‘Politicisation of the army,’ Generals kick against military appointments

By OBINNA EZUGWU

The decision of Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s new president, to change service chiefs few days ago earned him praise from his admirers who argue that it’s yet another indication of his capacity to be decisive in decision making, having ranked off fuel subsidy and floated the naira in the very early days of his administration.

However, within the armed forces, the change of guard has been poorly received, and information available to Businesses Hallmark indicate that tension is brewing, amid impending forced retirement of as much as 100 generals, who have been given until July 3 to leave.

Recall that Tinubu had on June 19, announced the appointment of new service chiefs, among whom are Maj Gen Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Staff; Maj Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff, and Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff.

The president also appointed DIG Kayode Egbetokun as the acting Inspector-General of Police; Maj. Gen. E Undiandeye as Chief of Defence Intelligence, and a former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, who was initially appointed as the Security Adviser to the President, elevated to the National Security Adviser (NSA).

Tinubu had, on the other hand, announced the immediate retirement of General Lucky Irabor who was the Chief of Defence Staff; the Chief of Army Staff, Lieut Gen Farouk Yahaya; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, and Air Marshal Oludayo Amao, the Chief of Air Staff.

The new appointees have since assumed office, with new service chiefs officially taking charge on Friday, and the countdown has begun. But while the focus of most analysts have been whether or not they have all it takes to rid the country of its multiple security challenges, a cold war is simmering within the forces, with a number of generals who spoke to our correspondents accused the president of politicising the military.

“The service chiefs are young officers, who, I assume are capable, having passed through the professional trainings and practice to attain their present positions and ranks. As one who reached that rank before retirement, I know what it takes to get there, so that’s not the issue,” a general who recently retired told Business Hallmark.

“However, no officer, serving or retired, will be happy at the appointment of brigade commanders and lower ranks by the president and commander-in-chief. It is reckless and unnecessary. What’s he thinking or trying to prove? It is the responsibility of the Chief of Army Staff to appoint such officers. It has never happened before and it is dangerous, and may destroy the army.”

The most senior of the new service chiefs is the new CDS Maj Gen Musa, who is a member of the 38th Regular Course of Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA). He was commissioned into the Infantry Corps on September 21, 1991.

On the other hand, the 23rd COAS, Maj Gen Lagbaja is a member of NDA Regular Course 39 and was commissioned on September 19, 1992 while Vice Admiral Ogalla, the new CNS is a member of NDA 39 Regular Course.

The new CAS, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force as a member of NDA RC 39 and was commissioned as a pilot on September 19, 1992.

By contrast, the former CDS, Gen. Irabor is a member of the NDA Regular Course 34, having been commissioned Second Lieutenant on June 28 1986 into the Signals Corps of the Nigerian Army.

The former COAS, Lt Gen Yahaya is a member of the 37 Regular Course of the NDA. He commenced officer cadet training on September 27, 1985 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Corp of Infantry as a Second Lieutenant on December 27, 1990.

Vice Admiral Gambo, the former CNS, is a member of 36 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy, and Air Marshal Amao, the 21st CAS, joined the Armed Forces of Nigeria as a Cadet of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 35 in January 1984.

In line with precedence, Maj Gen Musa will adorn a full four-star General rank while Lagbaja will be decorated with the three-star rank of Lieutenant General and Ogalla with the same rank equivalent of Vice Admiral and Abubakar with the Air Marshal rank.

However, their appointment means that as much as 100 top officers, including generals, brigadiers-general, air vice marshals, and admirals in the Army, Air Force, and Navy will have to proceed on compulsory retirement, a development many in the force say is not acceptable, even as they allege that there is an attempt to introduce politics into the uniform.

Sources say many top generals, particularly, members of Course 37 and Course 38 would have to leave the service in line with the long-standing military tradition that officers who were senior to the service chiefs would be retired.

Indeed, the military high command has given the affected officers who are senior to the newly appointed services till July 3, 2023, to voluntarily retire from service.

