As the newly appointed service chiefs settle down in their offices this week, fear of imminent transfers and possible retirement has gripped officers and men in the military as it is the usual practice whenever the top brass are replaced.
President Goodluck Jonathan last week made changes in the hierarchy of the armed forces, replacing the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin with the former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim.
Also, Air Marshal A.S. Badeh replaced Air Marshal Mohammed Umar as the Chief of Air Staff. The president, however, retained the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubuike Ihejirika, in his post while Rear Admiral D.J. Ezeoba became the new Chief of Naval Staff.
Last Friday all the new service chiefs took over officially at the Defence Headquarters shortly after they had been promoted by the Commander-In-Chief in the State House. Air Chief Marshal Petinrin had officially said bye-bye to the military as he was pulled out at the weekend at Mogadishu Cantonment, with all the top military brass in attendance.
LEADERSHIP has it on a good authority that each service chiefs, including the Chief of Defence Staff, is already penciling down who goes where or who holds what post in the new dispensation, and this is making most of the officers who played prominent roles in the last dispensation jittery, thinking they could be replaced by the new chiefs.
LEADERSHIP learnt that lobbying and scheming have begun, all in a bid to survive the coming reorganization, which a military source said would be massive. According to him, everyone in the military is aware of the coming transfers which might be massive as the service chiefs would like to place those they trust in strategic locations.
According to the source who craved anonymity, “It is the usual practice for the new chiefs to reorganize the services whereby most of the top officers, who are holding key posts under the last dispensation, would go in order to inject new blood and new ideas into the system.
“I can also disclose to you now that scheming and lobbying are going on all in an attempt to urge the new chiefs to retain some officers or give them higher responsibilities. However it is left to those that are being approached to decide whether to grant those requests or to do otherwise. You can be sure that changes are imminent and nothing could stop that because the only thing that is constant in life is change,” the source disclosed.
When he was told that Admiral Ola Ibrahim had advised his successor not to disband the team that worked with him, the source said: “That was a piece of advice as it is left to each of the service chiefs to pick his own team. You just wait and see; this reorganization would be total, and I foresee a mass transfer from the Defence Headquarters itself. Loyalty and dedication to duty matter in the military. You heard the new Naval Chief talking about the need to fight indiscipline in the service that speaks volume. President Jonathan asked him and the CDS to stop oil theft and other crimes in the maritime sector; that is a big assignment and that might mean a massive re-organisation in the sector.”
SOURCE: 15 October 2012.
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