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Irabor: Nigerian Military is the First Victim of Military Rule

Former CDS Irabor has noted that the Nigerian military is the first victim of military rule in Nigeria.

The former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, on Tuesday said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), is the first victims of military rule in Nigeria.

He said that any misdemeanor by individual military service personnel should not be construed to be institutional behaviour.

Irabor also observed that though military incursion into civic space is an aberration, it is not a product of the military institution. 

Speaking at the Armed Forces Celebration and Remembrance Day Lecture and Art Exhibition 2025, insisted that military incursion into political space in Nigeria is often perpetrated by a select group of individuals and not military institutions, hence the urgent need to change narrative that all the woes of the country must be dumped on the door steps of the military. 

According to him, “The military is an instrument of state for upholding the sanctity of the values of the nation. 

“However, in the course of national growth and development, the Nigerian military leadership, at some point in our history, has found itself in the political leadership of the country.

“Whereas the development is an aberration and not a product of the military institution, it has been a challenge for many elites in the geo-political space to understand that the military itself is the first victim of military rule in Nigeria.

“In this regard, the resonant narrative, inadvertently or otherwise, deepens the gorge in civil-military relations to the detriment of the state. This must be reversed.

“It must be reiterated that military political leadership of the country is by a select group of individuals. It must not be construed to be an institutional arrangement”. 

This position, General Irabor said, must be understood in order to optimize the lofty contributions of the military in national development. 

He stated that when political power is thrust on military leaders by the society, military professionalism suffers, and in the end, the State suffers as it cannot endure under a situation of devalued military professionalism.

He therefore noted that improved or flourishing civil-military relations, which democracy provides must be relied upon to upscale the professional standing of the military. 

Irabor who was the guest lecturer at this year’s armed forces celebration and remembrance day, averred that the celebration of veterans and active duty personnel is a good part of the awareness programme.

He said the armed forces must not be seen to be in conflict with the people, stressing that “It is an ill wind to do so”.

Noting that the military exists for the good of the state and its citizens, Irabor warned the public to resist any attempt to convey the impression that the military is responsible for the order of the nation or the perspective that the military is working against the interest of the people.

“Such a view is deceptive. Any misdemeanor by individual military service personnel should not be construed to be institutional behaviour.

“The military institution already has established disciplinary protocols to address issues bothering personnel that cross professional boundaries.

“There could be, and certainly there are, challenges with the military institution. However, there are institutional mechanisms designed to address them in due deference to the norms of objective civil control of the military.

“Our collective aspiration should be to have the optimum effectiveness of the military in national growth and development and not otherwise”.

Linus Aleke

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