice and would do so again if necessary seven days a week and twice on Sunday.

We are in a fratricidal war beyond the known asymmetric text book war. Boko haram I continue to say comes to die not fight. If BHT existed elsewhere in Africa it would long since have succeeded in caving out it's own Islamic Caliphate in Northern Borno which is its stated goal and something which the finest men and women of the Nigerian Armed Forces has stopped from happening against all odds. This deserves commendation and not your apparent bias which still questions your stated claim of being a 'nationalist'.

Again, the evidence of governance in Nigeria after the last four years speaks for itself and points to the fact from any objective observer that the current president is on AWOL, incompetent and does not deserve that high office of C-in-C and executive president of Nigeria.

Indeed everyone including you are entitled to an opinion but that doesn't make them accurate.

I rest my case.

Believe me, I will very much like to emulate you; it can be very addictive and ego boosting to bask in former glories. Fortunately,I choose instead to take the harsher alternative of accepting the truth of the matter.


Trying to paint this BH insurgency as a conflict that is beyond the comprehension or capabilities of the human race, so as to justify the sorry state of our military is not a sincere thing to do. We have had(and still have) nations on this continent who have fought more terrible assymetric insurgencies than BH. Those countries are still standing today.

I bid you goodluck and hope you don't get too demystified. On my part, I think we nationalists owe it to our people and to the brave men and women who have payed the supreme sacrifice due to the poor situation of things,to speak the truth.

Covert1:
The Jaguar was basically a political decision and died a political death. And would you stop the gloating. Everyone knows where we are coming from and where we are now. No need taking the shine out of the NAF.

It's been noted oft you make sensational and nigh sentimental remarks for no reason only I think you want to be heard. Not just you but other arm chair wanna be soldiers cum military & security experts.

To clear your doubts. Military planners look at threats in a given region both present and future ones and based on those threats and associated dynamics make assessments for necessary procurements factoring budget, costs, maintenance, supply, training. And of course not everything on the list gets approved by the powers that be as we have seen with different administrations but the core of it of course is met.

Take for example Nigeria in West and Central Africa. With all the Boko Haram, bandits and criminality plaguing the land it is still the regional hegemon politically, economically and militarily. Speaking in military terms it has the oil, money and human capital to fight, sustain and win a war against all of its neighbors combined. In real terms by combat capabilities today the armed forces of Nigeria can roll over any of these countries in a conventional war.

I continue to maintain that we are better armed and trained than we ever were in our history. The only area I find the missing point is the current leadership and I don't just mean the service chiefs with the exception of the Air Chief, I mean the president. It is the prerogative of the president to sack and appoint competent leadership for the military something in dire need of presently for critical thinking, new impetus, new ideas and fresh eyes on the battle space. Hence I submit we have an apparent absentee president whose ineptitude smacks to high heavens thus clogging the wheel of bringing this terror insurgency to a swift end.

Now we will take the Air Force as an example of what is working in the current Order of Battle. Had to say the above for clarity and perhaps end your pessimism. The NAF inventory is currently over 80% active and expecting to induct 4++ generation warplanes that obviously will be game changing. The Tucano with its loiter ability and sensor-to-kill time span is a beast in the air. The JF-17 especially the Block 3 changes the air superiority question from Cape to Cairo. However, Abuja faces no threat and I repeat no threat from Cairo, Algiers or Pretoria and these are the only three states capable of trying anything silly from within Africa. So save the breath on twin engines for now.

The NAF is looking at cost effective measures to meet current threats and bridge the gap for force protection and projection within Nigeria, the waters of the GoG down to Angola and the sub-region. For ground attack and CAS the Alpha Jets, L-39s and other subsonic aircrafts in the hands of NAFs very skillful and young fighter pilots are still adequate in a low threat environment and the results in the North-East speaks for itself regardless of BHT strategy of remaining and propaganda.

For Air Defence & Interdiction and in some cases for CAS the NAF's relatively new F-7s near squadron strength with its excellent radar, avionics suite and panoply of weapon systems, easy to maintain, nimble size and fast turn rates in all weather along with ground based radars, satellite capabilities, excellent pool of the finest pilot skills can meet the current threats we face and even potential threats for another decade or more. Don't expect the F-7s to be phased out even with the arrival of new platforms.

This should settle the nuances.

