The new service chiefs

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EVEN his harshest critics when he was the standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have had to concede that President Bola Tinubu has got off to a quick start. While the long-term effects of the new administration’s moves remain to be seen, the manner and speed with which President Tinubu has executed the removal of subsidy on petrol, ordered the arrest of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele, approved the indefinite suspension of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa and rejigged the armed forces has been nothing short of impressive. With respect to the armed forces, Tinubu has named new commanders for the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Air Force. He has also appointed a new Comptroller General (Adewale Adeniyi) for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). One-time Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) boss, Nuhu Ribadu, is the new National Security Adviser (NSA).

The plaudits that President Tinubu has received with respect to these new appointments must be placed in context. One criticism of the immediate past Buhari administration was that it tended to move at a glacial speed and turned with all the celerity of an aircraft carrier. The appointment and retention of service chiefs became divorcedfrom the essence of performance and capability, becoming a hollow ritual. Significantly, however, Tinubu’s swift dispatch of a batch of ineffectual chiefs who should have been put to pasture is being rightly hailed by the public and a cross section of the commentariat as a departure from the notorious lethargy and tentativeness of his predecessor.

Unsurprisingly, the new service chiefs have been vocal in their promises to change theculture in their respective establishments. For instance, the new customshelmsman has promised to“adopt a bottom-up approach, where (sic)the needs of our dear nation take precedence over everything else”as well as“prioritise efficiency in service delivery as the bedrock of trade facilitation and revenue generation.”For his part, the new NSA has promised to“stabilise,”“secure”and“make Nigeria peaceful.” The new police chief, Kayode Egbetokun and the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, have their work cut out for them. We are heartened especially by the latter’s promise to “improve on the legacy” of his predecessor, Lieutenant-General Farouk Yahaya, as well as “run an army that will be driven by discipline and professionalism.”

We congratulate the new service chiefs on their various appointments. At the same time, we cannot avoid observing that a similar mood of euphoria had greeted the announcement of the appointment of their respective predecessors by the Buhari administration. That euphoria would quickly turn to despair as they settled into mediocrity, leading Nigerians from all walks of life to call for their removal. We need not remind the new service chiefs that insecurity in Nigeria is at an all-time high. Among the many threats to stability in the country are the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency, random attacks by bandits, kidnapping and attacks on innocent citizens by armed robbers. Accordingly, the new service chiefs must mobilise and deploy the resources at their disposal in ensuring that Nigerians begin to feel safe in their respective communities. They must disabuse the minds of Nigerians by immediately tackling the pervasive insecurity in the country. We are tired of calling on new service chiefs to do their work as this ought to be the standard of any new public appointment.

Nigeria sorely needs a new beginning and the service chiefs should signal a return to effective and efficient performance from public officers rather than continuing the shoddiness introduced by the Buhari government into the register of public appointments. When it comes to the appointment of new service chiefs, there have been too many false dawns. Nigerians are hoping that this is not another one.

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