The Guardian
Six days after the tragic death of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru, in a plane crash in Kaduna State, the Nigerian Army got a new chief, Major-General Farouk Yahaya, following his appointment as the new COAS yesterday by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The announcement followed the end of three-day mourning after the Federal Government directed public buildings to fly the national flag at half-mast from Monday in honour of Attahiru and 10 other military officers that died in the crash.
Prior to his appointment, Yahaya was the general officer commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent theatre commander of the counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency outfit in the northeast.
The newly appointed army chief indicated that his hobbies are cracking jokes, travelling, reading and listening to local music, according to his curriculum vitae released by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
According to the CV, Yahaya speaks four languages, including English, Spanish, Arabic and Hausa. The general, who was commissioned in 1985, has attended nine courses in his career, including the National Defence Course in Chile. He served as military secretary and then General Officer Commanding before his latest appointment.
About 10 Major-Generals may have to retire from the service following the emergence of Yahaya, a member of the 37 Regular Course as the 22nd COAS, as serving members of Regular Course 35, 36 and 37 in the army, airforce and navy may be forced out of service. This is in line with military tradition since the affected Generals cannot serve under a junior officer to them and must mandatorily go home.
Although the exact figure of Generals that may be forced to resign was not known at the time of filing this report, it was also unclear if the Minister of Defence, Major-General Salihi Magashi (rtd), will allow a chunk of senior military officers to go in the middle of terrorism war.
A senior military source explained that the senior officers may be asked to voluntarily resign for ease of administration or be posted out to head tri-service institutions depending on the discretion of the Military Council.
The late Attahiru was from Course 35. There are at least 10 Major-Generals from the 35 and 36 Regular Courses still in the Nigerian Army according to records. Some of the senior military officers from Regular Course 35 include the current army’s Chief of Policy and Plan, Major-General Ben Ahanotu, from Anambra State.
Also, the army’s Chief of Administration is Major General A.M. Aliyu of Regular Course 36, from Gombe State. There are also Yahaya’s course mates, such as Major-General Ibrahim Yusuf of Regular Course 37 from Yobe State. He is the army’s Chief of Operation and former Force Commander Multinational Joint Taskforce.
The late COAS, Attahiru was appointed in January 2021, alongside other military chiefs, after years of mounting criticism over spreading violence by Islamist insurgents and armed gangs. When Buhari appointed the present crop of service chiefs, no fewer than 20 Generals from the three services who were members of courses 34 and 35 were retired to pave way for them.
According to a military source last night, “there is going to be serious shake up in the three services with the appointment of the new COAS.” Another senior officer who didn’t want to be mentioned put the figure of Army Generals that will go at over 30, including two serving members of Course 35.
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