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113-781: The NDA was established in February 1964 as a reformation of the British run Royal Military Forces Training College (RMFTC), which had been renamed the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) on independence. The military institution trains the officer corps of the Nigerian Army , Navy and Air Force. The initial class had only 62 cadets , and the trainers were mostly officers in the Indian Army . The Nigerian National Defence Academy (NDA) follows

226-592: A coup d'état . The two major political leaders of the north, the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the Premier of the northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello were killed by Major Nzeogwu. Also murdered was Bello's wife and officers of Northern extraction. The President, Sir Nnamdi Azikiwe , an Igbo, was on an extended vacation in the West Indies. He did not return until days after the coup. There

339-519: A "Distributable Pools Account" with the money split between different parts of government (50% to region of origin, 20% to federal government, 30% to other regions). To ensure continuing influence, the British government promoted unity in the Northern bloc and secessionist sentiments among and within the two Southern regions. The Nigerian government, following independence, promoted discord in the West with

452-416: A British offer of military support but promised to protect British interests. Ironsi fatally did not bring the failed plotters to trial as required by then-military law and as advised by most northern and western officers, rather, coup plotters were maintained in the military on full pay, and some were even promoted while awaiting trial. The coup, despite its failures, was seen by many as primarily benefiting

565-584: 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

678-581: A conservative Islamic hierarchy consisting of emirs who in turn owed their ultimate allegiance to the Sultan of Sokoto , whom they regarded as the source of all political power and religious authority. Apart from the Hausa-Fulani, the Kanuri were another dominant majority Muslim ethnic group that had key figures in the war. They made up about 5% of Nigeria's population and were the dominant ethnic group in

791-492: A counter-coup , which had already been in the planning stages. Ironsi was on a visit to Ibadan during their mutiny and there he was killed (along with his host, Adekunle Fajuyi ). The counter-coup led to the installation of Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon as Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Gowon was chosen as a compromise candidate. He was a Northerner, a Christian, from a minority tribe, and had

904-618: A course in officer training at Mons Hall or Eaton Hall in England. Despite the reforms, only an average of two Nigerians per year were awarded officers' commissions between 1948–55 and only seven per year from 1955 to 1960. At the time of independence in 1960, of the 257 officers commanding the Nigeria Regiment which became the Nigerian Army, only 57 were Nigerians. Using the " martial races " theory first developed under

1017-725: A federal investigation of the event began. Aguyi-Ironsi suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament. He abolished the regional confederated form of government and pursued unitary policies favoured by the NCNC, having apparently been influenced by NCNC political philosophy. He, however, appointed Colonel Hassan Katsina , son of Katsina emir Usman Nagogo , to govern the Northern Region, indicating some willingness to maintain cooperation with this bloc. He also preferentially released northern politicians from jail (enabling them to plan his forthcoming overthrow). Aguyi-Ironsi rejected

1130-690: 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

1243-609: A foreign and hierarchical system of governance was imposed on the Igbos. Intellectuals began to agitate for greater rights and independence. The size of this intellectual class increased significantly in the 1950s, with the massive expansion of the national education program. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Igbo and Yoruba parties were in the forefront of the campaign for independence from British rule. Northern leaders, fearful that independence would mean political and economic domination by

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1356-635: A good reputation within the army. It seems that Gowon immediately faced not only a potential standoff with the East, but secession threats from the Northern and even the Western region. The counter-coup plotters had considered using the opportunity to withdraw from the federation themselves. Ambassadors from the United Kingdom and the United States, however, urged Gowon to maintain control over

1469-672: A highly political issue in Nigeria. On this basis, the Northern Region was allocated a majority of the seats in the Federal Legislature established by the colonial authorities. Within each of the three regions the dominant ethnic groups, the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo, respectively formed political parties that were largely regional and based on ethnic allegiances : the Northern People's Congress (NPC) in

1582-537: A looser Nigerian federation would be implemented. Gowon delayed announcement of the agreement and eventually reneged. On 27 May 1967, Gowon proclaimed the division of Nigeria into twelve states. This decree carved the Eastern Region in three parts: South Eastern State , Rivers State , and East Central State . Now the Igbos, concentrated in the East Central State, would lose control over most of

