From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----------------------------------- The Scotsman April 25, 2001 "Your best foreign friend today can be your worst enemy tomorrow." Nigerian General who criticised US is sacked Nigeria said yesterday its three military service chiefs had retired in what looked like a major shake-up of the armed forces that have dominated the political life of the country for decades. The surprise retirements were received in some quarters as a purge whose most obvious target was the outspoken army chief of staff, General Victor Malu. He has ruffled feathers by publicly criticising President Olusegun Obasanjo?s government for the role it has assigned the United States in the reform of the military. "I think they used the others to give Malu an honourable exit," a senior military officer said, asking not to be named. "The other service chiefs have never said anything controversial." A terse government statement suggested that Gen Malu, the chief of naval staff, Vice-Admiral Victor Ombu, and the chief of air staff, Air Marshal Ibrahim Alfa, had retired voluntarily. But analysts said the unexpected nature of the retirements and the fact that all three were in their early 50s suggested they had been fired by Mr Obasanjo, a former military ruler elected president in 1999. A statement named their replacements as Major-General AO Ogomudia, the new army chief, Rear Admiral SI Afolayan, to head the navy and Air Vice-Marshal JD Wuyep as the new air force chief. Gen Malu distinguished himself as the no-nonsense commander of the Nigerian-led regional force, ECOMOG, that policed Liberia during its 1990s civil war and later helped supervise elections there. He was a professional soldier who never held political office. But Gen Malu was said to be on a collision course with Mr Obasanjo after he sharply criticised a military deal with the United States which he said gave the Americans too much access to Nigerian military installations. "Your best foreign friend today can be your worst enemy tomorrow," he told a Nigerian newspaper - Reuters. John Chiahemen In Lagos Wednesday, 25th April 2001 The Scotsman _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
