ADC promotion: A memo to President Tinubu on military tradition

By Yushau A. Shuaib

Mr President, Sir, I hope this open letter will not be misconstrued, as happened above six years ago, precisely in January 2020, when I wrote a memo to former President Muhammadu Buhari urging him to disengage service chiefs who had overstayed their tenures and whose continued stay was eroding morale within the armed forces.

In that earlier intervention, I argued—correctly, as events later proved—that retaining service chiefs beyond their statutory tenure violated military regulations, blocked career progression, and coincided with a worsening security situation. The service chiefs were General Gabriel Olonisakin (CDS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (Army), Vice Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas (Navy), and Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (Air Force).

The prolonged stay of those chiefs forced many senior officers into premature retirement and denied entire course generations their rightful opportunity to rise to the top. I urged President Buhari to allow the chiefs to retire “when the ovations were loudest,” so the system could renew itself with fresh ideas and restored confidence.

The backlash was fierce. I was threatened and publicly smeared by sycophants, including a self-styled military apologist named Terrence Kuanum, who accused me of being on the payroll of terrorists. I reported the matter to all relevant security agencies. Only the Police acted, but they could not arrest for fear of the power-that-be, and I eventually sought judicial redress in a case still pending before Justice Suleman Belgore of the Federal Capital Territory High Court.

I recount this history because a similar atmosphere now surrounds my decision to speak out again. A recent report by PRNigeria indicates that your decision to promote your Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Colonel Nurudeen Yusuf, to the rank of Brigadier General has generated deep unease within military circles. If implemented, it would mark a historic departure from long-established military tradition, potentially making him the first general officer to serve as ADC to a civilian president in Nigeria.

Colonel Yusuf was promoted to his current rank in January 2025. Elevating him again in less than a year would amount to a second rapid promotion, justified by comparisons with practices in other services such as the Police or DSS. But such comparisons miss a critical point: the Nigerian Armed Forces operate under a rigid, globally recognised promotion system built on seniority, merit, qualifications, time-in-rank, and competitive examinations. Deviating from this framework for political convenience risks undermining the very spine of military professionalism.

Historically, ADCs to Nigerian leaders have ranged from junior officers to Colonels, reflecting both tradition and prudence. Since the return to civil rule in 1999, civilian presidents have consistently appointed Colonels as ADCs—an arrangement that balances professional competence with respect for hierarchy. Elevating an ADC to general-officer rank while still serving in that role would be unprecedented and deeply destabilising.

Mr President, while you are constitutionally empowered as Commander-in-Chief—particularly at a time when a recent Supreme Court ruling has further expanded executive authority to include the declaration of a state of emergency and the removal of elected officials without prior National Assembly approval—leadership ultimately demands restraint. This is especially critical in institutions like the armed forces, where discipline, hierarchy, seniority, and predictability are not mere conventions but sacred pillars of stability and professionalism.

To bend military norms in the manner you intend to would send a dangerous signal that proximity to power matters more than service, sacrifice, and seniority. It would risk breeding resentment among officers who have spent years in harsh terrains, away from their families, confronting bandits and terrorists with courage and professionalism.

Recent events heighten this concern. Only months ago, Nigeria narrowly avoided a coup attempt reportedly fuelled by grievances over stagnation and blocked promotions among senior military officers. As a nation, we rightly condemned that plot. But leadership must also avoid actions that could inadvertently validate the very frustrations that often underpin such dangerous adventures elsewhere in the region.

Why should aides working in the comfort of state houses be fast-tracked over gallant officers battling real enemies in forests and frontlines—some paying the ultimate price—without even the courtesy of seeing their families regularly? Such optics are corrosive.

If Colonel Yusuf cannot find the courage to advise restraint in the interest of the institution he serves, then, Mr President, that burden rests squarely on you. Suspending or reconsidering this promotion would not diminish your authority; it would reinforce your commitment to military professionalism, morale, and national stability.

Nigeria’s armed forces do not need symbolic gestures that strain tradition. They need reassurance that fairness, merit, and order still define the path to advancement. In moments like this, true loyalty is shown not by acquiescence but by counsel grounded in the nation’s long-term interests.

Therefore, my dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I respectfully and passionately appeal to you to reconsider and jettison any move that elevates your Aide-de-Camp above his seniors through accelerated or exceptional promotion. At this critical moment in our nation’s security journey, restraint, fairness, and respect for military tradition will speak louder than authority exercised without caution.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of An Encounter with the Spymaster. Email: [email protected]

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