The newly appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Faruk Yahaya, officially assume Command as the 22nd COAS on Friday morning.
And as he takes Command, about 30 Generals who are members of Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Courses 35 and 36 and some members of his course, Course 37, are proceeding on retirement.
By tradition, the moment a junior is appointed as a Service Chief, all his seniors are bound for retire as seniors normally should not serve under their juniors. This is to maintain service discipline and respect.
General Yahaya takes Command at a ceremony which starts by 10am at the Nigerian Army Headquarters, Abuja.
He replaces the late COAS, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, who died alongside 10 other military officers in a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft crash on the evening of Friday May 21, 2021 while landing at the Kaduna International airport. They were buried in line with military tradition on Saturday May 22, 2021.
General Yahaya was born on January 5, 1966 at Sifawa, Bodinga Local Government Area of Zamfara State. An Infantry officer, he speaks Arabic, English language, Hausa and Spanish fluently and holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree in History and Masters Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy.
Prior to his appointment, General Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency military outfit in the North East, code-named Operation HADIN KAI.
The announcement of the appointment put to rest the speculations that Buhari might appoint Chief of Policy and Plans (COPP – Army), Major General Benjamin Ahanotu, from Anambra State as Attahiru’s successor.
While late Attahiru was a member of Course 35 alongside Major General Ahanotu and one other officer, not less than 28 members of Course 36 including Maj.-Gen. Sagir Yaro, who was recently appointed as the Commandant of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), may also be affected.
Sources said that the new COAS is senior to eight officers of Course 36 having been promoted to the rank of Major General in September 2017.
What is clear is that all remaining Course 35 and 36 officers are proceeding on retirement. The new COAS would now have the discretion to pick any of his course mates to serve alongside him.
While one could be his Number Two at AHQ as COPP – Army, the others would be posted to serve at Defence Headquarters or the tri-Service institutions.
But even among his Course 37 mates, those who are his senior are expected to bow out of service unless he specifically has need for any of them.
