PatrickOkunima:

People may have different opinions as to why the casualty was high - over 70 as reported, but for me, lack of orientation was the problem. An average person believes that the best way to escape danger is to run. That may be true in some cases, but in the war fronts, nothing makes you more vulnerable than running away from the enemy. Let me rephrase, is the easiest way to die in the war fronts is to run away from the enemy.

Let's try to look at it this way. Every other factor remain constant, assuming all the soldiers at Melete base are 100 in strength, and were attacked by Boko Haram (500 of them). If each of these soldiers had stood their grounds and engaged these terrorist, do you think we would have had up to 70 casualties? No, I very much doubt that. The worst case would have been 15 - 20 deaths.

The probability of me losing my life:

If I do not fight the enemy is 70/100 = 0.7

If I fight the enemy is 20/100 = 0.2

Excellent analysis. I made the point at the other thread on this topic. With deepest respect to the deceased condolences to thier family, this was a shameful and embarrassing attack. The soldiers made no attempt to fight. They saw BH approaching and tried to run, and were slaughtered in d process.

One the issue of lack of/poor arms and ammunition, the Premium times account had reported that BH went away with large cache of weapons from the base. So the point is
1. If really they're old and obsolete as some accounts claim, why would BH loot them?
2. Are BH weapons really that sophisticated? The videos I've convey that, but I could be wrong.

The major issue is orientation and training.

newbornmacho:

i admire your optimism, but the reality of the day suggests otherwise. The truth is We have a weak Armed Forces, quite sadly. For some reason the Nigerian army, fearsome back in the day is now a disappointment. I fear that our neighbors... Niger, Cameroon, Chad, may be getting all sorts of ideas, and if push everyone got to shove, we may not be able to defend our country from a foreign attack.

We still have soldiers who can fight and annihilate Boko Haram, and even if we don't, there are people who are ready to volunteer. In case you are not aware, in determining a country's military strength, the number of able-bodied men is put into consideration. We have the number, the weapon and training is not going to be a problem. Unfortunately, our leaders are not ready.

PatrickOkunima:


We still have soldiers who can fight and annihilate Boko Haram, and even if we don't, there are people who are ready to volunteer. In case you are not aware, in determining a country's military strength, the number of able-bodied men is put into consideration. We have the number, the weapon and training is not going to be a problem. Unfortunately, our leaders are not ready.

This one sounds better, like in every other thing we have potential, as it stands now however... Nothing to write home about

There is also the drug induced state of the terrorist when they go into battle that must be considered as well.

Outside doctrinal radicalization, Boko Haram commanders rely heavily on pharmaceuticals such as Speed, LSD and Amphetamines to inspire and motivate their fighters to combat.

Amphetamines so far appear to be the drug of choice just as in the case of ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria. Amphetamines are widely favored by Jihadist commanders because it provides for stamina, courage, acts as a strength booster while staving off hunger pangs and fatigue. But most importantly, the choice of amphetamines by Boko Haram is mainly for it's ability as an emotional blocker - a good thing if you intend to behead and rape women and girls in order to send a message that you are all out to terrorize the society at large towards achieving your warped political aims.

Amphetamines also provide unusual bravado and courage that a normal sane and sober person won't dare risk. The drug is also known to provide super human capabilities in stamina and even strength. US soldiers in Iraq noticed this during the siege of Fallujah where Al Qaeda linked militants remained standing and fighting even after being shot. The infamous siege of an Indian hotel by Taliban trained and Pakistani linked Islamist which saw over 300 civilians and security agents shot dead lasted for well over 60 hours.Autopsy reports and blood test results on both killed and captured terrorist showed the were high on a cocktail of cocaine, LSD and steroids. Boko Haram has learnt very well from their fellow Islamic jihadist and ever since they became an organized fighting force the use of pharmaceuticals has played a heavy role in their combat readiness.

I once saw a video released by BH where their members where casually strolling into combat towards a fortified Nigerian Army base camp. Despite being under attack and with some of their members dropping like flies after getting shot, the terrorist just kept advancing forward like a wave of real life zombies. Now imagine you are in the position of a Nigerian soldier facing such an assault-naturally superstition will creep-in and you will be assuming that the BH members attacking you have been heavily fortified with some sort of voodoo charm and from there you will assume that your best option is to flee.

