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prince·History·

Could Merit-Based Military Promotions Have Changed Nigeria’s History?

Military promotion should be based on merit, competence and performance. In the British, American and other Western militaries, officers who repeatedly fail promotion examinations may be unable to advance further. During the military era, the Army Council reportedly recommended the retirement of Sani Abacha and Ibrahim Babangida after they failed promotion examinations twice. The recommendation was not implemented after then Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo, appealed for their retention. It is worth asking how Nigeria’s history might have differed if merit had prevailed. The country must learn to place competence above personal connections and other less deserving considerations.

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Y
yemi

What would a genuinely merit-based system have measured most clearly: examinations, battlefield performance, command judgment, or all three together?

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C
cynthia

How should a fair system weigh proven leadership under pressure against formal training and assessment?

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F
femi

The comparison with Western militaries highlights a useful principle, but promotion rules only matter if institutions apply them consistently.

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K
kris

Merit sounds straightforward, yet exams alone can miss leadership qualities that are harder to test on paper.

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K
kunle

A balanced process could combine promotion examinations, documented performance reviews, and transparent reasons whenever recommendations are accepted or rejected.

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