EXCLUSIVE: Buhari to shake up the military
One of the first major actions to be taken by President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on assumption of office is a massive shake-up of the military, TheCable understands.
There will be a “mass retirement” of senior officers who are believed to have corruptly enriched themselves or “who abandoned professionalism for politics”, sources in the know of the plan told TheCable.
Already, a small group has been set up quietly to work out the modalities for the shake-up and scout possible replacements for those to be weeded out.
Most likely to be affected are officers who allegedly mismanaged funds meant for military operations, those who colluded with crude oil thieves and those who engaged in political activities in breach of their professional duties.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his congratulatory letter to Buhari after the March 28 election, had urged the president-elect to reform the military, saying “so much harm [had been] done to many national institutions including the military, which proudly nurtured you and me”.
Obasanjo, on assuming office in 1999, retired all officers who had held political appointments — an action thought to have helped prevent a possible coup after several military interventions in the nation’s history.
Buhari is a retired major-general who had commanded all the divisions in the Nigerian army before becoming head of state in 1983 after a coup. He was retired in August 1985 following his ouster by his chief of army staff, Ibrahim Babangida, now a retired general.
An insider in Buhari’s circle told TheCable: “The military has been politicised and bastardised in the last few years. Corruption has reached unprecedented levels with the oil theft in the Niger Delta and haphazard anti-terror war.
“Nobody can say sincerely that the leadership of the military has lived up to expectations. We need a professional military. We cannot be relying on neighbouring countries to be bailing us out of our internal issues. Buhari will transform the military to an institution of pride for all Nigerians again.”
TheCable could not ascertain the extent of the planned purge, apart from the expected change of service chiefs and division commanders.
But the primary aim of the planned changes, the source added, is to rid the military of “greedy and unprofessional officers”.
The military has come under scrutiny in recent years over its seeming failure to curb terror and oil theft as well as corruption in the top hierarchy.
In the north-east operations against Boko Haram, there were reports that monies meant for the allowances of troops were being diverted to private pockets.
Instead of the monthly allowance of N30,000, the troops were reportedly getting N15,000 with no satisfactory official explanation on what happened to the balance.
The troops were also allegedly being given only three sachets of “pure water” per day in the desert heat and lacked sleeping kits.
Their food supplies for the day were allegedly brought at once in the morning, a situation that saw them eating cold lunch and sour dinner.
Many troops were also battle-weary and suffering psychological trauma but did not get the necessary support from the authorities, leading to several cases of mutiny which resulted in death sentences for soldiers found guilty of refusing to fight.
At some stage last year, troops fired shots at the commander of the 7th division in Maiduguri, Borno state, Ahmed Mohammed, a major general, who narrowly escaped death in the hands of the frustrated soldiers.
He was immediately transferred from the division, which was created by President Goodluck Jonathan specifically to fight Boko Haram insurgents.
These deficiencies, compounded by the perceived superior firepower of the Boko Haram militants, were largely held responsible for the prolonged war against terror which only came to live when the February 14 presidential election was postponed by six weeks.
Also, Daily Trust newspaper reported last year that the army top brass had shared part of a land meant for barracks in the Asokoro District of Abuja, a further evidence of the rot in the military.
It said the 439 beneficiaries of the landgrab included spouses, relations, friends, associates and companies owned by senior army officials.
Kenneth Minimah, a lieutenant general and chief of army staff, and his predecessor Azubuike Ihejirika, a retired general, were allocated 2035.41sqm and 3909.35sqm of land respectively, the newspaper reported.
Those who got allocations along with their wives included two former chiefs of defence staff, Oluseyi Petinrin, a retired air chief marshal, and Ibrahim Ola Sa’ad, a retired admiral.
Former chief of air staff, Mohammed Dikko Umar, a retired air marshal, also got his share, while Ihejirika’s wife, Gift, got Plot 4882 which is 2385.59sqm.
One other beneficiary named “Oke Ihejirika” was given 1,583.59sqm, in addition to three more ‘Ihejirikas’ who were listed as Goodok Oil and Gas’s directors: Ihejirika Okechukwu, Ihejirika Chika and Ihejirika Goodluck. The company got 7476.95sqm of land.
Daily Trust came under attack from soldiers after its report, with soldiers seizing copies of the newspaper and detaining its distribution vans.
Military authorities defended the action, maintaining then that the operation was based on a tip-off that terrorists wanted to use newspaper vehicles to transport explosive materials.
