43-702: Raji Alagbe Rasaki (born 7 January 1947) is a retired brigadier general in the Nigerian Army who served as military governor of Ogun State , Ondo State , and Lagos State between 1986 and 1991 during the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida . Raji Alagbe Rasaki was born on 7 January 1947 in Ibadan , Nigeria. He received his elementary education at Christ Apostolic Church Primary School, Ita-Olugbode, Ibadan between 1955 and 1960. For his secondary education, he attended Nigerian Military School, Zaria between 1962 and 1966. He then enrolled as an officer-cadet at
86-567: A Composite Division in May 2002. 3rd Armoured Division was responsible in 1983 for the security of areas bordering Chad . Lagos and Abuja have garrison commands, with the Lagos garrison as large as a division. 81st Division was previously the youngest division, formed on 26 May 2002 when the Lagos Garrison Command (as it then was) was upgraded to divisional status. The Division, therefore, inherited
129-556: A career as a statesman , participating in numerous conferences and forums. As a public speaker, he addressed audiences across the country and abroad. In 2005 he joined the Nigerian Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In 2016, he celebrated 40 years of his marriage to Senator Fatimat Olufunke Raji-Rasaki . Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces . It
172-718: A commendable role during the so called Dimka coup attempt of 1976 , Khobe was encouraged to apply for transfer to the Armoured Corps as a Captain (which he became in 1977), having already attended the Young Officer’s Course (Infantry) and a number of support weapons courses at the School of Infantry. After joining the Armoured corps, he attended the Armoured Officers Basic Course at Fort Knox , Kentucky and later,
215-732: A force multiplier in combat operations. Training and Doctrine Command formed in 1981, and is located at Minna . It supervises the Army's schools, including the Depot. On 27 April 2023, the Nigerian Army conducted the largest Presentation of Colours in the Commonwealth on Eagle Square, Abuja , issuing 53 new colors to preexisting units an 28 colors to newly established units 81 colours being issued). The Nigerian Army as of 2016 consisted of some 6,000 officers and 150,000 enlisted personnel. The army itself
258-529: Is an overpoperated, economically depressed area, where massive unemployment is likely to prevail for some years." Furthermore, U.S. analysts would go on to state that: "Nigeria is still very much a tribal society, in which clan, tribal and regional jealousies, hostilities and interests count for more than national attachment. General Gowon , Head of the Federal Military Government (FMG), is the accepted national leader and his popularity has grown since
301-559: Is globally renowned for its professionalism and experience in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency; in 2022, the Nigerian Army won the award for the "Best Land Force in National Defence in Africa" in Banjul, Gambia . The Nigerian Army traces its history to Lieutenant John Hawley Glover 's Constabulary Force , which was largely composed of freed Hausa slaves in 1863. The Constabulary Force
344-696: Is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). It members include: The Nigerian Army is functionally organized into combat arms, which are infantry and armoured; the combat support arms, which are artillery, engineers, signals, and intelligence. The following are installations owned by the Nigerian Army: The Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) located in Minna is responsible for doctrinal, training and combat development, and supervises training centers. There are 17 Corps Training Schools and
387-579: Is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces . The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff , who is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Nigerian Army is operationally and geographically divided into ten divisions, the basic field formation. The army has been involved in operations throughout
430-690: The African-led International Support Mission to Mali . Nigeria claimed to have contributed more than twenty thousand troops and police officers to various UN missions since 1960. The Nigeria Police Force and troops have served in places like UNIPOM (UN India-Pakistan Observer mission) 1965, UNIFIL in Lebanon 1978, the UN observer mission, UNIIMOG supervising the Iran-Iraq ceasefire in 1988, former Yugoslavia 1998, East Timor 1999, and in
473-641: The Democratic Republic of the Congo ( MONUC ) 2004. Despite a disproportionate emphasis on the materiel and sophistication of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and despite possessing some formidable hardware, the Army has been hamstrung by technical deficiency and an exceptionally poor standard of maintenance. Its overabundance of foreign suppliers, including Austria , Brazil , France , Germany , Italy , Sweden , Switzerland , Romania , Turkey , Ukraine ,
