By Ike Obi
While speculations are rife that President Mohammadu Buhari may have given his nod for Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna, to succeed as the new CoAS following the death of Attahiru Ibrahim, Daybreak newspaper is unable to verify the claim as the Presidency is yet to make any announcement to that effect.
General Keffi an indigenes of Nasarawa State according to sources is not among the most senior military officers in the Nigerian Army and as such may not be qualified to take over as the new CoAS
According to a report in PR Nigeria he has more than 30 senior major general who are his seniors and so cannot be on top of the pecking list.
There is a pool of top and experienced military officers that Buhari can tap from for his next Chief of Army Staff.
These include:
- Major General Ben Ahanotu of Regular Course 35 from Anambra State. Who is the current Chief of Policy and Plan,
He was the Commander of the Military Operation that captured the founder of Boko Haram Mohammed Yusuf and his followers at their hideout in Maiduguri in 2009 before handing them over to the Police.
- Major General AM Aliyu of Regular Course 36 from Gombe State is another operation officer. He is the Chief of Administration of the Nigerian Army and former Director Foreign Liaison at the Defence Intelligence Agency. He was responsible for processing actionable intelligence for military operations.
- Major General Ibrahim Manu Yusuf of Regular Course 37 from Yobe State. He is Chief of Operation and former Force Commander Multinational Joint Taskforce (MNJTF). He was also a former Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole with rich experience in the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the North East and have also taught in many military colleges including Nigerian Defence College (NDC), Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), and Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre (NAPKC), Jaji.
- Major General Faruk Yahaya of Regular Course 37 from Zamfara State. He is the current Theatre Commander Operation in the North-East and former General Officer Commanding Officer of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army.
