THE Nigerian Army Council has
approved the promotion of 22
Brigadiers-General to the rank of
Majors-General.
It also approved the promotion
of 37 Colonels to the rank of
Brigadier-General and 91
Lieutenants-Colonel to Colonel.
Among those promoted Major-
General are Brigadiers-General
Bola Koleoso (Nigerian Army
Chief Spokesman), NO Ojiji
(Armed Forces Command and
Staff College (AFCSC), H .A. Salihu
(Commandant, Depot Nigerian
Army), S .Z. Uba (Defence
Headquarters), E.T. Nienge
(Nigerian Army School of Supply
and Transport), David Enetie
(Headquarters, Infantry Corps
Centre), Mashudy O. Adekanye
(Nigerian Army Ordnance School),
John N. Nwaoga (Commander, 23
Brigade) and Patrick G. Ogah
(Army Headquarters Directorate
of Training and Operations).
Others are Brig.-Gens. Donald
M.N. Oji (Nigerian Army Signals
School), Tanko Y. Gaiya (AFCSC),
Bamidele O. Ologundudu
(Nigerian Defence College Abuja),
Abbas O. Adekanye (Army Central
Workshop), Tamunomieibi I. Dibi
(Commander 1 Brigade), Tukur Y.
Buratai (Commander 2 Brigade),
Obi A. Umahi (Commander 4
Brigade), Chukwudi B.B.
Odunukwe (Directorate of Data
Processing), Sulaiman D. Aliyu
(Defence Attache, China), Junaid S.
Bindawa (Nigerian Army
Armoured School (NAAS), Obidah
T. Ethan (United Nations Mission
in Liberia (UNMIL), Obasina A.
Ogunbiyi (Nigerian Army Medical
Corps) and Friday M. Airende
(Special Vehicle Plant).
Among those promoted to the
substantive rank of Brigs-Gen.
are Colonels Dennis M. Onoyiveta
(former Aide-de-Camp to the late
President Umar Yar’Adua),
Adekunle O. Shodunke of the
Defence Headquarters (DHQ),
Ahmed M. Sabo of Army
Headquarters Directorate of
Administration (AHQ DOAA),
Commander 54 Division Signals,
Joseph A. Orokpo, Ibrahim
Attahiru of DHQ, Peter J. Dauke of
NAAS, Henry E. Ayamasaowei of
the Nigerian Defence Academy,
Augustine CC Agundu of Army
Headquarters Garrison and
Okwudili F. Azinta of the Joint
Task Force Headquarters
(Operation Pulo Shield).
And in New York, a gathering of
the Nigerian diplomatic and
military intelligence machinery in
the United States, for the
decoration-of-rank ceremony of
Commander Saburi Abayomi
Lawal promoted Navy Captain
was occasion for sober reflection
on the state of the nation’s
defense personnel.
Nigeria’s Permanent
Representative to the United
Nations (UN), Professor Joy Ogwu
said the Nigerian military needs
reinvention as well as a
sustenance of its ideology and
doctrine which enabled the
nation to pursue it’s
decolonization and Afro-centric
diplomacy successfully in the
years gone by.
Ogwu, herself a soldier’s
daughter and former teacher at
Nigeria’s military institutions
maintained that Nigerian
younger officers must navigate
through the waters of order and
rank to speak truth to power in
determining the direction of the
country’s military and it’s ability
to protect the nation’s territorial
integrity including other more
specific operations for which it
was set up.
She said: “NNS Aradu was
launched in 1982. It was a geo-
territorial flagship of our navy.
What is the state of our capability
today? Many have spoken of
deterioration of facilities. How
did it happen that South Africa
could put a military boat near our
shores over Cote d’Ivoire and we
had no response. The concept of
order should not deter you from
speaking truth to power. What
are you going to hand over to
the younger generation? Dead
operational vessels? The navy is
the guardian of our domestic
economy. What happened to the
concept of the coastal guard?
You cannot build on a vacuum.
“Our naval motto: ‘Onward
Together’, epitomizes today’s
ceremony.
I learnt many things from the
military. The working method,
discipline working order and
commitment. Today, the Nigerian
military is perhaps the last
bastion of discipline in Nigeria.
That is why I have consistently
advocated that our officers be
made ambassadors. The nation
gains from that. It is important
for us to emulate the best
practices in our system.”
Also at the event were Nigeria’s
Defense Adviser to the US , Brig-,
Lt Colonel Julius Osifo, the Consul-
General of the Nigerian Mission
in New York, Habib Habu as well
as the deputy Permanent
Representative to the UN,
Ambassador Usman Saki as well
as officers at the Mission.
Ogunewe stressed that strict
professionalism and unwavering
focus as a policy is being
implemented in such a way as
the enhance the capability of the
Charging Navy Captain Saburi
Abayomi Lawal, on the defense
of Nigeria’s interests abroad,
Deputy Permanent
Representative to the UN,
Ambassador Usman Sarki, said
the officer, who is an economist
by training, was being elevated
at the time Nigeria needs to
make progress.
“The red tab that you wear on
your shoulders carries weight.
You are representing a great
country. You have to see yourself
first as a Nigerian.
Now, the economics of all our
procurements will have to be in
place. Your knowledge will be
needed badly as we strive for
best practices in our
engagement with states as well
as in the multilateral sector such
as the UN,” he added.
The recipient promised to meet
the expectations of the nation
and the demands of future
challenges.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=108213:army-promotes-22-brigs-gen-others&catid=1:national&Itemid=559