In the early stages of the insurgency the Nigerian army adopted a conventional war strategy against Boko Haram. The army's goal was to bring Boko Haram to the conventional battle in which they will be destroyed by conventional firepower, in which the Nigerian army excells at.
At this time Boko Haram was the deadliest terrorist group in the world and the second largest, with an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 fighters armed with anti-tank weapons.
In one incident Nigerian troops engaged Boko Haram in a gun duel that lasted 12 hours.
As the fighting rages troops at the front are soon in need of supplies and support. A Tank battalion is called in. The tanks were to provide security for a convoy of supply vehicles that was loaded with food rations, munitions, media kits etc for delivery to troops at the front.
This is where the commander continues the army's age old tradition of having Main Battle Tanks operating independently.
In keeping with tradition, the convoy heads off without infantry support.
By itself a tank is vulnerable in guerrilla operations, as a tank driver cant see very much. To make the tank less vulnerable they should be protected by infantry.
Infantry support can deter an enemy from getting too close to the tank. A Tank is relatively blind. If you can get up close with it, you can actually deploy a number of anti-tank weapons.
As the convoy moves inland they come across terrain that slows down the movement of tanks. Dozens of Boko Haram insurgents seize the opportunity to attack the convoy. Small arms fire began raining down on the convoy. Of course tanks are immune to small arms fire.
Then one tank explodes as it is hit by an anti-tank rocket. The insurgents had sprung an ambush.
The tank crew could actually see where the RPG rounds were coming from but couldnt bring the 125mm smooth bore gun turret to bear down on them because they were too close.
Boko Haram has a tactic of hugging tanks. They surrounded the tanks. One tank managed to pull back and ran straight into thick vegetation as the convoy struggled to hold off the insurgents.
With their track blown away, tank crews bailed out as the insurgents closed in for the kill before withdrawing into the jungle. Five soldiers are killed, others wounded.
It dawned on the Nigerian army that tanks themselves have no good defenses against enemy infantry.
They need infantry as their shield, especially in urban combat. The days of tanks working independently was over. Infantry and tanks now move as a cohesive unit with overlapping mission objectives and benefits. Infantry use tanks as a shield against machine gun fire.
While tanks also use infantry as a shield to prevent insurgents from getting too close. Now, this is all circumstantial.
As large heavily armed behemoths, tanks are still the primary offensive weapon of the Nigerian army. Their goal is primarily to neutralize enemy tanks.
The VT-4 Main Battle Tank is the one tank that can operate independently thanks to its coaxial 12.7mm machine gun and remotely controlled weapon station. The is a huge advantage of the tank, as the tank commander no longer has to expose himself to enemy fire.
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It came as a shock when ISWAP released the video of their attack at BIU. Many in the media/social media depicted what happened as an embarrassing defeat for the Nigerian military, when in fact the ISWAP insurgents were decimated in the fighting. The attack was not even on the
main campus of NAUB Biu. The attack was on the Buratai campus institute of Peace Studies. They did not not even penetrate the whole campus. They killed two. They burnt down one building. But the Nigerian army overpowered and repelled them. Even though they attacked with not ten,
not 20, not 100 but 300 motorcycles, most of them were killed in the process. Most of the fighters you saw in that video are DEAD. Of course many wont be happy about this. You know what this reminds me of? VIETNAM.
Some Nigerians are not capable of learning from history because
Russia and China blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council text supporting the sanctions decided by ECOWAS against the Junta in Mali, where a transition to civilian power that would last 5 years was rejected by the United States.
Proposed by France, this text aims to obtain a United council position with regards to the soldiers at the head of Mali who no longer foresee elections on February.
Russia demanded understanding towards the Malian authorities in the wake of unprecedented sanctions.
..border closures, heavy economic and financial measures taken by ECOWAS.
The ruling junta called on Malians to demonstrate against the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
France says a 5 year transition is not in the interest and prolongs the pain of the people.
Nigeria has the largest standing army in Sub Saharan Africa. This asset is yet to be effectively exploited. What we need at this point are Quick Reactionary forces that are camped out in all areas affected by insurgencies, with round the clock mounted and dismounted patrols
by troops equipped with tactical drones. If this endeavour requires tens of thousands of troops, so be it. Nothing takes the place of being out there with a presence. It's an intimidating show of force for insurgents, but provides civilians with a sense of security.
If thousands of troops are out consistently patrolling their area, civilians will be willing to divulge information without fear of retribution from insurgents " when they leave". The permanent nature of the patrols makes it hard for insurgents to exact revenge on communities
There are three continents that are close together that form the World Island. Europe, Asia and Africa. Whoever dominates the pivot region of this world island dominates the world. These three continents are the core of global geopolitical power
Part of China's strategy is to very seriously develop Africa and to bring Africa into the world economy via Chinese aid, development and trade links. The West saw Africa as a charity case. China by contrast saw Africa as a key to its emerging world power status.
A billion + people. Insane amount of resources, potential market. So China is building close relations with Africa as part of this transcontinental island strategy to dominate the core of humanity. The core of the modern economy. The West will checkmark this with military power.
So 48 hours after Bandits were officially designated as a terrorist organization, the U.S government has issued a stern warning to Nigeria as the NAF prepares to bombard Bandits.
The West can sometimes be jittery when it comes to plight of terrorists.
The standard A-29 from Embrae Brazil has a price tag of less than $150 million per Squadron. Nigeria spent $500 million on 12 A-29s because it wanted the best smart bombs money can buy to
..minimize the risk of civilian casualties. They want us to believe that Nigeria went through all this just for the opportunity to use a $35,000 GBU -12 laser guided bomb on civilians. Go too hard on terrorists Human Rights Groups will come for you.
So folks. I have been accused of defrauding my followers to the tune of millions. It started yesterday but saw it as silly joke. Its gotten worse today. Now they want my full name and address, professional pedigree, what i intend to do with the "MILLIONS " It is startling
..to see that some people believe the motivation behind this platform is to SCAM my followers. I dont play that game. I have turned down many business offers. I dont mechanize. All i have done was out of the love for country. To clear my name and dispell any notion of fraud i am
..releasing the names of donors and amount received. This is not to disrespect the donors in anyway, its just that i am a principled and never play with integrity.