Opinion
As the Nigerian Army looks forward to getting another Army Chief of Staff any moment from now after the sudden death of Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru in a plane crash on Friday, May 21, 2021, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, should this time around ensure that his next appointment of an Army Chief of Staff fulfils all the ingredients of the letters of the Federal Character principle.
This time, the feelings in town, that is across Nigeria is that Buhari should appoint an Igbo man, the Chief of Army Staff. We believe that Major Gen Benjamin Ahanotu, from Anambra State is eminently qualified to occupy the post.
This is because the Nigerian nation, as it is now, needs a competent and patriotic officer from another tribe to help vigorously in the fight against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping which have engulfed the Nigerian state lately.
Presently, the headships of all facets of the Nigerian security architecture are the Fulani who have not found a solution to the worrisome insecurity ravaging the landscape. We believe that another head that is not Fulani could offer a remarkable trend to the security challenge of Nigeria.
It is foolhardy to continually apply an unworkable antidote to a problem, believing that a miracle will happen. An ethnic matrix to oversee the Nigeria’s security network is what we need now as a nation and not present situation where a particular tribe holds forte in the our security particularly the military.
Major Gen Ahanotu is a senior serving military officer and eminently qualified to occupy the post of Chief of Army Staff, the Nigerian Army. He has served in many capacities including General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army.
Uche Nwosu is a two time Shell Petroleum PLC award winner in the year 2000;
He won the Shell Award on Investigative Journalism and Environmental Cleanliness.