The eagerly awaited Buhari anti-curruption purge has began and unlike Daily Trust vans which can be “hijacked” by terrorists, all The Cable to do was click a “terrorist-free” send button and Nigerians have woken up to this disgustingly shameful and unprofessional conduct in the Army’s top echelon. I know the Ihejirika’s well and I had no idea their father may be one of Nigeria’s corruption cancers! If this news report is true, I hope the cancer removal operation is VERY painful for the greedy family!
I hope this is a sincere shakeup of the military and not another code name for a Northernization of the Military. We are aware that the military has major issues and this shakeup should be across board and not an attempt to make the military an all Muslim Hausa Fulani affair. We will resist any such attempt.
I read this comment and I could not resist a laugh.
“We will resist Ny such attempt”- how, Sir? And who are “WE”? I really want to know how you will resist such attempt…!
U must be very naive. In the 70s 80s and 90s you couldn’t progress in the Military unless you spoke Hausa. This was common knowledge. We will never accept the Northernization of the military. No one is a fool. All of you jumping up and down about change do not understand what the Hausa Fulani agenda is. You will soon wake up to it.
You guys promoted this sort of ethnic division /confusion during the election to help an incompetent govt win reelection but failed. You will fail again Insha Allah!
Resist ke? Change has statred!!!
OUR PRESENT PRESIDENT COULD NOT DO JACK……….EVEN IF THIS WOULD BE HALF HEARTED,IT WOULD BE BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING………..
What do you expect, in a country where people have sold their conscience to the devil for mere material gain. Gen.Buhari can only try but the rot is so deep.The military has lost all sense of responsibility of professionalism.
Regular or priodical reorganization of the Nigerian military, as check and balance, may be ok. But it should not be taken too far into ethnic cleancing or on political biase. Nigeria has a lot of social and economic national projects to mend to meet up our lost behind for long than engaging in any project of witch hunting. There is nothing bad in washing Nigeria off the bad image of internal corruption in all dimentions in Nigeria public and private sectors.
What professionalism lost? In the hey days of Buhari in the military, it was the most unprofessional era in the Nigerian military. They subverted our elected governments time after time with series of stupid coups. Buhari’s era in the military ensured that Nigeria never had a democracy.
The reformation and other changes in the military should be seriously examined by the Nigerian public. The leopard never changes its spots and Buhari, a Moslem Fulani irredentist, should not be allowed to undermine the military for the benefit of his Northern Moslem compatriots.
The Moslem North have not forgiven Obasanjo and Jonathan for decimating their ranks in the military through professionalism. These people who are now shouting themselves hoarse with calls for a professional army, were the same people who polluted the armed forces with politics from 1966 till 1999 when Obasanjo and Danjuma combined to devastate their influence in the military. Buhari should not be allowed to reintroduce a Moslem Northernization of the military. Nigeria has passed that stage of its political development.
Especially that man,I read that he is coming back as NSA.Nigeria always recircling the same people.So the same problems continue.Old wine in new bottle.
This is to allay the fears of people like Rotimi Lawanson.
This is not the first time such shake will be taking place. The same thing happened with Obj and Gej.
As for GMB specifically, this is an account given by a strong christian General on GMB stand on professionalism of the military against ethnic and religious considerations.
Gen. Paul Tarfa on GMB:
Buhari once ordered me to dismiss 48 errant cadets in NDA, 32 of them Muslims –Gen. Paul Tarfa
Saturday, 14 February 2015 06:36Written by e-ReporterDISQUS_COMMENTS
Muhammadu Buhari, APC Presidential candidate
Former Commandant of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), General Paul Tarfa has said that the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has never been a religious bigot, but a man committed to discipline.
He added that it is foolish for anyone to say that Buhari does not have school certificate.
Tarfa said in Abuja that most Nigerians who joined the army during the Nigerianisation of the Nigerian Army in the 1960s obtained their school certificates after becoming officers.
“I had the same Principal with General Buhari in person of Mr. West,” he said
Tarfa, who has lived a quiet life since he retired from the army, said: “I stand up here to say a few words about General Buhari because I am one of those who know him most.
“We met in 1963 as cadets and we shared one thing- discipline, punctuality and purposefulness.
“Like him, I heard erroneously that I am a fanatical Christian. I don’t know if I am, but I am a Christian to the letter.
“I remember that Buhari used to say that following the tenets of Islam does not make one a fanatic.
“If I read my bible before I sleep, does it make me a fanatical Christian?
“In addition to what has been said, I want to say that in 1984 when he was the head of state, I was posted to the Nigerian Army Ordinance Corps in Lagos from the Command and Staff College in Jaji. The Nigeria Defence Academy was on its way to becoming a degree awarding institution. I was in Lagos for only three months and there was a reshufflement and I was asked to go back to Kaduna.