Look, I am not interested in making comments just to be "heard"(as you put it),neither do I care much for the pointless task of being an arm-chair security expert. Might I be so bold as to remind you(and others of like mind) that people hearing my opinions on issues neither adds a single kobo to my bank account nor grants me the coveted gift of immortality. So why do you think I would waste so much of my precious time trying to rack up the volume of posts I have here?.


If your opinion differs from mine,I will accept it and tell you why I think you are wrong. That doesn't mean I am a pessimist or unpatriotic or trying to put down the military.

I have always believed,and still do,that the Nigerian military is grossly under-funded,under-armed,and lacking in discipline. If you choose to deceive yourself all in the name of blind patriotism or some sense of superior knowledge, I say goodluck. Far poorer countries like Sudan,Chad,Senegal,etc are better equipped than our military, especially the army.


If Nigeria does not curtail this BH insurgency in the nearest future,more countries in the region will become affected,and begin taking extraordinary measures(measures that could challenge our sovereignty). It is a fact devoid of selective myopia.

At least the "absentee" President has succeeded in ordering various military hardwares that will increase our capabilities; releasing money,and at least having most of the money used for what it is meant for. That shows an ineptitude far lesser than what we had previously,we can only hope that the ineptitude continues to reduce as subsequent leaders come in. Afterall, if the ineptitude of the current C-in-C stinks to high heavens,one can only wonder to what altitude the stench of the ineptitude of the former reached.

I hope we both agree on the issue of patriotism, I am beyond a patriot,I am a nationalist. You have a different view on things, I accept that. Allow me my own views. Thank you.

PS712:
Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase for deputy speaker HOR is not from Niger state, he is from plateau state please!

Sorry,I made a mistake there. He is actually from Plateau State.

Contenders for Senate President:
Senator Ahmed Lawan(APC, Yobe North)

Senator Ali Ndume(APC, Borno South)


Contenders for Speaker:
Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos)

Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa)

Mukhtar Aliyu Betara (APC, Borno)

Umar Bago (APC, Niger)

Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (APC, Abia)

John Okafor (APC, Imo)

Babangida Ibrahim (APC, Katsina)

Mohammed Kazaure (APC, Jigawa)


Supporters of Ahmed Lawan:
APC: 61 out of 63 Senators
PDP: 38 out of 44 Senators
YPP: 1 out of 1 Senator

Likely supporters of Ali Ndume:
APC: 2 out of 63 Senators
PDP: 6 out of 44 Senators
YPP: Nil

Likely supporters of Gbajabiamila:
APC: 197 out of 211 members
PDP: 13 out of 111 members
APGA: 5 out of 6 members
ADC: 1 out of 3 members
AA: 2 out of 2 members

Likely supporters of other candidates:
APC: 14 out of 211 members
PDP: 98 out of 111 members
APGA: 1 out of 6 members
ADC: 2 out of 3 members
AA: Nil

Strongest opposition to Gbajabiamila's speakership:
Umar Bago(APC, Niger)

Most likely Senate President:
Ahmed Lawan

Most Likely Speaker:
Femi Gbajabiamila


Likely Deputy Senate President:
Ovie Omo-agege(APC, Delta)


According to APC zoning formula, giving South-South the position

Likely Deputy speaker:
Idris Wase(APC, Niger)

According to APC zoning formula,giving North Central the position


Likely Senate Majority leader:
Orji Uzor Kalu

Likely HoR Majority leader:
Abdulmumin Jibrin


Did you know facts:

1. Senator Ali Ndume was fingered as a sponsor of Boko Haram by a captured member of the sect,Ali Sanda Umar Konduga, in 2011.

2. A charge of N25bln graft against Senator Danjuma Goje was dropped by the EFCC after he stepped down from the Senate Presidency race.

3. APC's "anointed" candidate for the speakership position,Femi Gbajabiamila,was once indicted by the high court of Georgia for swiddling his client of $25,000 while practicing law in the US. This was the money he allegedly used in starting his political career in Nigeria.

4. The APC choice for Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, was responsible for the infamous "mace-snatching" fiasco in April 2018, in which he brought thugs into the Senate Chamber during plenary and attempted to cart away the mace.

