By Charles Pemu 
No fewer than 500 senior military officers, including Major-Generals, Rear Admirals, Brigadier-Generals, and Air Vice Marshals, have been forced into early retirement across the Nigerian Army, Navy, and Air Force between 2015 and 2023.
This recurring wave of mass disengagements, which some insiders claim could total over 900, stems from a long-standing military tradition requiring senior officers who are either senior to or of the same course as a newly appointed service chief to retire. This move is traditionally justified as necessary to maintain strict discipline, hierarchy, and operational efficiency within the services.
The pattern of forced retirement has been consistently observed following changes in military leadership under both the Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu administrations:
- 2015 (Buhari): The first major wave saw over 100 senior Army officers and over 20 senior Navy officers retire following the appointment of new service chiefs, including Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai.
- 2021 (Buhari): A second phase led to the exit of approximately 123 Army generals, over 50 senior Air Force officers, and 50 Naval officers.
- May 2021 (Buhari): The appointment of Gen. Farouk Yahaya, who was junior to many serving generals, triggered the voluntary retirement of over 20 generals.
- June 2023 (Tinubu): Following President Tinubu’s appointment of new service chiefs, mass retirements included 51 Army generals, 49 top Air Force officers, and 17 Naval officers.
- Latest Shake-up: The recent military leadership change executed last Friday is expected to force about 60 top officers into retirement if the tradition is followed.
Retired military leaders and analysts hold varied, but mostly critical, views on the rigid adherence to this tradition:
| Expert | Stance | Key Argument |
| Gen. Ishola Williams (retd.) | Faults the tradition | This practice is a flawed copy of the military regime and is “very bad.” The arbitrary sacking and lack of notice are “abnormal.” He proposed a system where the Chief of Defence Staff acts as the Principal Staff Officer to the President to institute a natural order of succession. |
| Gen. Aliyu Momoh (retd.) | Criticizes underlying issues | Commended the President’s right to hire and fire but urged him to go deeper and remove the “cabals and cartels” (whether politicians or ex-generals) controlling the military. He noted that the constant mass retirement leads to confusion and lack of coherence. |
| Brig. Gen. Adewinbi (retd.) | Accepts it as tradition | Described it as an established military tradition that cannot easily be changed, noting that many have been victims. He suggested the government should utilize the expertise of retired generals by enlisting them in the reserves. |
| Group Captain Sadique Shehu (retd.) | Calls it ‘Unsustainable’ and ‘Structurally Flawed’ | Argued that the true figure of retired generals under Buhari alone was over 960 by 2022. He blamed the cycle on poor manpower planning, political interference, and weak legislative oversight, citing the country produces too many generals for its force size. He advocated for a law limiting tenure and restricting choices for service chiefs. |
| Maj. Gen. PJO Bojie (retd.) | Defends it as ‘Routine’ | Maintained that the looming mass retirement is a “routine” and necessary exercise “in line with military tradition” and that “the situation demands it.” |
Group Captain Sadique Shehu highlighted a key structural problem: the Nigerian military, with a total strength of roughly 235,000 personnel, had about 960 generals as of 2022. This is almost the same number as the United States military, which has 1.3 million personnel, illustrating a problem of rank inflation that makes the mass retirements unavoidable whenever a service chief is appointed from a slightly junior course.