The Nigerian Govt has to address the proliferation of such illicit drugs flowing to BH as the drug remains their cardinal weapon. The drugs maybe coming from Libya or being produced in Sudan and shipped to BH through Chad or Cameroun. There is also the likelihood that the drugs are being manufactured in Nigeria as I can recall a news article where the NDLEA raided and shutdown an amphetamine factory in Delta state sometime last year with the said factory being operated by Mexican nationals who I assume would be linked to the Mexican Mafia.

The war on Boko Haram will be largely won if the Nigerian security networks look deeper into curtailing or outright blocking the flow of such powerful hallucinogenic to Boko Haram.

Rotimi47:
Nigeria Air Force is a problem in our fight against Bokoharam as they don't usually show up and when they do is either they quickly run out of ammo or turn up after Bokoharam have overran our Military positions.

Maybe we should consider renaming them the Nigerian Chair Force

BlowBack:


Does your average BH insurgent have standard night vision googles?

I don't like reading about the lame excuse of not having weapons to fight with as this to me is not an excuse. The standard AK47 rifle issued to Nigerian army personnel is a very good weapon and is no more sophisticated than the same AK47 BH members carry.

The issue to me is that the men at front have been there for too long and need to be rotated at most every 6mths with fresh legs.

The point I've been making. I don't believe the weapons BH had were substantially better than ours, but there was a major difference: GUTS, ORIENTATION. From the videos I've sseen, those guys were fighting like wounded lions, it was all out, no holds barred. They were chanting, howling, yelling. . . Even me watching had goosebumps.

I'm not any means holding brief for this govt, and of course I totally support the need for higher grade sophisticated weapons, but beyond that we need to work on the orientation and training of these soldiers.

alezzy13:


The point I've been making. I don't believe the weapons BH had were substantially better than ours, but there was a major difference: GUTS, ORIENTATION. From the videos I've sseen, those guys were fighting like wounded lions, it was all out, no holds barred. They were chanting, howling, yelling. . . Even me watching had goosebumps.

I'm not any means holding brief for this govt, and of course I totally support the need for higher grade sophisticated weapons, but beyond that we need to work on the orientation and training of these soldiers.

That's because they were high on meth.

See my post above yours for clarification

PatrickOkunima:


They were shot inside their trenches, but are you 100% certain they're out of ammo?

Yes, I take FarahAideed comment to be very factual. My concern about this war is why the hierarchy has not deemed it necessary to plant mines around our critical bases. Boko Haram, a rag tag group used these tactics, which was why Sambisa Forest became a fortress of some sort for their carnage. The use of these mines slowed down movement of our troops advancement buying BHT valuable time to carry out ambush. If BH is deploying such why are we not, considering the fact that metele is a border town to the chadian force, and they had tactically withdrawn from these war, leaving our base exposed. A five kilometers mined field radius around that base would have seriously damaged numbers of approaching BHT AA mounted gun trucks.

It doesn't baffle me how BHT are able to encircle a base like that. They know the first line of defense are shallow dug trenches which can be defeated by high calibre gun power. I bet BH would not carry out attacks in the dead of dawn if they knew they base was fortified with mines as those AA trucks they rely so much on will end up in pieces.

Mines around our bases would deter Boko Haram. The army authority should look into it.

persius555:


Yes, I take FarahAideed comment to be very factual. My concern about this war is why the hierarchy has not deemed it necessary to plant mines around our critical bases. Boko Haram, a rag tag group used these tactics, which was why Sambisa Forest became a fortress of some sort for their carnage. The use of these mines slowed down movement of our troops advancement buying BHT valuable time to carry out ambush. If BH is deploying such why are we not, considering the fact that metele is a border town to the chadian force, and they had tactically withdrawn from these war, leaving our base exposed. A five kilometers mined field radius around that base would have seriously damaged numbers of approaching BHT AA mounted gun trucks.

It doesn't baffle me how BHT are able to encircle a base like that. They know the first line of defense are shallow dug trenches which can be defeated by high calibre gun power. I bet BH would not carry out attacks in the dead of dawn if they knew they base was fortified with mines as those AA trucks they rely so much on will end up in pieces.

Mines around our bases would deter Boko Haram. The army authority should look into it.

Is Nigeria not signatory to the anti-mine article?

