The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) is the combined military forces of Nigeria. It consists of three uniformed service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, exercising his constitutional authority through the Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for the management of the military and its personnel. The operational head of the NAF is the Chief of the Defense Staff, who is subordinate to the Nigerian Defense Minister. The military is an organized instrument of the government saddled with the responsibility of protecting and defending the state against internal and external attacks. They usually swing into full action during war. They are authorized to make use of deadly weapons to protect and support the state. The officers of the military are well-trained in combat and war.
In
Nigeria, there are three major armed forces in the military. These are – the
Navy, the Army and the Air force. These armed forces took off officially after
the country was granted independence in the year 1960. So far, the Nigerian
military has engaged her in just one warfare which is the Nigerian Civil war
which broke out in 1967. The three arms of the Nigerian military joined forces
en mass to overcome the Biafran Army. Since then, they have been engaged only
in peace keeping during insurgency within and outside the country. They fought
the Niger Delta militants, Boko haram insurgents and lately, the Fulani
herdsmen. The Nigerian military have also been sent to other UN and ECOWAS
nations for peace keeping such as the ECOMOG.
The 3 Military Forces in Nigeria
Military
Forces in Nigeria consists of three uniformed
service branches:
1. The Nigerian Army
2. Nigerian Air Force
3. Nigerian Navy
THE NIGERIAN ARMY
The
Nigerian Army is the branch of the Nigerian military that takes charge of war
on Land. They defend the nation during civil unrest. This branch of the armed
forces was ranked among the strongest military in Africa. The Army also offer
support to the paramilitary forces when need arises. The Nigerian Army is
headed by the Chief of Army staff who oversees the activities of the Army.
Over
the years, the Nigerian Army was once rated as the best in Africa, but it’s no
longer so probably because of their delay and approach in eliminating the Boko
Haram insurgents and the Fulani herdsmen. The Nigerian Army has taken part in
various successful peacekeeping missions most notably in Sierra Leone and
Liberia.
THE NIGERIAN AIR FORCE
The
Nigerian air force is the wing of the Nigerian military that is saddled with
the responsibility of protecting the Nation via the aerial route. They are the
Lords of the Air. They are in charge if airlifting the Nation’s Army to and
from warfare. The Air force defends the nation against Aerial attacks. They
give the necessary backing and support to the Navy and the Army.
The
Nigerian Air force has been engaged in various airline defense actions. Notable
is their role in the peacekeeping tours in Congo and Tanzania in 1961. There
was a dire need for well-trained Airmen to Airlift the Army to the tours. This
instigated the formation of the Air force. The Nigerian Air force has since
then been at the fore front of defending the Nation’s Aerial territory.
They
have complemented the Army in many areas like Airlifting of troops, combat
actions and delivery of specialized weapons. The first assignment undertaken by
the Nigerian Air force was the Nigerian civil war that lasted from 1967 to 1970.
THE NIGERIAN NAVY
The
Nigerian Navy is the arm of the Nigerian military that takes charge of the
water warfare. They defend the Nigerian waterway territory, patrol to curb
crime in the waterways and ensure safe delivery and shipping of crude oil. The
Nigerian Navy first came into formation in the colonial era. They were known as
the royal Navy under the marine military. They then took part in the First
World War when they joined forces with Cameroon to fight the Germans.
After
the independence, they were fully given the mandate to operate as the Nigerian
Navy. They boosted their strengths by training and recruiting new servicemen.
The Nigerian Navy complements the efforts of the Army. This was mainly
evidenced during the Civil war. They ensured that the seaways were protected.
They stopped the Biafran Army from importing weapons via the waterways. They
took control of the major seaports in Port Harcourt, Calabar, Warri and Lagos.
The Nigerian Navy has over the years been involved in various security combats.
They ensure that the waterways are safe for oil exploration, they fight sea
Thieves and block illegal entrance and shipping in of weapons.
Mechanisms and impacts of military force in Nigeria
Militarizes are
hierarchical organizations that specialize in the deployment of violence, so it
is often assumed that militarizes rule by force and by force alone. However,
military rule often involves complicated attempts to secure some measure of
consent from the governed. Some military regimes, for example, have permitted
elections to national and subnational representative bodies. Others have used
judiciaries, of varying degrees of independence, to approximate or simulate the rule
of law. Still others have promulgated, and sometimes actually
adhered to, constitutions. Even so, the application of military law to
civilians and the threat or use of extrajudicial repression (such as torture,
disappearances, and killings) by the state’s security forces studies are
commonplace under military regimes.
Although part of the state apparatus,
militaries enjoy a high degree of relative autonomy because of their
control over the means of coercion. (That control, though still significant in
most places, does not necessarily represent a monopoly, because of the
prevalence of irregular armed forces in the developing world.) However,
militaries do not constitute a monolithic single actor.
They are hierarchically divided between a high command, junior officers, and
enlisted personnel, and horizontal competition and rivalry between the
different service branches (typically the army, navy, and air force) can be
intense. Further, they are often divided along class, regional, and gender
lines (although militaries in most developing countries still allow only
very-limited roles for women). In ethnically divided societies, variation in
rates of military recruitment across the major ethnic groups can result in the
armed forces being seen as constituted by, or representing, one ethnic
group against others. All those divisions tend to be exacerbated when
the military comes to power, and many military regimes have foundered as a
result of their inability to manage them.
Military
rule increases the probability of subsequent military coups and attempted
coups. The rewards of direct rule often increase competition and conflict
within the armed forces. Some military regimes attempt to manage that
competition by, for example, allocating the spoils of office
equitably between the different service branches. (That was true of the 1976–83
military regime in Argentina.) Other military regimes carefully
monitor and purge personnel within the armed forces and the state as a whole.
Military regimes also tend to foster militarism
or the glorification of war and military prowess. Many military leaders see
politics as a continuation of war by other means. That leads them to resort to
force in the resolution of conflicts. Military rulers may demand that civilian
organizations develop hierarchical and disciplined configurations
along military lines.
Such demands can backfire. Some military regimes
have inadvertently stimulated a flowering of oppositional cultural and
political activity, as artists, students, religious leaders, dissidents, and
others express themselves in new ways in opposition to the authoritarianism inherent in
military rule. The attempted imposition of martial standards of behaviour on recalcitrant populations
can produce rare moments of political electricity in which large numbers of
people are united in defiance of the generals. The popularity of Fela
Anikulapo Kuti, the outspoken musician and critic of military rule in Nigeria,
or the participation of many of the most popular artists of the day in the
“Direct Elections Now” (Diretas Já) campaign in Brazil in 1984 are cases in
point.
In conclusion, the military plays very vital role in Nation development. The importance of security is enormous. Insecurity and insurgency thwarts the development and growth of the nation. In fact, it will not be an exaggeration if I say that the pace of development of any community, state or nation is directly proportional to the security of lives and property. The presence of massive security encourages the populace to engage in activities that bring about development. War and insecurity reduces the pace of development.
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