As President
Muhammadu Buhari winds down the first stanza of his administration, top
military officers have begun jostling for the positions of service
chiefs.
Already, there are reports of a likely shake-up in the
military during the second term of the president, which begins on
Wednesday, as the tenures of some of the service chiefs have expired.
THISDAY
checks at the weekend showed that some of the high-ranking military
officers have started lobbying to replace their superior officers.
The subterranean succession battles have triggered simmering tensions in the military, sources said.
The
unusual situation was triggered by a recent rumour that while Buhari
was considering renewing the tenures of the service chiefs, for a
record third time, some of his close aides and associates opted for an
overhaul of the leadership of the nation’s armed forces to infuse new
confidence in efforts in tackling the insecurity in many parts of the
country.
The president had argued recently that it was unhealthy
to change service chiefs when the country was in a state of war with
insurgents. But he admitted that there are ambitious officers who were
aiming to succeed the service chiefs.
The situation has thrown up
lobby groups who are determined to ensure that the service chiefs do
not return after the May 29 inauguration.
The groups, acting on
behalf of senior officers eyeing such positions, have been secretly
reaching out to influential government officials, top-ranking
politicians and powerful traditional rulers, among others, to convince
the president on the need to appoint fresh hands to run the military
establishments.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel
Olonisakin, who is a member of the Combatant Regular Course 25, is
believed to have spent 40 years in service as against the statutory 35
years, having enlisted in the Nigerian Defence Academy for cadet
training on January 3, 1979.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice
Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, a member of Course 26, has also spent 40 years in
service, having joined the Navy in 1979.
His colleague, the
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, a member of Course
Cadet Military Training Course (CMTC 5) joined the Air Force in November
1979. He has also spent 40 years in service.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai, a member of the Course 29, has spent 38 years in service.
In
January, 1981, Buratai attended the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna as
a member of the 29 Regular Combatant Course (29 RC) where he was given
the prestigious appointment of Cadet Sergeant Major (CSM).
The
major argument being put forward against the continued stay of the
service chiefs has remained that the war against insurgency has
persisted owing to the fact that “they have run out of ideas.”
“Obviously,
they have run out of ideas. They have lost a sense of direction. Why
are we losing soldiers every day? Our equipment is purchased and then
carted away by insurgents and we still make noise.
“Change is a management concept that improves on situations and strategies.
“Even
if the president ends up renewing their tenures again, it will end up
eroding military ethos and tradition thereby creating major problems”, a
senior military source told THISDAY.
The other contention is
that many senior officers who had hoped to reach the peak of their
career, including occupying the seat of the service chiefs, were forced
to retire prematurely.
“So many senior officers were forced to
retire up to Course 35. How would they move up when those from Courses
25 to 29 are still in service?
“In those days when core military tradition was adhered to, this won’t be the case,” another senior military source said.
Another
line of argument is that some senior officers who believe they have the
panacea to the challenge of insurgency have refused to volunteer such
ideas.
“If you volunteer such an idea, somebody who has sat on
your career progression would take advantage and take credit for your
initiative and effort”, the source said.
Efforts by THISDAY
yesterday to get the spokesman of the Defence Headquarters, Colonel
Onyema Nwachukwu, were unfruitful. He neither picked up calls to his
telephone line nor has he replied to the message sent to his WhatsApp
platform as at press time.
However, Buhari is still at liberty to
extend the tenure of the service chiefs, if he still considers them
pivotal to winning the war against insurgency. The 1999 Constitution
confers on the president the powers to reappoint or extend the tenure
of the service chiefs.
Based on the Armed Forces Terms and
Conditions of Service, the tenure of the defence and service chiefs
expired on July 13, 2017.
However, the president approved the extension of the tenure till December 2017.
Buhari
had on July 13, 2015, appointed the present crop of defence and service
chiefs, and ought to have replaced them after the statutory two years.
In
extending their tenures, Minister of Defence, Brigadier-General Mansur
Dan-Ali (rtd) had said: “the President and the Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces, having carefully reviewed the ongoing military
operations across the country and the efforts of the Chief of Defence
Staff and the service chiefs in the counter-insurgency operations in the
North-East coupled with the security situation of the Niger Delta
region, has approved the extension of tenure of service chiefs.
“This
extension is pursuant of the powers conferred on the President by
Section 218 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria and Section 09.06 of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions for
Service for officers (2012) Revised.”
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