A memo dated June 26 and signed on behalf of the CDS by Major General Y Yahaya said the affected officers must tender their resignation letter before the states state to preserve and uphold the tenets of the military profession.

The memo read, “It would be recalled that the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently appointed new CDS and Service Chiefs on June 19, 2023. In order to preserve and uphold the tenets of the military profession which values hierarchy and service discipline, it is important that all officers whose officer cadet courses run seniority above that of the current Service Chiefs disengage from the Service.

“Consequently, I am directed to respectfully request Services to direct all officers with seniority on commission above that of NDA Regular Course 39 to submit their applications for voluntary retirement from Service with immediate effect. I am to add that affected officers are to submit their applications to their respective Service Headquarters not later than Mon July 3, 2023.”

It is a tradition in the military that when a junior is appointed as a service chief, senior officers, who are ahead of him or her, would proceed on retirement. The understanding being that senior military officers are unlikely to take orders from their juniors.

“Many experienced officers will now leave the service. Yes, I reckon that they may be more than 100 across the three services,” said a general on the condition of anonymity.

“The the retirement exercise would not affect all RC 39 officers as some would simply go to the Defence Headquarters because the Chief of Defence Staff is RC 38. But those who cannot be accommodated there will have to go. However, all RC 37 and 38 officers will leave the service.”

According to reports, among those who are on their way out, along with the former service, include the Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Maj Gen Ibrahim Yusuf and the Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral Murtala Bashir.

Others are the Chief Of Policy and Plans, HQ NAF, AVM IG Lubo; the Commandant, Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, Air Vice Marshal Oluwarotimi Tuwase.

This is coming barely six months after 24 major generals and 38 brigadier generals retired last December after serving the nation for 35 years.

“He (Tinubu) has introduced politics into ordinarily routine, and non sensitive matter,” another general who craved anonymity said. “The president cannot bypass the service chiefs to directly appoint officers under them. It is not good for discipline and command structure. It is dangerous and could be the beginning of what is happening in other countries around us.

“What do you think would be the attitude of other officers to these people’s ‘special’ privilege and status as the president’s appointees? It is a bad omen for the armed forces, because of what another president might do after him.”

Yet, while the new CDS, Maj Gen Musa, is of RC 38, some sources said his coursemates cannot be retained because they are seniors to the three service chiefs.

“The CDS is a member of Course 38, but by military tradition, he is not expected to make any appointment from among his coursemates because the COAS, CNS, and CAS are members of Course 39,” another general was quoted by a national daily to have added.

‘’If he does, they would be senior to them. Even those in Course 39 will go. Those that would escape being retired are those who are on senior courses at foreign missions. Looking across the three services, that number may be more than 100.”

It was gathered that all officers under Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 39 who could not be accommodated at Defence Headquarters are to proceed on voluntary retirement.

“People are not happy within the forces,” one of the sources said. “It’s not done this way. The president is setting a bad precedence.”

Meanwhile, the appointment of Ribadu as NSA, Business Hallmark gathered, has also frayed nerves in security circles. It was learnt that many in the security service had opposed the idea of him becoming NSA, insisting that he doesn’t have the required expertise. This may have prompted Tinubu to initially appoint him as special adviser on security. However, the president, to the surprise of many, later elevated him to NSA.

“On the NSA, I don’t think he is the right person for the job. Ribadu is a well known name, but apart from the EFCC, what else has he done?” inquired one of the generals who spoke to our correspondent.

“The position is very important and sensitive for just anybody to occupy because it involves both internal and external security. Policeman are not trained in external security. The position requires broad training and knowledge of security and strategic exposure. There’s nothing that says it must be a military person to occupy the position, but he is not the best person for it.

“I don’t know the motivation for his appointment but remember, Ribadu ran him out if town, as EFCC chairman. These people have all sorts of favours to repay. I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, the Director of Defence Information, Brig Gen Tukur Gusau could not be reached through his phone contacts for comments as of the time of filing this report.