By John Ikani
The Nigerian Navy on Saturday shipped military hardware and contingent to Guinea Bissau on a peacekeeping mission under the auspices of the regional ECOWAS bloc.
Disclosing this to newsmen, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command, Rear Adm. Yakubu Wambai said the troops and military wares, including trucks, cars, and tankers, were shipped on NNS KADA.
Guinea Bissau has experienced four coups since independence from Portugal in 1974 and is currently in turmoil.
Wambai explained that Nigeria’s effort towards peacekeeping and peace enforcement in Guinea Bissau is one of the roles assigned to the Nigerian navy constitutionally.
According to him: “By moving this equipment, we are supporting ECOWAS with the stabilisation support force that is established in Guinea Bissau.”
The FOC added that the movement of the equipment through NNS KADA showed that the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Armed Forces had come of age to conduct such operations successfully.
Wambai recalled that in 1990, the navy conducted a similar exercise using NNS AMBE and NNS DAMISA to convey equipment and personnel to help to stabilise Liberia.
The exercise was conducted on the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) platform. ECOMOG is a West African peacekeeping force that began with approximately 3,000 troops and has grown to between 10,000 and 12,000 troops, the vast majority being Nigerians.
ECOMOG includes forces from five countries of ECOWAS: Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, later joined by Mali.
