Nigerian Army Logo: Description and Meaning

The history of the Nigerian Army can be traced to the Royal West African Frontier Force which was formed in 1900.

But that isn’t the crux of this post; we’ll be looking the Army’s Logo, its history and what the emblem means.

The Nigerian Army Logo has an Eagle, two interlaced triangle-like six pointed stars and an Arabic script. The colours on the logo are red and black.

The eagle symbolizes the graceful power of the Nigerian Military. In many parts of the world, the eagle is seen as a towering symbol of grace, power and elegance. The bird is also known for its keen surveillance. And as we know the Nigerian Army is synonymous with keen surveillance during times of peace and strikes with brutal precision and uncanny decisiveness when it has been provoked beyond tolerance.

 

The two interlaced triangle-like six-pointed stars stand for the Nigerian Unity. This unity was depicted through the event of 1914 when the first Governor General of the country, Lord Lugard amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorates.

Over the years, the country has maintained its unity despite all odds. There was a 20 month civil war that threatened to break this bond but as it is, the country is still standing.

 

The Arabic script on the logo is translated as Nasrunminallah meaning Victory Comes from God Alone. This motto was initially inscribed on the banner which the Nigerian Indigenous Forces used to battle against the invading colonial forces.

The origin of this motto can be traced to Shehu Usman Dan Fodio, the head of the Sokoto Caliphate. It was then adopted by the British pre-Independence. However, shortly before the country’s independence, the British handed it over to the country in a formal ceremony.

 

Often times, people often wonder why the motto inscribed on the flag is in Arabic.

Well, the answer to this lies in a part of the country’s history. The motto was used by Frederick Lugard who was the first Commander of the West African Frontier Force between 1897 and 1899. He became the first High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria between 1899 and 1906 and he would later become the Governor of the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria between 1912 and 1914. Lugard was also the first Governor General of post-amalgamation Nigeria between 1914 and 1919.

 

During his time, he identified Arabic as the only written indigenous language anywhere in Nigeria/West Africa, particularly among the widely spread Hausa trader class across the region.  As a result, Arabic inscriptions were used as symbols, not only for currency but even on official West African Frontier Force badges. And this has persisted till today particularly on the Nigerian Army badges and flag.

 

The NA flag has three vertical stripes (red, black and red), all of the same width. These colours follow the NATO military colour code.

  • The red colour

This colour depicts the enemy forces, their installations and their activities.

  • The black colour

In military circles, black is the traditional colour of the cavalry, armoured or mechanized troops.

7 thoughts on “Nigerian Army Logo: Description and Meaning”

  1. My dearest brother, read the post well. It says the language was the only written indigenous language as at the time the colonizers arrived here. This means that neither Igbo nor Yoruba nor Hausa for that matter was expressed in written form at that time. But the northern region had a language they could express in both oral and written form and that was Arabic. Whether or not the inscription should be revised today is a different issue but accolades should be given where it’s due. Personally, I respect the fact that they had such a language at that time. It could even account for the level of cohesion they still enjoy among them today. A written language influences a lot within a group. It was the secret weapon of the Jews way back when they were captives in Biblical Babylon and Midea. Most Igbos today can’t read a simple text in Igbo. I run into Igbos everyday who will respond In English when you speak to them in Igbo without realizing that they don’t even have a good grasp of the foreign language. I listen to them stutter and commit grammatical blunders all the while thinking “you could have spared yourself all this by simply responding in Igbo” hehe. We all need to chill and work together to pull our heads out of our asses. The Nigerian problem is magnified by cultural bias and mistrust. Not that it isn’t huge enough without the cultural bs.

  2. How can the writen say the reasoon islamic was used because it was the only identified language in nigeria, what happens to english language? does it mean Nigeria is for the arabics alone?. You need to find out the reason if you dont know why go and do your research very well. what Happened to Yoruba? or Igbo language.

  3. Now that Nigeria is a country with diverse people, language, and religion; counting also on the fact that English language is the general language for communication in the country. There is the need to change the inscription into a general language (English). One may doubt the possibility, but it’s possible since the country do review and amend her constitution. Law makers in Nigeria need to clear the biasness facing the citizens especially now that there is the fear of islamisation of the country. None Muslims in Nigeria are expressing the fear that the country is on the verge of being islamized, and the Army is said to be use to achieve this agenda. It is needful that the country should tackle the issue of Arabic inscription on the logo of the country’s security force.

    • Good point. There used to be arabic inscription on the 100 naira note just as it is on 200, 500 and 1,000 naira note currently. But, it was eliminated in 2014- when the currency was reviewed to mark Nigerias 100 years of being amalgamated(1914_2014) – during the era of President Goodluck Jonathan . so i totally agree with the fact that i can , and should be reviewed.

  4. why we they use Arabic on it, is Nigeria an Islamic country may the Almighty God help us from the fanatic that always use religion to desived us buhari your plan shall never work

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