Mines also will not work as the Nigerian army does not require a string of permanent bases but rather the military must re-strategise from frontline trench warfare to blitz screen fast manoeuvres. This is easier said than done as communication and discipline as well training to fight in cohesive fashion will require a massive overhaul of the Nigerian Military manual.

Semi permanent remote bases like the one that came under attack just provide easy targets for BH who will just spy on them for weeks, picking their weakness and combat readiness from where they can launch an isolated and well cordinated strike.

If you have constant patrols in close contact to each other all over Borno, BH members will not know which to attack and if they dared to do so, an attack on one platoon will easily be repelled as support can be called in from every direction thereby entramping the enemy.

BlowBack:


Maybe we should consider renaming them the Nigerian Chair Force

I think our soldiers shld be subjected to watching America war films

I actually don't want to be disturbing myself with how they can defeat BH if their hierarchy cannot figure it out with all the money federal govt is budgeting for security yearly

Shame on all those service chiefs

alezzy13:


The point I've been making. I don't believe the weapons BH had were substantially better than ours, but there was a major difference: GUTS, ORIENTATION. From the videos I've sseen, those guys were fighting like wounded lions, it was all out, no holds barred. They were chanting, howling, yelling. . . Even me watching had goosebumps.

I'm not any means holding brief for this govt, and of course I totally support the need for higher grade sophisticated weapons, but beyond that we need to work on the orientation and training of these soldiers.

- Weapon is a major factor.
- South African mercenaries were largely successful during the Jonathan era becos of their weapons.
- They came with their own heavy weapons and Russia M1-24 helicopters, no Oga at the top politics involved
- Modern counter terrorism requires our force to be on the offensive, hit and run tactics...
- Our forces are always repelling attacks which means they cant go on the offensive cos of their weapons
- There is nothing like Gut Orientation ... Even the Special US teams that fought the battle of Tora Bora had to called in Air Force bombers to take out targets; non-stop heavy air strikes including laser-guided bombs and missiles lasted for 72 hours before al-Qaeda fighters withdrew to higher fortified positions

Willie2015:


- Weapon is a major factor.
- South African mercenaries were largely successful during the Jonathan era becos of their weapons.
- They came with their own heavy weapons and Russia M1-24 helicopters, no Oga at the top politics involved
- Modern counter terrorism requires our force to be on the offensive, hit and run tactics...
- Our forces are always repelling attacks which means they cant go on the offensive cos of their weapons
- There is nothing like Gut Orientation ... Even the Special US teams that fought the battle of Tora Bora had to called in Air Force bombers to take out targets; non-stop heavy air strikes including laser-guided bombs and missiles lasted for 72 hours before al-Qaeda fighters withdrew to higher fortified positions

The South African mercenaries did not come withh any special weapons but rather advanced skill set.

PatrickOkunima:
First, may the souls of our soldiers who lost their lives at Melete find eternal peace. Their sacrifices will not go in vain. It is also my prayer that the Almighty God console their families.

I have watched the footage of the recent attack on our soldiers, as well as the previous ones and most commentators, including civilians and soldiers (retired and serving) attribute the heavy casualty to lack of equipment.

Having served in the military, I have a first-hand experience of how sophisticated hardware can be a morale booster to a soldier. There are other factors that affect morale which I am not here to discuss. So I know what I'm saying when I say lack of equipment is not the major problem.

All the Boko Haram videos I watched, I observed a common trend - Our soldiers did not put in adequate resistance or did not resist at all. That is "unsoldierlike" (if there's any word like that).

As a soldier, you hope for the best and prepare for the worst. What do I mean? I have seen soldiers, Nigerian soldiers who served 35 years, and throughout their service, the only time they fired a rifle was at the range. They never had the opportunity to shoot at a real enemy. On the other hand, we have soldiers who in less than 3 months of passing out from the training school, found themselves under enemy attack and lost their lives in the process. You see, best case scenario and worst case scenario. Everyone hopes for the best, but if you are not prepared for the worst, you have no business being a soldier - That's by the way.

People may have different opinions as to why the casualty was high - over 70 as reported, but for me, lack of orientation was the problem. An average person believes that the best way to escape danger is to run. That may be true in some cases, but in the war fronts, nothing makes you more vulnerable than running away from the enemy. Let me rephrase, the easiest way to die in the war fronts is to run away from the enemy. If you're a soldier reading this, please take note. If you're not a soldier and you have a friend or brother who is, please tell him or her.

