The recent promotions announced by the Army, Navy and Air Force authorities are generating disaffection, fear and suspicion in those that lost out in the exercise.
The Nigerian Navy set the ball rolling when it announced the promotion of 130 officers through the Naval Director of Information, Navy Commodore Kabiru Aliyu.
The statement disclosed that the promotion was released by the Navy Board on Nov 26, 2013. According to the statement, others promoted are six Rear Admirals, 44 Commodores, 50 Captains and 30 Commanders.
According to an informed source, out of about 54 Navy Commodores who sat for the promotion examination, only six were promoted. The rest were asked to be patient or get out of the system.
On the same day, the Air Force too announced the promotion of 107 senior officers comprising 15 Air Vice Marshals, 39 Air Commodores, 31 Group Captains, and 22 Wing Commanders.
Immediately after these two simultaneous events, anxiety took over those who sat for the last promotion examination in the Army. The atmosphere became tense over who and who would be promoted.
However, during the week, the Army, according to a statement issued and signed by its Director of Information, Brigadier-General Ibrahim Attahiru, announced the promotion of a total of 27 Brigadier Generals to the rank of Major General and 75 Colonels to the rank of Brigadier General.
Checks conducted by LEADERSHIP revealed that not a few were disappointed despite the number of those that were promoted.
Those who lost out are now gripped with fear as some of them might be on their way out of the military.
“Some of those officers you see around are not happy because their hope of being promoted has been dashed and by implication, their days in the military are numbered, especially if this is not the first time they are missing such an opportunity.
If you missed a promotion, you are six months behind your mates and you don’t miss your promotion thrice; you are on your way out,” a serving general disclosed.
Source: Leadership
