₦airaland Forum

General Sani Abacha was the first serving officer in the Nigerian Armed Forces to attain the rank of 4-star general without skipping a rank. There had been other officers that attained the rank of 4 star general before him, but they all skipped ranks.

Yakubu Gowon was the first officer in the Nigerian Armed Forces to attain the rank of 4 star general, but he was promoted from the rank of lieutenant-colonel to the rank of major general on June 2nd, 1967 (at the start of the Civil War), skipping the ranks of colonel and brigadier general. He was double promoted again on October 1st 1971 to the rank of 4-star general (skipping the rank of lieutenant general).

Murtala Muhammed was the next officer to become a 4-star general, but he was promoted from the rank of brigadier to the rank of general (skipping the ranks of major general and lieutenant general) after becoming head of state.

The next officer to become a 4 star general was Olusegun Obasanjo. He was promoted from the rank of lieutenant general to general in April 1979. However, Obasanjo had been promoted from the rank of brigadier to the rank of lieutenant general (skipping the rank of major general) in 1975.

Similarly, President Ibrahim Babangida was promoted from the rank of major general to the rank of general (skipping the rank of lieutenant general) on October 1st, 1987.

Although General Domkat Bali did not skip any rank on his way to becoming a general, he was not in active service when he became a general. Bali was the longest serving military officer in Babangida’s administration (he was commissioned before Babangida). He became the minister of defence in 1984, when he held the rank of major general. He retained the position of minister of defence with the added title of chairman joint chiefs of staff after the August 27, 1985 coup. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general on October 1st, 1987.

However, on January 1st 1990, President Babangida moved General Bali to the position of minister of internal affairs (he also retired the chiefs of naval and air staff and the inspector general of police) and made lieutenant general Abacha the new minister of defence. General Bali retired from the army the next day. President Babangida accepted Bali’s retirement and promoted him to the rank of general. Therefore, General Bali was not in active service when he was promoted.

General Sani Abacha become the first officer in the Nigerian Armed Forces to be promoted to the rank of a 4-star general (without skipping a rank) in October 1990. General Abacha held the following ranks:

1963- Second lieutenant (commissioned)
1966- Lieutenant
1967- Captain
1969- Major
1972- Lieutenant Colonel
1975- Colonel
1980- Brigadier General
1983- Major General
1987- Lieutenant General
1990- General

Here is a picture of President Ibrahim Babangida and Vice President Augustus Aikhomu decorating General Abacha with his new rank in 1990.

janedonez:
I admire Aikhomu so much. That name rang so much bell

joseph1832:
He's the man who never did anything for his community or so to speak. Is that the kind of man who like to admire?

flyingpig:
Celebrating a Tyrant.

Shameless OP

joseph1832:
He's the man who never did anything for his community or so to speak. Is that the kind of man who like to admire?

olaboy33:
Idi Amin once said if you want ranks, go to the Nigerian Army.

After the whites left, there was so much vacancy in not just the military forces but virtually all sectors of the country.

To fill the gaps, officers had to be double and even triple promoted. That was why we had so many young men in power in the early days of our independence.


Someone once to me , the 1966 coup was as a result of 'power in the hands of young bloods'. To an extent, I can't disagree with him.

naptu2:
Order of precedence, hierachy and reshufflement (musical chairs).

Part One.

I knew, right from the beginning, that there would be a problem. I was confused by the selection and I wondered why anyone would make that kind of selection that would create confusion in the hierarchy.

The order of precedence in the Buhari regime was: -

1) Major General Muhammadu Buhari - Head of State and Commander in Chief.

2) Major General Tunde Idiagbon - Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters.

3) Major General Domkat Bali - Minister of Defence.

*4) Major General Ibrahim Babangida - Chief of Army Staff.

5) Rear Admiral Augustus Aikhomu - Chief of Naval Staff.

6) Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Alfa - Chief of Air Staff.

7) Mr. Etim Inyang - Inspector General of Police.

The service chiefs (4-6) are deemed equal, but the they are ranked according to the age of their service (the army is the oldest, followed by the navy, then the air force). The Inspector General is last because his service is a civillian service, not a military service.

However, the order of precedence at the beginning of the Babangida era was: -

1) Major General Ibrahim Babangida - President and Commander in Chief.

2) Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe - Chief of General Staff.

3) Major General Domkat Bali - Minister of Defence and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff.

4) Major General Sani Abacha - Chief of Army Staff.

