₦airaland Forum

Officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces have fought in various wars and taken part in many peace keeping operations, defensive duties and internal security duties. These include

Wars including:

* The First World War
* The Second World War
* The Nigerian Civil War

Peace keeping/enforcement operations in

* The Congo
* Tanzania
* Liberia
* Sierra Leone
* Lebanon
* Darfur
* The former Yugoslavia
* Mali


Defensive duties including

* The Bamileke Rebellion
* Chadian Rebels (1982/83)
* The Bakassi Peninsula

Internal Security duties including

* The Tiv Rebellion
* The Western Region Crisis
* The Niger-Delta Crisis (1966)
* The Agbekoya Rebellion
* The Niger Delta Crisis (1992-2009)
* The Boko Haram Insurgency.

Anti-Robbery operations, including:

* Operation Sweep
* Rapid Response Squad
* Operation Yaki
* Operation Messa

Etc.

[size=14pt]Today is Nigerian Armed Forces Remembrance Day![/size]

www.nairaland.com/attachments/923325_a20gej_jpg26ffe812cda53f5ab51e3a5324299c36

In Nigeria, Armed Forces Day, also known as Remembrance Day, is celebrated on 15 January. It was formerly marked on 11 November of every year to coincide with the Remembrance Day (Poppy Day) for the World War II veterans in the British Commonwealth of Nations. But it was changed to 15 January of every year in Nigeria in commemoration of the surrender of Biafran troops to the Federal troops on 15 January 1970 thus signalling the end of the Nigerian Civil War.

The day is marked by with a Remembrance Day parade at the Cenotaph in Abuja and in the 36 state capitals. The ceremony includes 21 gun salute, playing of the Last Post, a minute's silence, laying of wreaths and release of pigeons to symbolise peace.


In the past month armed forces remembrance day emblems have been on sale across the country. Proceeds of the sale of the remembrance emblem go to the Nigerian Legion.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/922401_armed_jpg924f4eb16c96c31f68c3b2207c40d23e

The Nigerian Legion is the Nigerian association of ex-servicemen, I.e former members of the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force (although I have never seen the likes of Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, or T.Y Danjuma associate with the Legion).

Officers and men of the armed forces are trained to fight and kill. When they retire, they discover that there are no jobs for them (some of them have been in the armed forces since they were teenagers and military work is all they know). Others were forced to retire from the armed forces due to injuries sustained in battle. The Legion helps them to integrate into society and take care of themselves.

By law the Legion is permitted to operate certain businesses in order to raise money for its members. Members of the legion also serve as security guards at government establishments (you often see them in their brown uniforms). The Legion also raises money through the sale of Armed Forces and Remembrance Day emblems.

In recent years (especially since the return to civilian rule) members of the Legion have gone through great hardship while trying to collect their pensions and gratuity. Sometimes their pensions are not paid for many months. At other times, legionnaires, who could be as old as 60, 70, or 80 years old are made to travel long distances and queue in the hot sun, all in the name of pension verification exercise. Many legionnaires have died during this process.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/922404_a20nigerian20legion_jpg328b92979c09d50605d7696a57aa9f3c
Officers and men of the Nigerian Legion.

The Nigerian Legion Act (Laws of the Federation)
http://www.aksjlegalresource.com/resource/Laws_of_the_Federation%5CNIGERIAN%20LEGION%20ACT.pdf

smartfellow2080:
Virtually everybody born before the invention of the internet must have heard the tale of a nonexistent football match between Nigeria and India that obviously took place in a parallel universe and somehow we got to hear the gory stories of that match.

Though there are many variations of the story, every prevaricator seems to agree on a couple of facts about this fictional football match. Each storyteller agrees that;

1. This match ended with India scoring 99 goals and Nigeria scoring just one goal.

2. Nigerians where unable to kick the ball because the football kept turning to a lion (or something scary) to prevent them from playing the soccer ball.

3. The Indians later agreed that if Nigeria could score a goal, they would concede defeat

4. Samuel Okwaraji scored the winning goal and lost his life in the process.

5. FIFA banned India from soccer because they used black magic in that very game

With the help of common sense (not that it was absent back then), quick access to information and the internet, every right thinking Nigerian has come to realise that such a story should be filled under “Blatant Lies”.

Why Did This Story Thrive For So Long?

Most people like to pass off this story as true with the fact that no one has ever seen India in an International Football Match. Since no one actually saw India participate in most international soccer games, this gave a little credence to the story.

Another reason this lie could thrive for long was the fact that credible information was not readily available at our finger tips. It not like every Emeka, Audu and Ojo could visit Google in a matter of minutes and tell our ominous fabricators that they should stop spreading toxic lies.

And to be honest we have a tingling feeling that this lie was concocted by an elder of a community because, let’s be honest who questions the words of the elders in Nigeria. Remember, what an adult sees sitting down a child will never see even if he consults Google, Siri or Cortana.

The Element of Truth In This Story

On the 12th of August 1989, Nigeria lost Sam Okwaraji.

Sam Okwaraji was the player rumored to have lost his life in that game when in truth he died during a FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Angola in the 77th minute.

He collapsed and died of cognitive heart failure. May his soul rest in Perfect Peace. AMEN

So that is the only truthful thing about that story, the fact that a Nigerian player died during a football match. That’s it. The match was not against India, we did not lose the match and as you must have guessed, and there were no lions either.

