Former military generals have expressed outrage over Tuesday’s clash between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and a naval officer identified as A. Yerima, over alleged land grabbing.
The stand-off between Wike and the officer followed a row over the ownership of a piece of land being guarded by some armed military officers led by Yerima, on the instruction of a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Zubairu Gambo (retd.).
Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, asked Wike to publicly apologise to President Bola Tinubu, the Armed Forces, and the military officer involved in the clash.
Buratai, in a Facebook post on Tuesday night, said, “A minister’s verbal assault on a military officer in uniform is an act of profound indiscipline that strikes at the core of our nation’s command and control structure. It deliberately undermines the chain of command, disrespects the authority of the Commander-in-Chief and grievously wounds the morale of every individual who serves under the Nigerian flag.”
Brig Gen Peter Aro (retd.) said, “The clash between Minister Wike and the young naval officer … reflects how power should and should not be exercised in a democracy. The officer, by every account, was acting under lawful orders from his superior, the former Chief of Naval Staff; his duty was to obey the chain of command, not to improvise under political pressure.’’
“The minister, on the other hand, had every right to raise questions about land or its use, but only through lawful channels such as writing to the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, or approaching the courts.”
He added, “If this episode is not publicly condemned, it sends a dangerous message to the men and women who risk their lives daily for Nigeria’s sovereignty. The military must remain disciplined, but civilian leaders must also model restraint and humility.”
Retired Brigadier General Bashir Adewinbi said: “I did not expect a minister to behave like that toward a commissioned officer. … Any confrontation with a military officer is, by extension, a confrontation with the Commander-in-Chief and should not be tolerated.”
The PUNCH