naptu2: 2) “I've seen pictures of foreign presidents and I notice you don't see the ADC like you do in NIgeria, why is that so?”
This is not really true. There are very many countries around the world in which the ADC always stands behind the C in C and in fact, unlike Nigeria, this has nothing to do with military rule. Kenya has never experienced military rule, but the ADC to the C in C of Kenya usually stands behind him. In fact, in Kenya it’s the ADC, rather than any civilian CSO, who sits in the front passenger seat of the president’s car. It’s quite similar in Ghana and in many countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and South America.
This photo caused a stir in Kenya because it is unusual to see the ADC without the president, but Uhuru Kenyatta’s digital media adviser took a picture with the ADC.
Director Digital, New Media & Diaspora in the office of the president Dennis Itumbi took time to pose for a photo with the President’s Aide-de-Camp Colonel Peter Njiru. This was during a state banquet for Chinese PM.
There was controversy in Ghana in 2015 during the opening of the ECOWAS summit in Accra. A civilian aide approached President Mahama’s ADC to get a copy of the president’s speech so that he could photocopy it and distribute to journalists. The president had given the speech to the ADC as they walked into the venue of the summit. The ADC gave the speech to the aide. The civilian aide returned the speech a few minutes later. Unknown to the civilian aide the last two pages of the speech were stuck in the photocopier and he had returned an incomplete speech to the ADC. The ADC placed the speech on the podium and stood behind the president as he read the speech. The president read the speech and discovered that it was incomplete. He actually said, “Well it seems I am missing some pages”. He eventually summarised what was in the missing two pages and ended his speech. The permanent secretary of the state house promised that there would be an investigation into the incident.
Therefore, when you wrote “foreign presidents” I’m going to assume that you were referring to the West or to G8 countries.
In the United States it’s all a game of smoke and mirrors. There’s an unwritten understanding between the media and the president’s aides that the president’s security guards and aides are not the story. The politicians are the story. The media do as much as they can to keep the president’s personal aides and security guards out of their shots (because they are not the story), while the guards and aides are trained to stand out of view of the camera (because they are not the story). I’m going to give you perfect examples of this in a minute, but I need to first explain the role of the ADC in the US.
The term “aide de camp” (ADC) has been shortened to the word “aide” in the United States, so you hear people talk about “military aide”, rather than ADC. The role of the president’s military aide is to give him immediate military advice in case the United States comes under attack (especially if he is unable to contact his other military advisers). The aide also carries the “nuclear football”, which is a case that contains the nuclear codes that enable the president to launch a nuclear attack. Finally, the role of the aide, as the military assistant to the president, also includes performing the tasks of the president’s civilian personal assistant if the civilian personal assistant is unavailable. The US president has five full time military aides, one for each branch of the military (army, navy, air force, marines and coast guard) and 45 part time military aides. Due to the nature of the tasks that the full time aides are required to carry out, there must be at least one full time military aide close to the president at all times (hence the nickname “elbowman”, because the aide is required to be close to the president’s elbow at all times).
Earlier I said that it’s all a game of smoke and mirrors in the US. The media do not focus attention on the aides and security guards of the president because (1) they are not the story and (2) focussing on them could put their lives in danger. Here’s a perfect example.
Do you know that the US vice president also has military aides? (the secretary of defence has military aides too) . Yes he does and this is so that he can get immediate military advice or launch nuclear weapons if the president is killed or incapacitated during an attack.
Well, during the last presidential election campaign, Vice President Biden referred to and pointed at his ADC (on two occasions at two separate campaign rallies), yet the TV footage did not show the ADC. If it was in Nigeria a camera would have focussed on the ADC and the director would have switched to that camera (and that’s actually quite natural, so that people at home can see what the vice president was pointing at). Biden was trying to show that you need to have someone in the White House whose judgement you can trust and who wouldn’t act irrationally or be easily provoked, so he said that, “I have a guy back here who follows me everywhere I go” (he pointed at the aide) “He carries the nuclear codes. The nuclear codes!” Yet they did not show the aide! Watch the clip below.
There was also a video on YouTube some years ago in which they interviewed a former Secret Service operative about the job and he also stated that they were taught to stay just out of the view of the cameras. There were two videos that perfectly illustrated this point.
