Boko Haram: FG Buys Tanks From China, After US, UK Snub

By Fola James

Frequently snubbed by the United States and its Western allies, the the federal government has now turned to the Peoples’ Republic of China for weapons to fight the war against Boko Haram.

Just arrived the country are 17 of the $152 million fast moving, heavy and light tanks which many believe could be a game changer in the battle against the killer terrorists.

While taking delivery of the armaments on Wednesday, Army’s Chief of Policy and Plans, CPPLANS Lieutenant General Lamidi Adeosun said is now prepared more than ver to route the terrorists and criminals from their hide outs.

He said the armed forces are happy that the tanks finally arrived having waited for months to take their delivery from China.

Adeosun said: “The process of acquiring this has been on for some time but thank God they are coming in now.

From this, you can see how serious the Federal Government of Nigeria is in making sure that the Nigerian Army is not only equipped ,but contains problem of insecurity we are having across the country.

This is being tackled with trained personnel and required equipment. What you are seeing here is just a tip of the iceberg. Others are still coming but it is very important that we all see that both the military and the government are really very serious to tackle the security problems across the nation.”

He said the decision to turn to China for cutting edge weapons has paid off.

The tanks “are in different categories- heavy tanks, light tanks and we also have two types of artillery weapons, all from China. They have the latest technology in tanks and armament.

The first set of 15 40-foot containers that were offloaded before today were made up of spareparts and accessories of all these equipment.

So, those ones are already out of the port and on their way to their destinations. Just as we are here, most of these ones will move to their respective destinations as well.”

The armed forces, he said, are prepared to put the menace of Boko Haram behind them.

Those who will operate them have been trained in China. If not for the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19, we expected some of their trainers to join us here to train more people.

From the army, expect more robust operation to put behind us the menace of insecurity, that of Boko Haram, bandits among others.”

The past few weeks have been discouraging for Nigerian troops after suffering terrible casualties in the hands of the Abubakar Shekau-led boko haram and their ISWAP allies.

The leadership of the nation’s armed forces have also been called out after Chad’s Armed forces routed the terrorists and seized their largest arms deport in Sambisa forest, a Nigerian territory last week.

The peak of the whole saga, came, when General Olusegun Adeniyi, Commander of Operation Lafia Dole revealed in a viral video that the armed forces lacked both reliable intelligence and weapons to fight the insurgence. The two-star Army General was sacked few days after.

It appears there’s now hope in the horizon for the Armed forces, to turn the battle around after taking delivery of the $152 million tanks from China

The armaments which were built to specification, were ordered from China after that country’s state-owned China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (Norinco) won the federal government’s bid for the acquisition of military hardwares last year.

Sources at Defence Headquarters, DHQ told the magazine that the President Muhammadu Buhari –led government turned to China after it has been denied weapons by United States of America and its western allies.

The magazine was told that the contract to supply the tanks was entered to after the Chinese manufacturer agreed to build the tanks on specification.

Part of the agreement is also for the Chinese manufacturer to maintain and supply necessary parts for the tanks, sources privy to the contract said.

The company had also built war ships for the Nigerian Navy, sources informed the magazine.

Experts from China are also expected to arrived the country soon, to train the troops on how to use and maintain the tanks, Army sources told the magazine.

“The tanks were built mainly to be used in the North East where the nation’s armed forces are currently engaged with terrorist. They are rapid moving tanks that can withstand the rigour of the desert. They are expected to be a game changer in the war against Boko Haram,” the source said.

Equipped with latest artillery and armoured technologies, the armaments have the ability to wage war from multiple fronts with technologies that aid visibility in cloudy or smoky weather.

They were also built to carry a minimum of 12 armed personnel housed securely within.