By Hamza Idris (Abuja), Yusha’u A. Ibrahim (Kano) & Lami Sadiq (Jos)



The recent decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the tenure of service chiefs (Army, Navy, Air Force), has stirred controversy, not exclusively within the military, but even within political circles.

What are the real issues at stake?
Complaints in military circles revolve around fears that the recent extension of tenures of the military service chiefs will lead to delayed promotions, untimely retirement of promising officers, and more, all of which would invariably affect the multi-faceted challenges affecting the Nigerian security architecture.

The echoes of disquiet reverberated when President Muhammadu Buhari approved the extension of tenure for the Chief of Defense Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin; the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-EteIkwe Ibas, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar.

This is contrary to expectations in many quarters that the president would inject new blood to carry on from where those at the helm of affairs would stop, considering that their tenure had variously expired. A statement through the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, signed by Colonel Tukur Gusau, the minister’s Public Relations Officer, said Buhari had carefully reviewed the on-going military operations across the nation 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, hence the need to extend their tenure.

“This extension is pursuant of the powers conferred on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 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,” the statement said.

Beyond, this, critics of the extension argue that in advanced societies, almost all the service chiefs would have without prompting resigned in the last couple of weeks, considering the alleged marked resurgence of Boko Haram attacks characterised by ambushes on military personnel and humanitarian agencies, as well as unfettered attacks on civilian population such as the one in a mosque in Mubi, Adamawa State where over 60 people were killed in one fell swoop. They, therefore, faulted the tenure extension which effectively gave the service chiefs a kind of a ‘third-term’ stint.

A senior military officer, who chose anonymity, told Daily Trust there was basis for the extension. “The military has an unwritten principle of ‘soldier go, soldier come’. No-one is indispensable,” he said.

“Officers due to take responsibility of service chiefs would have to go now, based on ‘age on rank’ without moving to higher ranks. For instance, Buratai is of 29 course; so officers of 30th to 33rd would be retired between now and October next year, including a GOC and key people at the NDA and the Defense Headquarters,” he said.

But the source admitted that President Buhari is not the first to do tenure extension for service chiefs. “Jonathan did that in 2012 without giving any reason. Ihejirika came in August 2010 and his tenure was extended in August 2012 for one year and re-extended in 2013 before Boko Haram activities disgraced him out after the attack on Maiduguri NAF base and Bama barracks in December of 2013. Jonathan had no option than to fire him on 15 Jan 2014,” he said.

The source also said the change in guard in the military hierarchy comes with a lot of psychological satisfaction. “Of course not everybody would attain that peak in service but if one of your own, someone you grew through the ranks with, rises to the zenith, the credit goes to the whole set; you will feel it is you but a situation when all of you were swept at once, it is devastating,” he said.

A retired Major-General, Garba Ali, says upcoming Nigerian military officers should not be panic because of recent developments, saying it will not in any way affect their subsequent promotions.

He said promotion in the Nigerian army is being done based on some criteria and requirements and that once an officer meets the requirements, he or she would be promoted. He added that going by the discipline in the Nigerian military system, nothing would change the system.

Also, another retired General, Bashir Salihi Magashi, said any officer that is conversant with Nigerian Army’s terms and conditions of service would not complain about his/her subsequent promotions because the army is strictly being governed by them.

“Once you finish training from Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), there is career progression up to the rank of general. It is only for you to meet the requirements and you will be awarded with next rank. But there is time for everything; each promotion has its own time.”

Amidst these observations, some serving and military and retired officers, security experts and politicians said the extension was the most needless thing for now, considering that Nigeria is being confronted by many challenges, including the nine-year Boko Haram extremism in the North East, cattle rustling in North Central and parts of North West, kidnappings almost everywhere, farmers-herders altercations and more.

Proponents of this school of thought are of the opinion that changing the leadership of various military outfits at this point in time would not augur well, more so the various security agencies had done a lot in the last three years.

Daily Trust reports that Buratai is from Borno, and Abubakar from Bauchi, all in the North-East, the region that has suffered the most from Boko Haram excesses. Sources say Buhari is being careful in removing them, considering that being from that geo-political zone, if they fail to tame the Boko Haram for now, it would be difficult for Buhari to blame any general from other zones if he fails to make a difference.

