How retired Commodore Kunle Olawunmi, one of Navy’s brightest officers was denied promotion to rank of Rear Admiral 3 times by Navy Board

Retired Navy Commodore Kunle Olawunmi, an Intelligence Officer and former Deputy Defence Adviser in Paris, France, who on Thursday revealed that that Boko Haram terrorists who had been arrested and interrogated mentioned names of some current serving Governors, Senators and Aso Rock officials as sponsors, was denied promotion to the enviable rank of Rear Admiral in the Nigerian Navy despite the fact that he was the most qualified at sone point.

Vanguard’s Investigation revealed that the Senior Officer was recommended for promotion board interview on three different occasions during the tenure of former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas, and on the three occasions, his name was dropped by the Ibas administration.

According to investigations, Commodore Olawunmi who was commissioned into the Nigerian Navy through the Onura entry Course 4, was appointed Deputy Defence Adviser during the tenure of Vice Admiral GA Adekeye (Rtd) as Chief of the Naval Staff.

A source told Vanguard that serving as a Defence Adviser or a Deputy Defence Adviser in a Foreign Country is a Special privilege for Military Officers, an appointment which only about 3% of officers enjoy in their career.

“In that regard, Commodore Olawunmi can be counted as one of few privileged officers in the Nigerian Navy at the period when Vice Admiral Adekeye held sway as CNS”.

“Having been presented for promotion three consecutive times during the tenure of the immediate past CNS and was rejected on each occasion despite at least on one occasion where he topped the list and being the only PhD holder, can be very frustrating especially when those who eventually got the promotions were not better, considering all the criteria” a source said.

Aside the fact that he missed promotion on three occasions which eventually led to his retirement, Sources said the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari’s sanctioning of his being denied promotion, as the final decision emanated from his table, ‘may’ have elicited some grieviances from the officer.

“Many of his colleagues, both seniors and junior officers believed he deserved to be promoted before he was retired in 2016 by the former CNS having exhausted his 3 chances for promotion to rank of Rear Admiral”.

A source said,”Before leaving service Commodre Olawunmi, a brilliant officer, never hid his disenchantment with the Nigerian Navy and in the CNS for denying him promotion he felt he deserved”.

“However, I don’t think the former CNS, Vice Admiral Ibas should be blamed for not promoting such a brilliant officer because the buck stops on the table on Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari. Efforts would have been made to find out why such an excellent officer was being treated shabbily”.

Another source added, “Retired Commodore Olawunmi allowed his disgruntlement with the Nigerian Navy to boil over. He may have been treated shabbily by the Navy under CNS Ibas but certainly he is not the only person to have suffered such.

“But it is unfortunate that as a retired senior military officer reduced all Nigeria’s security problems from insurgency to banditry to kidnapping, to a conspiracy theory of a plan to islamize Nigeria, introduce Sharia and taliibanize the country.

“One thing about serving in the military is that it reduces one’s biases and bigotry. Even if it doesn’t cure you of it completely, you would come out more balanced, more tolerant of others”.

“CNS Adekeye made him Deputy Defense Adviser, France and he also had foreign stints in Angola and Niger. Not all officers get such opportunities. Consequently, one can say in sum that Commodore Olawunmi saw both the good and the bad of military service. There are some like him who do not benefit from such military experience”.

Recall that Commodore Olawunmi during a Channels TV interraction on Thursday morning made some very weighty pronouncements, which were seen as disturbing and dangerous and described as disappointing for one who has worn the military uniform.

He alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government failed to demonstrate the necessary political will to go after the high-profile politicians for reasons best known to it adding that it was an aberration by bandits to have attacked the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, where two military officers were killed and another kidnapped.

“It is an aberration; you don’t attack the Nigerian Defence Academy and get away with it”.

He lamented a situation where like the NDA, other military environments in the country, carelessly open their doors to everyone on Fridays for Jumat prayer saying, “That is the time the terrorists have to profile our security environment. It has always been the case. I have served the military intelligence for the past 35 years. Our problem is religious and socio-cultural.”

Olawunmi, now a professor of Global Security Studies, said he was a member of the Intelligence Brief at Defence Headquarters during the leadership of the then Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin (rtd). noted that he told the then CDS that the centre of gravity of the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the North-East and spreading to other parts of Nigeria was the sponsors.

“I told General Olonisakin then that the centre of this problem cannot be solved the same way we solved the problem of the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta problem was solved during (Ex-President Umaru Yar’adua) basically by me and I told them that we can’t use that same template for Boko Haram.

“I told General Olonisakin to look at the centre of gravity of the problem. I was made a member of the committee in 2016-2017 including (Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru) that died.

“I told them that the centre of gravity of Boko Haram in Nigeria is the sponsors of the programme. It was beyond us because the job we needed to do was kinetic but we cannot resolve issues of sponsors of Boko Haram that were in Buhari’s government, that we know them.

‘’That was why we couldn’t pursue that aspect that could have resolved the issue because we need to arrest people.

Olawunmi said the government had not been able to prosecute the sponsors because it was allegedly partisan saying, “Recently, 400 people were gathered as sponsors of Boko Haram, why is it that the Buhari government has refused to try them? Why can’t this government bring them to trial if not that they are partisan and part of the charade going on?

“You remember this Boko Haram issue started in 2012 and I was in the military intelligence at that time. We arrested those people. My organisation actually conducted interrogation and they (suspects) mentioned names.

“I can’t come on air and start mentioning names of people that are presently in government that I know that the boys that we arrested mentioned. Some of them are governors now, some of them are in the Senate, some of them are in Aso Rock.

“Why should a government decide to cause this kind of embarrassment and insecurity to the sense of what happened yesterday (Tuesday at the NDA)?” he queried, adding that terrorist financiers want to turn Nigeria to Taliban type of country.’’

Olawunmi also said the Department of State Services (DSS) has tremendous information on terrorists but they can’t do anything except the body language of the President.

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“But it is unfortunate that as a retired senior military officer reduced all Nigeria’s security problems from insurgency to banditry to kidnapping, to a conspiracy theory of a plan to islamize Nigeria, introduce Sharia and taliibanize the country.

“One thing about serving in the military is that it reduces one’s biases and bigotry. Even if it doesn’t cure you of it completely, you would come out more balanced, more tolerant of others”.