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#1732859093324516-728: The Ghana Regiment and Southern Nigeria Regiment respectively by 1879. These regiments would be incorporated into the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) in 1900 by the British Colonial Office , following British military experiences in the Benin Expedition of 1897 , as well as wider British efforts of complete reorganization of its African colonial units such as that of the Egyptian Army earlier in
559-709: The Nigerian Army College of Logistics (NACOL). The Army sponsors the Nigerian Military School at Zaria and Command Secondary Schools all over the federation. In December 1983 the new régime of the Head of State of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari , announced that Nigeria could no longer afford an activist anti-colonial role in Africa. Anglophone members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) established ECOMOG , dominated by
602-599: The Nigerian Defence Academy in September 1967 and graduated in March 1970, when he was commissioned an officer in the Nigerian Army. He held many command and staff positions: he was Adjutant , Lagos Garrison Signal Regiment (1970–71), Commanding Officer Second Signal Regiment, Commander Signal Support Brigade (1978–79), Commander Army Signal Corps, Commander Army Headquarters Garrison & Signal Group. Raji Rasaki
645-512: The 9 Brigade, based at Ikeja Cantonment in northern Lagos, 82nd Division (Airborne and Amphibious) HQ in Enugu in the South-East, which includes the 2 Brigade at Port Harcourt, 13 Brigade at Calabar and the 34th Artillery Brigade at Obinze / Owerri . The Composite Division at Enugu was formed in 1964 as 4 Division, in 1975 became Lagos Garrison Organization; in 1981 became 4 Composite Division; became
688-684: The Advanced Armour Officer's Course. He also attended a Gunnery course at the Royal Armoured Corps School, Bovington Camp , UK. Khobe was 2nd-In-Command of 245 Recce Battalion Ikeja under then Capt. Martin Luther Agwai (who would later become Chief of Army Staff ) and was responsible for coordinating the training program of that battalion. He attended the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji in 1983 and
731-561: The Church of the Brethren Mission, Waka Secondary School, Biu, in Borno State from 1964 to 1968. In September 1969, he enlisted as a soldier and subsequently enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Short Service Combatant Course 11 from 29 March 1971 until 13 September 1971 when he was commissioned an Infantry 2nd Lieutenant with seniority effective from 29 March 1971. After playing
774-522: The Nigerian Army in the wake of the civil war witnessed a severe decline in troop quality. The expansion process overseen by the Nigerian army command staff led to an extreme shortage of commissioned officers, with newly created lieutenant-colonels commanding brigades, and platoons and companies often commanded by sergeants and warrant officers. This resulted in tentative command-and-control and in rudimentary staff work by Nigerian army personnel. One result of
817-461: The Nigerian Army, in 1990 to intervene in the civil war in Liberia . Smaller army forces had previously carried out UN and ECOWAS deployments in the former Yugoslavia , Angola , Rwanda , Somalia , and Sierra Leone . The anti-colonial policy statement did not deter Nigeria under Generals Ibrahim Babangida in 1990 and Sani Abacha in 1997 from sending peacekeeping troops as part of ECOMOG under
860-635: The South-West, which includes 32 Artillery Brigade at Abeokuta ). 2nd Division also possibly includes 4 Brigade at Benin City , with 19 Battalion at Okitipupa and 195 Battalion at Agenebode . 52 Signal Regiment may be the divisional signals unit. 3 Division 's headquarters is at Rukuba Cantonment, Jos , in the North-East, and includes 21 Armoured Brigade Maiduguri , 23 Brigade Yola , and 33 Artillery Brigades. 81st Division (Amphibious) HQ in Lagos, which includes
903-564: The artillery being raised from the North, but during the expansion of the force during the Second World War a large proportion of more educated southerners being brought in to take up posts that required more technical training. Like in Ghana , there was significant pressure to "Nigerianize" the armed forces, with, for example, two officers being promoted to Brigadier as a concession to public opinion on
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#1732859093324946-718: The auspices of ECOWAS into Liberia and later into Sierra Leone when civil wars broke out in those countries. President Olusegun Obasanjo in August 2003 committed Nigerian troops once again into Liberia, at the urging of the United States, to provide an interim presence until the UN's force UNMIL arrived. Charles Taylor was subsequently eased out of power by U.S. pressure and exiled to Nigeria. In October 2004, Nigerian troops were deployed into Darfur , Sudan to spearhead an African Union force to protect civilians there. In January 2013, Nigeria began to deploy troops to Mali as part of
