New Army Divisions: Veterans split over timeline, funding fears

Retired Nigerian military leaders have cautioned President Bola Tinubu against rushing the expansion of the army's divisions, urging him to prioritize fully resourcing the existing eight formations before creating four new ones. They warn that inadequate personnel, equipment, logistics, and funding, coupled with an unrealistic timeline, could jeopardize the initiative.

Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, described the move to increase divisions from eight to twelve as a positive step but emphasized that the current divisions must first be brought up to standard. "Increasing from 8 Divisions to 12 Divisions has a lot of implications. First, the existing 8 Divisions must be properly brought up to scale in terms of personnel, equipment, logistics, and so on and so forth," he stated.

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Increasing from 8 Divisions to 12 Divisions has a lot of implications. First, the existing 8 Divisions must be properly brought up to scale in terms of personnel, equipment, logistics, and so on and so forth.

Group Captain Sadiq Shehu, a retired Air Force spokesperson, questioned the health of the current eight divisions before the expansion decision. He highlighted that military units should operate at 90 to 100 percent of their Table of Organisation and Equipment (TOE) strength, a benchmark he doubts the current divisions meet. Shehu also deemed the timeline for establishing the new divisions by September 2026 and December for the 83rd division as unrealistic, calling it "barely impossible" to create a ready division within such short periods.

Retired Major General Anthony Atolagbe, a former Joint Task Force commander, echoed these concerns. The veterans' warnings come as the army plans to recruit an additional 28,000 personnel, which they believe may be insufficient to adequately populate four new divisions, each typically requiring around 15,000 personnel. The proposed new divisions are planned for Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo, and Benin City.

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With due respect, very good plan, but the timeline, again, is not realistic. It is very easy by presidential fiat to say, I have established a division, but to be honest, to have a ready division, in fact, even a ready brigade or a battalion within three months or five months is barely impossible.