5. The chairman of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila's campaign organization(and likely HoR Majority leader) was arrested on February 23 2019,over allegations of his involvement in a clash between APC and PDP loyalists in Kano,where two people lost their lives.

ugo4u:
Brother Nigeria is not fighting a conventional war, those Russian toy you mentioned is practical useless in the war against an enemy that have no defined lines or territory. The war in Syria is totally different from the one we are facing at home. Assymetric warfare is one that have to be meticulously planned with bundles of intelligence if not collateral damages will hit the roof top.
The US in its war against the Talibans, Alqeada and other allied terrorist organisations didn't use F16s, F35 Lightning, the raptors, and other high performance aircraft rather drones, the A-10s, Tucanos, Helicopters etc where used to successfully carryout missions.
You can use a hammer to kill ants but using a bunch of broom will be more effective.
My humble submission

Intelligence is key of in assymetric warfare,but sophisticated platforms are also needed to deliver the sort of firepower needed to rout the enemy.

We are talking about how our alpha jets and F7s cannot properly dispose these terrorists whenever they gather,we need better platforms. Every country also needs deterrence,and that is where those toys come to play.

bidexiii:
That's not a fair comparison or assessment !
Why not compare are own Albretos with thier's ... hmmmmmmm ?
As a matter of fact over 80% of the NAF total aircraft/inventory are airworthy, for me as per the airforce current maintenance we are not doing bad.

80% of how many aircrafts in total?. I am not bashing our country, it's just the truth. We blundered with the jaguars, granted, we had an embargo on us,but on the long run,we shouldn't have left them to rot. Now we don't have enough trainers.

Even the Albatross we are talking about were just recently revamped when the war began.Poor maintenance is killing us in this country, and if not for the present CAS that is doing quite well,we wouldn't have moved even this much forward.

Toju200:
..yep indeed.the defense minister said they are interested in the YAK 130 and the MIG fighter and other Hardware

Nice, particularly the YAK130, that jet is exactly what we need.

Toju200:
I thought the defense minister said they may acquire MIG jets though nobody knows the variant any news about that

I am not aware, if indeed there is a plan for that,then it is a welcome development.

Toju200:
. Totally agree with you.perhaps the tucano can serve better.

While I have my reservations about the tucanos,I agree that they will serve us better by far.

Methink it is time for the NAF to start inducting twin-engine aircrafts into our fleet.

Tobiloba2407:
Who here thinks our airforce strike packages for bht, should be increased from 2 aircrafts to 4 aircrafts, most videos i see, seem to not be effective, the bht are well dispersed, and 250kg bombs, don't really have large warheads, i have been observing that the airstrikes don't even hurt 10 percent of the site , been attacked.....i would say 2 birds, carrying only bomb packages, the 3rd bird carrying both a bomb and rocket packages to deal better with dispersed and running terrorists, and the 4th bird carrying only rocket package......in the Liberian and Sierra Leone wars, our birds carried bombs with proximity fuse which makes the bomb explode a few feet above the ground, which are much effective than the bombs I'm seeing we using against Bht....

I noticed too,but then again,one has to factor in the cost. How many aircrafts can be mobilized at once?,at what cost per aircraft?,what is the turn-about?.

Really,we need better aircrafts than those ones we have.

Henry240:
Nobody knows everything, but it's usually common practice to conduct basic research before bashing your country? Is this really too much to ask?

Our Jaguars are not operational because the UK and our other Creditors(Paris Club, IMF & World Bank etc) placed economic and military sanctions on Nigeria in the late 80's and 90's. It is basic information?

Do you think the Jaguar is a better fighter aircraft than our current F-7s, i mean, the Jaguar have been retired by all previous users apart from India.

Your ability to do basic research has only managed to avail me with information I already have,since the days of beegeagle. Everybody knows how international politics made Nigeria's fleet of jaguars useless as combat aircrafts. But what excuse do we have for neglecting them and leaving them to rot?,what is wrong in taking them to India for maintenance,and then using them as trainers?.

Do not preach patriotism to me, I am as patriotic as you can get. But that doesn't mean I won't present facts the way I see them.

The truth is, we allowed our fleet of jaguars to rot, international politics is no excuse. The role of those jets went beyond their deep strike capacity.

Talking about F7s,how many operational F7s do we have?. Issues must be addressed without emotions and sentiments so that we can move forward.

Henry240:
You have a tendency for making comments for the sake of it? Not based on any form of knowledge, just anything that comes to your mind at a given point.

