ON THE APPOINTMENT OF NEW SERVICE CHIEFS BY PRESIDENT BUHARI
January 27, 2021 | News
With regards to the recent appointment of new Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari,.... I consider it necessary to still fault the obviously skewed and partial appointments which is due to the fact that the Office of the Chief of Army Staff, has been made the exclusive preserve of the Northerners by the President Buhari-led administration.
ON THE APPOINTMENT OF NEW SERVICE CHIEFS BY PRESIDENT BUHARI
With regards to the recent appointment of new Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari, following the resignation of the former Service Chiefs from service, I consider it necessary to still fault the obviously skewed and partial appointments which is due to the fact that the Office of the Chief of Army Staff, has been made the exclusive preserve of the Northerners by the President Buhari-led administration.
Looking at the new appointees, which are; Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff, I sincerely do not see the reason for the excitement by the South-South over the appointment of Maj. Gen. Leo Irabor as Chief of Defence Staff. It is even more appalling that the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, was amongst the first people to exhibit this excitement over the said appointment of Irabor who is from Delta State, as the Governor congratulated him according to reports.
Let us bear in mind that, apparently due to the overwhelming criticism of Buhari's penchant and preference to always have all the Service Chiefs under his administration from the North, and his refusal/unwillingness to sack them even in the face of their incompetence to address the increasing insecurity situation across the country; President Buhari now thinks he can use this new appointment of the Service Chiefs, which is as a result of their resignation, to douse the minds of Nigerians from other parts of the country, and give the false impression of considering federal character in the said appointment. And without thinking, many of the South-South people are already excited with the said appointments.
The truth of the matter is that even with this recent appointment of the Service Chiefs, Buhari still cleverly favored his Northern extracts. This is hinged on the fact that THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF IS MORE RELEVANT AND HAS MORE INFLUENCE THAN THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF.
The Chief of Army Staff reports Directly to the President, while the Chief of Defence Staff is just a ceremonial Administrative Head of the military, with no firm control of, and influence over the operations/activities of the military. The Chief of Army Staff is the one that controls the Nigerian Army and reports directly to Mr. President. And since the Army, Airforce and the Navy are commanded by Chief of Staff of the Army, and the Airforce and Navy report directly to the President, in my opinion, the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff is more of a "ceremonial military head of the military" with no firm control of any unit.
Even the General Officers' Commanding (GOCs), are more relevant in my opinion, than the Chief of Defence Staff. The Chief of Defence Staff is like the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police with no 'commanding' relevant functions. The Commissioners of Police (CPs) and Assistant Inspector General (AIGs) of Police, all take direct orders from the Inspector General of Police (IGP). It is almost the same thing in the Army.
That is how it is. And it is sad and rather unfortunate that under this President Buhari-led administration, the Office of the Chief of Army Staff has become a permanent position for the Northerners. Thereby making them call the shots as regard anything relating to the security situation of the country. And by this disposition of the current Presidency, they are deliberately encouraging nepotism in the Government space, stirring up animosity amongst the populace, and dividing the country along ethnic lines, rather than building unity and peace in our diversity.
Let us also be reminded that the new Chief of Army Staff, Attahiru, was the same officer that was reportedly sacked/removed for incompetence in 2017 from leading the Boko Haram war by the outgone Chief of Army Staff. Now he has been appointed the new Chief of Army Staff, to likely continue his incompetence. And for the new Chief of Defence Staff, whose full names are Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Irabor, said to be from Ika South (Agbor) of Delta State, while there are little or no official records of his personal/family life in the public, there are rumors of him being a Muslim and having a Fulani wife. However, there are other records that say his religion is Christianity, but he supposedly has a nickname - Ibrahim. But whether these rumors are true or not, and whatever the true situation may be, the bottom line is that as Chief of Defence Staff, he has no control and power to steer the affairs of the Nigerian Army. That power and control was still given to the North by President Buhari with this latest appointments.