1695-816: A manner likely to provoke disaffection. From June through October 1966, pogroms in the North killed an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Igbo, half of them children, and caused more than a million to two million to flee to the Eastern Region. 29 September 1966 became known as 'Black Thursday', as it was considered the worst day of the massacres. Ethnomusicologist Charles Keil, who was visiting Nigeria in 1966, recounted: The pogroms I witnessed in Makurdi , Nigeria (late Sept. 1966) were foreshadowed by months of intensive anti-Igbo and anti-Eastern conversations among Tiv, Idoma, Hausa and other Northerners resident in Makurdi, and, fitting

1808-465: A pattern replicated in city after city, the massacres were led by the Nigerian army. Before, during and after the slaughter, Col. Gowon could be heard over the radio issuing 'guarantees of safety' to all Easterners, all citizens of Nigeria, but the intent of the soldiers, the only power that counts in Nigeria now or then, was painfully clear. After counting the disemboweled bodies along the Makurdi road I

1921-451: A significant Eurocentric-educated population. Several key figures on the Nigerian side of the war came from this sub-region, such as Yakubu Gowon and Theophilus Danjuma, both of whom are Christians. The Yoruba political system in the southwest, like that of the Hausa-Fulani, also consisted of a series of monarchs , the Oba . The Yoruba monarchs, however, were less autocratic than those in

2034-576: A unitary Nigerian state. In the face of sustained opposition by the NCNC delegates, later joined by the NPC and backed by threats to view maintenance of the inclusion of secession by the AG as treasonable by the British, the AG was forced to renounce its position of inclusion of the right of secession a part of the Nigerian constitution. Had such a provision been made in the Nigerian constitution, later events which led to

2147-451: A year, Nigerian government troops surrounded Biafra, and captured coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt . A blockade was imposed as a deliberate policy during the ensuing stalemate which led to the mass starvation of Biafran civilians. During the 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years of the war, there were about 100,000 overall military casualties, while between 500,000 and 2 million Biafran civilians died of starvation. Alongside

2260-540: 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

2373-681: Is commanded by an Army officer and is designated as the Cadets Brigade Commander (CBC). The CB comprises the following: The NDA Band is responsible for the provision of military music at regimental occasions such as POP, beating the retreat, dinner nights as well as dance band for social gatherings like wedding ceremonies, mess activities or as the circumstances dictate. The NDA Band headed by an Assistant Director of Music (ADOM). Academy mother of African warriors. Academy of wonders, fascination and adventures. Academy mother of all Generals, Admirals and Air Marshals. You indeed are

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2486-720: 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

2599-639: Is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces . It 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,

2712-719: 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

2825-703: The Armed Forces of Liberia from at least 2007. The Nigerian Army 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

2938-661: The Biafran War , was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra , a secessionist state which had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. Nigeria was led by General Yakubu Gowon , and Biafra by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu . The conflict resulted from political, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded the United Kingdom's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of

3051-549: The Biafran airlift , an event which inspired the formation of Doctors Without Borders following the end of the war. The United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were the main supporters of the Nigerian government, while France , Israel (after 1968), and some other countries supported Biafra . The United States' official position was one of neutrality, considering Nigeria as "a responsibility of Britain", but some interpret

3164-590: 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 ,

3277-773: 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

3390-636: The Kingdom of Nri . At its zenith, the Kingdom controlled most of Igboland, including influence on the Anioma people , Arochukwu (which controlled slavery in Igbo), and Onitsha territory. Unlike the other two regions, decisions within the Igbo communities were made by a general assembly in which men and women participated. Considering this participation by women in this civil war, the study Female fighters and

3503-740: 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

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3616-657: The North-Eastern state . They historically successfully resisted the Sokoto Caliphate during the 19th-century through their millennium-long Kanem-Bornu empire . The southernmost part of the region known as the Middle Belt had large populations of Christian and Animist populations. Through missionary activities and the 'Northernisation' policy of the Regional Government , the sub-region had

3729-592: The Raj in 19th-century India , the colonial government had decided that peoples from northern Nigeria such as the Hausa, Tiv, and Kanuri were the hard " martial races " whose recruitment was encouraged while the peoples from southern Nigeria such as the Igbos and the Yoruba were viewed as too soft to make for good soldiers and hence their recruitment was discouraged. As a result, by 1958, men from northern Nigeria made up 62% of

3842-511: The United Kingdom on 1 October 1960, with a population of 45.2 million made up of more than 300 differing ethnic and cultural groups. When the colony of Nigeria was created, its three largest ethnic groups were the Igbo , who formed about 60–70% of the population in the southeast; the Hausa-Fulani of the Sokoto Caliphate , who formed about 67% of the population in the northern part of