Nairlanders, what do you think?

I had heard this tale long before Okwaraji started playing for the national team.

Ruffychuks:
Many have heard about this match. Some
think it’s an urban legend. Some think it’s
only a joke. But only few know the truth.
A long time ago, few months after the end
of the Nigeria-Biafra war, the Military
Governor of Lagos decided to stage an
exhibition match at the then glorious
National Stadium Lagos. He thought it
would be a special way of celebrating
Nigeria’s victory in the war, a way of
helping Lagosians to forget the sad bloody
years that had just passed. He wanted to
stage the match between Nigeria & Ghana
but was advised against it. His advisers
reminded him how Ghana trashed Nigeria
3-Nil at the 1960 Independence Match,
that another loss to Ghana might defeat
the purpose of the exhibition match. His
advisers suggested that they choose a
team that would be very easy to beat.
Brig Gen Mobolaji Johnson agreed.
Ethiopia was considered. Zimbabwe was
considered. India was considered. USA was
considered. And India was chosen. He &
his advisers believed that India would be a
walkover. But had he known what would
happen he might have chosen Brazil. Yes,
Brazil were the reigning world champions
at the time but… Oh, had he known.
India agreed to play the exhibition match
with Nigeria. In fact, they were overjoyed.
Nigeria was one of the best teams in
Africa. And they had never played with an
African team before. What more! They were
most overjoyed that Nigeria had agreed to
their three special conditions. What were
these conditions?
Well, on that fateful day, a bright Saturday
afternoon on August 15th, 1970, the
National Stadium Lagos was filled with
excited spectators. That was Condition No.
1, that the match be played on India’s
Independence Day. As the players of
Nigeria & India came into the pitch,
spectators screamed with more excitement
as they saw that all the twenty-two
players were barefooted. That was
Condition No. 2. (Remember that India
had withdrawn from the 1950 World Cup
because they weren’t allowed to play
barefooted.)
Priiii… Referee Mohamed Touati blew his
whistle to begin the game. (The Tunisian
referee had been suspended by FIFA earlier
that year but had accepted to officiate this
special match.) Indian forward Amer Al-
Amer made the first pass. And before
anyone could say “Bosnia-Herzegovina”,
one Majed Suleman fired the ball high into
the air towards the Nigerian post. The
gaint of a Nigerian keeper, Emmanuel
Okala, dived to the right while the ball
dropped into the left side of the net.
Gooooaaal!!! 3-0. That was Condition No.
3, that each goal scored by India would be
counted as 3points while each by Nigeria
would be 1 as usual. (Nigeria agreed
because they believed that India could
never score. Or at least couldn’t score
more than one goal.) Emmanuel was
looking confused. He was very sure he had
dived towards the ball. Every other person
thought he’d deliberately let the Indians
score just to spice up the game.
Meanwhile, India’s fan club was going wild
with jubilation.
Priii… The Nigerian forwards Sunday
Atuma & Thompson Usiyen passed. As
Thompson passed to Paul Hamilton, he
was surprised when he saw India’s Faisal
Al-Dakheel with the ball. Faisal quickly
shot the ball into the air towards Nigeria’s
post. Goooal! 6-0. Thompson was so
confused. He could have sworn it was Paul
his teammate he had passed to.
Priii… Sunday Atuma passed into the
Nigerian half. Alloysius Atuegbu passed to
Haruna Ilerika. Haruna made a long pass
into the Indian half to Samuel Okoye. He
was shocked when he saw the ball in the
legs of Abdullah Al-Shemmari. Haruna
wiped his eyes in disbelief. Too late!
Abdullah shot the ball into the air. Goal!
9-0. Three goals in barely six minutes?
Nigerian spectators were wondering what
was happening.
Priii… Goal! 12-0. Yusuf Al-Suwayed.
15-0. Amer Al-Amer. 18-0. Majed
Suleman’s second goal. 21-0. Abdulaziz
Al-Buloushi. 24-0. Majed’s hat-trick.
27-0. Faisal Al-Dakheel’s second goal.
30-0. Waleed Al-Mubarak. At the twentieth
minute, Nigeria’s Paul Hamilton ran with
the ball all the way to India’s box-18. But
as he raised his leg to shoot, he slipped &
fell. India’s defender Mahboub Jumaa
easily took the ball as Paul lay on the
ground moaning like a baby. That was the
nearest Nigeria had gotten to the Indian
post so far.
Twenty-five minutes later & eight goals
more, the score stood at 54-0. Some
spectators angrily left the stadium even
before the half-time whistle. Others waited
patiently, hoping that Nigeria would
revenge in the 2nd half.
“Boys, what the hell is happening out
there?!” Coach Jorge Penna was furious.
“You’re the damn captain, answer me!!” he
was shouting at Emmanuel Okala.
Emmanuel was speechless. He didn’t know
what to say.
“Co-co-coach…” Godwin Achebe began “I
think I know what’s happening sir”
The coach was glaring at him now.
“Those Indians dey use juju. They’re using
ma-magic.”
“Yes! Yes!” his teammates echoed &
nodded & murmured amongst themselves.
“Shut up you fools!! Magic my foot!!! There
is no magic in football!”

A match was played at the National Stadium Lagos in 1970? When was the National Stadium built?