So, the excitement on the appointment of the Maj. Gen. Leo Irabor from South-South, is totally uncalled for. As far as we can tell, the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff is a ceremonial position in the military since all the service chiefs report to the President directly.
Zik Gbemre.
January 27, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
With regards to the recent appointment of new Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari, following the resignation of the former Service Chiefs from service, I consider it necessary to still fault the obviously skewed and partial appointments which is due to the fact that the Office of the Chief of Army Staff, has been made the exclusive preserve of the Northerners by the President Buhari-led administration.
Looking at the new appointees, which are; Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff, I sincerely do not see the reason for the excitement by the South-South over the appointment of Maj. Gen. Leo Irabor as Chief of Defence Staff. It is even more appalling that the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, was amongst the first people to exhibit this excitement over the said appointment of Irabor who is from Delta State, as the Governor congratulated him according to reports.
Let us bear in mind that, apparently due to the overwhelming criticism of Buhari's penchant and preference to always have all the Service Chiefs under his administration from the North, and his refusal/unwillingness to sack them even in the face of their incompetence to address the increasing insecurity situation across the country; President Buhari now thinks he can use this new appointment of the Service Chiefs, which is as a result of their resignation, to douse the minds of Nigerians from other parts of the country, and give the false impression of considering federal character in the said appointment. And without thinking, many of the South-South people are already excited with the said appointments.
The truth of the matter is that even with this recent appointment of the Service Chiefs, Buhari still cleverly favored his Northern extracts. This is hinged on the fact that THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF IS MORE RELEVANT AND HAS MORE INFLUENCE THAN THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF.
The Chief of Army Staff reports Directly to the President, while the Chief of Defence Staff is just a ceremonial Administrative Head of the military, with no firm control of, and influence over the operations/activities of the military. The Chief of Army Staff is the one that controls the Nigerian Army and reports directly to Mr. President. And since the Army, Airforce and the Navy are commanded by Chief of Staff of the Army, and the Airforce and Navy report directly to the President, in my opinion, the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff is more of a "ceremonial military head of the military" with no firm control of any unit.
Even the General Officers' Commanding (GOCs), are more relevant in my opinion, than the Chief of Defence Staff. The Chief of Defence Staff is like the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police with no 'commanding' relevant functions. The Commissioners of Police (CPs) and Assistant Inspector General (AIGs) of Police, all take direct orders from the Inspector General of Police (IGP). It is almost the same thing in the Army.
That is how it is. And it is sad and rather unfortunate that under this President Buhari-led administration, the Office of the Chief of Army Staff has become a permanent position for the Northerners. Thereby making them call the shots as regard anything relating to the security situation of the country. And by this disposition of the current Presidency, they are deliberately encouraging nepotism in the Government space, stirring up animosity amongst the populace, and dividing the country along ethnic lines, rather than building unity and peace in our diversity.
Let us also be reminded that the new Chief of Army Staff, Attahiru, was the same officer that was reportedly sacked/removed for incompetence in 2017 from leading the Boko Haram war by the outgone Chief of Army Staff. Now he has been appointed the new Chief of Army Staff, to likely continue his incompetence. And for the new Chief of Defence Staff, whose full names are Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Irabor, said to be from Ika South (Agbor) of Delta State, while there are little or no official records of his personal/family life in the public, there are rumors of him being a Muslim and having a Fulani wife. However, there are other records that say his religion is Christianity, but he supposedly has a nickname - Ibrahim. But whether these rumors are true or not, and whatever the true situation may be, the bottom line is that as Chief of Defence Staff, he has no control and power to steer the affairs of the Nigerian Army. That power and control was still given to the North by President Buhari with this latest appointments.
So, the excitement on the appointment of the Maj. Gen. Leo Irabor from South-South, is totally uncalled for. As far as we can tell, the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff is a ceremonial position in the military since all the service chiefs report to the President directly.
Zik Gbemre.
January 27, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes