SWEEPING CHANGES IN NIGERIA'S MILITARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001671 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2018 TAGS: PGOV MORG MILI MPOL NI SUBJECT: SWEEPING CHANGES IN NIGERIA'S MILITARY Classified By: Acting DCM Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b & d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On August 21, the GON announced long-awaited changes in Nigeria's top military personnel, including Chief of Defense Staff (CDS),Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Army Staff, and Chief of Air Staff. Replacing General Azazi as CDS is former Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Dike, now promoted to Air Chief Marshal. The new Chief of Air Staff is Air Vice Marshal Petirin, now promoted to Air Marshal; the new Chief of Naval Staff is Rear Admiral Ibrahim, now promoted to Vice Admiral; and the new Chief of Army Staff is Major General Dambazau, now promoted to Lieutenant General. The shake-up takes place within two days of significant changes in the staff at the Presidential Villa, and is viewed by many as an effort to remove ineffective and allegedly corrupt officers, and as part of a continuing move to purge the upper ranks of government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo's appointees. END SUMMARY. 2.(U) On August 20, Presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi announced the replacement of Nigeria's Chief of Defense Staff and all three service chiefs. Effective immediately, Air Marshal Paul Dike (pronounced DEE-kay) will replace General Owoye Andrew Azazi as CDS, with former Defense Headquarters Director of Electronic Warfare Air Vice Marshal Oluseyi Petirin taking over as Chief of Air Staff. Major General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau will take over from Lt. General Luka Yusuf as Chief of Army Staff, having previously served as commander of the 2nd Mechanized Division in Ibadan. Also announced was the replacement of Vice Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye as Chief of Naval Staff by Rear Admiral Ishaya Iko Ibrahim, formerly head of Western Naval Command in Lagos. According to press reports, after finalizing the new appointments, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia to perform the lesser hajj. ¶3. (SBU) The appointments come shortly after President Yar'Adua announced significant changes in his own Presidential staff, scrapping the offices of Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff, which were created by Obasanjo and staffed with holdovers from his administration (see septel). The previous CDS and service chiefs were also appointed by Obasanjo. Except for Dike, who was appointed Chief of Air Staff under Obasanjo, all of the appointees are new to the senior levels of government, and all of them are viewed as non-political and have reputations for professionalism and honesty. The new appointments also maintain the ethnic and geographic balance which is a fundamental part of the Nigerian political system: Dike is a Christian Igbo from the Niger Delta, Ibrahim is a Christian from the North, Dambazau is a Muslim Hausa/Fulani from the Northwest, and Petirin is a Christian Yoruba from the Southwest. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The new CDS and Service Chiefs are replacing men largely viewed as ineffective and/or tainted by corruption -- dissatisfaction in the Army over pay and allegations of embezzlement by the senior ranks has been high during Azazi's and Yusuf's tenures. Admiral Adekeye, in particular, was viewed by most observers as a highly corrupt officer, who was allegedly personally involved in the "bunkering" (stealing at source) of Nigerian crude oil, and who, in any case, oversaw the most corrupt branch of service. Also, Azazi's and Yusuf's mutual animosity was notorious, and undermined their ability to work together. Another major factor in the changes was likely the lack of progress the Joint Task Force has made in stabilizing the security situation in the Niger Delta. The new men are all widely respected for their integrity, intellect and professionalism. Dike has attended training in the U.S. ¶5. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: Post views the new appointments with guarded optimism -- while integrity, effectiveness, and desperately needed reform are not assured by the introduction ABUJA 00001671 002 OF 002 of fresh new faces, it is encouraging to see President Yar'Adua at last making a decision. The departure of corrupt and/or ineffective officers is also certainly to be welcomed. Moreover, viewed against the larger backdrop of Nigeria's troubled history of military intervention in government, it is significant that a Nigerian Head of State can make a clean sweep of the upper military ranks, then travel out of the country with no apparent concern that he can safely return. END COMMENT. PIASCIK