3955-515: The colonial amalgamation in 1914 of the Northern Protectorate , Lagos Colony , and Southern Nigeria Protectorate , which was intended for better administration due to the proximity of these protectorates . However, the change did not take into consideration the differences in the culture and religions of the people in each area. Competition for political and economic power exacerbated tensions. Nigeria gained independence from

4068-444: The colonial government in Nigeria . In the north, the colonial government found it convenient to rule indirectly through the emirs, thus perpetuating rather than changing the indigenous authoritarian political system. Christian missionaries were excluded from the north, and the area thus remained virtually closed to European cultural influence. By contrast, the richest of the Igbo often sent their sons to British universities, with

4181-522: 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

4294-416: The Igbo homeland, combined with aspirations for monetary wages, drove thousands of Igbos to other parts of Nigeria in search of work. By the 1960s, Igbo political culture was more unified and the region relatively prosperous, with tradesmen and literate elites active not just in the traditionally Igbo east, but throughout Nigeria. By 1966, the traditional ethnic and religious differences between northerners and

4407-499: The Igbo peoples, as the plotters received no repercussions for their actions and no significant Igbo political leaders were affected. While those that executed the coup were mostly Northern, most of the known plotters were Igbo and the military and political leadership of Western and Northern regions had been largely bloodily eliminated while the Eastern military/political leadership was largely untouched. However, Ironsi, himself an Igbo,

4520-544: The Igbo were exacerbated by new differences in education and economic class. The colonial administration divided Nigeria into three regions—North, West and East—something which exacerbated the already well-developed economic, political, and social differences among Nigeria's different ethnic groups . The country was divided in such a way that the North had a slightly higher population than the other two regions combined. There were also widespread reports of fraud during Nigeria's first census , and even today population remains

4633-409: The Nigeria Regiment while men from the south and the west made up only 36%. In 1958, the policy was changed: henceforward men from the north would make up only 50% of the soldiers while men from the southeast and southwest were each to make up 25%. The new policy was retained after independence. The previously favoured northerners whose egos had been stoked by being told by their officers that they were

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4746-471: 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

4859-466: 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

4972-432: The Nigerian military retained the role it held under the British in the 1950s. The Nigerian Army did not conduct field training, and notably lacked heavy weapons. Before 1948, Nigerians were not allowed to hold officer's commissions, and only in 1948 were certain promising Nigerian recruits allowed to attend Sandhurst for officer training while at the same time Nigerian NCOs were allowed to become officers if they completed

5085-681: The Nigerian/Biafran civil war may have been avoided. The pre-independence alliance between the NCNC and the NPC against the aspirations of the AG would later set the tone for political governance of independent Nigeria by the NCNC/NPC and lead to disaster in later years in Nigeria. Northern–Southern tension manifested firstly in the 1945 Jos riots and again on 1 May 1953, as fighting in the Northern city of Kano . The political parties tended to focus on building power in their own regions, resulting in an incoherent and disunified dynamic in

5198-592: The North; the Action Group in the West (AG); and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in the East. Although these parties were not exclusively homogeneous in terms of their ethnic or regional make-up, the disintegration of Nigeria resulted largely from the fact that these parties were primarily based in one region and one tribe. The basis of modern Nigeria formed in 1914 when

5311-482: 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

5424-405: The United Kingdom amalgamated the Northern and Southern protectorates. Beginning with the Northern Protectorate, the British implemented a system of indirect rule of which they exerted influence through alliances with local forces. This system worked so well, Colonial Governor Frederick Lugard successfully lobbied to extend it to the Southern Protectorate through amalgamation. In this way,

5537-411: 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

5650-613: 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

5763-416: The basic field formation. The army has been involved in operations throughout 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

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5876-427: The capital of Nigeria, if it meant loss of Yoruba sovereignty . The AG insisted that Lagos must be completely recognised as a Yoruba town without any loss of identity, control or autonomy by the Yoruba. Contrary to this position, the NCNC was anxious to declare Lagos, by virtue of it being the "Federal Capital Territory" as "no man's land"—a declaration which as could be expected angered the AG, which offered to help fund

5989-474: 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

6102-519: The concurrent Vietnam War , the Nigerian Civil War was one of the first wars in human history to be televised to a global audience. In mid-1968, images of malnourished and starving Biafran children saturated the mass media of Western countries . The plight of the starving Biafrans became a cause célèbre in foreign countries, enabling a significant rise in the funding and prominence of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Biafra received international humanitarian aid from civilians during

