Service chiefs, the Igbo and case for fairness, equity

Culled from The Sun - Nigeria

Service chiefs, the Igbo and case for fairness, equity

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari sacked service chiefs inherited from the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration last Monday, and replaced them with new ones. The new appointees, who are coming on board in acting capacity until they are confirmed by the Senate are: Major-Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, Chief of Defence (Staff); Major- Gen. Tukur Y. Buratai, Chief of Army Staff and Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, Chief of Naval Staff. Others are Air- Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan, Chief of Defence Intelligence and Maj.- Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.) as National Security Adviser.

The appointments, which are expected to rev up the war against terrorism and possibly reform the military, have been received with mixed feelings by Nigerians, especially the Igbo nation, which is not represented in the appointments.

While the appointment of service chiefs is well within the rights of the president, the absence of any officer of Igbo extraction among the appointees is generating consternation in Igbo land. Although the president alluded to the fact that the appointments are based on merit, this exclusion of the Igbo indicates that they are not representative of the ethnic composition of Nigeria. In the appointments and others made by the president since he assumed office on May 29, there is a glaring distancing of the Igbo ethnic group, either from the South-East or South-South.

This unsalutory development will not augur well for an administration that was voted in on its mantra of change. The exclusion of the South East in the president's appointments, so far, is also contrary to Section 14 (3) of the Nigerian Constitution, which provides that "the composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies."

The composition of the new service chiefs cannot be said to reflect adherence to federal character, as stipulated in the Constitution. The poor representation of the Igbo at the upper echelons of the Nigerian military has, for decades, signposted their continuing marginalisation in many areas of national life.

Since the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, very few Igbo citizens have been appointed as service chiefs in the country. Vice Admiral Alison- Madueke briefly held the position of Chief of Naval Staff, while Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika also only served as Chief of Army Staff in Goodluck Jonathan's government for a short period before he was relieved of the appointment. Mr. Ogbonnaya Onovo was appointed Inspector General of Police for a brief period during Umaru Yar'Adua regime, while Ambassador Thomas Aguiyi- Ironsi was the Minister of Defence for a short time during the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Aside these tokens, the Igbo have not really been taken into the mainstream of Nigerian military in terms of appointments since the end of the civil war. Politically, the South East appears to have been emasculated to the extent that nobody from the area has been considered capable of being trusted with the leadership of any of the arms of the military for a reasonable period.

This tends to suggest that Igbo are not considered worthy of being entrusted with military power, or trusted by Nigeria's leaders, past and present. But, we know that this is not the case with President Buhari. He is a well known lover of the Igbo ethnic group and the absence of the Igbo in the recent appointments is more likely to be an oversight on the part of his administration, and should be corrected in his future appointments.

Naturally, all major appointments ought to take cognizance of our ethnic diversity and ensure some measure of balance and sensitivity in ethnic representation. We say this considering the fact that the Igbo is one of the major ethnic groups in the country like the Hausa and the Yoruba. Short-changing the ethnic group in these appointments does not bode well for Nigeria's unity.

With these appointments, there is no doubt that most Igbo will rightly feel that the tribe has not been forgiven for taking part in the Nigerian-Biafran war, over four decades after the end of hostilities. The earlier gains made through the appointment of Madueke, Onovo and Ihejirika now seem to have been reversed. The continued distancing of the Igbo in the nation's top security composition is not only symptomatic of marginalisation, it may be interpreted as an unconscionable orchestrated alienation.

The exclusion of this major ethnic nationality from the national power equation will not augur well for a government that has equity and fairness to all parts of the country as part of its mantra.

This inexcusable oversight should be corrected in subsequent appointments by the president. As a friend of the Igbos and somebody that has had a good relationship with notable Igbo leaders, we believe that it is not too late to make amends in future appointments.

All the same, we congratulate the new service chiefs and urge them to discharge their duties with utmost dedication. No, doubt, the war on terrorism is still on course and the results so far show that there is still much to be done. With the appointment of the new Chief of Defence Intelligence, there is no doubt that the war on terrorism will naturally assume a new dimension, with more verve and impetus. Those involved in the war against the insurgents must of necessity up their game on intelligence, which to a large extent has not been sufficiently deployed.