Nigerian Army DSSC/SSC Test flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Amalgamation of Nigeria

In 1914, Lord Frederick Lugard merged the Northern and Southern Protectorates to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, a key administrative step in Nigerian colonial history.

Nigerian independence date

Nigeria gained independence from British rule on 1 October 1960, with Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as the first Prime Minister and Nnamdi Azikiwe as Governor-General.

First military coup

On 15 January 1966, Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and other officers staged Nigeria's first military coup, which ended the First Republic and led to military rule.

Nigerian Civil War

The Nigerian Civil War, also called the Biafra War, lasted from 1967 to 1970. It ended with the federal government's 'No victor, no vanquished' reconciliation policy.

Separation of powers

A constitutional principle dividing government into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, each with distinct powers and checks on the others to prevent tyranny.

Rule of law

The principle that everyone, including government officials, is subject to the law; laws must be public, applied equally, and enforced by independent courts.

Federalism in Nigeria

A system sharing power between the federal government and 36 states plus the FCT; exclusive powers go to the centre, residual powers to states, and concurrent powers are shared.

INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission is Nigeria's electoral body, responsible for voter registration, conducting federal and state elections, and announcing results.

Principles of war

Guidelines including objective, offensive, surprise, concentration of force, economy of effort, security, and manoeuvre that guide military planning and operations.

Battalion

A military unit typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel, consisting of several companies and usually 300 to 800 soldiers, forming part of a brigade.

Commander-in-Chief

In Nigeria, the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, holding ultimate constitutional authority over the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States, founded in 1975 in Lagos, promotes regional economic integration and security, with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.

African Union

The continental organisation replacing the OAU in 2002, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, promoting unity, peace, and development among African states.

UN Security Council

The UN body responsible for international peace and security, with five permanent members (China, France, Russia, UK, US) holding veto power and ten elected members.

Percentage change

Calculated as (new value minus old value) divided by old value, multiplied by 100. A 20% increase followed by a 20% decrease leaves 96% of the original.

Simple interest

Interest calculated only on the principal: I = P × R × T ÷ 100, where P is principal, R is annual rate percent, and T is time in years.

Probability

The chance of an event occurring, calculated as the number of favourable outcomes divided by the total number of equally likely outcomes. P(not A) = 1 − P(A).

Area of a circle

The space enclosed by a circle, given by A = πr², where r is the radius and π is approximately 3.1416. Circumference is 2πr.

Synonym

A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word in the same language, such as 'big' and 'large', used in verbal reasoning questions.

Antonym

A word opposite in meaning to another word, such as 'hot' and 'cold'. Antonym questions require selecting the option that directly contrasts the given word.

Subject-verb concord

The grammatical rule that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, ignoring phrases between them.

Idiom

A phrase whose meaning is not literal, such as 'to let the cat out of the bag' meaning to reveal a secret. Idioms are common in English tests.

Triage categories

In military medicine, patients are sorted as immediate (life-threatening), delayed (serious but stable), minimal (minor), or expectant (unlikely to survive) to prioritise care.

Intelligence cycle

The process of intelligence production: direction (planning), collection, processing (collation and analysis), and dissemination to commanders for decision-making.

Classes of supply

Military logistics categories: Class I (food), II (equipment), III (fuel), IV (construction), V (ammunition), VI (personal items), VII (major items), VIII (medical), IX (repair parts), X (civilian).

Court-martial

A military court for trying service personnel for offences under military law. Nigeria has summary and general court-martial procedures with different levels of authority.

Mirror image

A reflection that reverses left and right while keeping top and bottom unchanged, commonly tested in spatial reasoning with letters, shapes, and patterns.

Paper folding

A spatial reasoning task where paper is folded and punched; holes appear in all layers. Unfold in reverse order, doubling holes for each fold if punched through.

Syllogism

A logical argument with two premises and a conclusion. A valid conclusion must follow necessarily; 'all A are B' does not imply 'all B are A'.

Direction sense

A reasoning task tracking movement and turns. Draw a diagram, track net displacement, and use Pythagoras to find the shortest distance between start and end.

Cube net

A two-dimensional pattern of six squares that folds into a cube. Opposite faces are separated by one square in the net and never share an edge.

Rotation

A spatial transformation turning a figure around a point. A 90° clockwise turn maps north to east; 180° maps north to south; 270° maps north to west.