6215-633: The conflict and the manner in which the conflict unfolds." The differing political systems and structures reflected and produced divergent customs and values. The Hausa-Fulani commoners, having contact with the political system only through a village head designated by the emir or one of his subordinates, did not view political leaders as amenable to influence. Political decisions were to be submitted to. As with many other authoritarian religious and political systems, leadership positions were given to persons willing to be subservient and loyal to superiors. A chief function of this political system in this context

6328-478: The country, and some began to flee the North and West, some to Dahomey . The apparent domination of the political system by the North, and the chaos breaking out across the country, motivated elements within the military to consider decisive action. In addition to Shell-BP, the British reaped profits from mining and commerce. The British-owned United Africa Company alone controlled 41.3% of all Nigeria's foreign trade. At 516,000 barrels per day, Nigeria had become

6441-407: 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

6554-401: The country. The Army was repeatedly deployed to Tiv Division , killing hundreds and arresting thousands of Tiv people agitating for self-determination. Widespread reports of fraud tarnished the election's legitimacy. Westerners especially resented the political domination of the Northern People's Congress, many of whose candidates ran unopposed in the election. Violence spread throughout

6667-400: The cradle of service with courage conviction and victory. Academy of indelible memories, dreams and visions. Academy Academy, in you I realized my potentials and in you I am what I am. Forever the academy, long live the academy Forever the Nigerian Defence Academy… — CYBER BOSS Below is the chronological list of NDA Commandants: Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA)

6780-420: The creation of a new Mid-Western Region in an area with oil potential. The new constitution of 1946 also proclaimed that "The entire property in and control of all mineral oils , in, under, or upon any lands, in Nigeria, and of all rivers, streams, and watercourses throughout Nigeria, is and shall be vested in, the Crown." The United Kingdom profited significantly from a fivefold rise in Nigerian exports amidst

6893-400: The development of another territory in Nigeria as "Federal Capital Territory" and then threatened secession from Nigeria if it didn't get its way. The threat of secession by the AG was tabled, documented and recorded in numerous constitutional conferences, including the constitutional conference held in London in 1954 with the demand that a right of secession be enshrined in the constitution of

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7006-414: The emerging Nigerian nation to allow any part of the emergent nation to opt out of Nigeria, should the need arise. This proposal for inclusion of right of secession by the regions in independent Nigeria by the AG was rejected and resisted by NCNC which vehemently argued for a tightly bound united/unitary structured nation because it viewed the provision of a secession clause as detrimental to the formation of

7119-484: 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

7232-467: 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

7345-510: The fates of rebellions: How mobilizing women influences conflict duration by Reed M. Wood observed that there was a longer duration of wars between rebel groups and the number of women that participated within the conflict at hand. In discussing the correlation between conflicts of longer duration and a high rate of participation of women, the study suggests that gender norms and the general ways in which "an armed group recruits as well as who it recruits may subsequently influence its behaviors during

7458-425: The federal government. In 1946, the British divided the Southern Region into the Western Region and the Eastern Region . Each government was entitled to collect royalties from resources extracted within its area. This changed in 1956 when Shell - BP found large petroleum deposits in the Eastern region. A Commission led by Sir Jeremy Raisman and Ronald Tress determined that resource royalties would now enter

7571-443: The first classes of African civil servants, doctors, lawyers, and other technicians and professionals. Missionaries were introduced at a later date in eastern areas because the British experienced difficulty establishing firm control over the highly autonomous communities there. However, the Igbo and other Biafran people actively embraced Western education, and they overwhelmingly came to adopt Christianity. Population pressure in

7684-496: The first set of female cadets commenced training in September 2011. As of 2019, its total cadet class is around 2500. The current Commandant is Major General John Ochai. He took over from Major Gen Ibrahim Manu Yusuf. Nigerian Defence Academy Library is the main Library that support both teaching and military training. The library acquired and developed information resources that meet the information needs of cadets, faculty members, officers and civilians staff. The academy library

7797-653: 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

7910-406: The general strike heavily exacerbated tensions between the Army and ordinary civilians and put pressure on the Army to take action against a government which was widely perceived as corrupt. The 1964 elections , which involved heavy campaigning all year, brought ethnic and regional divisions into focus. Resentment of politicians ran high, and many campaigners feared for their safety while touring