There was a G8 or G7 summit in Canada and President Obama gave David Cameron a lift on Air Force One (I think they flew between two Canadian cities). The first footage I saw was from one of the major news services. We saw Obama and Cameron descend from Air Force One, they each unfurled their umbrellas (it was drizzling), shook hands with someone and them went to their limousines and drove off. It looked like there were few security guards around.
Then I saw the second video. It was an amateur video of the same event (I suspect that the camera person was an airport worker). We could see the president and the prime minister as they came down from Air Force One, but this time we could also see that there was a line of security guards in trench coats standing a few feet away from them. There was also a line of uniformed security guards (some of them with dogs) standing farther away and there were also Secret Service Counter Assault Teams (CAT) on the roof of the airport building (I suspect that they included both snipers and spotters). There’s a helicopter that always follows the US president’s motorcade, in order to spot threats before they get close to the motorcade. That helicopter was circling the airport. None of these things could be seen in the news footage from the networks.
I can’t write about smoke and mirrors without writing about the ultimate deception. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was crippled by polio when he was younger, yet he campaigned for and served two and a half terms as president without most Americans knowing that he was wheelchair bound. How did he achieve this? He often made campaign speeches while seated at the back of convertibles, Secret Service agents often confiscated the cameras of cameramen who took pictures of the president while he was getting off or seating on his wheelchair and when he had to “stand” he often leaned on his ADC or his son and his walking stick.
FDR requested that the press avoid photographing him walking, maneuvering, or being transferred from his car. The stipulation was accepted by most reporters and photographers but periodically someone would not comply. The Secret Service was assigned to purposely interfere with anyone who tried to snap a photo of FDR in a “disabled or weak” state.
Roosevelt’s favourite ADC was Major General Edwin Martin “Pa” Watson. General Watson served as the junior ADC to President Woodrow Wilson and as the senior ADC to President Roosevelt (which means that he served two wartime presidents). General Watson followed Roosevelt everywhere he went. In fact, they were so close that the president sometimes spent his holidays at General Watson’s house. Remember that I said that the ADC would take over the duties of the president’s (civilian) personal assistant whenever he was unavailable? Well, when Roosevelt’s chief of staff fell ill the president made General Watson his appointments secretary. This meant that he decided who saw the president and who didn’t.
General Watson followed Roosevelt everywhere he went during World during World War 2. He was at most of the meetings between President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Premier Stalin. He was also (on behalf of the President) in constant touch with most of the famous commanders of World War 2, such as General Dwight Eisenhower, General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz.
General Watson attended the Yalta Conference with the President despite the fact that he was in poor health. He suffered a brain haemorrhage during the return journey and died at sea. He was buried at the National Cemetery at Arlington.
President Franklin D. roosevelt and his Naval ADC, Captain Daniel J. Callaghan, taking the salute of a composite Battalion of the 14th Infantry at Gatun Locks, Panama Canal Zone, as they were disembarking from USS Tuscaloosa (CA-37) on 18 February 1940. (Daniel Callaghan attained the rank of Rear Admiral before he was killed during the 2nd World War when an enemy shell hit his flagship. www.nairaland.com/attachments/13071089_1274552216992054736700868094978826865411486n_jpega82705999fb1107b1dbc1869775920fd
We’ve also had our own Roosevelt type situation in Nigeria. Olusegun Adeniyi wrote about an incident that happened in Lome, Togo in which President Yar'Adua had difficulties inspecting a guard of honour and had to be helped by his ADC, Colonel Dennis Mustapha Onoyiveta.
Nobody anticipated any trouble, until the President took about 20 steps and could not move again. Since the drummers and dancers were carrying on excitedly, there was not much attention focused on him at that point. He whispered to the ADC, who had by then moved close to him, that he may fall if he took as much as another step. Moving quickly, Mustapha draped the lapel of the President's babariga over his uniform, so that no one would see his right hand, which he had used to support the President while pulling him forward with his shoulder and right leg. Many in the ecstatic crowd watched the awkward and slow movement of the President. The ADC succeeded in dragging him forward until he could make a detour to enter the nearest room at the arrival hall. It was a public place, but all the officials were immediately cleared by a visibly worried Togolese President, who helped the ADC to sit President Yar'Adua on a chair provided for him.
So you see, the military aide is always very close to the president. Always and at all times, despite the fact that you don’t necessarily see him because of the unwritten agreement between the media and the president’s aides that the aides and security guards are not the story.
