Colonel Nurudeen Yusuf, the Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was recently promoted to Brigadier-General. This has caused some military personnel to complain.
Some of the people who talked to our reporter said it was a “unusual decision, especially in a democracy.”
One of the officers who talked to our reporter yesterday said that while young and middle-level officers like Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, and Lieutenant Colonels could be promoted for doing a great job, “promoting someone to the position of Brigadier General through executive fiat is not only abnormal but a terrible precedent,” according to Daily Trust.
President Tinubu wrote a letter to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Wahid Shaibu, on December 12, 2025, saying that Colonel Yusuf should be promoted to Brigadier-General.
The letter, which Daily Trust saw on several media sites, was signed by Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA). It said that the president had agreed to Col. Yusuf’s promotion.
Sources in the NSA’s office and the Nigerian Army did not confirm or refute the letter, therefore it could not be validated on its own.
On May 1, 2023, Yusuf was named ADC to Tinubu, which was around four weeks before the president took office. At the time, he was a Lieutenant Colonel, although he was later elevated to Colonel.
Military people are surprised by the new elevation because Yusuf was only made a Colonel in January of this year. This is his second promotion in 12 months.
Someone else responded, “This is an aberration…” Brig.-Gen. ML Abubakar (N/10378) was a part of the 44 Regular Course of NDA and started working with President Muhammadu Buhari as a lieutenant colonel in the last government.
“When it was time for his promotion, he and his classmates were all elevated to Colonel. After Buhari’s first term, he was let go to take the required course to become a Brigadier General. After finishing the course and going through the customary process, he was sent out of the Villa to a job that was appropriate for his level. He was replaced by Lt Col YM Dodo (N/11624), who was a member of 50RC.
The source further said, “In the same way, Col. Giwa Amu was replaced by Lt. Col. Chris Jemitola during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s time so that the former could go to his Defense College and grow with his classmates.”
He remarked, “The only time a Brig Gen was ADC was when General Abdussalami Abubakar was in charge. Col Abide Aprezi was promoted to Brigadier General and kept for a few months to finish the transition program.”
Several officers, including some of Yusuf’s classmates, reportedly complained about what they called an unprecedented fast-tracking of his career, with detractors accusing the president of favoritism, according to Premium Times yesterday.
The Premium Times further quoted a source in the presidency as stating that Tinubu agreed to the promotion so that Yusuf’s status would be the same as those of other high-ranking security officials at the Presidential Villa.
The source said that in August, the Nigeria Police Force upgraded Usman Shugaba, the president’s Chief Personal Security Officer, from deputy commissioner of police to commissioner of police.
Also, the State Security Services (SSS) recently made Adegboyega Fasasi, the president’s Chief Security Officer, a director.
The insider said that the police and SSS positions are the same as a brigadier-general in the Nigerian Army.
He went on to say that if Yusuf hadn’t been promoted, he would have stayed lower in rank than his peers in the Villa’s security architecture. This, he warned, may hurt the morale of the presidential security team.
But another anonymous insider said the opposite, stating, “The Nigerian Army is an institution based on tradition, memory, and an unwritten moral code that guides advancement, authority, and respect.”
He said, “Promotion to the rank of Brigadier General has been one of the clearest signs of that code for decades.” It means that an officer has gone through a lot of professional inspection, met very high standards, and gained the trust of both their colleagues and their subordinates via hard work, time, and mental preparation. This ritual is not only for show. It is the foundation of discipline and the serene conviction that the system is just.
“Within this framework, the promotion of an officer who allegedly spent only one year in the rank of Colonel and did not attend the Army War College or the National Defence College constitutes a judgment of exceptional institutional risk. Not only is it a break from tradition, but it is also a break from precedent. The immediate effect isn’t obvious in public ceremonies, but it’s quite real in messes, command offices, and other informal professional settings when officers weigh their choices against the principles they’ve held for decades.
“For years, capable officers have been forced to retire or passed over at the Colonel level because they didn’t meet the strict prerequisites for promotion to Brigadier General. A lot of people accepted this result with grace since they believed in the system’s honesty. To suddenly promote an officer who hasn’t reached the same standards sends a terrible message that dedication, patience, and professional education don’t matter anymore. This is how quiet anger starts. Not fighting back, but complaining. Not protest, but decay. When officers think the rules don’t apply to everyone anymore, the institution’s moral fabric starts to fall apart.
Another insider also said that the process of sanctioning the promotion was wrong.
He claimed, “The NSA got a letter from the president asking the military to do something.” The NSA gave it straight to the Chief of Army Staff, not to the CDS or the Minister of Defense. “This is not normal.”
Getting promoted to Brigadier-General
Under long-standing Nigerian Army policy and in keeping with best practices around the world, an officer cannot legally go from Colonel to Brigadier General without completing three critical requirements:
•Finishing the War College or Senior Staff Course (around a year)
• Finish the National Defence College or a similar strategic course (around a year)
• Minimum time in rank as Colonel: usually four to five years.
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