In the wake of renewed coup d’états in Africa, some sit-tight African leaders have embarked on frantic mass retirement of military officers in order to protect their positions.
The president of Rwanda and commander-in-chief of Rwanda Defence Force, Paul Kagame, yesterday approved the retirement of 12 generals and 1,013 other senior officers.
The decision comes barely 48 hours after a military coup in Gabon ousted President Ali Bongo from power after 14 years in office. His father and predecessor, Omar Bongo, had spent 42 years in power.
According to a statement on the Rwanda Defence Force’s (RDF) official website Wednesday, Kagame approved the retirement of 12 generals, including James Kabrebe, the senior presidential adviser on security matters.
“The president has also approved the retirement of 83 senior officials, 06 junior officers, 86 senior NCOS, 678 end-of-contract and 160 medical discharges,” the statement said.
The senior military officers also include Gen Fred Ibingira, Lt Gen Charles Kayonga, Lt Gen Frank Mushyo Kamanzi, Maj Gen Martin Nzaramba, Maj Gen Eric Murokore, Maj Gen Augustin Turagara, Maj Gen Charles Karamba, Maj Gen Albert Murasira, Brig Gen Chris Murari, Brig Gen Didace Ndahiro, and Brig Gen Emmanuel Ndahiro.
In another statement on the RDF’s website, Kagame approved the promotion of 10 Lieutenant Colonels to the rank of Colonel and appointed them as Brigade Commanders.
Coup: Falana Asks ECOWAS To Approve 2-term Tenure For Presidents
Just before RDF’s statement, the President of Cameroon Paul Biya announced a reshuffling in the Central African country’s defence ministry.
“Decree appointing officials to the Ministry of Defence,” he wrote on Twitter, now known as X.
One of the posts changed was the delegate to the presidency in charge of defence, navy, police, and air force staff
Before Gabon, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been under military rule in the last three years.
Also, the Nigerian military has asked disloyal soldiers to quietly bow out of the military.
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Nigerian Army (NA), Major General Mohammed Takuti Usman, who stated this on Wednesday, called for loyalty to President Bola Tinubu and the constituted authority, also asked soldiers to be professional and exhibit total loyalty to the president and to the top echelons of the Armed Forces.
While addressing soldiers at the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, Ogun State, the GOC admitted there are some challenges, but that they are not peculiar to the Brigade Command.
He said, “While we are looking at the challenges and how to solve them, you have to be disciplined soldiers, you have to be loyal soldiers.
“When I mean loyalty, your loyalty must start with the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces who is the president. That’s first, and then, down the ladder, loyalty to the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, down to your Brigade Commander.
“You have to be loyal. There is no room for soldiers that are not loyal to the constituted authority, no. If you are not going to be loyal, then, leave, go and do other work. But the Armed Forces cannot stand it if you are not loyal.
“Discipline, loyalty and top professionalism. We are bearing arms so that other people can sleep well and go about their normal activities. You also have to be hardworking. If you go on any course, make sure you do your best and be among the best. Once you have all these, you will grow in this job.”
This is coming amid reports of military coups spreading across African nations, with Gabon being the latest.
Learn From Coups In Gabon, Niger, Other, Falana Warns FG
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, yesterday advised the Nigerian government to take lessons from the current coup d’états in some African countries and implement policies that will better the lives of citizens.
According to him, democracy is now under serious threat in Africa following the waves of coups spreading across many countries in the continent.
He warned the federal government not to provoke Nigerians to mutiny by imposing harsh economic conditions, as well as members of the National Assembly and other political elite who enrich themselves while most Nigerians wallow in abject poverty.
Falana also lamented the worsening situation of poverty, hunger, insecurity and corruption in the country, stating that the government had failed to address the root causes of these problems and had instead resorted to increasing fuel prices and floating of naira.
The legal luminary, who spoke at the Nigeria Labour Congress national symposium in Abuja, said these policies had only increased the suffering of many Nigerians.
Speaking on the theme, “Nigerian Economy and the Crisis of Survival: Robbing the Poor to Pay the Rich”, Falana said, “The economy system is not operated in such a way as to concentrate on the wellbeing of the country but in the hands of the few elite.
