Weighing in on Serial Proclamations of Loyalty

Against the backdrop of recent military coups in West and Central Africa, Nigeria’s military high command is serially pledging its loyalty to the constituted civilian authority and warning its rank and file against any coup thoughts. But these pledges are putting Nigerians on edge, Louis Achi writes

A former Chief of Army Staff, and  ex-Nigerian Ambassador to Benin Republic, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd) had on December 4, 2020, sternly warned officers and men of the Nigerian Army to perish the idea of any coup attempt in Nigeria. Did he foresee the series of military coups that would sweep out civilian administrations and put the West and Central African regions on edge?

According to the ex-army boss, the Army hierarchy was aware that some generals were being approached, adding that  his eyes were on them. “Democracy has come to stay. We will not tolerate any agent of destabilisation. The years of military misadventure in politics have never carried us anywhere. It is over…Don’t hobnob with politicians,” he had declared.

Buratai, who many believe missed a ministerial portfolio under President Bola Tinubu’s administration by the whiskers, spoke as if he had a premonition of the coup storms sweeping Nigeria’s continental neighbourhoods.

More recently, the current Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, had declared that the Nigerian military would always defend the nation’s democracy at all costs using every constitutional means.

 Lagbaja spoke at the recent Passing Out Parade of officers of Executive Commission Course One of the Army School of Infantry, Jaji, Kaduna State.

“He emphasised that the desire of every Nigerian is a flourishing, uninterrupted constitutional democratic governance, that promotes national values and the interest of every well-meaning Nigerian, irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation,” the Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, reportedly said in a statement.

“I, therefore, charge all Nigerian Army personnel to be proud champions of our flourishing democracy and remain apolitical in discharging their constitutional duties,” the COAS added.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Usman, had also recently warned those he labelled disloyal soldiers to quit the army and affirmed that military personnel must remain loyal to the president, Chief of Defence Staff, down to their brigade commanders.

Usman who apparently prioritised loyalty to President Tinubu and the Chief of Defence Staff over loyalty to the constitution, charged soldiers to be professional and exhibit total loyalty to constituted authority.

Addressing soldiers at the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, Ogun State, the GOC  noted that there were some challenges, but added that they were not peculiar to Nigeria.

“You have to be loyal. There is no room for soldiers that are not loyal to constituted authority. If you are not going to be loyal, then, leave, go and do other work. But the armed forces cannot stand it if you are not loyal,” he said.

This spate of warnings and  declarations of loyalty to the President is making many nervous because of its deeper connotations. Are these self-serving, rhetorics or genuine resolve to defend the constitution?

Penultimate Saturday, it was the turn of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, who declared that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) remained in support of sustained democratic rule in the country.

Speaking at a meeting with military commanders in Abuja, the defence chief, who vowed to deal decisively with threats to national security, said security forces must do all it takes to ensure that democracy thrives in Nigeria. He vowed that all threats to national security must be decisively dealt with.

“Democracy remains what we stand for. We must do everything humanly possible to sustain democratic rule. We have the trust and support of Nigerian people. We must honour that thrust,” Musa said.

The military has been an important institution for protecting the country from external threats since antiquity. 

It has  been widely observed that military intervention in politics appears to be often associated with perceived electoral illegitimacy, economic crisis and stagnation of growth. In a study of intervention in politics by the military in Latin America, Martin C Needler, author of Mexican Politics and former Dean of the School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, suggested that governments were more likely to be overthrown by force when economic conditions deteriorated. When conditions were improving, the military was unlikely to intervene in politics.

It is estimated that there have been at least 100 successful coups in Africa in the past four decades, with more than twice the number of coup attempts. Most military takeovers are initiated by disgruntled junior military officers, who are later supported by a few senior officers. Within days or hours they capture power by detaining or forcing the leaders to step down – as in the case of Mali.

Instructively, four of the recent coups were staged by close guards meant to protect the presidents in their various countries. The alleged coup leader in Gabon, Brice Oligui Nguema, was the head of the Gabonese Presidency’s Republican Guard, the country’s most powerful security unit.

In Niger, the Presidential Guard led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani launched the coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, and had since July 26, detained him and his family.

Guinean Colonel Doumbouya, then a 41-year-old and former French legionnaire and commander of the country’s elite Special Forces Group shot his way to power in September 2021. 

On August 18, 2020, a young group of officers in Mali’s armed forces led by Colonel Assimi Goïta, staged a coup d’état, arresting the beleaguered President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse. He was head of the Malian Special Forces before staging the coup that brought him to power.

In January 2022, Burkina Faso’s army ousted President Roch Kabore, blaming him for failing to contain violence by Islamist militants. A second coup in September 2022, brought the current junta leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore to power.

Chad’s army took power in April 2021, after President Idriss Deby was killed on the battlefield while visiting troops fighting rebels in the north. Deby’s son, General Mahamat Idriss Deby, was named interim president and tasked with overseeing an 18-month transition to elections.

It has been observed that pattern of reacting to military takeovers with optimism expresses a deep-seated frustration with civilian leaders in Africa, some experts say.

“The seeming support of the militaries taking over is an indirect support, it is not support for the military,” Leena Koni Hoffmann, an Africa programme associate fellow with London-based think tank, Chatham House, told Al Jazeera.

“It is an opportunity to say that the government that has been overthrown is a government that does not represent our interest fully,” she said.

In all, the emerging consensus points to good, empathetic governance and focused leadership as crucial factors to assure state stability. In addition, the political class needs to play by the rule and strive to improve the living standard of the people. If these conditions are fulfilled,  any attempt to thwart democracy will be resisted in Africa.