One of my favourite examples of this was President Clinton’s visit to Nigeria in 2001. The two gorillas stuck to President Obasanjo like glue during the visit. There was one hilarious shot when President Obasanjo was walking out of the Presidential Lounge at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport. We couldn’t actually see Obasanjo because there was a gorilla on either side of him (Obasanjo is short and the gorillas are giants) and the camera was filming from a side view. All we could see of Obasanjo was his protruding stomach.
However, you would not have seen the gorillas if you had watched CNN’s coverage of the visit. It was like they weren’t even there. Even today, I can’t get a picture of either of the gorillas on the internet, even though they were the most prominent Nigerian presidential guards in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Abacha, Abubakar and Obasanjo era).
In my view there’s a similarity between the US president’s military aide and his teleprompter. I’ve often heard people commend US presidents for delivering wonderful extempore speeches. The truth is that those speeches are not extempore speeches. He is actually reading them from a teleprompter. All US presidents since Ronald Reagan have used teleprompters, but you would never see the teleprompter when you watch their speeches on TV. The cameraman zooms in on the president and cuts out the teleprompter from the shot (this is unlike Nigeria where the NTA crew show both Professor Osinbajo and his teleprompters). Here’s a picture of President Obama reading a speech from the teleprompters. You will not see those two teleprompters if you watch this same speech on TV. www.nairaland.com/attachments/13073285_2616668320070888128817491290631167719795676n_jpegb8174aebd8a27317f0c40d9b2e1380f4
I originally posted this series on January 1st, 2018.
naptu2: Finally I’ve found time to give you a better answer. I’ve answered this question in several posts on this thread, but the answers are scattered across many pages in the thread, so perhaps this is an opportunity to put them all in one place.
Your question is in two parts, (1) “Why do we always see the Nigerian president’s ADC behind him at all times?” and (2) “I've seen pictures of foreign presidents and I notice you don't see the ADC like you do in NIgeria, why is that so?” so my answer will be in two parts.
1) “Why do we always see the Nigerian president’s ADC behind him at all times?”
Virtually every country in the world provides military ADCs to their head of state and commander in chief. Traditions and protocols regarding the use of ADCs vary from country to country.
In most cases the major role of the ADC is to provide immediate military advice to the commander in chief in case the country comes under attack and the C in C is unable to contact his regular military advisers. The ADC also assists the commander in chief when he is carrying out military functions like reviewing parades, conferring honours, etc. (an ADC is actually like a personal assistant to a senior military officer and the head of state has an ADC because he or she has the military title of commander in chief).
Regional governors also had military ADCs during the First Republic, but that’s not the case with state governors during the Second, Third and Fourth Republics (they have/had police ADCs).
In many countries the ADC stands behind the C in C during most (not all) of his public engagements (so that he can provide immediate assistance to the C in C if the need arises) and this is also the practice in Nigeria. Some people erroneously believe that this practice began as a result of military rule or that it is peculiar to Nigeria, but that is not true, however, I do think that the use of the ADC has increased since the end of the Second Republic.
Here is a video of Nnamdi Azikiwe being sworn in as president of Nigeria on October 1st, 1963. You can see that he is wearing the uniform of a field marshal and that he has an ADC (Orho Obada) with him.
Here is a video of President Hilla Limann’s visit to Nigeria on April 1st 1980 (I remember how much Ghanaians hated this man, at least the Ghanaians in Nigeria at that time). You can see that President Limann came with his naval ADC and that President Shagari also had his ADC, Colonel Usman, with him.
However, I do think that the use of the ADC has increased since the end of the Second Republic. Usually the ADC only stood behind the C in C when he was carrying out his military functions (Independence, Remembrance, Army, Navy and Air Force day military parades, parades in honour of visiting heads of states, when he was conferring honours, etc.).
I’ve discovered that many Nigerians believe that the ADC is the chief bodyguard or chief detail of the C in C, but this is not really true. The Chief Security Officer (CSO) as the name implies, is actually the head of the C in C’s security team. He sits in the front passenger seat of the president’s car and he is always close to the president. The CSO is usually in mufti (obviously because the CSO usually belongs to a unit that requires him to be in mufti).