“Why are these guys pretending that we are running a democracy? And please, be careful, don’t provoke Nigerians to mutiny, please.If they do some of the things going on there, we’re in trouble.”
Earlier, the NLC had condemned the planned demolition of illegal structures in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by the minister, Nyesom Wike.
The organised labour said that the move was a war against the poor and a violation of their human rights.
The NLC president, Comrade Joe Ajaero said the plan should not go ahead unless there is alternative shelters for the affected poor.
He said, “The new attack by Wike to drive the poor out of Abuja, it’s a war; where they tell you that you build in a place that is not part of the master plan, the master plan is only known to them.
“The NLC is saying that those structures are not illegal, those structures should be made legal unless there is alternative to them.
“There is no area they map out, either quarter plot or half plot for the poor to build in Abuja and when the poor manage to get small shelter, it’s demolished on daily basis. It is a war against the poor.”
Focus on Causes of Coups, Not Symptoms – Atiku
In his reaction, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar condemned the coup in Gabon, but said that there is a need to focus on dealing with the disease and not the symptoms that birth coups.
“The coup in Gabon stands condemned. Democracy and democratic governance have come to stay as a preferred form of government, and everything should be done to enthrone, nurture, and sustain it.
“As I suggested in the case of the Niger Republic, the ECOWAS and African Union authorities should open a window of diplomatic engagement that will pave the way for the soldiers to return to the barracks.
“The latest coup brings the number of military takeovers in Central and West Africa to eight since 2020. This is worrisome and calls for introspection. We may have to focus on dealing with the disease and not the symptoms that birth coups.”
Again, Tinubu Advocates Diplomacy In Niger Crisis
President Bola Tinubu yesterday said all diplomatic options will be exhausted with the military junta in Niger Republic before any last resort of military intervention comes into the picture.
He insisted that any forceful removal of a democratic government remains “wholly unacceptable.”
Receiving the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the State House, President Tinubu, in a statement by Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, noted that the alternative of kinetic intervention in Niger Republic had not been jettisoned.
“I must thank you for your several visits to Niger Republic, Your Eminence, but you will still have to go back. My fear has been confirmed in Gabon that copycats will start doing the same thing until it is stopped. We are neighbours with Niger Republic, and what has joined Nigerians together with their great people cannot be broken. Nobody is interested in a war. We have seen the devastation in Ukraine and Sudan. But, if we don’t wield the big stick, we will all suffer the consequences together,” the president warned.
President Tinubu recalled that Nigeria, under General Abdulsalami Abubakar, instituted a very successful nine-month military to democratic transition programme in 1998, and there is no reason why such cannot be replicated in Niger if Niger’s military authorities are sincere.
He further stated that the earlier the military junta makes positive adjustments, the quicker the sanctions will be lifted to alleviate the sufferings in the country.
On the hardship faced by many Nigerians post-fuel subsidy removal, the president assured that all ongoing reforms will liberate and reposition the economy, which will benefit the majority of the population in terms of opportunities, infrastructure, healthcare and education.
“Nigeria is headed for a promise. Our diversity will turn into prosperity, not adversity. We will build a country that our children will be proud of,” he said.
The president told the delegation that the federal government had opened talks with state governments to provide land for the proper sustenance of animals with a view to developing pan-national animal husbandry and agro-allied production and processing facilities for mass export, job creation and revenue generation.
In his contribution at the meeting, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the president had budgeted N50 billion to support the ongoing rebuilding of lives and property in the North West and North East, and with a new focus on dialogue to address security challenges.
The Sultan of Sokoto pledged “one hundred per cent loyalty” to the president, affirming that a leader can only reach a position by the will of God, not man.
His Eminence assured the President that the NSCIA will be available to advise and support President Tinubu to realize his dream for the country, adding that “God will hold all leaders to account, in justice and fairness.”
He suggested that the distribution of palliatives across the country should be monitored and augmented, where it fails to reach some of the people who remain in dire need.
“I honestly believe we will come out of the challenges stronger,” the Sultan of Sokoto concluded.
