A long-standing military tradition requiring senior officers to retire when a junior is appointed as service chief has led to the forced exit of over 500 top military personnel since 2015, a practice insiders label as wasteful and unsustainable despite official claims it maintains discipline and efficiency.
In a continuation of a long-standing military tradition, over 500 senior officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force have been forced into early retirement following the appointment of new service chiefs under the administrations of former President Muhammadu Buhari and current President Bola Tinubu. The policy, which disengages officers senior to or of the same course as a new service chief, is defended by the military as essential for maintaining hierarchy and operational efficiency.
Data collated from 2015 to 2023 shows the practice has triggered multiple waves of retirements. The first major wave in 2015 saw over 100 senior Army officers and 20 naval officers retire. Subsequent appointments in 2021 and 2023 led to the exit of hundreds more generals and top officers. With President Tinubu’s latest shake-up in military leadership this month, approximately 60 more senior officers are expected to disengage.
While the military describes the retirements as routine, retired insiders have sharply criticized the system. Retired Group Captain Sadique Shehu described the practice as “unsustainable” and “structurally flawed,” attributing the scale of the exits to a bloated number of generals caused by poor manpower planning and political interference.
“You cannot leave the military to run itself. There’s too much political interference,” Shehu lamented. He urged for a drastic reduction in the number of generals produced.
Retired General Ishola Williams faulted the process, describing this as a mirror of the military regime. He argued, “To just make an announcement and tell the person, ‘you are leaving now, is abnormal.”
In contrast, other retired officers like Major-General PJO Bojie called the development “normal and routine.” Similarly, Brigadier General Adewinbi (retd.) stated, “There is nothing we can do about it… Many of us have been victims of this tradition,” while suggesting the government find ways to utilize the expertise of retired generals.