How well are Nigerian L-39s maintained?

Who told you it's because of mismanagement, that's why Nigerian Air Force Jaguars don't fly?

Do you know the number of years Alpha Jets and L-39s have been flying in Nigeria?

Well,do forgive me for making ignorant comments. You must understand that we weren't all blessed with the divine gift of omniscience.

However, can you be so kind as to enlighten my feeble mind on why our jaguars are now unoperational?.

jln115:
Obsolete......

Though obsolete, they still have some fight in them. They were even used in COIN operations against insurgent groups as recently as 2013.

They also come in handy as trainers.

fachfouch:
Tunisian air force
L-59 albatros

See how Tunisia has maintained these birds, where are Nigeria's jaguars?.

Some of our leaders (civilian and military) should be stripped naked and flogged for mismanagement.

doziex:
This is what I am talking about this blog is best if used to raise new and different ideas and strategies. We need to later all the back and forth juvenile name calling.

I actually suggested the formation of a civilian militia circa 2011 on beegeagles blog. I got the idea from Montagnards, Vietnamese tribesmen trained and used by the US green berets . They were very effective against the Vietcong.
The sons of Iraq was a militia used by general petraus effectively against the al Qaeda inspired insurgency .
Even the Nigerian army used the kamajors against the RUF rebels in Sierra Leone.
It is very risky and could backfire, you must be sure your interest align with that of the militia.

I for one have a perculiar distaste for what you so eloquently described as juvenile name calling,and that is why I usually take the effort to devoid all my posts of any such colourful adjectives (as I am sure you have noticed).

I strongly believe that arming the CJTF is a disaster waiting to happen. When you cite the example of the US arming militias; it has always been US military doctrine to arm local groups within a foreign country, whose interest aligns with theirs. But they will never arm civilian militias if there was a similar scenario within the US.


It is easier for a intervening power to arm civilian groups within a target country to do its bidding,this way,the intervening power needs less of its own boots on ground. However,after the ploy works,on the long run when the group turns renegade,whose problem will it be?


The montagnard militia, where you got your idea from, later rebelled against the South Vietnamese government.

It is good that we both agree on the risk of your proposal. The best we can do with the CJTF is to absorb them into the army.

doziex:
India has local militias such as the Assam rifles. They are armed and assist in their counterinsurgency strategy.

Pakistan have their border rangers that is also an armed civilian militia type of outfit

Most of our military brass trained in the military institutions of these 2 countries.

So tell me, do we run a more serious and accomplished government than they ?

We don't need to reinvent the wheel, all we need to do is to study and learn from the experience of others.

I am sure if we look around very well,we will see countries to emulate for every government policy,good or bad. We don't have to do copy and paste for everything, most especially because societies differ.

This same policy of arming militias has torn countries and regions apart, how well has Afghanistan fared after the US armed the mujahideens?, Obama armed Al-Nusra in Syria, what is the outcome today?,even our backyard in Mali,barbar militants are running amok with arms. Pakistan is not exactly the epitome of peace and political stability,and India is not exactly the beacon of good governance(though I particularly haven't heard of them arming local militias).

Victory over BH requires an exclusively military solution. We won't be talking about the CJTF if the government is seriously willing to unleash sufficiently lethal force on this threat.

doziex:
Sorry partner, a kingdom divided against itself can not stand.

The political class have been totally disinterested in the specifics of what it requires to fight this war.
The generals and commanders are only interested in diverting the already inadequate funding for men and material.
Even the governors that are serious about governance and security, are being strangled by the ridiculous unitary constitution of ours.

Inefficiency abounds through out our operations.

For instance, the CJTF could effectively protect the populous in the north east with some ex police bolt action rifles and embedded special forces/pmcs. This allows the army to stay on the hunt, which is how one should tackle counterinsurgency. Instead , they keep drafting policemen from other states, who know nothing about the terrain or the local folks.

You think getting professional advice on how to win this war is cowardice? When Nigerian troops are afraid to patrol their own territory without the Cameroonian forces and their MRAPs.
When we need Chadian troops to spearhead our assaults and maneuvers.

It's too late to be too proud to beg.

For one,I disagree with the notion that the government should further arm the CJTF and other vigilante groups, no serious government goes about arming militias within its territory,it could end up causing future problems. Instead,they should be assimilated into the existing security structure.