President Bola Tinubu has promoted acting Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, to the rank of Lieutenant General, but before we get carried away with the ceremonies, let’s ask a few questions about the purpose of all this pomp. The announcement, confirmed by Villa sources and Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, took place in Tinubu’s office on Tuesday. The timing is curious—this promotion comes amid whispers and denials from the Defense Headquarters regarding the rumored passing of Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, who Oluyede now “temporarily” replaces.
In Tinubu’s words, this promotion supposedly “reflects your commitment and service to the Nigerian military.” But, realistically, how much of this commitment is actually about Oluyede’s individual service versus maintaining the optics of stability?
After all, the army and by extension, the government is under heavy scrutiny amid nationwide security concerns. There’s no question that Oluyede’s record is solid. He’s held various command roles since his commissioning as an officer, leading operations from ECOMOG in Liberia to Operation HADIN KAI in the North East. But while commendable, these accomplishments don’t address the deeper, festering issues in the Nigerian military system that no decoration can cover up.
Meanwhile, Onanuga has been trying to manage the confusion surrounding Lagbaja’s status, claiming that he’s just “on leave.” If that’s the case, why the urgency in promoting Oluyede to this high rank? Why the pomp and circumstance when the substantive Chief of Army Staff is supposedly only temporarily out of office? If the EFCC can keep arresting individuals with little to no visible result, perhaps it’s fair to question if this promotion is yet another tactic of “optics over substance.”
And now we’re left with an army under an acting head whose rank has been raised without Senate confirmation, pending their stamp of approval. This whole maneuver raises doubts about priorities are they really about improving military leadership, or just about making headlines?