The president’s CSO was a member of the Police Special Branch during the First Republic. In the Second Republic the president’s CSO was a member of the National Security Organisation (NSO) and in the Fourth Republic the CSO is a member of the State Security Service (SSS).
However, under military rule the CSO was usually a member of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) of the rank of major. ADCs of heads of state of Nigeria are usually of the rank of lieutenant colonel or colonel. Therefore the ADC outranked the CSO.
Military officers usually have several aides who assist them, e.g. an ADC, an orderly and a batman. However, they do not have a civilian CSO. The ADC is like a personal assistant to a senior military officer and in this role he coordinates the other aides of the officer, including his security guards. And so under military rule the role of the ADC gradually encroached on the area of responsibility of the CSO (because he outranked the CSO and because he coordinated the president aides).
I referred to Yar'Adua when I said that President Roosevelt usually leaned on his ADC when he had to stand in public because he didn't want the public to know that he had been crippled by polio. I'll explain that reference.
Olusegun Adeniyi wrote about an incident that happened in Lome, Togo in which President Yar'Adua had difficulties inspecting a guard of honour and had to be helped by his ADC, Colonel Dennis Mustapha Onoyiveta.
Nobody anticipated any trouble, until the President took about 20 steps and could not move again. Since the drummers and dancers were carrying on excitedly, there was not much attention focused on him at that point. He whispered to the ADC, who had by then moved close to him, that he may fall if he took as much as another step. Moving quickly, Mustapha draped the lapel of the President's babariga over his uniform, so that no one would see his right hand, which he had used to support the President while pulling him forward with his shoulder and right leg. Many in the ecstatic crowd watched the awkward and slow movement of the President. The ADC succeeded in dragging him forward until he could make a detour to enter the nearest room at the arrival hall. It was a public place, but all the officials were immediately cleared by a visibly worried Togolese President, who helped the ADC to sit President Yar'Adua on a chair provided for him.
naptu2: President Nestor Kirchner of Argentina caused controversy when he decided to promote his ADC, Lieutenant Colonel Graham from lieutenant colonel to colonel one year ahead of his classmates.
President Nestor Kirchner was succeeded by his wife, President Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner and she appointed the first female aides-de-camp to the President in Argentina's history.
BitmapStudios: Most mainstream media keep addressing Olonisakin as Lt. General. I think they should be synergy between the Defence press and mainstream press. Thank you for the clarification.
I'm sorry I forgot go ask the other time, can the president prefer to choose his ADC from other forces rather the NA? Like, can he pick from the Navy or Airforce?
It was Buratai that was referred to as a lieutenant general. The chief of defence staff is a 4-star general while the service chiefs are 3-star generals (this tallies with number of troops being commanded). The newly appointed service chiefs will be promoted once their appointment is confirmed by the Senate.
President Nnamdi Azikiwe and General Ironsi both had 3 ADCs, one from each arm of the Armed Forces, but since General Gowon the tradition has been to have just one, an army officer.
Defence Headquarters usually sends the president-elect a list of 3 names to select from.
BitmapStudios: Thank you for the prompt and ever factual expository. I had always thought Olusegun Obasanjo was a Lt. General. Thank you again. Do you know why Olonisakin, the immediate past CDS was a Lt. General and never promoted to (a 4star) General? Was it more of political than the regimental oversight?
Buhari is referred to as Maj. General, do you know of any reason why he didn't promote himself to a full General (I mean, since he was the HOS)?
Thanks again sir.
General Olonisakin was a 4-star general.
Some heads of state choose not to promote themselves. Jerry Rawlings was a flight lieutenant and Muamar Ghaddafi was a colonel.
Dansuqi: You are mistaken sir.it is on record that abacha was the first person to reach the rank of general 4 star without skipping any rank.buhari is also the only head of state that refused to take advantage of his office to promote himself.it therefore means that obasanjo was a major general in 1976 when he became head of state or he must have skipped rank between 1970 to 1975.same applies to murtala and Gowon.
Where did I say that Abacha was not the first person to become a 4-star general without skipping any rank? In actual fact I did a thread about that same issue last year or two years ago.
Obasanjo was a brigadier when Murtala became head of state. He was promoted to lieutenant general, skipping the rank of major general.
Politics › Re: President Buhari Appoints Lt-Col Y.M. Dodo As His New ADC. by naptu2(op): 4:29am On Jan 31, 2021