A retired General of the Nigerian Army, told Daily Trust that the extension is not something extraordinary, and cited countries like the USA and UK, where based on the exigencies of the moment and their expertise, military generals are asked to retain their post even when their tenure has expired.

He, however, stated that such extensions happen in extreme emergency cases so as not to jeopardize a certain national security operation. “This is probably the viewpoint that made the president take the decision,” he said.

The General, who once served as a minister, said, “The President as Commander-in-Chief has the legitimate right under the law and I am looking at this from both the constitution and the service binding laws; from the viewpoint of a man who has been a military secretary, that it is a normal thing and it is done not only in Nigeria but anywhere around the world.”

But he said the dangers that come with such extension is at the detriment of the officers, whom he said would have their salaries within the period of extension deducted from their gratuity as salaries illegally earned.

“That is the first disadvantage on the side of the officers who are crossing over 35 years of service legitimately when they are due to go. That example could be found on the extension granted some officers by General Abacha. Upon retirement, the excess salaries for those years were deducted and some of them went home without sufficient gratuity.
Because it could also be said that the privileges they would have enjoyed for those years of extension would have been enough to cover that period,” he said.

The retired General also said though it was normal for other serving officers, who might have been waiting to step into the shoes of the service chiefs to feel frustrated that an opportunity has evaded them, he asked rhetorically, “Whoever told them that they would be the ones (to get promoted)?” But he admitted that the decision may be tough on officers who are expecting growth, and are yet to be promoted. “By the time new appointments are going to be made, if anybody is junior to some of the chaps who are very senior now, then they have been undone and it means they will have to leave the service earlier than normal.

It is not the right of any officer above the rank of Colonel, especially when you ascend to the rank of Brigadier-General. Sometimes political decisions guide those positions and deployment; so they are aware of the terms and conditions of the service which they have sworn into on the very day they were given the parchment of commission in NDA. They are, and over the years as they grow in their careers, they are aware that it is not everybody in a particular set that may make general or head of service,” he said. “They are all aware.”

Another retired military officer, Buba Maigari, said the politics behind the new extension of tenure for service chiefs is the major source of worry to various operations. “Yes, there is no limit to the timing as the Commander-in-Chief can always extend it, regardless of their age,” he said. “However, the office of the CDS (Chief of Defense Staff) has become a contentious issue, with very senior officers eyeing that office. The position is political; therefore such decision is understandable,” he said.

The governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose, described the extension as part of the script already written on what he termed “looting” of the $1 billion the federal government was set to withdraw from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to fight Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

When he addressed the press in Ado Ekiti, he pointed out that he had nothing against the service chiefs, but noted that it was clear that those behind the idea of withdrawing $1 billion from the ECA must have opined that appointing new service chiefs will obstruct their plans for the spending of the $1 billion for the funding of All Progressives Congress (APC) elections in 2019.

Fayose said: “One wonders why people who have spent out their term are being retained in office indefinitely for reasons best known to them. Are they saying there are no other competent hands in the military?”

Also, Spokesman for Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said: “Mr. President himself being a retired military officer, who rose to the post of Major General and Head of State should have better understanding of the fact that other officers’ careers would be affected negatively with the decision he took, which of course is not fair and is professionally wrong.”

Odumakin said: “I don’t see the reason for extending the tenure of the current service chiefs except and unless he would prove there are no other competent officers to continue the battle against Boko Haram.

The present service chiefs are mere instruments in the hands of Mr. President to perpetrate himself and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in power in 2019,” he alleged.

But the President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shetima, said there was nothing extraordinary about the development. “Considering the great job the service chiefs have been doing in terms of containing insurgencies across the country, they need to be encouraged.

Bringing in new people now would not help our situation, as a nation, because the new ones would have to start learning.” He said since the tenure of the Buhari government would soon end, there was no need to change a winning team.

In a statement, a pro-democracy and non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) criticised the extension. “[It] will inevitably create ethical issues of skewed reward system; it will create increasing levels of lack of professionalism and would ultimately lead to personalisation and politicisation of the constitutional offices of service chiefs.”

It will probably take a while before the political dust of this extension will settle.

As the grumbling continues, some observers say President Buhari actually did what he feels would serve the situation at hand, and as a seasoned military general himself.

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