On July 13, 2026, President Bola Tinubu effected a significant restructuring of the Nigerian Army by expanding the Nigerian Army’s land forces divisions from 8 to 12. By so doing, he stamped his imprint on the Army’s future structure, strength and readiness. The Army experienced its first massive expansion from area commands into three Infantry Divisions during the 1967-1970 civil war. The initial three divisions rose to four – 1 Division (Kaduna), 2 (Ibadan), 3 (Jos) and 82 (Enugu) – during the post-war reorganisation. We recall the expansion of the Nigerian Army’s divisional structure under both the administrations of President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari in response to growing security challenges across the country. In 2013, the Jonathan administration established the 7 Division Nigerian Army, with headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno State, to strengthen the military’s fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East. During the Buhari administration, two additional divisions were created: the 6 Division Nigerian Army, established in 2016 and headquartered in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to address security threats in the Niger Delta, including attacks on oil facilities and militancy; and the 8 Division Nigerian Army, established to enhance operations in the North-West with headquarters in Sokoto State. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had in 2000 established the 81 Division in Lagos. In announcing yet additional Divisions under Tinubu, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said it is “a landmark move to enhance the country’s security architecture and improve the operational effectiveness of the Nigerian Army. This approval underscores the President’s unwavering commitment to equipping the Armed Forces to address Nigeria’s evolving security challenges effectively and further strengthen national defence capabilities. “The expansion builds on the Administration’s sustained investments in the Armed Forces, including approval for the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel, acquisition of critical military platforms and equipment, improvements in troop welfare, and ongoing support for operational readiness and force modernisation.” Daily Trust joins well-meaning Nigerians in commending President Tinubu for the expansion initiative. We believe it will help in strengthening command and control, improving operational effectiveness and enhancing the military’s response to the security threats across the country. Indeed, the 12-Division formation will reduce the hitherto exceptionally large geographical areas of command and control which spanned over multiple states and has often led to delayed deployment and decision-making, stretched logistics chains, and reduced operational responsiveness. Yet, we are worried that the additional divisions came amid the Army’s operational manpower deficit, which has degraded and thereby fundamentally altered its effectiveness in several critical ways. And the jury is yet out on whether the approval to recruit 28,000 additional personnel will resolve this issue. Daily Trust therefore calls on President Tinubu to match the expansion to 12 divisions with a comprehensive equipment acquisition and modernisation programme involving procurement of modern infantry weapons and small arms; armoured personnel carriers and fighting vehicles; artillery systems; engineering equipment for mobility and counter-mobility operations; advanced communication and information systems; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets; unmanned aerial systems (drones) for ISTAR and precision strike; and other necessary support equipment and facilities. Invariably, the additional Divisions mean the creation of more subordinate brigades and battalions, with the required force strength, which involves personnel, weapons, vehicles, communications systems and other equipment assigned under a well-established Table of Organisation and Equipment (TOE). For example, a Battalion ought to be manned by 700-800 officers and men; Brigade some 2,500+ and a Division 10,000-20,000 depending on type and role of the division. The implication is that beyond the positive optics generated by the new 12-Division structure, what we are looking forward to is stronger and more formidable fighting formations that are optimised to or close to their authorised strength, their equipment holdings and their serviceability. Daily Trust hereby urges the implementation of urgent steps that will drastically increase the personnel and equipment which will generate additional capabilities and combat prowess. This is because failure to do this will result in mere distribution of shortages among the Divisions or allowing them to merely exist on paper. We insist that none of the existing formations should be put under pressure because the new Divisions and their units needs proportional personnel, equipment and logistics as they are already overstretched in terms of personnel and equipme
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