Promotions In Air Force: Open Letter To Senator Jonah Jang -By Michael S. B. Gyang

Most Distinguished Senator Jonah Jang, I am compelled to bring to your attention the recently released promotions of 14 senior officers of the AirForce to the rank of Air Vice Marshals by the current Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar . In a press release by the airforce spokesman, Air Commodore Dele Alonge, he stated that the promotion exercise was “ in line with one of the key drivers of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar’s vision which is to promote and inculcate the core values of integrity, excellence and service delivery.” However, I understand from discussions in social circles that the exercise totally lacks fairness, balance and has begun to cause disquiet within the service.

Rather than apply the universal principles of merit, fairness, equity and in particular, federal character in the process, the CAS favoured a few officers within the service while completely ignoring others who have also spent about three decades or more of their lives defending the nation .Out of the 14 officers recently promoted, seven of them or 50% of the total are from his native North East and North Western region of Nigeria. The other four regions in the country share the remaining 50% (or seven slots). This is grossly sectional, unbalanced and unfair to officers from other regions who have labored so hard in service of their motherland.

To understand the injustice done in this exercise, it is important to look at the figures carefully. A breakdown of the figures shows that from the North West, four officers were promoted, comprising two from Kaduna and one each from Kano and Katsina. From the North East, CAS promoted three officers in total–two from his native Bauchi and one from Gombe State. Two officers were promoted each from the South East (Anambra and Ebonyi) , the South West (Oyo and Ogun) and South South (Akwa Ibom and Delta). However, only one person was promoted from the enire North Central (Kwara).

From these figures, CAS has clearly favoured officers from the North West and his native North East while our own region, the North Central is placed at a disadvantage with only one person promoted. Why should Abubakar promote two from Kaduna and his native Bauchi State and promote only one in the entire North Central region? Are we in the North Central short of officers worthy of promotion or is it that we are not northern enough to be represented in the highest echelon of the airforce? Promotion is just one out of the many injustices done against the North Central by the CAS.

Another injustice that he has done is in handling the issue of extension of service. According to the rule books of the Nigerian Airforce, there are some privileges that are granted to officers. These are promotion and service extension. I understand that if an officer is granted extension of service, he is entitled to serve by additional one year and only once in his career. An officer granted extension is not usually promoted at the same time as that will nullify the extension and allow him stay beyond the one year permissible by the extension. On the other hand, an officer due for both retirement and promotion could still be promoted but to immediate retirement so that he could enjoy enhanced retirement package. Such officers are not to stay beyond the promotion.

Contrary to these regulations, the CAS gave the officers from North West and North East all of these three privileges, namely: extension of service, promotion and also permission to remain in service after promotion. In crass discrimination, the only person promoted to air vice marshal from the North Central was promoted to retirement. This means that he is promoted to the next rank but he retires immediately. No service extension for him either by one year or beyond. Technically speaking, no officer from the North Central zone has enjoyed the privilege of serving the airforce as an air vice marshal under the leadership of the present CAS. Imagine that!

Distinguished Senator, you will have noticed that no one from our native Plateau has featured in the promotion list. Indeed, I understand that no indigene of Plateau has been promoted to Air Vice Marshal in the last four or five years, therefore forcing our officers to go on premature retirement. The shocking thing is that three officers from Plateau were interviewed this year for promotion among the seven other candidates considered from the North Central zone. However, the CAS did not find anyone of them worthy of having any of these three privileges extended to them. What a gross disrespect for the federal character principles that are enshrined in our constitution.

When President Muhammadu Buhari appointed new service chiefs on July 13 this year, he made it very clear that all of them were appointed on merit and that he did not know anyone of them in person. Buhari was quoted as telling the newly appointed chiefs that: “All of you, including the National Security Adviser, were chosen on merit. Your records gave you the job. Save for the new Chief of Army Staff whom I briefly met at his Command at the Multi-National Joint Task Force, in Chad, I don’t know any of you. Your records recommended you.” As a result of this fairness, Abubakar was appointed as the 20th Chief of Air Staff. It is therefore saddening that the CAS would favour his kinsmen in the service not only with more promotions but with all other privileges while our compatriots from Plateau are not granted any.

What is wrong with promoting the officers who have been recommended for promotion on merit and not favouritism? What is wrong in applying the promotion and retirement rules evenly across board without discrimination? Who can check this impunity or is the airforce above the law ?

Distinguished Senator, I have decided to write this open letter to you on this very important matter because you are a retired officer of the Nigerian Airforce. Despite the fact that you had a distinguished career, you were meted with a similar injustice during your time. Now you are a senator, a former governor and our leader. Distinguished Senator, I am confident that you will champion the call for investigation and review of the airforce promotions to redress injustice and guarantee that all Nigerians have equal stake in the Nigerian airforce.

–Gyang wrote in from Garki, Abuja