The Nigerian Armed Forces barracks/Base is an environment that houses personnel from various ranks and branches. The quarters are segregated into distinct blocks, catering to the specific needs and hierarchies of the military personnel.
-1). Corporal and Below Block (Private to Corporal)
The Corporal Block is home to junior personnel from Private to Corporal ranks. This block is designed to foster camaraderie and esprit de corps among the junior ranks. Facilities include:
– Shared bathrooms and shower facilities in some barracks while some self-contained
– Common rooms for relaxation and recreation
– Soldier club
– Block with rooms
-2). Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Quarters (SNCO Qtrs) – Sgt Quarters
SNCO Quarters, popularly known as Sgt Quarters. This provide comfortable accommodations for Senior Non-Commissioned Officers from Sergeant to Army Warrant Officer ranks. This block reflects the elevated status of its occupants, offering:
– Spacious rooms with private bathrooms (Flats)
– Exclusive mess hall and lounge areas ( Wos and Sgt Mess )
-3). Officers Quarters
The Officers Quarters are reserved for Commissioned Officers. This block exudes elegance and sophistication, featuring:
– Spacious, well-appointed houses or apartments
– Exclusive access to the Officers’ Mess, with fine dining and lounge areas
The images below includes various Army, Navy and Airforce barracks in Nigeria
By Nigerian Military Fact 2
The History Behind Names of Army Barracks By Nowa Omoigui
In early September 2002, the Nigerian Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. TY Danjuma (rtd) set up a Military Installation naming committee comprising Brig.-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson (rtd); Lt.-General M. I. Wushishi (rtd), General D. Y. Bali (rtd); Major General M. C. Ali (rtd); and Brig-General Pius Obi (rtd). The Committee Secretary is Brig.-Gen. A. N. Bamali. cheesy
Since the membership committee is exclusively comprised of former Army officers one must presume that its focus is on Army Installations. Among other things it was tasked: “To determine the propriety or otherwise of naming military installations after individuals; to examine ways of reviving the names inherited from colonial era that have now been abandoned; to recommend appropriate additional names arising from the Nigerian Civil War, ECOMOG operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone and any other peace-keeping operations in which Nigerian troops suffered casualties.”
The Minister told Pressmen that during the colonial era and shortly after Independence, military barracks in Nigeria used to be named after famous battles or campaigns in which Nigerian troops fought. Examples abound, including An, Letmauk, Dodan, Myohaung, Tamandu, Tego, Arakan, etc.. Specifically the Minister was quoted as saying: “At no time was any barracks named after individuals whether dead or alive. The first departure from this practice was recorded when the military cantonment in Kaduna was named after Alhaji Muhammadu Ribadu, the first Minister of Defence.”
Many Barracks in Nigeria are named after individuals of all kinds, including Muhammadu Ribadu, Wellington Bassey, Zak Maimalari, Yakubu Gowon, John Obienu, Sani Abacha, Aguiyi Ironsi, Ibrahim Babangida, Adaka Boro, Gado Nasko, David Ejoor, Zamani Lekwot etc… Some have even been renamed at least once – like the former Olusegun Obasanjo Barracks in Abuja. Nor are there any clear cut criteria for naming of buildings and streets within Barracks and Cantonments.
General Danjuma told the committee to come up with rigorous criteria for naming such installations and examine ways of reviving names inherited from the colonial era. Fair enough.
Clearly, every country has it own way of memorializing its heroes. Knowing how we tend to abuse things in Nigeria and undeserving characters get their names memorialised for dubious reasons, General Danjuma’s instincts are laudable. Although the officers named to the Panel are all distinguished in one way or another, the precise criteria for the membership of the Military Installation Naming Committee, however, are unclear. Furthermore, there does not seem to be any mechanism – at least on the Internet – by which the non-military civilian public can contribute to the development of naming criteria and names.
For example, one is at a loss about why the military history of pre-colonial Nigeria does not seem to have risen to the level of consciousness of those who conceptualised the terms of reference of the committee. Are there no military heroes and notable campaigns from the wars our ancestors fought to resist colonialism? Do we not have precolonial military innovators and geniuses in all of the various Kingdoms and nationalities that comprised what later became Nigeria? In a separate article I shall address this issue again – particularly as it impacts the design of ceremonial uniforms for the Nigerian Armed Forces……
WHAT IS THE PROPRIETY OR OTHERWISE OF NAMING MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AFTER INDIVIDUALS – DEAD OR ALIVE?
Typically, only past events or dead people are memorialized. However, the living can be honored with gestures of appreciation for unusual contributions or sacrifice, such as when we award certain categories of medals for gallantry or accelerate promotions, among numerous other devices at a personal level. However, to physically name an entire military installation after an individual for the rest of eternity demands much higher standards.
The overwhelming majority of Barracks and Military Bases in the world are not named after living individuals – in part because a soldier’s unique role in society is to kill when legally required to do so, and thus, risk his or her own life in the process. The ultimate individual military sacrifice, therefore, is death. Even when there is intent to so name an installation based on unusual professional contributions, the actual naming process usually awaits the individual’s transition at which point the institution takes a step to immortalize him or her. That is the warrior tradition.
That said, one observation that seems evident from our historical tour of Barrack or Base naming practices in other countries is that individuals (of all ranks, including, albeit rarely, civilians) have indeed been memorialized by their superiors, colleagues, and subordinates when they made,
1. Ordinary contributions in extraordinary circumstances,
2. Extraordinary contributions or sacrifice in ordinary circumstances, or
3. Extraordinary contributions or sacrifice in extraordinary circumstances.
Obviously, the last category mentioned is the least controversial. Circumstances could be viewed as extraordinary if in wartime (particularly important military action, battles and wars that threaten national survival or way of life) or ordinary if in peacetime. There is the caveat that a case can be made for extraordinary conditions in peacetime, such as during search and rescue operations in support of the civil authority or combat training accidents.
