Policy Briefs

President Buhari’s appointment of new armed forces Service Chiefs is rather anti-climatic since it was way long overdue. The new Service Chiefs – Gen. LEO Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff, Admiral A.Z. Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff, and AirMarshall I.O. Amao, Chief of Air Force, will hardly enjoy any honeymoon. Their appointment was beclouded by the belated sack of the former service chiefs, on whom the nation, including the National Assembly had virtually passed a vote of no confidence. Two challenges confront the new military bosses: deliver on their statutory mandate of defending the nation, and rebuilding the badly sagged moral within the military. Their erstwhile bosses were perceived to have collectively failed.   President Buhari accepting the “immediate resignation of the Service Chiefs, and their retirement from service,” was near ignominious.  A third goal, would be to stay true to the military mandate and resist the incremental use of the military for civilian police duties – that itself being the politicization of the military. Finally, the appointments have not sat well with south-easterners, who feel not duly represented in the military top hierarchy. Such concerns are legitimate in a federal setup, more so since there is no dearth of qualified personnel to pick from.   

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