Dambazzau, Ex-Northern Military Leaders Lock Horns Over Security Appointments
With
the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as president a few hours away, it
has emerged that infighting between a former Chief of Army Staff,
General Abdulrahman Dambazzau and top former military officers from the
north over key security appointments may threaten the cohesion of the
incoming administration.
The
former military leaders, it was gathered, are unhappy that Dambazzau is
already asserting himself as National Security Adviser (NSA)-designate,
claiming he solely determines who gets any security and military
appointment in the incoming administration.
While
the retired officers have reportedly aligned with Buhari’s decision to
appoint key security and military aides from any part of the country
outside of the core north, Dambazzau may have cladenstinely effected the
appointment of a certain Lt. Col M. Lawal Abubakar as Buhari’s ADC.
Abubakar
like Dambazzau belongs to the military police corps and hails from the
same Kano State. He is a member of the 44th Regular Course of Nigeria
Defence Academy (NDA).
As
Lt. Col, Dambazzau was NDA’s registrar and was the anchor person on the
Armed Forces selection board that admitted Abubakar and other cadets of
the 44th Regular Course. 44th Regular Course was the most controversial
intake into the NDA as Kano State, against the academy’s rule of
admitting equal number of cadets per state, unexplicably had nearly
double the number of intakes than any other state.
Aside
the admission blunder, military sources told Pointblanknews.com that
several members of Course 44 from Kano dn’t have the required five
O’Level credits and had to be writing the examinations as undergraduates
of the Defence Academy.
Dambazzau
had reportedly attempted to foist Lt. Col. Yakassai, who was his ADC as
Chief of Army Staff on Buhari, but that the president-elect flatly
rejected the proposal.
Like
Abubakar, Yakassai was a member of the controversial 44th Regular
Course, and served as ADC during Rabi’u Kwankwaso’s tenure as Minister
of Defence and Dambazzau as Army Chief.
On
two attempts, Yakassai reportedly failed his promotion examinations and
passed on the third attempt after Dambazzau’s personally intervention
as Army Chief.
The
former military leaders from the north are reportedly worried that
handing Buhari a core northern ADC would cast the president-elect in the
mould of an ethnic champion.
“Look
at Obasanjo. The two ADCs that served him were from Edo State. The Late
Yar’Adua’s ADC is from Delta State. Jonathan’s ADC is from Kogi, so why
not get an ADC outside of the north west as Buhari’s ADC?” quizzed a
retired two-star general.
He
continued, “True, there are no hard and fast rules about appointing
ADCs. Howevern, the practice both in the military and for deserving
political office holders is for the principal to appoint his ADC, being a
personal aide, on the basis of his
“In
the alternative where due to the seniority gap between the principal
and the officer, the practice is for the Army to avail the principal a
shortlist of competent field officers between the ranks of Major and Lt.
Colonel with accompanying briefs or a ‘pen picture’ of the candidate,”
he added.
Pointblanknews.com
gathered that the Army was to send such shortlist with briefs to
Buhari, and that the president was looking forward to making his
preference, but that Dambazzau scuttled the process to enable his legman
emerge.
“Fully
aware of the powers and influence of the ADC, the most important link
between the president and the military, it comes as little surprise that
Dambazzau so desperately wants to be responsible for appointing one for
Buhari so he can effectively be in total control,” alleged a retired
officer.
Pointblanknews.com
also gathered that Dambazzau had raised eyebrows when he sent a long
list of soldiers and officers to be trained to replace the bodyguard
elements in the presidential villa usually drawn from the DSS, Police
and Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA), fueling concerns on his motives.
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