Despite Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, no fewer than 500 senior military officers,  including Major-Generals, Brigadier-Generals, Rear Admirals, and Air Vice Marshals, have been forced into early retirement following successive changes in service chiefs under the administrations of former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu.

The mass retirements, which affected the Army, Navy, and Air Force between 2015 and 2023, were driven by a long-standing military tradition that compels senior officers who are of the same course or senior to newly appointed service chiefs to retire. The policy, according to military authorities, is aimed at preserving discipline, hierarchy, and operational efficiency.

While data compiled from media reports put the number of retired senior officers at over 500, military insiders told The PUNCH that the figure could be as high as 900, though the claim could not be independently verified.

The first wave came in July 2015, shortly after Buhari appointed Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai as Chief of Army Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar as Chief of Air Staff, and Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Chief of Naval Staff. Over 100 Army Generals and 20 senior naval officers were retired during that phase.

A second phase followed in 2021, when Buhari replaced all service chiefs with Air Marshal Isiaka Amao, the late Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo. That exercise saw about 123 Army Generals, 50 senior Air Force officers, and 50 naval officers exit service.

The death of Gen. Attahiru later that year and the appointment of Gen. Farouk Yahaya, his junior, triggered another round of voluntary retirements, with over 20 generals from Courses 35 and 36 leaving the Army.

President Tinubu sustained the pattern in June 2023, two weeks after taking office, when he appointed Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, and Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla as service chiefs. The appointments led to the compulsory retirement of 51 Army Generals, 49 senior Air Force officers, and 17 naval officers.

Tinubu’s latest military reshuffle on Friday, which saw Gen. Olufemi Oluyede replace Gen. Christopher Musa as Chief of Defence Staff, Maj.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sunday Aneke as Chief of Air Staff, and Rear Admiral Idi Abbas as Chief of Naval Staff, is expected to trigger another round of exits. About 60 senior officers may be affected if the tradition holds.

Reacting to the trend, Brig.-Gen. Ishola Williams (retd.) condemned what he described as arbitrary dismissals reminiscent of military-era practices.

“Once new service chiefs are appointed, those senior to them must retire. It’s a bad system that we should have reformed long ago. This abrupt dismissal of officers without prior notice is abnormal,” he said.

Williams suggested restructuring the chain of command to establish a clear line of succession and avoid frequent disruptions.

Similarly, Gen. Aliyu Momoh (retd.) applauded Tinubu’s shake-up but urged him to go further by addressing entrenched “cabals” within the military.

“The President has the right to hire and fire, but he must dismantle the cabals and cartels that manipulate the system. Without security, there can be no development,” he said.

He warned that failure to address internal corruption would keep the nation trapped in a cycle of insecurity and inefficiency.

Brig.-Gen. Adewinbi (retd.) noted that while the retirements follow tradition, the government should find ways to utilise the experience of retired officers.

“We can enlist them in the reserves so that their expertise is not wasted,” he said.

Group Capt. Sadique Shehu (retd.), a former Air Force spokesman and member of the Committee on Armed Forces Reform under Buhari, described the situation as “unsustainable.”

“As of 2022, Nigeria had about 960 generals for a total strength of 235,000 personnel. The U.S., with 1.3 million troops, has only about 900 generals. That’s absurd,” he stated.

Shehu blamed the bloated hierarchy on poor manpower planning, political interference, and weak legislative oversight.

“If we produced fewer generals, each reshuffle would affect fewer people. The current system is wasteful and breeds redundancy. Some generals have no real assignments,” he said.

He called on the National Assembly to define clear rules for the appointment and tenure of service chiefs to curb political influence and improve stability.

However, Maj.-Gen. Lasisi Abidoye (retd.) and Maj.-Gen. P.J.O. Bojie (retd.) defended the tradition, describing it as a healthy process for maintaining order and career progression.

“Routine retirement is necessary. When service chiefs stay too long, their juniors are stagnated,” Abidoye said, adding that “no service chief should remain longer than three years.”

Bojie maintained that the exercise was “normal and routine,” stressing that it ensured discipline and structure within the armed forces.