…pledges not to sack civilian govt
- DHQ berates Ekweremadu
- NLC, TUC, ASUU, lawyers vow to resist military intervention
- Nigerians, ACF, Afenifere: Coup, no longer fashionable
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has allayed fears of a possible coup in the country, saying officers with perceived political ambitions had been flushed out of the system. This was as the DHQ also pledged the Armed Forces’ absolute loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari. The assurances came on the heels of remarks made by the Deputy Senate President, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu, at Wednesday’s plenary.
Ekweremadu had, in his contribution to a motion by Senator Ahmed Ogembe (representing Kogi Central) on the alleged disruption of an empowerment programme for his constituents by governmentsponsored thugs, warned politicians against acts that constituted threats to democracy and the rule of law. According to Ekweremmadu, it would be foolhardy to think that nothing could ever instigate a coup d’état in the country again.
“The problem in Nigeria is that our democracy is receding. Who says army cannot take over? Let us not joke with our democracy that is the issue”, the Deputy Senate President had said. However, what appeared cautionary against the backdrop of perceived growing intolerance by some political gladiators may have drawn the ire of the military, which felt denigrated. In its reaction to the remarks yesterday, the Acting Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-Gen. John Agim, who pledged the continuous subordination of the military to the constitution, assured that there were no present or future plans to sack the government.
While reiterating the Armed Forces’ unalloyed loyalty to President Buhari, Agim reassured that deliberate measures had been taken in the past, to ease out officers that were perceived to have “quasipolitical” tendencies. He said the action was taken with a view to forestalling possible indoctrination of other officers.
The acting DDI said: “In the light of this, the Defence Headquarters wish to state clearly that the Nigerian Military has come of age and is in tune with best international military practices of complete and total subordination to democratic governance. “In this regard, it is worthy to remind the general public about some key measures, among others, that guaranteed the present sustainable status of politically unambitious members of the Armed Forces. “Shortly, after the transition from a military to a democratically elected government in 1999, officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, who were quasipolitical, were honourably eased out of service.
“This was done to avoid indoctrination of other officers in the military in order to enable the democratic government commence a re-professionalisation process of the Armed Forces. The process commenced in collaboration with international organisations such as the United States Armed Forces and the British Military. “By 2009, from the basic military training institutions through units and formation reorientation programmes to top management workshops and seminars for the military, it became clear that the Armed Forces of Nigeria has been re-professionalised to be totally subordinate to political leadership and democracy in the country.”
The DHQ maintained that the military’s role at sustaining democratic rule across the sub-region was a further demonstration of its apolitical disposition and total subordination to constituted authorities. It said: “In addition, the Nigerian military began to take the lead at ensuring that the West African sub-region is stable democratically through military diplomacy and physical actions where it is highly desirable and supported by ECOWAS.
“The case of the Gambia last year is still fresh in our memories, where democracy was enforced by an ECOWAS Military Coalition led by the Armed Forces of Nigeria, under the focused and able leadership of Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General AG Olonisakin (NAM). “Furthermore, the present crop of personnel in the Armed Forces of Nigeria, right from the Service Chiefs, to the men; are made up of the balance of re-professionalised officers and fresh intakes from 1999, who do not nurse political ambitions.
“They are fully committed to their oaths of allegiance to serve their fatherland Nigeria, with total submission to our democratic government.” The military berated Ekweremadu for “denigrating” the Army in particular, and the Armed Forces in general. “This statement (Ekweremadu’s) may appear cautionary and sincere in the atmosphere of discourse, it is, however, derogatory to the Army used in the expression and by extension to the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“The statement in the true sense has the capacity to denigrate the Nigerian Military in every ramifica-tion, including its loyalty to the President Commanderin- Chief of the Armed Forces and the confidence of the general public to defend Nigeria’s democracy,” Agim said. Consequently, the Defence spokesman reassured the international community and the public of its professionalism and continued support for a free society. “Defence Headquarters hereby assures the international community, Nigeria’s democratic institutions and the general public, of its unalloyed loyalty to the President and Commander-in-Chief, provision of all necessary support for the sustenance of our democracy and carrying out our constitutional roles. ”
Therefore, the apprehension by the Deputy President of the Senate should be totally disregarded,” he said. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had, upon inauguration in 1999, undertaken a sweeping reform in the military, with the forced retirement of dozens of officers considered to be politically inclined.