5) Rear Admiral Augustus Aikhomu - Chief of Naval Staff.

6) Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Alfa - Chief of Air Staff.

7) Mr. Etim Inyang - Inspector General of Police.

Now, the two problems are clear. (1) Bali was Babangida's senior (2) Ukiwe was a commodore (one star general), while all the others were 2 star generals, yet Ukiwe was second in command. These problems set the stage for the order of precedence crises of 1986 and 1989.

There was a reason why a mere commodore became the second in command. Ukiwe had served in the Biafran navy during the Civil War and had been reabsorbed back into the Nigerian Navy after the war. Remember that the Civil War was fought between 1967-1970 and remember that the crisis that led to the Civil War started in 1966. Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces were, of course, promoted between 1966 and 1970. Biafra also promoted its officers. However, the Nigerian Armed Forces refused to recognise Biafran ranks. This is one of the reasons that Philip Effiong wore civilian outfit when he went to see General Gowon at Dodan Barracks. To the Nigerian Armed Forces Philip Effiong was a lieutenant colonel, but he had been promoted to the rank of a major general in Biafra. Nigeria, of course, did not recognise Biafra and so it did not recognise Biafran ranks.

Commodore Ukiwe would probably have been a rear admiral if the Civil War had not happened. This was why Babangida made him the CGS.

This did not change the fact that it created confusion. Rear Admiral Aikhomu had been the Chief of Naval Staff when Ukiwe was the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, therefore Aikhomu had been his boss, now, suddenly the situation had been reversed. Who would salute whom? Would the rear admiral salute the commodore? Would the majors general (Bali and Abacha) salute the commodore.

This became an issue in 1986. I became aware of the problem in early 1986. I assumed that they would find a way to resolve it. Then came Independence Day (October 1st, 1986).

Members of the regime always enter the venue of the independence day celebration according to the order of precedence, with the Inspector General arriving first (his car is in a motorcade that includes the other three service chiefs, but his car enters first) and the President arriving last. This time, there was a proposal that Major General Domkat Bali should arrive after Ukiwe. That was the source of the problem.

The service chiefs arrived, then Domkat Bali and . . . . I can still remember Taiwo Obileye's voice, "the sirens, heralding the arrival of the Chief of General Staff" (I looked into the car and saw the white uniform), "wait, that's the President! The President is in the uniform of a rear admiral!"

Where was Ukiwe? I immediately tried to get in touch with some people, but I couldn't reach them. One of them contacted me that evening. He said that Ukiwe did not come to the parade ground. This, he said, triggered a coup scare. The service chiefs flew back to Lagos immediately after the parade. Ukiwe was placed under house arrest that evening.

Ukiwe's retirement was announced on the network news. On October 6th, 1986, it was announced that Rear Admiral Aikhomu had been appointed as the new Chief of General Staff and Rear Admiral Patrick Koshoni had become the new Chief of Naval Staff.

Next - Part 2 - The 1989 Order of Precedence Crisis (Major General Domkat Bali and Major General Sani Abacha).

naptu2:
Part 2

And that was the hierarchy in the late 1980s. The only changed occurred in the police force. There was a notorious armed robber called Lawrence Anini. He terrorised Bendel and surrounding states. One day, the President was answering reporters' questions in front of the Council Chamber (after a council meeting). The top 7 members of the regime were behind him. Then a journalist asked the President, "where is Lawrence Anini?" (The government had previously pledged that he would soon be arrested). Babangida turned to Etim Inyang and repeated the journalist's question, "Where is Lawrence Anini?" Etim Inyang stuttered. That marked the beginning of the end of the careers of Etim Inyang and Lawrence Anini. Anini was arrested a few months later and executed. Etim Inyang was retired from the force and replaced with Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo. Gambo was a very tough Inspector General (almost as tough as Sunday Adewusi of the Shagari era).

As I wrote in part one, Domkat Bali was Babangida's senior. When Babangida approached Bali for help in staging his coup, Bali agreed, but on the condition that he would be made the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Bali was very popular amongst the ranks.

Babangida always gave Bali a lot of respect. He hosted a lavish dinner in honour of Bali to celebrate the anniversary of Bali's commissioning into the Nigerian Army. Bali was called "the longest serving general". A book was published, titled, "Domkat The Cat".