“I reported to him that I had just come here and so, let me stay here. He said no, in the first place, your posting to the Ordinance Corps is wrong. I want you to go to the Defence Academy because I want our future officers to take after your character. So, I took my wife and family and returned to Kaduna.
“On my first week in the academy, I blew what we called the tattoo. Tattoo means blowing horn at 12 midnight or after to make sure you catch those who are not in their dormitory.
“Before then, Gen. Buhari had heard that our cadets were sleeping in surrounding villages. Some were going to Zaria to come back early in the morning, looking sleepy and not concentrating.
“When we blew the tattoo, everybody had to come out, even if you were sick and you had to be carried to the parade ground. When we counted, there were about 48 cadets absent that night. They were in the villages with prostitutes.
“I was with Prof. Ukpabi, who was then the Academy Provost. I said the number was too much for me to dismiss even though they were supposed to be dismissed.
“Out of the 48 errant cadets, about 32 were from the North, and out of these 32, the majority were from the far North. In other words, they were Muslim cadets.
“I flew to Lagos and met General Buhari and told him, ‘this is what you said we should do, bug look at the number.’
“Even though majority of them were Muslims, he said,’ dismiss them all.’ I told him that the number was too much and that if I did that, our Muslim brothers in Kaduna would kill me. He said, ‘They won’t. If these people become officers, they will not be good for us. There was no such thing as this during our time. We will not have half-baked officers, whether they are Christians or Muslims. If they are not good, it does not matter. So, dismiss them all.’
“When I came back, Prof, Ukpabi and I decided to dismiss the very bad ones and keep the good ones. That was how we restored discipline in the academy.
“What I am trying to say is this. where is the fanaticism here. He didn’t say because they were Muslims, we should leave them.
“This has been the character of General Buhari. If it is right, it is right.
“I am not trying to praise him, but to bring out the qualities in this man. A vote for General Buhari is a vote for change.
“People are thinking whether it is a do or die. To him, it is Nigeria first and not Buhari first. So, I believe a vote for Buhari is a vote for change; change for good.”
On Buhari’s educational qualification, he said: “Buhari’s principal was my principal. From their school, the principal, Mr. West was sent to our school.
“In those days when Nigeria was Nigerianising its military, many of the officers that you see today did not even have their school certificates until long after.
“When we were invited to go to Kaduna, we were given qualifying examination in English, Mathematics and General Knowledge, even before we took the school certificate exam. Some did not even wait to take their school certificates because vacancies were already waiting for them.
“It was after that qualifying exam that we were recruited into the army. By the time some had their school certificates, they had become officers.
“For example, Gen. Babangida never saw his school certificate until when he was head of state. I got my school certificate long after I became an officer.
“But there was officer cadet qualifying examination. About 240 of us sat for that exam in Kaduna”.
Apart from the above account, we must also remember how GMB constituted his cabinet even as a Dictator.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Part of our problem in Nigeria is that many Nigerians have a tendency to see all government actions from an ethnic and tribal perspective. We are quick to jump to conclusions on government actions based on the ethnicity of the person making the decision rather than see it in the light of what is good for the country.It is sad how a few were more concerned about the ethnicity of the person weeding out corruption from the military rather than the enormity of the corruption to be weeded out.
I have read this a few times but I want to assure you that many of those who hate Buhari have also read this but have just chosen not to see it. It is a very sad part of our story as a people.
Some bigoted southern Nigerians only see what they want to see about Buhari, nothing else matters. They want a lazy clueless southern president that is easily manipulated, and will allow them continue importing and manufacturing fake drugs that kill their own people, steal crude in collusion with corrupt military officials, and commit other sundry acts that collectively deprive majority of Nigerians the basic necessities of daily life.
Sometimes, one wonders if it is really worth it to educate Nigerians on the damage and deprivation corruption is causing in that country.
Nigeria has always being herself. No one wants to be a scape-goat.The truth is alway swept under the carpet untill when it’s late.The fear of Good Luck could be the first step to wisdom.Had the Badluck be re-elected,nobody would have heard anyone say shit!Not from any media or individual.”Na me go come talk am,I dey craze? Na only God fit help this country” is that not it? God bless Nigeria and her inhabitants
you people should stop posting this kind of hatred comments, this is not a lone man leadership, we seriously believe this new incoming administration would do what ever possible to tackle corruption and corrupt officials without discrimination.
that would be very good idea, the corrupt military chiefs use their corrupt mind to risk thousands of Nigerians life. #Weneedjustice
If GMB is able to restore (sustainable) order to the society, he would have done a fundamental thing. Institutions, including the military, need to be institutions, doing exactly what they ought to do, how they ought to do it, and for the benefit of the society at large.