8023-402: The groundwork for the economic blockade of the Eastern Region which went into full effect in 1967. The deluge of refugees in Eastern Nigeria created a difficult situation. Extensive negotiations took place between Ojukwu, representing Eastern Nigeria, and Gowon, representing the Nigerian Federal military government. In the Aburi Accord , finally signed at Aburi, Ghana , the parties agreed that

8136-592: The intention of preparing them to work with the British. During the ensuing years, the northern emirs maintained their traditional political and religious institutions, while reinforcing their social structure . At the time of independence in 1960, the north was by far the most underdeveloped area in Nigeria. It had an English literacy rate of 2%, as compared to 19.2% in the east (literacy in Ajami , local languages in Arabic script, learned in connection with religious education,

8249-406: The killing of Igbo soldier Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Unegbe by coup executioners, and Ironsi's termination of an Igbo-led coup, the ease by which Ironsi stopped the coup led to suspicion that the Igbo coup plotters planned all along to pave the way for Ironsi to take the reins of power in Nigeria. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu became military governor of the Eastern Region at this time. On 24 May 1966,

8362-419: The military government issued Unification Decree #34, which would have replaced the federation with a more centralised system. The Northern bloc found this decree intolerable. In the face of provocation from the Eastern media which repeatedly showed humiliating posters and cartoons of the slain northern politicians, on the night of 29 July 1966, northern soldiers at Abeokuta barracks mutinied, thus precipitating

8475-523: The more Westernized elites in the South, preferred the continuation of British rule. As a condition for accepting independence, they demanded that the country continue to be divided into three regions with the North having a clear majority. Igbo and Yoruba leaders, anxious to obtain an independent country at all costs, accepted the Northern demands. However, the two Southern regions had significant cultural and ideological differences, leading to discord between

8588-512: The north, it failed in the south, especially in the Lagos-Ibadan-Abeokuta military district where loyalist troops led by army commander Johnson Aguyi-Ironsi succeeded in crushing the revolt. Apart from Ifeajuna who fled the country after the collapse of their coup, the other two January Majors, and the rest of the military officers involved in the revolt, later surrendered to the loyalist High Command and were subsequently detained as

8701-477: The north. The political and social system of the Yoruba accordingly allowed for greater upward mobility , based on acquired rather than inherited wealth and title. In contrast to the two other groups, Igbos and the ethnic groups of the Niger Delta in the southeast lived mostly in autonomous, democratically organised communities, although there were E zes' or monarchs in many of the ancient cities, such as:

8814-517: The northerners. At the same time, as a part of Nigerianisation policy, it was government policy to send home the British officers who had been retained after independence, by promoting as many Nigerians as possible until by 1966 there were no more British officers. As part of the Nigerianisation policy, educational standards for officers were drastically lowered with only a high school diploma being necessary for an officer's commission while at

8927-600: 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

9040-555: The pattern of similar NDA in Khadakwasla, Pune, India. The first commandant of NDA was Indian Army Brigadier M.R Verma. The NDA grew to an all Nigerian training staff only in 1978. In 1981, it began bilateral training of foreign militaries. In 1985, the academy commenced offering undergraduate programmes to Military Officers In Training and now also currently offers post graduate studies both for Msc and Ph.D for both military and civilian students alike. The central mission remains

9153-488: 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

9266-530: The petroleum, located in the other two areas. The Federal Military Government immediately placed an embargo on all shipping to and from Biafra—but not on oil tankers. Biafra quickly moved to collect oil royalties from oil companies doing business within its borders. When Shell - BP acquiesced to this request at the end of June, the Federal Government extended its blockade to include oil. The blockade, which most foreign actors accepted, played

9379-660: The political marginalization of the Igbo people, as Nigeria has not had another Igbo president since the end of the war, leading some Igbo people to believe they are being unfairly punished for the war. Igbo nationalism has emerged since the end of the war, as well as various neo-Biafran secessionist groups such as the Indigenous People of Biafra and Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra . This civil war can be connected to

9492-685: The post-war economic boom. Nigeria gained independence on 1 October 1960, and the First Republic came to be on 1 October 1963. The first prime minister of Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa , was a northerner and co-founder of the Northern People's Congress. He formed an alliance with the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons party, and its popular nationalist leader Nnamdi "Zik" Azikiwe , who became Governor General and then President. The Yoruba-aligned Action Group,

