Nigerian Army Ranks And Symbols

The Nigerian army shares a rank similar to that of the United Kingdom, being among the Commonwealth of Nations, other countries are also included. The Nigerian army ranks come up with several tasks which are attached to it and several benefits, you should know that this article will be covering from the highest to the lowest ranks in the Nigerian army. Being among the Nigerian army makes you one of those that are ready to stand and defend the country, you should know that defending your country comes with a price and one that you must be ready to pay.

Many soldiers have fought wars and some have died in battle that is why we said defending a country comes with a price. The Nation’s army started in 1863 with a local force before developing and becoming what it is today, so many soldiers have died for things which they believed in and which they fought for, being among the army comes with risks and lots of benefits, becoming a higher ranking officer comes with lots of extra benefits also.

Since the history of the Nigerian army, no soldier or army officer has ever gotten to the highest position which we will reveal to you later on in this article. The Nigerian army is known as one of the best ground fighters in the world, though the only thing limiting them from exploring their full potential is the unavailability of new equipment and weapons which they can use to defend their country, since the year 1960, the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian police force have been sent to Commonwealth Nations to help in fighting wars and assisting them to carry out other tasks, all of these is being done to help in building out international relations for their country.

Nigerian Army Ranks And Symbols

Many countries have been known to help Nigeria with lots of weapons and equipment, the Nigerian army uses the combat arms which they have the infantry and the artillery, the combat support services, and the combat support arms. There are countries that supply them with weapons like the United States, Italy, Germany, and some other African countries, they are also some self-made weapons and equipment which are being manufactured in Nigeria for easier use and quick access.

During the Civil war in Nigeria, the Nigerian army almost faced defeat during the weapons and arms embargoes which some African countries placed and the names of Olusegun Obasanjo will not be forgotten as they have played an important role in seeing that the army goes undefeated. The Nigerian army has 7 divisions, the recent one which was created in 2013 to help with the killings and bombing of innocent individuals and different places by the Boko Harams squad which has been a constant threat to individuals, especially in the Northern region.

The 7th division was created in Maiduguri to stand as a checkpoint for roads in Yobe, they are being placed there to curb the killings and the constant bombing of different places in the Northern region, though Nigeria has made a massive improvement in the aspect of the Boko Haram issue, as the army keeps coming back with positive results from their several encounters. Before we move out of the main topic of this article, let us go back to the Nigerian army ranks and there are so many and you can know the ranks of each army officer with their Uniform, we told you that this list will start from the highest to the lowest at the beginning of this article, so read below.

  • Field Marshal

Field Marshal is the highest rank in the Nigerian army and no one has ever gotten to this rank since the formation of the Nigerian army which is quite shocking.  A field marshal is identified by a golden eagle and a cross of sword and baton that is surrounded by two branches.

  • General

Many soldiers have attained the rank of General in the army and this has been many of their dreams. A general comes with lots of benefits as you will be fully respected, the General rank is known to be the highest position that has been attained since the formation of the Nigerian army and they can be identified by a Silver eagle, two golden six-pointed starts and a cross of swords and baton. The General Insignia is almost the same as that of the Field Marshal.

  • Lieutenant General

The Lieutenant General is one of the most powerful ranks in the Nigerian army, often times many confuse it as major general but we will give you descriptive details of their Insignia and how to identify them, The Lieutenant General is being identified by a symbol of the Major General and a golden six-pointed star, that is why its often mistaken as the Major General, the Lieutenant General comes with a commander of the army corps which is about 60,000 to 70,000 people.

  • Major General

The Major General is another powerful rank in the Nigerian army, getting to the rank of the major general you should know that you are already way up and you are fully respected in Nigeria. The Major General is identified by a Golden Eagle and a cross of Sword and Baton. Being a Major General in Nigeria requires you to complete lots of tasks and you must be capable before you will be given out that position.

  • Brigadier General

The Brigadier General is one of the highest Nigeria army ranks and it is known as the first General rank an army officer will receive before being able to attain other ranks. A Brigadier General is in command of a brigade which consists of about 4,000 troops. Brigadier General insignia is similar to that of a colonel which consists of a Silver eagle and six-pointed stars which is in a triangular form.

  • Colonel

Being a colonel makes you one of the top ranks in the Nigerian army, a colonel is in charge of a regiment, being a colonel makes you handle others and take care of others. You should know that a regiment is a permanent unit of an army. The symbol of a Colonel is one Silver Eagle and it has two six-pointed stars above.

  • Lieutenant Colonel

Becoming a Lieutenant Colonel is not that easy and it’s one of the highest ranks in Nigeria that many have been trying to attain. The Lieutenant Colonel can be identified with one silver eagle and six-pointed stars.

  • Major

Most times when we hear people being called Major in the Nigerian army, they are known as one of the highest ranks in the junior army, the Major is an experienced officer, in the rank of the Nigerian army the major, is next after the Captain and it is equivalent to the Lieutenant commander in the Naval ranking. Majors can be identified with a silver eagle marked on the badge of their uniform.

  • Captain

This rank is known by all, the rank of a captain is very popular and many have been able to attain this level.  Captains are known to be experienced military officers; you should know that the First Lieutenant and the Second Lieutenant are under the Captain. The Captain can be identified with three six pointed stars and they are vertically aligned.

  • First Lieutenant

The First Lieutenant is another rank that is quite popular and it can be identified by the vertically aligned two six-pointed stars marked badge in the uniform.  The first Lieutenant is also known as position holder, Lieutenant is considered to be more superior than non commissioned officers.

  • Second Lieutenant

Among the league of the commissioned officers, the second Lieutenant is the lowest rank and they can be identified with a six-pointed star, they can be considered to be newly appointed officers who just graduated from military school.

  • Master Warrant Officer

When we talk about the league of non commissioned officers, then this is the league of the Master warrant officers and below. It is the highest non-commissioned rank in the Nigerian army and they are given the responsibility to deal with the military weapons and equipment, Warrant officers are classified as WO and they are known as command leaders in their squad.

  • Warrant Officer

A warrant officer can be known to be a good rank for young military personnel. Warrant officers can be identified by the golden eagle which is surrounded by the golden crown made of olive leaves.

  • Staff Sergeant

A staff sergeant is derived from the British army and it is known as a senior non commissioned rank in the Nigerian army. They can be identified by a golden eagle above the triple V marked badge on their uniform.

  • Sergeant

This rank commands a squad of the section and it is also considered as the middle class in the ranking system of the non commissioned officers. Sergeants can be identified by the triple V marked badge on their uniform.

  • Corporal

This name was gotten from the Italians which means Head, Corporals also control some portion of the army and they can be identified by the double V badge on the Uniform.

  • Lance Corporal

The Lance Corporal is known as an experienced fighter who is capable of heading a team of other fighters and putting them through, it is called broken spear in Italy and they can be identified as a V mark badge on their Uniform.

  • Private

These military ranks are known to be soldiers that can just be commanded, but they have attained a higher level of experience.

  • Recruit

A recruit is just known as a start-up in the military, being a recruit makes you a new intake as you still have so much to learn.

In Conclusion, we have given you a list of ranks in the Nigerian army and we hope you are pleased with this write-up. We have also given you ways on how you can identify them so that you won’t get confused.

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Tag: Nigeria Army Ranks and Their Ranks.