A sweeping change of the top echeleons of the Armed Forces is never really a good solution, in my view. Imagine all the Managing Directors of Banks, all Permanent Secretaries and all such levels of officers across industry divides being relieved of their duties. Would the nation be better for it? I don’t think so.
For all the alleged ills of the military, their latest onslaught on Boko Haram has been hugely successful, paving the way for the eradication of that monster. Nothing less is expected, nothing less should be delivered.
The cause of the initial inability of the military to conquer Boko Haram must include the long period of not adequately funding that institution, starting from past Military Heads of State. Of course, if the alleged corruption is proved, there should be consequences in accordance with established procedures. (And) so should there be for all manners of government officials and related parties involved in any form of corruption, be they political chieftains or not.
I just hope this leaked report will not constrain the Army High Command to secuttle smooth handover on May 29. Certain sensitive information are better kept secret. Someone said “we’ll resist Northernization of the army”. Like seriously? Well, I am a Northern Muslim to the core but I sincerely abhor marginzlization and alienation of other Nigerians. If there is a way “we” can resist any such attempts, please tell us, sir. Meanwhile I still trust Buhari and his sense of justice and fairness. President Buhari will be a President for all Nigerians. #TrustBuhari
Why would anybody who does not know GMB well enough, not call him a fanatic? He makes unguarded statements especially as concerns Islam and the North. Statesmen guard what say! I am always reminded that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks! So?
It is hard to plan effectively for tomorrow if you do not understand yesterday. Without a clear understanding of how the army failed in the last decade, this government would not be able to create a strategy to restructure the army for the future.
I still continue to say that the NYSC should be restructured so as to align with the real needs of Nigeria, to wit, unity, security, integrity and service.
Altering the focus of the NYSC to service in the armed forces, police, or community will help young people and the country to build unity in diversity; align with the armed forces to boost security, and by moving corpers away from the private sector and civil service to communities, actually give the youth an opportunity to help rebuild Nigeria.
The army today is rotten and corruption is endemic; while a clean-out at the top may help, my humble opinion is that it will not suffice. We need further restructuring, and this should be by way of the militarisation of the NYSC:
Every person that is 16 years old or above
As a prerequisite for employment in any organisation in Nigeria
To be completed in the armed forces, police or community
First 6 months – compulsory military training for all corpers
Additional 6 months – those that choose service in the armed forces (total 1 year)
Additional 12 months – those that choose service in the police (total 1.5 years)
Additional 18 months – those that choose service in the community (total 2 years)
who are you…..can u hear ur self …..2yrs for nysc ….. how can dat reduce corruption in d army…..we re talking about corruption at the top
More power to their elbows.
Why all the shouts? We Nigerians have decided and destiny is what no man can tamper with, he/she can only make an attempt but destiny will remain unshaken. Just help in praying that our country will CHANGE for good and no insults or provoking statements, Nigeria is ONE and for you and me.
As a chronic supporter of APC, it is my wish that nothing is done by the incomong government to give a semblance of dancing to the music of sectionalism by the president ellect. It is therefore my advice the president ellect to avoid being carried away by the born to rule posture of his Hausa Fulani background in his restructuring of the military and other vital departments of government.
Considering what unfolded after the gubernitorial election in Ekiti State which assited PDP to undeservedly win the election and deployment of soldiers and anti-riot policemen in the State of Osun to terrorise and scare the inncent ellectorates during the last gubernitorial ellection, no right thinking Nigrian would disagree with actions taking by the in comming government to make necessary changes in that regard but caution must be taken against using the opportunity in favour of any particulay esction of the country against others.
Your comment..If you think the president elect GMB is not pro core north pro Islam take a look at the distribution of projects excuted during his PTF days when 70percent were located in his northwest aubergine. Next make an analysis of his utterance concerning who the electorates of North muslims should vote for and his stand on Sharia law. There is no doubt GMB was a sectional leader. It is a different ball game if someone tells me the guy has repented. His past is what people will judge him with not a wishful thought of what he’s going to do. It was because of this sectional stand that he enjoys a cult like followership in the north. Mind you some recorded hate campaign against the southern infidel Christian in the person of President Jonathan were circulated among muslims. It will be a big surprise if at least the SSS are ignorant of these.