9605-522: The promulgation of Decree 44 of 1966 banning them by the military government. The first president of Nigeria Nnamdi Azikiwe who was away during the first coup noted: Some Ibo elements, who were domiciled in Northern Nigeria taunted northerners by defaming their leaders through means of records or songs or pictures. They also published pamphlets and postcards, which displayed a peculiar representation of certain northerners, living or dead, in

9718-480: The refusal to recognise Biafra as favouring the Nigerian government. The war highlighted challenges within pan-Africanism during the early stages of African independence from colonial rule, suggesting that the diverse nature of African people may present obstacles to achieving common unity. Additionally, it shed light on initial shortcomings within the Organization of African Unity . The war also resulted in

9831-489: 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]

9944-618: The same time Nigerianisation resulted in an extremely youthful officer corps, full of ambitious men who disliked the Sandhurst graduates who served in the high command as blocking further chances for promotion. A group of Igbo officers formed a conspiracy to overthrow the government, seeing the northern prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa , as allegedly plundering the oil wealth of the southeast. On 15 January 1966, Major Chukuma Kaduna Nzeogwu , Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna , and other junior Army officers (mostly majors and captains) attempted

10057-554: 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

10170-595: The tenth-biggest oil exporter in the world. Though the Nigeria Regiment had fought for the United Kingdom in both the First and Second World Wars , the army Nigeria inherited upon independence in 1960 was an internal security force designed and trained to assist the police in putting down challenges to authority rather than to fight a war. The Indian historian Pradeep Barua called the Nigerian Army in 1960 "a glorified police force", and even after independence,

10283-476: The territory; and the Yoruba , who formed about 75% of the population in the southwest. Although these groups have their homelands, by the 1960s, the people were dispersed across Nigeria, with all three ethnic groups represented substantially in major cities. When the war broke out in 1967, there were still 5,000 Igbos in Lagos . The semi- feudal and Muslim Hausa-Fulani in the north were traditionally ruled by

10396-708: The third major party, played the opposition role. Workers became increasingly aggrieved by low wages and bad conditions, especially when they compared their lot to the lifestyles of politicians in Lagos. Most wage earners lived in the Lagos area, and many lived in overcrowded dangerous housing. Labour activity including strikes intensified in 1963, culminating in a nationwide general strike in June 1964. Strikers disobeyed an ultimatum to return to work and at one point were dispersed by riot police. Eventually, they did win wage increases. The strike included people from all ethnic groups. Retired Brigadier General H. M. Njoku later wrote that

10509-469: The tough and hardy "martial races" greatly resented the change in recruitment policies, all the more as after independence in 1960 there were opportunities for Nigerian men to serve as officers that had not existed prior to independence. As men from the southeast and southwest were generally much better educated than men from the north, they were much more likely to be promoted to officers in the newly founded Nigerian Army, which provoked further resentment from

10622-594: The training of young officer cadets in the 5 year "Regular Combatant Course" in which cadets are groomed in Military, Academic and Character development to instill discipline and leadership skills according to global best practices, culminating in the award of a bachelor's degree and presidential commissioning into the rank of second lieutenant for Army cadets or equivalent in the Navy and Air Force for respective cadets. Until 2011 this course used to be exclusively for males,

10735-479: The two Southern political parties. Firstly, the AG favoured a loose confederacy of regions in the emergent Nigerian nation whereby each region would be in total control of its own distinct territory. The status of Lagos was a sore point for the AG, which did not want Lagos, a Yoruba town situated in Western Nigeria (which was at that time the federal capital and seat of national government) to be designated as

10848-577: The war in 1966 included a military coup , a counter-coup , and anti-Igbo pogroms in the Northern Region . The pogroms and the exodus of surviving Igbos from the Northern Region to the Igbo homelands in the Eastern Region led the leadership of the Eastern Region (whose population was two-thirds Igbo) to conclude that the Nigerian federal government would not protect them and that they must protect themselves in an independent Biafra. Within

10961-527: 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

11074-585: The whole country. Gowon followed this plan, repealing the Unification Decree, announcing a return to the federal system. After the January coup, Igbos in the North were accused of taunting their hosts on the loss of their leaders. A popular example was Celestine Ukwu, a popular Igbo musician, who released a song titled "Ewu Ne Ba Akwa" (Goats Are Crying) apparently mocking the late Ahmadu Bello . These provocations were so pervasive that they warranted

