Exit of CDS Christopher Musa, his Service Chiefs and the days after, by Ayuba Ahmad
Most citizens were certainly taken aback by the sudden announcement of the sacking of General Christopher Gwabin Musa as the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, alongside Vice Admiral Ogalla and Air Vice Marshall Hassan Abubakar, erstwhile chiefs of the Naval Staff and the Air Force, respectively.
It was especially so, as it occurred when the fog over rumours of a coup d’etat in the country was yet to clear. Could the otherwise, highly respected professional soldier have been axed as a result of his actions or inaction over the botched coup?
Speaking through the President’s Special Adviser on Public Communications, Sunday Akin Dare, the presidency explained that the change of the CDS and the Service Chiefs was not related to the rumoured coup but, “a routine meant to boost security across the nation.”
Not too many people will believe that line. The timing of the exercise, when some officers are being investigated for involvement in a coup plot, makes the sacking more than a mere coincidence.
All could not have been well as such, when cognisance is given to the remarkable service records and stellar accomplishments of the trio in their respective last duty posts.
General Musa, with training in various military institutions within Nigeria, China and the USA, is a highly decorated combatant infantry officer. In his career trajectory, he had served in several strategic command positions and was particularly outstanding in the campaign against the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. He was the Commander of the Army’s Infantry Corps before he was appointed the 18th CDS in June, 2023.
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Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar and Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogallah similarly, had meritorious career profiles in the nation’s Air Force and Navy before their appointments as service chiefs in 2023. The two, coincidentally, were classmates at the Nigerian Military School, NMS, Zaria, as well as coursemates at the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA.
While they lasted, General Musa and his lieutenants at the heads of the Navy and the Air Force, did their utmost best in the face of formidable impediments, in tackling the variegated security challenges in the country. Seemingly, their best was not good enough to have staved off the tidal wave of intrigues which swept them away penultimate week.
In spite of official explanation, Christopher Musa, Emmanuel Ogallah and Hassan Abubakar, explicitly had their tenures truncated as a result of the ongoing alleged failed coup d’etat. The official explanation that the latest changes in the leadership of the military were “to bolster the nation’s security” is simply a tacit indictment of the immediate past CDS and the other affected chiefs.
Certain officials in the presidency were reportedly of the opinion that General Musa was too professional, “complacent” and apolitical and thus, his inability to decipher early signals indicating potential threats to political stability.
There are also those who believed that the former CDS and the Service Chiefs had lost popularity, loyalty and respect among their subordinates leading to discontentment and ultimately, the thought of plotting to overthrow the government.
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There are views on the other hand that perceived the sacking of Musa and others, as a hasty and panicky action that cannot lead to “bolstering the nation’s security architecture.” What was with the retention of General Olufemi Oloyede, formerly Chief of Army now elevated to the position of CDS? If anyone should be made a scapegoat for the escalating insecurity, it is logical that the head of the Army, more than anyone else, should be the one.
Be that as it may, the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, constitutionally has the absolute power to effect changes in the military at any time he deems appropriate. Such powers are however, not usually wielded haphazardly.
The latest changes in the sacking and appointment of Service Chiefs are a bold and far-reaching decision that the president would have taken in the light of details exclusively available to him. The measure would also have been taken out of consideration for the benefits of the country’s security and the survival of democracy in the nation’s political system.
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We at Neptune Prime align with those who hold that the sacking of General Christopher Musa, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogallah and Air Vice Marshall Hassan Abubakar was done to bolster the nation’s security architecture and to firm the roots of democracy.
With the much that we know of the professional track records of General Olufemi Oloyede as the new Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shuaibu, as the Chief of Army Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal Aneke, we are optimistic about the prospects of the nation’s political stability and its security.
In our view, the president must go further beyond the share act of effecting changes in the leadership of the armed forces. The country must begin to address the fundamental issues and chronic challenges to the nation’s political progress and stability.
Logically, the task of recalibrating the country necessarily entails a determined, honest and sustained commitment to redressing the dislocations in the economy which, as it is, has engendered an endemic plague of poverty among the greater number of citizens.
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It is unsettling that, despite the high risks, there are elements in the military who are thinking of a violent overthrow of the government. This is a grim reflection of the extent to which the plague of prevailing economic hardship and attendant discontentment has eaten into all segments of society. The coup plotters would most certainly, have harped on the hard times to gain popular acceptance and legitimacy.
Very significantly, the botched coup or the reasons officially given for the change of batons in the military leadership have once again thrown up the imperative of addressing the long-standing issues of equipment and welfare of our armed forces personnel. There is just so much that military commanders can do, in the face of low morale and despondency of the troops, as a result of poor welfare, inadequate arms and related fighting equipment. It is also time to consider a programme of massive expansion of the nation’s arms-bearing security agencies.
While we cannot but pray for the success of the new set of service chiefs, our enthusiasm is however, dampened by the fact that over sixty Generals across the three services will have to go on retirement in accordance with military tradition. This translates to monumental waste of critical human resources.
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