Adebayo T Adeleke

US Army Combat Veteran |Championing Food Security & Sustainable solutions in Africa | join my community

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Our monthly food security space is tomorrow.

@akinwale_cfi and I will be discussing the future of food in Nigeria, especially with the growing insecurity.

You don’t want to miss it. Set your reminders🔥
https://t.co/dP9d11A6Ye

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

@akintollgate Urban Day and Omole Estate in the 90s was a different experience back then.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

@honspt @NnamdiChife The Marines are naval light infantry and they are Tier 2 special operations forces mand they are under the command of Nigerian Naval Special Operations

[Chife, Ph.D @NnamdiChife]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Marines of Nigeria's lethal strike command (Special Operations Command).

Credit: Major Adebayo Adeleke (rtd)

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

@NnamdiChife Thank you brother for posting this. It has been a pleasure training these guys. The Marines are coming !!!!

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

https://t.co/dP9d11A6Ye

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Nigeria’s food system is under pressure, prices keep rising and families are feeling it. We need real conversations on access, storage and how communities can stay food secure.

Join our Twitter Space today at 7pm GMT as we break it all down.

[Farmer Akin Alabi® @akinwale_cfi]

BE THERE!!

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

On Friday 28th November, I’ll be hosting a special Space on Youth, Policy and the Future of Food in Nigeria.

I’ll be having Farmer Akin Alabi as guest @akinwale_cfi

We’ll be breaking down the real issues shaping our food system.

Set your reminder. 🔥🔥

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Food prices in Nigeria now move faster than most salaries. Every market visit feels like a surprise test nobody prepared for.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

•his training is weak,
•his gear is unreliable,
•his unit cohesion is low,
•his welfare is uncertain,
•his family’s future is unclear,

Then running is not cowardice.
It is a natural human survival response.

Most soldiers who break contact are not weak they are unprepared.

The enemy is often not stronger.
The soldier is simply less trained, less supported, less protected, and less assured than he should be.

4. Restoring the Will to Fight — The Path Forward

If Nigeria truly wants soldiers with a high will to fight, the formula is simple but demanding:

1. Transform Training

Training should be relentless, realistic, and repetitive.
War is muscle memory.
Fear disappears when the body and mind know what to do.

Peacetime is preparation time.
If you don’t train in peace, you bleed in war.

2. Fix Welfare

Pay, benefits, housing, insurance, death benefits, and family support must reflect the sacrifice of service.

3. Upgrade Force Protection

Modern body armor, comms, night vision, vehicles, and fortified bases are non-negotiable.

4. Build a Reliable Recovery System

Every soldier must know:
“If I go down, I will not be forgotten.”

5. Professionalize Leadership

Leaders must be trained to build morale, not destroy it.

6. Provide Ammunition and Weapons Confidence

A soldier who doubts his weapon will doubt his mission.

5. Final Word — The Will to Fight Is Built, Not Assumed

General Chris Musa’s question remains one of the most important for Nigeria’s future:
“Where is the will to fight?”

The answer is simple:
It is wherever leadership decides to build it.

Give soldiers:
•training,
•welfare,
•protection,
•recovery systems,
•respect,
•structure,
•ammunition,
•and leadership…

…and you will see Nigerian soldiers fight with the courage, power, and relentlessness that every great military is known for.

A soldier’s will to fight is not a mystery.
It is a product of national investment, institutional design, and professional training.

If Nigeria builds it, the Nigerian soldier will demonstrate it.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

THE WILL TO FIGHT — A NATIONAL SECURITY IMPERATIVE

In several of his closing sessions, former Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa consistently asked one question:
“Where is our soldier’s will to fight?”

It was not a rhetorical question. It was a mirror held up to the Nigerian Armed Forces and, by extension, to the Nigerian state. Because the will to fight is not just a military issue it is a national reflection of how we treat those we expect to defend us.

Over the years, we have seen troubling incidents:
•Soldiers dropping their weapons and withdrawing from battle.
•Units disengaging at the sight of what looks like superior firepower.
•Troops losing morale the moment their magazines run dry.

