By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
Nigerian soldiers have complained that the various peace-keeping missions were not well-funded, exposing them to unnecessary risks.
This was one of the issues discussed by officers and senior non-commissioned officers of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army during a Study Period with the theme, The Nigerian Army in the 21st Century: Challenges and Prospects,” hosted by the 13 Brigade Nigerian Army, Calabar, Commanded by Brigadier- General Shehu Yusuf.
They complained that before now, their welfare was not seen as important, and even during the Nigeria-led ECOMOG in Liberia and Sierra Leone, they were not provided with the adequate arms and ammunition and other logistics.
The Commanding Officer, 245 Battalion, Col. Adewale Taiwo, who was the guest lecturer at the event, said, “sometimes, troops sent on Peace Support Operations in other countries were not fed and lack of funds was usually our bane. For example, the troops that beefed up the 223 soldiers for UN mission in Liberia in May 2008, were not fed during the induction training.”