11187-630: 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

11300-598: Was acquired through the ability to arbitrate disputes that might arise in the village, and through acquiring rather than inheriting wealth. The Igbo had been substantially victimised in the Atlantic slave trade ; in the year 1790, it was reported that of 20,000 people sold each year from Bonny , 16,000 were Igbo. With their emphasis upon social achievement and political participation, the Igbo adapted to and challenged colonial rule in innovative ways. These tradition-derived differences were perpetuated and perhaps enhanced by

11413-693: 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. Nigerian Civil War [REDACTED]   Biafran Armed Forces 45,000 –100,000 combatants killed The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as

11526-532: Was escorted back to the city by soldiers who apologised for the stench and explained politely that they were doing me and the world a great favor by eliminating Igbos. Professor of History Murray Last , who was in Zaria city on the day after the first coup, describes his experience on that day: And the day after the coup – January 16th 1966 – there was initially so much open relief on the ABU campus that it shocked me. It

11639-671: 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

11752-474: Was from the Midwest. Only one was an Igbo. This coup was, however, not seen as a revolutionary coup by other sections of Nigerians, especially in the Northern and Western sections and by later revisionists of Nigerian coups. Some alleged, mostly from Eastern part of Nigeria, that the majors sought to spring Action Group leader Obafemi Awolowo out of jail and make him head of the new government. Their intention

11865-531: 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

11978-615: Was launched at the end of 1963 to facilitate and enhance effective learning. The Library was finally moved to the permanent site on the 16 of June 2009 for effective teaching and learning to meet the objectives and the current Academy Librarian is Umar Lawal . The Cadet Brigade (CB) is one of the main organs of the NDA. There are a total of 2,990 Regular Combatant cadets in the Academy and 12 allied cadets from Burkina-Faso , Sierra Leone , Republic of Congo , Cameroon and Liberia . The Brigade

12091-448: Was much higher). The west also enjoyed a much higher literacy level, as it was the first part of the country to have contact with western education and established a free primary education program under the pre-independence Western Regional Government. In the west, the missionaries rapidly introduced Western forms of education. Consequently, the Yoruba were the first group in Nigeria to adopt Western bureaucratic social norms. They made up

12204-527: Was only later, when I was living within Zaria city (at Babban Dodo), that I encountered the anger at the way Igbo traders (and journalists) were mocking their Hausa fellow traders in Zaria’s Sabon Gari over the death of their ‘father’, and were pushing aside various motorpark workers elsewhere, telling the Hausa that the rules had now all changed and it was the Hausa who were now the underlings in market or motorpark. The Federal Military Government also laid

12317-544: Was the first coup in the short life of Nigeria's nascent second democracy. Claims of electoral fraud were one of the reasons given by the coup plotters. Besides killing much of Nigeria's elite, the Coup also saw much of the leadership of the Nigerian Federal Army killed with seven officers holding the rank above colonel killed. Of the seven officers killed, four were northerners, two were from the southeast and one

12430-584: Was thought to have made numerous attempts to please Northerners. The other events that also fuelled suspicions of a so-called "Igbo conspiracy" were the killing of Northern leaders, and the killing of the Brigadier-General Ademulegun's pregnant wife by the coup executioners. Among the Igbo people, reaction to the coup was mixed. Despite the overwhelming contradictions of the coup being executed by mostly Northern soldiers (such as John Atom Kpera, later military governor of Benue State ),

12543-537: Was to dismantle the Northern-dominated power structure but their efforts to take power were unsuccessful. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi , an Igbo and loyalist head of the Nigerian Army , suppressed coup operations in the South and he was declared head of state on 16 January after the surrender of the majors. In the end though, the majors were not in the position to embark on this political goal. While their 15th January coup succeeded in seizing political control in

12656-403: Was to maintain conservative values, which caused many Hausa-Fulani to view economic and social innovation as subversive or sacrilegious. In contrast to the Hausa-Fulani, the Igbos and other Biafrans often participated directly in the decisions which affected their lives. They had a lively awareness of the political system and regarded it as an instrument for achieving their personal goals. Status

12769-461: Was widespread suspicion that the Igbo coup plotters had tipped him and other Igbo leaders off regarding the pending coup. In addition to the killings of the Northern political leaders, the Premier of the Western region, Ladoke Akintola and Yoruba senior military officers were also killed. This "Coup of the Five Majors" has been described in some quarters as Nigeria's only revolutionary coup. This

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