Can't you see for yourself that they are well kitted in the picture above? I guess you don't believe your lying eyes or you don't know the meaning of "kitted," so you regurgitate a 2 months old hatchet job called news story by Afua Hirsch of the Guardian.

Nigeria must not be underestimated in playing a pivotal role in Mali and our region. They played great role in Sierra Leone and Liberia and they have the region at heart. France is right to give the lead to Africans. Even ordinary civilians in West Africa with two weeks training and good equipment can drive away those idiots called ALQAIDA because struggle is part of our lives. This is not the time for dubble standard as we need no time to waste to crush these idiots. For far too long Western nations regarded North Africans than Black Africans as we are classed as OTHERS. Both the East and West consider themselves as cousins and therefore increased their status and class above the blacks. Our humanity have been demoralised for centuries because of our neglect and blindness. Now the stakes are high. Insecurity in West Africa is bad for the world. Neglecting Nigeria military leadership in our region can be counterproductive and the consequences can be felt all over. Empower the regional military and even civilians with training and equipments. We have the will and the man power to crush these people and we can even pursue them in their cells. If Mali falls then it will be too late.

Are you so bad at your job that despite being in Abuja, Nigeria with heavily televised departure of enthusiatic, well kitted out well equipped troops you need to refer to a discredited 2 month old article to write this rubbish? You can't go to Kaduna or Port Harcourt where troops are deploying from. I hope your employers are aware of the poor quality of your work

Why are we always so quick to put our own country down, to the point of manufacturing evidence just to prove that Nigeria is no good? Britain has gotten away with claiming to have brought peace to Sierra Leone, yet the truth is that the heroes of that war were Nigerian soldiers led by Gen. Maxwell Khobe. When the story of Mali is told, maybe France would also be given the credit over and above so much African blood that will be eventually shed to get the job done.

Charity they say begins at home, Nigeria should first of all put their home in order,have you read the recent article on Ikeja Police College and the rot there which i tell you is a microcosm of the various institutions making up the entire nation. Let us face the facts! Nigeria is in a terrible mess - economically, politically, spiritually.

White journalists suffer from mental diarrhea. The british did such a "wonderful" job in Afghanistan after being driven out by Alqaeda. With all their "sophisticated" soldiers and equipment, they couldn`t defeat men in caves. They are a shameless lot. So so talk, talk. African leaders annoy me so much, placing faith in these pipsqueaks. Africans are genius, led by fools.

Re: The Nigerian Police Basic Dormitory Unbeknownst to many, the police college was not a nice place for trainees. It was really hard for those under-going basic training. The only good thing then was the food and the bookwork: I doubt if the food is still good today. It was a place where recruits and cadets were kept busy all day under the sun most of the time and punctuated by hard classes. 1600hrs was the worst time of the day when trainees (men or women) served punishment by facing the glare and heat of the African sun for minor infractions such as smoking on uniform. Life as a Cadet after basic training was much better expectedly. Fortunately, we were well nourished and lived in clean quarters. That dilapidated dormitory was a beautiful place, both in the inside and on the outside. I know that place because I lived there as a recruit and later as a Cadet. Today, the basic training wing at Ikeja is looking like a hell hole. The building is dank at the Centre and as if that is not enough, it is punctuated here and there by images of sick looking recruits that are devoid of soul. They lack any sign of vigor and vivacity in the midst of this miasma of hopelessness that is punctuated by images of open air rest rooms. How do we solve the decay? How did we come so low? Where are all the daily inspections? What part of it is the fault of some administrator or contractor? One thing I knew was that the Commandant of the College traditionally had no hands in the business aspect of the College. I suspect that maintenance may have been done by some departments outside the College. My fear today is that money may have been voted for the maintenance of the dorms, but, someone somewhere failed to deliver. It is however not late to repair this campus that has contributed in no small measure to the continued existence of the Nigeria Police Force. The President has seen this eyesore personally and will hopefully tell the relevant agents to correct the situation in a hurry.

This is a terribly incorrect article. Dont you have eyes? or you have not seen any of the ongoing deplyments to Mali.

At some point there must be sense of pride in writing the correct things about the armed forces of Nigeria. Nigeria troops went to Mali on their own C-130 Lockheed TROOP CARRYING AIRCRAFT. They also departed on their OWN g222TROOP carrying AIRCRAFT. We have seen the pictures and the televised Images of the Nigerian Soldiers. They were well kitted, Morale was high as reported by WILL ROSS OF BBC. The French have absolutely no faith in the MALIAN army because all they do IS RETREAT FROM battle .P lease base your items and do not copy other ill- informed people who know nothing about the Nigerian armed Forces.The President of France thanked the Nigerian AND Senegalese forces even prior to their ARRIVAL FOR THE GROUND WORK THEY HAVE BEEN DOING and even now more and more Nigerian TROOPS well kitted with equipment , helicopters, airplanes, and Material are arriving, in conclusion before writing about a subject you clearly have no understanding , take a trip to MALI AND Niger and see with your own eyes how many Nigerians FULLY EQUIPPED ARE THERE!

It is not only annoying; it is insulting and discouraging for anyone to condemn a group of well-trained people in this manner. If I am a farmer, it will be painful for someone to come to my village during the farming season that I am likely to fail. If I am a fisherman , you cannot tell me in clear conscience that I will never succeed in making some catch for the day because of some perceived evaluation. From what I am reading within the military blogs, the troops are in high gear and a ready to contribute their best . For example, if the troops are under one Lt. Col Gargariga, I am convinced that Nigeria is led by a very intelligent officer. I do-not know him personally but I had a fellow flyer as a course mate in Miami Florida. This guy came here from Rivers State ( I think he was supposed to be a pharmacist0 and beat all of us hands down not only in flying but also as a flight Engineer. If a fruit does not fall too far away from its parent and if good things can hover around blood relatives, Lt Colonel Gagariga will make us proud.

AS LONG AS BBC BRITISH IS REPORTING THEY MUST PUT NIGERIA DOWN.BRITISH WHY DO YOU GUYS HATE NIGERIA?THIS COUNTRY DID NOTING TO YOU GUYS.BRITISH NEVER MEANT WELL FOR NIGERIANS BUT GOD WILL SURELY SEE THEM THROUGH.