• Obanikoro
The military high command is increasingly becoming uncomfortable
with recent alleged actions by the Minister of State for Defence,
Senator Musiliu Okanikoro.
Specifically, the occupation by soldiers drafted to the disputed
parcel of land (Ilubirin) in Lagos on the orders of the minister, has
continued to generate concern among the top hierarchy of the nation’s Armed Forces.
One of the military chiefs, who spoke to our correspondent in confidence at the weekend, expressed disgust about the minister’s actions, saying it would serve the interest of the Armed Forces if the minister refrained from dragging soldiers into partisan matters.
The highly placed military source, who spoke with our correspondent on telephone on Saturday, deplored the use of soldiers by the minister over what he described as purely a partisan issue.
He said: “The minister’s action is indecent and inconsistent with the regimented tradition of the military. There is no reason why some politicians would want to pocket the military in the name of politics.
“By tradition, the military is bound to restrict itself to the protection of the nation’s territorial integrity, so involving soldiers in this type of exercise tends to create the wrong impression that the military is being partisan, which must not be so.”
Defending his action in drafting soldiers to the parcel of land, Obanikoro, in response to the objections raised by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had stated among others:
“I made an unscheduled visit to the land on the fateful day in question to take a physical assessment of the land. Perhaps, the presence of the military men attached to my convoy is what was termed ‘commando-like’ by the Lagos State Government, but one would expect that the Governor should know better if his intentions are genuine.”
“Governor Fashola has objected to getting an approval from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). He does not even want the consent of the Federal Ministry of Works.
“The location of his site breaks all the laws on set back requirements for highways and roads”, adding that “as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), I expect him to know that the construction is illegal.
“He needs to stop using the name of Alhaji Femi Okunnu to legalise his illegality. It only shows the recklessness and impunity that he governs with”.
Obanikoro was also quoted in the report to have said that the Lagos State government lacked all necessary documentation for the project, adding that “efforts to make the government do the needful had consistently been rebuffed by state officials.”
But the military source reminded the minister of the existence of relevant Federal Government ministries and agencies charged with the responsibility of handling such matters.
Confirming media reports on the recent altercation between Obanikoro and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshall Alexander Badeh, shortly after resumption of duties, the source maintained that the CDS truly expressed his objections to what he considered the minister’s indiscretion.
Badeh was reported to have shouted Obanikoro down at the first meeting between the Service Chiefs and the substantive Defence Minister, Lt. Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd), for alleged indiscretion on the part of the Minister of State who was also at the meeting.
The minister’s action is coming in the backdrop of the ongoing counter- insurgency operations in the Northeastern parts of the country and bloody skirmishes in some states of the federation, which the Armed Forces are still contending with.
“We still believe that it is not too late for the minister to spare the military this distraction. It is unnecessary at this critical point in the life of the nation in general and the military in particular”, the source added.
One of the military chiefs, who spoke to our correspondent in confidence at the weekend, expressed disgust about the minister’s actions, saying it would serve the interest of the Armed Forces if the minister refrained from dragging soldiers into partisan matters.
The highly placed military source, who spoke with our correspondent on telephone on Saturday, deplored the use of soldiers by the minister over what he described as purely a partisan issue.
He said: “The minister’s action is indecent and inconsistent with the regimented tradition of the military. There is no reason why some politicians would want to pocket the military in the name of politics.
“By tradition, the military is bound to restrict itself to the protection of the nation’s territorial integrity, so involving soldiers in this type of exercise tends to create the wrong impression that the military is being partisan, which must not be so.”
Defending his action in drafting soldiers to the parcel of land, Obanikoro, in response to the objections raised by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had stated among others:
“I made an unscheduled visit to the land on the fateful day in question to take a physical assessment of the land. Perhaps, the presence of the military men attached to my convoy is what was termed ‘commando-like’ by the Lagos State Government, but one would expect that the Governor should know better if his intentions are genuine.”
“Governor Fashola has objected to getting an approval from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). He does not even want the consent of the Federal Ministry of Works.
“The location of his site breaks all the laws on set back requirements for highways and roads”, adding that “as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), I expect him to know that the construction is illegal.
“He needs to stop using the name of Alhaji Femi Okunnu to legalise his illegality. It only shows the recklessness and impunity that he governs with”.
Obanikoro was also quoted in the report to have said that the Lagos State government lacked all necessary documentation for the project, adding that “efforts to make the government do the needful had consistently been rebuffed by state officials.”
But the military source reminded the minister of the existence of relevant Federal Government ministries and agencies charged with the responsibility of handling such matters.
Confirming media reports on the recent altercation between Obanikoro and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshall Alexander Badeh, shortly after resumption of duties, the source maintained that the CDS truly expressed his objections to what he considered the minister’s indiscretion.
Badeh was reported to have shouted Obanikoro down at the first meeting between the Service Chiefs and the substantive Defence Minister, Lt. Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd), for alleged indiscretion on the part of the Minister of State who was also at the meeting.
The minister’s action is coming in the backdrop of the ongoing counter- insurgency operations in the Northeastern parts of the country and bloody skirmishes in some states of the federation, which the Armed Forces are still contending with.
“We still believe that it is not too late for the minister to spare the military this distraction. It is unnecessary at this critical point in the life of the nation in general and the military in particular”, the source added.
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