PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday executed a massive purge of the top echelon of the military, appointing Maj-Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin as new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
He replaces Air Chief Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh. Maj-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, new Chief of Army Staff, replaces Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Tobiah Minimah. Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas replaces Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin as Chief of Naval Staff while Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar replaces Air Marshal Adesola Amosu as Chief of Air Staff.
Also, Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan is the new  Chief of Defence Intelligence, replacing Rear Admiral Gabriel Edmund Okoi. Maj-Gen Baba Gana Monguno (rtd) is the new National Security Adviser, replacing Col Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
But a member of the House of Representatives, Nnanna Igbokwe and the Labour Party have faulted the appointments.
With the appointment of Gen. Buratai of Regular Course 29 of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Courses 22 to 28, excluding Olonishakin, who is a course mate to Minimah, are expected to retire from service.
Interestingly, Buratai is the only Army Chief appointed in recent times without holding the position of General Officer Commanding (GOC). He was Brigade Commander of 2 Brigade Port Harcourt until his appointment as Commander of the Joint Multi-National Task Force (JMNTF) of the Lake Chad Basin Countries and Republic of Benin, which is yet to fully take off.
A source told The Guardian that the appointments actualised the pledge by Buhari during his campaign to restructure the military on assumption of office.
On February 1, 2015 during his campaign in Bauchi, Buhari, then a presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stated that he would probe the Nigerian military, accusing the high command of incompetence and sluggish execution of the war against Boko Haram.
He also accused them of corruption, vowing that they would account for the huge budgetary allocations to the Defence Ministry and the way they procured military equipment to prosecute the war.
The appointment of Buratai marks a turning point and the first time since the return of democracy on May 29, 1999 that such a large number of Courses will have to go to enable the President pick his choice of Chief of Army Staff.
For example, Lt-Gen. Victor Malu, who served from May 1999 to April 2001 was of Course 3 while Gen. l Alexander Ogomudia who succeeded him from April 2001 to June 2003 was Course 7. Similarly, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (2003 to 2006) was Course 9 while late Gen. Andrew Owoye Azazi (June 2006 – May 2007) was Course 12. Late Lt-Gen. Luka Yusuf (June 2007 to August 2008) was Course 14. Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau (2008 to 2010) was of the 17 Regular Course. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (2010 to 2014) was Course 18 while Minimah who was appointed on January 2015 is Course 22.
Faulting the appointments, the LP described yesterday’s sacking and eventual replacement of service chiefs as a hasty decision which may not solve the country’s security problems at the moment.
National Chairman of the party, Abdulsalam Abdulkadir insisted that the President would not have been in a hurry to sack the service chiefs, stressing that he should have studied the totality of what is on ground as well as more security watch with them to understand the situation very well before taking such decision.
The chairman, who absolved the sacked service chiefs of any blame in the renewed Boko Haram activities in the country since the inauguration of the new government argued however that Buhari may have taken the decisions based on the security reports he had on their activities.
He said: “It is my candid opinion that Mr. President should have exercised a little restraint in sacking the service chiefs; he should not have taken that action in a hurry. He should have considered the totality of what is on ground. But the fact of the matter is that his action may have been informed by the security report he had. We do not know what is available to him which made him take that action hastily the way he did it.
But whatever is his information, it is our candid opinion that the President should have waited for some time, to still try the service chiefs before they were removed.’’
Igbokwe, who represents Imo State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, condemned the exclusion of the South East in the appointment of Service Chiefs by the President.
He said: “While other political zones got one each, the South East was visibly left out. This raises the suspicion of continued persecution and exclusion of the Igbo by the present administration.’’
He urged the Federal Government to embrace the principle of Federal Character in the spread of appointments to give sense of inclusion and national unity to all geo-political zones.