Thus, naming military installations in Nigeria after individuals per se would neither be unusual nor wrong as long as it follows due process, is not abused and such individuals – from a military point of view – really do merit being memorialized for extraordinary soldierlike, seamanlike or airmanlike qualities. If they are civilians, requirements should include extraordinary contributions that directly enhance the soldierlike, seamanlike and airmanlike qualities of service personnel in war, or institutional readiness in peacetime for future war.
SPEECH BY HONOURABLE MINISTER OF DEFENCE LT GEN TY DANJUMA (rtd) GCON ON THE NAMING OF MILITARY BARRACKS AND CANTONMENTS
“On 12th September 2002, I inaugurated a committee headed by Brig Gen Mobolaji Johnson (rtd) to harmonise the policies for the naming of military barracks and cantonments, and to review the names of existing barracks and cantonments to conform to the approved criteria. The Committee submitted its report on 16th April 2003 and the following recommendations have been approved:
a. Barracks should be named after important battles or campaigns where Nigerian Armed Forces participated.
b. All names of barracks in existence during the colonial era up to the Nigerian Civil War shall be retained.
c. Only in exceptional cases should barracks be named after individuals. These exceptions shall be for purely military professional excellence and may only be conferred postthumously.
d. Barracks named after political figures or living individuals should revert to their original names or the names of their locations.
e. Barracks named after deceased individuals not purely out of military considerations should revert to their original names.
f. Naval bases are to be named after geographical features or to reflect technical duties performed at the bases. They may also be named after deceased personnel who contributed immensely to the development of the Nigerian Navy.
g. Nigerian Air Force bases should be named after towns or cities where they are located. Deceased personnel who contributed immensely to the development of the Nigerian Air Force may also have bases named after them.
h. The following barracks named postthumously after individuals are to retain their names:
(1) Aguiyi Ironsi Barracks – Abuja
(2) Hassan Katsina Barracks – Bauchi
(3) Joe Akahan Barracks – Makurdi
(4) Kur Mohammed Barracks – Bama
(5) Maimalari Cantonment – Maiduguri
(6) Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Wey – Ojo
(7) Ribadu Cantonment – Kaduna
(8 ) Sam Ethnan Base (NAF) – Ikeja
(9) WU Bassey Barracks – Abuja
i. The following barracks named after political figures are to revert to their original locational names, i.e nomenclature of the unit and town:
(1) Akanu Ibiam Barracks – Abakpa, Enugu
(2) Jim Nwobodo Barracks – Enugu (Awkunanaw)
(3) Ukpabi Asika Barracks – Onitsha
j. The following barracks named after living individuals are to revert to their locational names:
(1) David Ejoor Barracks – Warri
(2) Ike Nwachukwu Barracks – Owerri
(3) Theophilus Danjuma Barracks – Takum
(4) Zamani Lekwot Barracks – Port Harcourt
k. The following barracks named after living individuals, one of whom is now deceased, shall be renamed as follows:
(1) Fort I Babangida, Abuja – Niger Barracks
(2) Gado Nasko Barracks, Abuja – Lungi Barracks
(3) Sani Abacha Barracks, Abuja – Mogadishu Cantonment
(4) Yakubu Gowon Barracks, Abuja – Mambilla Barracks
l. The following barracks and cantonments though named after deceased individuals, did not follow purely military considerations; they are to revert to their locational names:
(1) Adaka Boro Barracks – Elele
(2) Emmanuel Ekpo Barracks – Ikom
(3) Godwin Ally Barracks – Ogoja
(4) Patrick Dan Archibong Barracks – Calabar
m. Dalet Barracks, Chindit Barracks and Bonny Camp are to be renamed Dalet Cantonment, Chindit Cantonment and Bonny Cantonment.
n. Nagwamatse Barracks Kontagora may be retained subject to detailed research and composition of an appropriate citation.
o. Niger Barracks Lokoja is to be renamed Chari Magumeri Barracks.
[i]p. Odogbo Cantonment Ibadan is to be renamed Adekunle Fajuyi Cantonment
q. Rukuba Cantonment Jos is to be renamed Maxwell Khobe Cantonment
r. NAF Base Benin is to be renamed Shittu Alao Base[/i]
s. The following Nigerian Navy Barracks are to be renamed as follows:
(1) NNS OLOKUN – NNS BEECROFT
(2) NNS UMALOKUN – NNS DELTA
(3) NNS URHIAPELE – Nigerian Navy Engineering College (NNEC) Sapele
(4) NNS KAMANU – Nigerian Navy Finance and Logistic School (NNFLS) Owerrinta
(5) NNS AKASO – Nigerian Navy Basic Training School (NNBTS) Onne
(6) NNS ONURA – NNC ONNE
(7) NNS ANANSA – NNS VICTORY
(8 ) NNS OKEMINI – NNS PATHFINDER
(9) Naval Medical Centre – Obisesan Naval Medical Centre, Apapa Mobil Road, Apapa
2. A committee comprising the Chief of Administration – DHQ as Chairman and the Chiefs of Administration of the Services has been established to implement these decisions. What we are witnessing today is the beginning of the implementation process whereby all barracks/cantonment affected in Abuja are being renamed in accordance with the approved guidelines. I have directed the Service Chiefs to instruct their GOCs/FOCs/AOCs to effect changes to barracks/cantonments affected in their areas of responsibility.
3. It is hope that this exercise will sanitise the process of naming barracks and cantonments, thereby contributing to the re-professionalism of the Armed Forces. Thank you all. “
Peoplesmind
