US embassy cable - 04ABUJA1813

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001813 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, MOPS, NI 
SUBJECT: PEACEKEEPING AND THE NIGERIAN ARMY'S OPERATIONAL 
TEMPO 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.5 (B & D). 
 
1. (C)  Summary:  Meetings with senior Nigerian defense staff 
involved in peacekeeping revealed Nigeria has recently 
changed its PKO rotation schedule from one year to six 
months.  Given current and future commitments, this will 
require the deployment of 24 units per year, and a reduction 
in the capability of non-deployed units to perform 
operations.  PKO training is conducted at all levels in the 
Army, with an emphasis on train-the-trainer methods, in 
response to lessons learned in missions in Sierra Leone and 
Liberia.  The Nigerian Army sees a resumption of security 
assistance programs with the U.S. as vital to increasing 
their PKO capacity.  End Summary. 
 
2. (C)  The Director of Peacekeeping Operations at Army 
Headquarters, Brigadier General Hassan, and the Chief of 
Training and Operations at Defense Headquarters, General I.A. 
Dikko, laid out the commitments of Nigeria's Army for 
peacekeeping operations during meetings with PolMilOff, DAO, 
and IO/PHO Director on October 19, 2004. 
 
3. (C)  The Nigerian Army currently has two battalions 
dedicated to each UNAMSIL and UNMIL (Note: Nigeria will 
withdraw one battalion from UNAMSIL in November 04. End 
Note.); a company in Darfur; military observers (MILOBs) in 
Southwest Sahara, Cote D'Ivoire, and DROC; plus units 
deployed internally in the Bakassi, Plateau State, and the 
Niger Delta.  There are two battalions designated to replace 
units in UNAMSIL and UNMIL.  Future commitments include at 
least two additional companies for Darfur, two units 
designated to the ECOWAS Standby Brigade, a company of 
military police to Burundi, a company of mechanized infantry 
plus a troop of engineers to a French-sponsored RECAMP 
exercise in Benin, and a signal company to Monrovia in 
November.  Nigeria may also designate up to an additional 
brigade as part of the AU's proposed standby force.  The UN 
standard battalion for peace-support operations is 776 
soldiers, larger than a Nigerian battalion.  This means that 
non-organic elements must be stripped from other units to 
augment each deploying battalion. 
 
4. (SBU)  The Army has recently moved from a one-year to a 
six-month deployment schedule.  This means that twice as many 
units will be tasked for deployment in a given year. 
Training for units designated for peacekeeping operations 
lasts six to eight weeks prior to deployment.  The Director 
for Peacekeeping Operations at Army Headquarters said that 
the shorter rotation, coupled with Nigeria's commitments, 
means that 24 units will need to deploy on an annual basis. 
He stated that the Army was stretching to meet all of its 
commitments. 
 
5. (SBU)  All units in the Army are involved in PKO training. 
 The Infantry Center recently opened a peacekeeping 
operations branch with assistance from UK short-term training 
teams.  The intention of this division is to run training 
courses for junior officers who will then become unit 
trainers.  There is a PKO segment in all-officer professional 
military courses, and a strategic-level PKO training center, 
funded by the international donor community, is opening at 
the National War College in Abuja.  Units designated for PKOs 
also receive the pre-deployment training described above, 
which focuses on professional skills and includes two days on 
human rights and the Law of Land Warfare by ICRC.  All 
training programs are based on the UN standard training 
model, adjusted to fit operational requirements. 
 
6. (SBU)  To build peacekeeping capacity in the Army, General 
Hassan stressed the need to resume bilateral training and 
IMET.  He said that an increased focus on logistical support 
and the creation of PKO doctrine would lead to a significant 
increase in capacity.  Other improvements suggested include 
streamlining the donor aid process, targeting of aid to 
countries contributing the most troops, and reducing 
stringent conditionalities on assistance. 
 
7. (C) Comment:  The Nigerians painted a picture of a very 
robust PKO training that may be an overstatement of reality. 
Obviously, the Nigerian military wanted to send the message 
that they are ready, willing and able to participate in PKOs. 
CAMPBELL