Introduction: Air Commodore Luke Ochulor(rtd.) was the first governor of Delta State when it was created in 1991. He was also at a time, the Acting Military administrator of Rivers State. In this interview, he speaks on recent coups in Africa and why Nigeria should not lead any war in Niger.
Recently, we’ve had in Africa a couple of coups. As a retired senior military officer and former military governor of some states, what do you think this portends for democracy in the sub-region?
Experience has always been the best teacher in life. Looking at Africa, particularly West Africa and what is happening now, Nigeria as a country has to be very careful. What is happening now is a sort of eye-opener for historians. Some years ago, people started to fight in small ways. Sometimes the fights may end without going beyond the village level. We need to be vigilant and to pray in this country for God to help us maintain our own democracy.
My fear is that if for any reason a major war starts in West Africa, it will engulf every country, whether small or big. It will reach a stage where you see so many warlords emerging. They are already here. The only thing is that they have not announced their intentions. They are here.
And why Nigeria has to be careful is because the Nigerian army since 1970 has been highly mechanized. So anybody going to war now will first of all realize that it is not a military exercise. War is life and death. Man is the first weapon of war. People will die. And there will be retaliatory activities all over the place.
So the best thing West Africa should do now is to try everything to calm everybody down, reach peace, reach a dialogue, and reconcile those that can be reconciled. Those that reject reconciliation, you leave them and move on. There is no need in being so authoritative in enforcing democracy anywhere in Africa. Democracy will take care of itself.
Is this a sign of the poor quality of leadership in these countries, including Nigeria?
One has to be careful with interpretations. Opinions must be separated from facts. Democracy is very, very important. In fact, even before now, some coup plotters and those who were always eager to learn, found out that the military regime is no longer fashionable. That’s what Ibrahim Babanguda said before he left. He wanted to hand it over to civilians, because when people are agitating against you, there is nothing you can do to please them. So the best thing is to help them manage the democracy, even when it is not the very ideal democracy that is desirable.
In the case of Niger, part of the reasons the coup plotters gave was to reduce the stranglehold of France on the country. Is this reason justifiable?
It is very intricate and I will tell you why. You know, every group of people, soldiers who want to plan a coup roll out or reel out a litany of reasons. It’s up to you to believe the reasons or not. But when a soldier runs away from his battalion, he will find reasons against the battalion as we always say it in the military.
The reasons given for what happened in Niger are pedestrian. They are pedestrian in the sense that they have been with France all these years. They have gotten used to the system of administration. And if they decide that the only way they can separate themselves is to run away from the alienation to France, so be it.
As far as I’m concerned, Niger is an independent country. They have a right to do whatever that pleases them, but it shouldn’t be our business. That’s where I’m concerned. This was in line with what the National Assembly said when President Tinubu requested that troops should be sent there.
ECOMOG military generals, in their first meeting, said they wanted to pursue a peace process. Suddenly they changed some days later and said they were now ready to invade. Do you perceive any pressure anywhere?
No, no, just what Nigerians must understand is that the civilian regime is in charge of decision making in Nigeria. The responsibility of the soldiers is to obey instructions from the civil authority. That’s what they signed. That’s what democracy is all about.
Opinions are that there is no need to go to war. That ECOWAS should continue to dialogue with the leaders of Niger so that they can return the country to full democracy. If you watched recently, there was a letter written to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria by retired Navy Commodore Bode George. That letter speaks volumes. He wrote it directly to the President because he’s experienced in war. He warned against going to war in Niger. Some of us who are here today, who know what happens in the war field, we share that view.
That there’s no need to threaten Niger. Niger is an independent country. We can help by letting them know that the world wants democracy. But you cannot force democracy on them. We can’t. Whatever may be the reason why they are now vacillating, I believe that reasons will prevail.
I don’t think it would be ingenious to take war to Niger. It’s not right.
Is the military today being treated well compared to your days? Did you experience such things in your days? Do soldiers willingly say they are no longer interested?
There is a standing oath of attestation as a soldier, as a cadet. He will take that oath of attestation to defend Nigeria and its constitution in the air, on the water, and on land. And the principle of operation of the Nigerian army is to win all land battles. The Nigerian Air Force’s job is to make sure they carry out interdiction and protect the Nigerian airspace from the ground for eternity. So what I’m trying to explain here is that the Navy takes care of the water area. There are so many stories going on.
Some of them may be true, some may not be true. So a soldier who wants to resign when there are rumors of war or during war is not a true soldier
We are experiencing massive retirement of officers recently, some of them forced retirement. Are we not losing our best hands to this?
Once an officer, a general, is promoted above you and given an appointment where you will now become his subject, I think the best option has always been to retire.
I’ve seen it in the military colleges, in the war colleges, and other training institutions of the military, trying to find a solution to early retirement. But if the constitution says, well, once you serve 35 years or even less, or if you are politically minded, you should make way, there’s nothing you can do about it. But those officers who are being retired now, who are mates of those who have been appointed service chiefs, they know that is the price of being in the military, in Nigeria and Africa. So they should not be surprised at that.
Terrorism has lasted a long time in Nigeria. What do you think is the best way to minimize it or totally eradicate it?
Terrorism in Nigeria is rife and is a big problem. Recently we saw how terrorists ambushed and killed 26 of our soldiers. That is why I said we should avoid going to war in Niger. We cannot carry our soldiers to a foreign land when our internal problems are going to be blown overboard. What we have in Nigeria is enough for divisions of the military to be deployed. Until we are able to solve the problem of terrorism in Nigeria, it will be foolhardy to start crossing the border to do a craft, as far as I’m concerned. No matter the reasons, anybody can do it. It’s not necessary.
We must first of all get rid of the terrorists that are messing up the Nigerian security. We are suffering from serious insecurity. Every day a child can see it. Look at the number of girls kidnapped. It says 1,685 since Chibok girls were kidnapped, in a country that is independent, a country that is a member of the United Nations, a country that is the head of ECOWAS?
There’s a way it sounds. We have the capacity and the capability to take care of this insurrection within Nigeria. We have not done it. So what is the moral justification for us to intervene in a country that is independent like we are? It’s not necessary.