Majority of Nigerians have come to the unfortunate conclusion that the so called acclaimed successes of the present Service Chiefs of the Armed Forces of Nigeria is only visible to their Commander in Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari a former general and military Head of State and perhaps to members of his notorious and obnoxious kitchen cabinet , popularly known as the cabal. The Service Chiefs who have woefully failed to stem the tide of insecurity across the nation have held onto the reins of office, unconstitutionally against the provisions of the highest law of the land, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through alleged use of ‘greasing the palm’ technique which they have come to master overtime. The tenure of the Chiefs expired since June 2017 but it was extended to December 2017 and again extended indefinitely since then. A reasonable person will ask the question ‘why?’ Because of this gargantuan anomaly, many military top brass who are junior to the Service Chiefs are forced to retire pre-maturely from the Army, Airforce and the Navy as stated by distinguished Senator Ali Ndume, the Chairman Senate Committee on the Army. This unfortunate situation is causing stunted career growth leading to dissatisfaction and disenchantment across the rank and file in the Nigerian military armed forces. The top hierarchy of the Nigerian Military Armed Forces is chocked because of the refusal of the Service Chiefs to exit the service with honour and dignity like the great generals of the past. All the Service Chiefs have spent over 37 years in service as against the mandatory 35 years. The Chief of Defence Staff Lietentant General Olonishakin Gabriel and the Chief Navy Staff Rear Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas have spent 42 and 41 years in service respectively. This anomaly is an embarrassment to the nation and its armed military forces as it is not being practiced anywhere else. The continued stay of military armed forces highest top brass in office is tied to an alleged pool of cash running into billions of naira which the top brass use regularly to grease the palm of a prominent member of the cabal who is considered the master puppeteer who pulls and controls the strings of President (puppet) Muhammadu Buhari.
Since the inception of the Buhari administration, about 940 billion naira has been expended to fight insurgency in the North East. With this huge military spending it is expected that by now Nigeria as a sovereign entity would have said ‘bye bye’ to insurgency. But as even the blind can see, that is not the case as these funds are diverted for personal use by top brass. The oil which the top brass uses the grease the palm of the cabal is alleged to come from this source. Due to lack of proper funding insurgency has grown to become a huge monster with Boko Haram insurgents winning more grounds and dealing hard blows against army strongholds. It is clear that the military top brass have lost focus and direction and ability to lead the War on Terror on the Nigerian soil. Unlike the great generals of the past like Adekunle aka Black Scorpion who fought whole heartedly for motherland, this current crop of military top b rass are interested only in personal aggrandizement.
As a result of the way these issues have degenerated , it is duty for all meaningful Nigerians to appeal to the cabal to pull the strings and ensure that security and defence system of the nation is re-jigged by bringing focussed and competent individuals to drive the ‘security train’ of the nation. Distinguished learned members of the civil society are challenged to call upon the Attorney General of the Federation (who is rumoured to have the ears of Mr President as seen in the role he played in the Sowore/Dasuki saga) to point out the illegality and legal implication of keeping the military top brass/ Service Chiefs in office beyond their constitutional tenure, because that is against the constitution of the Federal Republic. As a last word, it is time for Mr President to prove to ordinary Nigerians that ‘ once a general forever a general.’ Mr President should rise to the occasion, cut loose from the cabal and take necessary steps that will guarantee lasting security and eliminate disenfranchisement among the rank and file of the Nigerian military armed forces . Otherwise history will judge him and remember him negatively.
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The Writer a distinguished barrister, a blogger and a budding social commentator. He can be reached at idisalam @gmail.com