These incidents are not isolated. They expose deeper cracks in the psychological and institutional foundation of Nigeria’s fighting forces.

So the real question becomes:
Do our soldiers truly have the will to fight and if not, why?

1. What Really Constitutes the Will to Fight?

The will to fight is not magic. It is not spontaneous. It is built deliberately through four pillars:

A. Welfare — The Social Contract

A soldier must believe that:
•If he falls, his nation will not abandon him.
•His family will be taken care of.
•His sacrifices matter.
•His salary and benefits reflect the value of his service.

This is the first social contract between a nation and its soldier.
Break it, and morale collapses.

B. Force Protection-Confidence in Survival

Force protection has two dimensions:

1. Personal Protection

A soldier must trust his gear, helmet, vest, boots, comms, vehicle, weapon.
If he doesn’t believe his equipment can keep him alive, his instincts will override his orders.

2. Environmental Protection

Where the soldier sleeps, fights, and operates must be fortified.
No one can wage war effectively if they fear nighttime attack or lack secure bases.

When a soldier knows he can fight, survive, and return home, his courage grows.

C. Medical and Recovery Assurance

A soldier must trust that if he/she goes down dead or alive his/her country will come for him.

This includes:
•Rapid casualty evacuation
•Functional field hospitals
•Rehabilitation and disability care
•Honoring the fallen with dignity

This is the second social contract:
We will never leave you behind.

D. Training — The Central Core

All the previous elements are critical, but training is the heart of the will to fight.

A properly trained soldier fights differently:
•He has confidence in his skills.
•He understands the enemy.
•He knows how to maneuver under contact.
•He does not panic when magazines run dry.
•He improvises, adapts, and overcomes.
•He trusts his team because they all share the same standard.

Training creates certainty where fear normally lives.

Training creates aggression where hesitation used to be.

Training produces belief:
“No matter what I face today, I was trained to survive it.”

2. Why Nigerian Soldiers Often Lose the Will to Fight

The painful truth is this:
Nigeria has chronically underinvested in its soldiers’ training.

Training is treated as a ceremonial checkbox, not a life-or-death necessity.

When training becomes an afterthought, the will to fight becomes unstable. Because the soldier enters battle carrying doubts, insecurities, and survival anxiety.

Add to this:
•Underfunded welfare
•Inconsistent force protection
•Limited medical infrastructure
•Poor ammunition allocation
•Aging equipment
•Leadership disconnect

And what do we expect the frontline soldier to do?

Courage without structure collapses.
Bravery without confidence evaporates.
A will to fight without systems becomes temporary and fragile.

3. The Soldier’s Psychology Under Fire

When a soldier sees superior firepower or anything that resembles it he instinctively evaluates his survival odds.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Nigeria imports food worth billions every year, yet our farmers can’t afford fertilizer.

Food security isn’t a slogan, it’s survival.
If we don’t fix production, we’ll keep paying the price.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Our food system is stretching thinner every year.

Farmers are planting, but insecurity, transport failures, and rising costs keep choking the journey from soil to plate.

Everyone feels it, no matter the city, no matter the income.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Nigeria’s food crisis didn’t start on the farms, it started on the roads.

You can plant all you want, but if 40% of it dies between the farm and the market, nobody is winning.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

The world is entering a new era where influence is no longer defined by military strength alone.

Countries that control technology, energy, and data are the ones shaping global power today.

It is not just geopolitics anymore, it is geo strategy.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Food prices in Nigeria are moving like they’re in their own race. Every week, something jumps.

Rice, tomatoes, pepper, garri, nothing is stable. People are spending more and getting less.

This isn’t just inflation anymore, it’s pressure, and Nigerians are adjusting just to eat

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Food security is national security. Investing in agriculture means investing in stability, health, and growth.

[Adebayo T Adeleke @temibayo]

Every time a farmer quits because of poor roads, insecurity, or no buyers, the price of food silently rises for everyone.

Fixing food security starts with protecting those who feed us.