Let's try to look at it this way. Every other factor remain constant, assuming all the soldiers at Melete base are 100 in strength, and were attacked by Boko Haram (500 of them). If each of these soldiers had stood their grounds and engaged these terrorist, do you think we would have had up to 70 casualties? No, I very much doubt that. The worst case would have been 15 - 20 deaths.

The probability of me losing my life:

If I do not fight the enemy is 70/100 = 0.7

If I fight the enemy is 20/100 = 0.2

With this mindset, every soldier will prefer to engage the enemy and increase his chance of survival.

"If the enemy attacks, what and what do I do to survive?" That's the question I ask myself each time I find myself in a volatile environment.

Then, I outline my plans:

1. If I'm not armed, I dash down to the armory.

2. There won't be need for 1, If I have a weapon.

3. I Take cover.

4. I cock my rifle and open the safety catch (I do not put my rifle on rapid)

5. I take position, aiming the barrel of my rifle in the direction I anticipate the enemy to come from.

6. I place my finger on the trigger, waiting for the enemy.

7. I scan for the enemy, and pull the trigger as soon as I have a clear shot.

NOTES: There are some steps I did not highlight, like charging my magazine and loading my weapon. But one thing that is not in my plan, is to turn my back at the enemy and run away from battle.

And the only conditions in which I can surrender are:

1. I run out of ammo.

2. My weapon got jammed and there's no time for me to fix it.

Though I did not see a lot of action, but the few I saw, the only reason I survived is because I engaged the enemy.

The Nigerian Military should put it into the skulls of our soldiers that when they refuse to engage the enemy, they suffer more casualties. They should also conduct simulation exercises for the men (If they have not been doing that already) before operations and in preparedness for an attack. They should not assume that everyone knows what to do in the event of an attack.

Please share, you may be saving a life.

It is better you shut up
You are a total idiot

I won't argue this with you. What you don't know, you don't know.

LordAdam16:


Stick and carrot approach my foot!

The militants were well-funded thanks to oil bunkering and tacit support by the region's elite. The Nigerian military was NEVER going to win that war. Not in a million years. It was that realization and the global financial crisis of 2007/2008 that led to the Amnesty program.

Before you talk about 2009, you'd recall Odi bombing of 2001 and the repression of thousands of activists/protesters under Abacha. The Nigerian state and the military had been itching for the conflict for years and the entire region was prepared to support it to the end of the earth. Which is why till date there are still camps, and every sitting governor in the SS is a friend of the creeks. 90% of the population in the ND still support that insurgency till date. Everyone knows someone on a first name basis that fought in the war.

The major problem with BH is that there are sympathizers and saboteurs within the military. Some of them are idealists like those in Qatar funding IS from the comfort of their golden palaces. Some do it for politics. Others do it for the steady money burned to prosecute the war. The result is massacres of this magnitude.

METELE wasn't a hurried attack. It was meticulously planned and ISWAP needed and got valuable intel to carry out their attack successfully. It's the same thing in Afghanistan and Pakistan especially. Pakistan is a nuclear power and key figures and cells within the Pakistani Intelligence Community actively prop up the Taliban. It's why the US refused to share intel or seek their permission before sending the SEALs to take out Osama.

Boko Haram/ISWAP will continue to operate until the West gets tired of the nomenclature. Supports an offensive to degrade them. Then a new sect will rise in its place. As for those joining the military to go to the front lines. It's better to be a mercenary if you can't find anything useful to do with your life. Because you are and always will be disposable. Pieces of meat for those in places of authority to use in their games.

-Lord

BlowBack:


The South African mercenaries did not come withh any special weapons but rather advanced skill set.

You are wrong. Google is your friend

U dont conduct offensive operation without helicopters...

This is one of the reported mercenaries in Borno with the Mi-24 in the background.

BlowBack:


Is Nigeria not signatory to the anti-mine article?

Mines also will not work as the Nigerian army does not require a string of permanent bases but rather the military must re-strategise from frontline trench warfare to blitz screen fast manoeuvres. This is easier said than done as communication and discipline as well training to fight in cohesive fashion will require a massive overhaul of the Nigerian Military manual.

