By
Nowa Omoigui
The central
point Mr. Bakre disputes is that "the post-colonial Nigerian Army (NA)
traces its origins to 1863 when British Naval Lt. Glover established 'Glover's
Hausas." He seems to have a problem with the official Nigerian Armed
Forces account of its history.
This point, I must say, is very well established in numerous historical accounts
of the Nigerian Army written by non-Nigerians and Nigerians. Indeed the 4th
Battalion of the Nigerian Army which is currently based at Abuja is the direct
descendant of "Glover's Hausas."
Since the writer hints that he is "in uniform" (although he does not specify his
service, which I strongly suspect is the Police) I suggest he pay a visit to the
4th battalion at Abuja to review its history onsite including its old flags and
insignia, campaigns, awards and medals. Indeed, I am in the process of writing
up the history of that historic battalion as its anniversary is just around the
corner.
Nevertheless, since Mr. Bakre claims that "since ascending to political
power, what I would otherwise call eatin the forbidden fruit, the Nigerian Armed
Forces, as a matter of priority and as a political class, have tended to rewrite
Nigeria's history in their own vision, to the extent that somethings were
irreparably destroyed for eternity." let me point Mr. Tajudeen Bakre to an
important source of information regarding the history of the Nigerian Army,
written before the Nigerian Army ever seized power in 1966, by British
authors, one of whom (Col. Haywood) was the Inspector General of the Royal
West African Frontier Force from 1921-24. The book is titled:
"The History: The Royal West African Frontier Force" by Col. A Haywood &
Brig. F A Clarke. Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1964."
Note, however, that there are numerous other references prior to Independence
including the various colonial reports of Lord Frederick Lugard.
Mr. Bakre writes that:
"The true history was that there was never any Nigerian Armed Forces prior
1951 and the West African Frontier Force created from the rung of returnees from
the 2nd world war; that the Nigerians who fought in that war were police
constabulary mostly from the Niger Protectorate which was why the East (sic) was
predominant in the officer cadre of the Nigerian Army at Independence. I stand
to be corrected that the colonial master never taught anybody that the army,
read armed forces, was a precusor of Glover's Hausas."
I am very sorry to say that Mr. Bakre's account is utterly inaccurate.
The RWAFF (originally known as WAFF until 1928) dates back to 1900. It was
finally disbanded in 1960. It was formed for the purpose of clarifying and
coordinating the administration of various "regular" colonial forces in West
Africa, namely The Nigeria Regiment, The Gold Coast Regiment, The Sierra Leone
Regiment and The Gambia Regiment. These "regular" military forces - called
"Regiments" - were formally separated from what later became the more
traditional "Police" forces.
What became The Nigeria Regiment, West African Frontier Force in January 1914
was formed by merging the pre-existing Northern Nigeria Regiment (which was
formed from West African Field Force and Royal Niger Constabulary companies in
Northern Nigeria) with the Southern Nigeria Regiment (which was formed from the
Niger Coast Constabulary, 3rd Battalion West Africa Field Force, and Royal Niger
Company Constabulary companies in Southern Nigeria). The five battalions
Nigerians came to be familiar with after independence were actually constituted
in 1914.
What became the 4th Battalion (and is still called the 4th battalion), was
previously known as the 2nd Battalion, Southern Nigeria Regiment, a new title
the original "Lagos Battalion" acquired in 1906 as the administration of Lagos
colony and "Southern Nigeria" went through consolidation. The former "Lagos
Battalion" of 1901 was the same unit as the "Lagos Constabulary" of 1873, "Hausa
Constabulary" of 1865 and "Lagos Constabulary" of 1863 - which was also known as
"Glover's Hausas". (I shall go into more detail in a subsequent article
commemorating the 4th Battalion at Abuja)
As has been stated elsewhere, in 1928 the "Nigeria Regiment, WAFF" which has
well recorded exploits during the First World War, became "The Nigeria Regiment,
Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF)" and remained so until 1956 when it
became "The Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force" -
the title it retained until 1960 when it became the Royal Nigerian Army. When
Nigeria became a republic in 1963 it became "The Nigerian Army".
In 1939, at the outset of the Second World War, the RWAFF was transferred from
the Colonial Office to the War Office. It was returned to the Colonial Office in
1947. During the Second World War Nigerian soldiers of the RWAFF distinguished
themselves in many campaigns - which are also well recorded.
Mr. Bakre goes further to ask: "To debunk further the fallacy often written
in the Nigerian Armed Forces manual, what was the rank in the airforce till the
death of Col. Alao? When was the navy formed."
My response is that it is an established fact that the Nigerian Air Force used
Army ranks until 1976. See
http://www.naf.gov.ng