Security expert Onyekachi Adekoye has said that among Nigeria’s top military leaders, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is the most powerful because he commands the soldiers directly on the ground. Adekoye made this statement during an interview with Channels Television from 12.06 while responding to claims that President Tinubu’s recent change of service chiefs was linked to fears of a military coup.
He explained that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) plays a different role. The CDS focuses on strategy, coordination, and leadership across the different branches of the military, such as the army, navy, and air force. But when it comes to actual control of soldiers and real-time action, the COAS has the most direct power.
The Chief of Army Staff, on a very clear point, is the most powerful, because he’s the man who has the men on the ground, the Chief of Army Staff is where the weight really is. The Chiefs of Defense Staff is just a policy, strategy person,” he said.
Adekoye said if the president’s goal was to protect his administration, he would have made sure that both the COAS and CDS were from his ethnic group, which is Yoruba. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, the appointments were spread across different regions of the country.
He pointed out that, for the first time in many years, every geopolitical zone in Nigeria was fairly represented in the military leadership. Because of this, he doesn’t believe the appointments were about regime protection or preventing a coup.
Adekoye concluded that the facts show balance, not fear or political strategy, behind the president’s decision to change the service chiefs. View, More,
Explore More News By Using The Button.