989-576: The civil war to improve its logistics and administration. The reorganization he instituted permitted 3 Division to successfully conduct the offensive operations that would ultimately lead to the end the civil war in Nigeria. The Nigerian Army fought the Civil War significantly under-resourced; Obasanjo's memoirs chronicle the lack of any stocks of extra equipment for mobilisation and the "haphazard and unreliable system of procurement and provisioning" which lasted for
1032-519: The country, most especially during the Nigerian Civil War , and has undertaken major operations abroad. Nigerian Army officers have served as chiefs of defence in other countries, with Brigadier General Maxwell Khobe serving as Sierra Leone chief of staff in 1998–1999, and Nigerian officers acting as Command Officer-in-Charge of the Armed Forces of Liberia from at least 2007. The Nigerian Army
1075-506: The country. The 7th Division (also known as JTF-RO) was established in August 2013 for the war against Boko Haram . The creation of the new division brought to six the number of divisions. The 7th division is headquartered in Maiduguri. The division includes a combat motorcycle unit as part of its 25th Task Force Brigade. The purpose of this unit is stated as securing roads in Yobe and serving as
1118-515: The coveted Nigerian Army Chief of Army Staff Commendation Award and became a Colonel in 1994. On 12 February 1998, he led the ECOMOG Ground Task Force assault that removed Major Johnny Paul Koroma from power and restored the elected government of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah . He was promoted Brigadier General and later assumed the position of Chief of Defence Staff of Sierra Leone . Khobe died of encephalitis on 18 April 2000 at
1161-530: The end of the war. The FMG is neither very efficient nor dynamic, but the recent announcement that it intends to retain power for six more years has generated little opposition so far. The Nigerian Army, vastly expanded during the war, is both the main support to the FMG and the chief threat to it. The troops are poorly trained and disciplined and some of the officers are turning to conspiracies and plotting. We think Gowon will have great difficulty in staying in office through
1204-467: The entire period of the war. Arms embargoes imposed by several Western countries made the situation more difficult. At the end of the Civil War, the three divisions of the Army were reorganised into four divisions, with each controlling territories running from North to South in order to deemphasise the former regional structure. Each division thus had access to the sea thereby making triservice cooperation and logistic support easier. This deployment formula
1247-447: The federation bordering on the excision of five core northern States until the coup was foiled by officers loyal to Babangida. The first announcement to this effect came from the then military governor of Lagos state, Col. Raji Rasaki, who declared in a radio broadcast that the rebellion was already being contained. Following his retirement from the military in 1993, Rasaki wrote several policy papers and memoirs. In addition he pursued
1290-764: The former Soviet Union , the United States and the United Kingdom , has also complicated logistics. Calculating the size and scope of replacement inventories alone is impossible given the menagerie of equipment in use. The Nigerian Army maintains at least eighty-two different weapon systems and 194 types of ammunition, of sixty-two different categories, from fourteen manufacturers. The Nigerian Army achieved an historic milestone after it activated its Aviation Corps in 2024 when it took delivery of two Bell UH-1H, "Huey" helicopters. The Nigerian Army Aviation Corps has over 60 aircraft on order which includes: About $ 3.2 million
1333-699: The nickname of "acsion governor" (action governor), a mockery of the way in which he referred to himself. A member of the armed forces ruling council, he gained national prominence during the 22 April 1990 unsuccessful coup against the Ibrahim Babangida regime. The plotters led by the late Major Gideon Orkar had attempted to overrun the then seat of the Federal Government, Dodan Barracks , and in that process killing Babangida’s Aide de Camp , Major U.K. Bello. Late Major Orkar had announced many far-reaching declarations, which included radical restructuring of
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1376-520: The occasion of the last British commander arriving in Lagos . From a force of 8,000 in five infantry battalions and supporting units, strength rose to around 120,000 in three divisions by the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970. In terms of doctrine, the task of the Federal Nigerian army did not fundamentally change: its task remained to close with and defeat an organized enemy. The rapid expansion of