But something happened in December 1989 (I think it was December 29th). There was an earth shaking reshufflement. Koshoni and Alfa were retired. More amazing was the fact that Domakt Bali was redeployed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This was unbelievable. This had effectively removed Bali from the top of the hierarchy!

Lieutenant General Sani Abacha was made the Minister of Defence and Chief of Army Staff (he held both positions for a while), Babangida kept the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs for himself, Rear Admiral Murtala Nyako became the Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal Nurraini Yusuf became the Chief of Air Staff.

This meant that Sani Abacha was now Bali's senior (by position, not by rank). Who would salute whom? Domkat Bali got the message and retired from the army the next day. Babangida promoted him to the rank of General, backdated the promotion and accepted his retirement.

The Orkar coup plotters cited the "disgrace of Domkat Bali" as one of the reasons for staging their coup (Bali had to issue a statement, disociating himself from the coup).

Bali was compensated with HFP and HFP got the Dolphin Estate contract the next year.

J111333:
But you celebrate Buhari, don't you?

naptu2:
Admiral Augustus Aikhomu was the first naval officer to attain the rank of 4-star admiral, but he attained that rank after he had left active service.

Augustus Aikhomu was a commodore when he was made the chief of naval staff after the 1983 coup. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of rear admiral. Rear Admiral Aikhomu became the chief of general staff in October 1986 and he was promoted to the rank of vice admiral in October 1987. On August 30th, 1990, President Ibrahim Babangida transformed Admiral Aikhomu from the role of chief of general staff to the role of vice president and subsequently retired him from the navy.

In August 1993, just before both Babangida and Aikhomu left office, President Babangida promoted Admiral Aikhomu to the rank of 4-star admiral and backdated the promotion to 1990.


The first person to hold the rank of 4-star admiral during a civilian administration and in fact the first 4-star office in any of the services during a civilian administration was Admiral Ibrahim Ogohi who was promoted to the rank of 4-star admiral in 2001.

mansakhalifa:
Vice Admiral Aikhomu...

Growing up in the naval based back in the day, I used to hear a lot about this guy. My father was always talking about him. He was always attending events at the Base where I was born.
He was always the second person to be invited to all naval functions or get together back then.

The first of course was always IBB- who never really attended those things.

Why wasn't he on uniform in that particular photograph though?

naptu2:
That picture was taken in October 1990 when Abacha was promoted to a 4-star general. In August 1990 President Babangida had transformed Aikhomu into a vice president and retired him from the Navy.

Babangida had promised to handover to civilians in 1990 and when he failed to do that he started retiring people in his government. Aikhomu was retired, but he became the vice president. Kontagora was also retired, but he continued to serve as minister of works.

mansakhalifa:
Hmmm...

Thanks for the info.

You know what's funny sir, all brochures issued for events by the Navy back then kept bearing images of Admiral Aikhomu in full naval regalia. Even up until the 1990s.

Once again, thanks, sir. I was pretty much a kid back then when all these men held sway, but the name is one that I can't forget.
My Dad was always talking about him and another Admiral by the name of F.B.I. Porbeni[first Nigerian defense adviser to Malabo, EQ],I don't know if you've heard of him. He also served in the IBB regime.

mansakhalifa:
Hmmm...

Thanks for the info.

You know what's funny sir, all brochures issued for events by the Navy back then kept bearing images of Admiral Aikhomu in full naval regalia. Even up until the 1990s.

Once again, thanks, sir. I was pretty much a kid back then when all these men held sway, but the name is one that I can't forget.
My Dad was always talking about him and another Admiral by the name of F.B.I. Porbeni[first Nigerian defense adviser to Malabo, EQ],I don't know if you've heard of him. He also served in the IBB regime.

naptu2:
Festus Porbeni. I think he was FOC West, can't remember for sure.

Aikhomu was the second in command and after leaving office, President Babangida said that he liked Aikhomu because he was very tough.

His children were half and half. Two of them were the most humble and nicest people that you could meet and two of them were completely crazy, despite the fact that their father was tough.

On one occasion when one of the crazy ones was in Navy School, her father came to the school and he was meant to inspect the students. She thought that she didn't have to prepare for the inspection because it was her father that was visiting, but her father surprised her by ensuring that she was punished for her tardiness.

Other admirals at that time were Admirals Elegbede (FOC West in 1990), Admiral Fingesi, Admiral Ntarko, Admiral Koshoni, etc.

(I attended the Christmas party at Navy House on Queens Drive in 1986 and it was wonderful).