Semi permanent remote bases like the one that came under attack just provide easy targets for BH who will just spy on them for weeks, picking their weakness and combat readiness from where they can launch an isolated and well cordinated strike.

If you have constant patrols in close contact to each other all over Borno, BH members will not know which to attack and if they dared to do so, an attack on one platoon will easily be repelled as support can be called in from every direction thereby entramping the enemy.
v

The treaty doesn't cover anti-vehicle mines, just anti personnel mines. This is one the military can explore. The mines can be tagged and gun marked from metres away from the base.
BHT relies heavily on these guns trucks. If they see their trucks being torn to pieces, this will slow down their advances and their shooting capabilities will be reduced to long distances.

PatrickOkunima:
I won't argue this with you. What you don't know, you don't know.

It cuts both ways. You are part of the need to know basis rank and file, and only understood the war from one perspective. Talk to any high ranking DIA officer you know for detailed information on the other perspective.

That's why you think those soldiers killed in METELE could have done better. When a bunch of ISGS combatants killed four US Green Berets in Mali in a surprise ambush attack.

-Lord

Corrinthians:
Our military capabilities shouldn't be at par with that of our enemy. Whatever the case may be, we must strive to have the upper hand materially and otherwise.

Having those materials we are talking about won't only enhance our physical capabilities, they'd also boost the morale of our fighters knowing they have superior weapons and advantage over their enemy.

That's what I'm saying.

exactly, the ak47 shouldn't be the main infantry rifle of a country like ours.our soildiers would have to be in effective range of iswap themselves,before our infantry engages them (since they both use same riffle).If we had say an m16,our men can decimate iswap infantry before they get into effective range of their ak47's.
Neopotism and training is also a problem though.

Willie2015:


You are wrong. Google is your friend

U dont conduct offensive operation without helicopters...

This is one of the reported mercenaries in Borno with the Mi-24 in the background.

That image is not of SA mercenaries operating in Nigeria but rather Afghanistan. The helicopter in the background is a Chinook which is operated mainly by US Special forces and saw active roles in Afghanistan because of their resilience in landing and operating over high altitude regions.

Helicopters can provide the much needed advantage in inserting and removing troops close to the fight. Does BH rely on helicopters to deploy their troops?

This is no excuse

[s]

eduj:

exactly, the ak47 shouldn't be the main infantry rifle of a country like ours.our soildiers would have to be in effective range of iswap themselves,before our infantry engages them (since they both use same riffle).If we had say an m16,our men can decimate iswap infantry before they get into effective range of their ak47's.
Neopotism and training is also a problem though.

[/s]

The AK47 is a more reliable and efficient weapon than anything NATO has to offer.

It is easy to maintain and operate.

LordAdam16:


Stick and carrot approach my foot!

The militants were well-funded thanks to oil bunkering and tacit support by the region's elite. The Nigerian military was NEVER going to win that war. Not in a million years. It was that realization and the global financial crisis of 2007/2008 that led to the Amnesty program.

Before you talk about 2009, you'd recall Odi bombing of 2001 and the repression of thousands of activists/protesters under Abacha. The Nigerian state and the military had been itching for the conflict for years and the entire region was prepared to support it to the end of the earth. Which is why till date there are still camps, and every sitting governor in the SS is a friend of the creeks. 90% of the population in the ND still support that insurgency till date. Everyone knows someone on a first name basis that fought in the war.

The major problem with BH is that there are sympathizers and saboteurs within the military. Some of them are idealists like those in Qatar funding IS from the comfort of their golden palaces. Some do it for politics. Others do it for the steady money burned to prosecute the war. The result is massacres of this magnitude.

METELE wasn't a hurried attack. It was meticulously planned and ISWAP needed and got valuable intel to carry out their attack successfully. It's the same thing in Afghanistan and Pakistan especially. Pakistan is a nuclear power and key figures and cells within the Pakistani Intelligence Community actively prop up the Taliban. It's why the US refused to share intel or seek their permission before sending the SEALs to take out Osama.

Boko Haram/ISWAP will continue to operate until the West gets tired of the nomenclature. Supports an offensive to degrade them. Then a new sect will rise in its place. As for those joining the military to go to the front lines. It's better to be a mercenary if you can't find anything useful to do with your life. Because you are and always will be disposable. Pieces of meat for those in places of authority to use in their games.