1419-488: The period which he said is necessary before the turnover of power to civilians. His sudden removal would dim the prospects for Nigerian stability." The influence of individual personalities is generally greater in the armies of developing states, as they tend to have weaker institutional frameworks. Key personalities involved in Nigeria included then-Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo . Obasanjo was particularly important due to his efforts to reorganize his command, 3 Division , during
1462-489: The results of this failure of command experience and professionalism was the 1967 Asaba massacre , resulting in the deaths of some one thousand civilians and individuals of Igbo descent. In November 1970, the U.S. intelligence community concluded the following: "The Nigerian Civil War ended with surprisingly little rancor. The defeated Igbos are accepted as fellow citizens in many parts of Nigeria, but not in some areas of former Biafra where they were once dominant. [Iboland]
1505-550: The security roles hitherto performed by the defunct Lagos Garrison Command. However a later undated article in a Nigerian online newspaper says the 81st Division was later again renamed the Lagos Garrison Command. In the 1980s, the Army's brigades included the 7th Infantry Brigade in Sokoto. There are also Divisional Artillery Brigades, among which are the 32 and 34 Artillery Brigades, ordnance corps units as well as Combat Engineer Regiments, and many other service support units spread across
1548-516: The weak direction was that the federal government's three field divisions fought independently, and competed for men and material. Writing in a 1984 study, Major Michael Stafford of the United States Marine Corps noted the following: "Inexperienced, poorly trained and ineptly led soldiers manifested their lack of professionalism and indiscipline by massacres of innocent civilians and a failure to effectively execute infantry tactics." Among
1591-550: The year. During the Second World War , British-trained Nigerian troops saw action with the 1st (West Africa) Infantry Brigade , the 81st and the 82nd (West Africa) Divisions which fought in the East African Campaign (World War II) and in the Far East. The roots of the ethnic cleavages which started to rip through the army after independence had some of their origins in colonial recruiting practices, with line infantry and
1634-724: Was a Nigerian army brigadier general who was the commander of the ECOMOG Peacekeeping Force in Sierra Leone from 1997 to 1998, and the Chief of the Defence Staff of Sierra Leone from 1998 to 2000. Khobe was born in Zekun, Adamawa State and attended the Native Authority Junior Primary School, Dong from 1958 to 1961 and Native Authority Senior Primary School, Numan, from 1962 to 1963. He later attended
1677-466: Was a one time military governor of Ogun State (1986–87) before his re-deployment to the nation's economic nerve center, Lagos State , becoming that state’s military governor in 1988. Soon after, he embarked on a massive demolition exercise of illegal structures to rid the State of shanties. That singular act resulted in the re-vitalization of Lagos, and a boom in the real estate market. It also earned him
1720-567: Was allocated for the development of an hanger to accommodate these incoming fleet at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport , Minna, Niger State . Negotiations to procure 4 HAL Prachand attack helicopters are at an advanced stage. Nigerian pilots are trained in India on operating helicopters like HAL Dhruv helping the transition easier. Maxwell Khobe Maxwell Mitikishe Khobe (1 January 1950 – 18 April 2000)
1763-641: Was established with the primary goal of protecting the Royal Niger Company and its assets from constant military incursions by the neighboring Ashanti Empire . This policing force would slowly grow in size and capability to meet the needs of the British Empire in its West African territories, and would later form the nucleus of both the Gold Coast and the Hausa Constabulary, both of which would become
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1806-521: Was later abandoned in favour of the present assignment of sectors to the divisions. Thus 1 Division with HQ at Kaduna is allocated the North West sector; 2 Division with HQ at Ibadan South West sector, 3 Division with HQ at Jos North East sector and 82 Division with HQ at Enugu South East sector. Its formations include the 1 Division , headquartered in Kaduna in the north-west, and 2 Division (HQ Ibadan in
1849-491: Was promoted Major in 1984. In August 1985, he led a unit of Tanks in Lagos during the palace coup that removed Major General Muhammadu Buhari from power, ushering in fellow Armoured Corps officer, Major General Ibrahim Babangida . He was awarded the Forces Services Star in 1986 and became a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1989. He served four tours of duty in Liberia getting ECOMOG Liberia medals for each one. In addition he won
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