-Lord

Your grasp on issues is highly astute.

I will like to one day have a beer with you.

PatrickOkunima:
I won't argue this with you. What you don't know, you don't know.

He is right!

As I said earlier, the Niger Delta insurgency arose due to mainly political considerations that required political solutions.

Yaradua was very intelligent to know that not all problems require military action unlike Obasanjo or Buhari who as military men saw every problem as a nail requiring a hammer.

LordAdam16, has elaborated very well why the Nigerian Army were told to stand down by Yaradua because if he hadn't chances are that Nigeria would have been since partitioned.

BlowBack:


Yes but unfortunately that won't happen anytime soon as the Nigerian Military was re-engineered towards internal threats involving civilian uprisings. It exists only to maintain the Nigerian nation state and that is why Military bases exist across the country not to protect the people therein from external invaders but as a policing force with an occupational mentality.

The Nigerian Army has been having to many "victories" gunning down defenseless civilians and pillaging villages that they thought they were invisible. Then came Niger Delta Militants who not only used the swamp and creeks to their advantage but were able to force the Nigerian Govt to accede to their demands all because the Nigerian Army was totally clueless in dealing with them.

Now BH should be easier, since they operate in a more accessible environment and terrain but given that quota system and false bravado still thrives in the Nigerian Army, we see a bunch of Mai-ruwas, Mai Gworos and Mai Shais dealing massive blows to them on a daily basis.

Something is wrong and it is down to the Buhari types of incompetent officers that got commissioned into the army all because of their ethnicity and religion.

Gbam! Nail squarely on the head.

Very stupid post.
Why don't you join the army to show your courage?
It is shameful that cowards who would run at the sound of firecrackers are analyzing battled filed scenarios in the safety of their room.

As they say, those who lack the courage to do are the ones preaching.
SMH

alezzy13:


Excellent analysis. I made the point at the other thread on this topic. With deepest respect to the deceased condolences to thier family, this was a shameful and embarrassing attack. The soldiers made no attempt to fight. They saw BH approaching and tried to run, and were slaughtered in d process.

One the issue of lack of/poor arms and ammunition, the Premium times account had reported that BH went away with large cache of weapons from the base. So the point is
1. If really they're old and obsolete as some accounts claim, why would BH loot them?
2. Are BH weapons really that sophisticated? The videos I've convey that, but I could be wrong.

The major issue is orientation and training.

I hope you are typing this from Sambisa forest.
Coward!

Xisnin:

I hope you are typing this from Sambisa forest.
Coward!

Any modern-day Military will be ashamed of losing over a hundred men in one battle.

This is a disgrace and it is obvious the Nigerian Military's commanders do not know hat they are doing and also do not care as well.

It is high time the Nigerian Army and security architecture and mentality was overhauled.

BlowBack:


Any modern-day Military will be ashamed of losing over a hundred men in one battle.

As I suspect, you don't know what you are talking about.
That was not a battle.

It is high time the Nigerian Army and security architecture and mentality was overhauled.

The bold is usually used when the speaker is clueless and have nothing to say.
You know it is very easy to use the keyboard or play video games, no risk, no enemies. This has made many
people think it is the same thing as a war.

[s]

Xisnin:

As I suspect, you don't know what you are talking about.
That was not a battle.


The bold is usually used when the speaker is clueless and have nothing to say.
You know it is very easy to use the keyboard or play video games, no risk, no enemies. This has made many
people think it is the same thing as a war.

[/s]


You guys are grossly incompetent and a cause of worry and disgrace.

It is high time the Military was restructured from outside since you khaki boys can't be expected to bring the required change.

BlowBack:
[s][/s]

The AK47 is a more reliable and efficient weapon than anything NATO has to offer.

It is easy to maintain and operate.

the m16 has more range and power than the ak47.if your one of those the russies are better,we can as well use the newer ak's .The Ak47 isn't the main infantry weapon of any major army-even russia-today.

eduj:

the m16 has more range and power than the ak47.if your one of those the russies are better,we can as well use the newer ak's .The Ak47 isn't the main infantry weapon of any major army-even russia-today.

It will do because for all its limited short comings the AK is still more highly reliable.