Some retired senior military officers have cautioned politicians to be wary of their actions and utterances so as not to invite the military back into power. The Generals are a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lt.-Gen. Jeremiah Useni, a former minister of science and technology, Maj. Gen. Sam Momah (retd.) and a former Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Brig.-Gen Williams Obene.

Also a former military Governor of Oyo State, Col. Ahmed Usman (retd.), held the same opinion as the generals.‎
The military officers warned that such a situation would not augur well for the country's democracy.

Speaking recently, Useni said the unguarded utterances of politicians could spark confusion in the country, as well as trigger a military intervention.

Useni said, "The military won't go there on its own. It is the politicians that invite them. It is the politicians that cause trouble that allow the military to intervene. But if they behave properly, the voters behave; there will be no need for military intervention.
"Politicians only need to do the right thing so that the military would have no reason to come in at all. There is the need to caution politicians, especially those who are used to causing trouble. We are cautioning ourselves too,"

Similarly, Obene described the political tension in the country over the postponement of the general elections as dangerous.
The retired general asked politicians and political parties to stop dragging the military into partisan politics.
Obene said, "I've said it before; politicians are the worst enemies of democracy. When things don't go their way, they want to rock the boat and let the boat sink. They should leave the military alone.
"The military is not supposed to be partisan; as much as possible, let us insulate our military from this political jamboree."

In the same vein, Momah told one of our correspondents that the concern of the military should be how to defeat Boko Haram.
He said, "I am not happy with what is going on. We look forward to the situation not becoming worse than it is now, because Nigeria remains the hope of the black race and some of us are just talking out of patriotism to see how we can salvage what is left of Nigeria. At this moment in our lives, our concern should be on how to flush out Boko Haram from our territories. That should be our main focus."

While there have been repeated calls for foreign military assistance, Momah noted that the Nigerian military had to take the lead and step up its efforts in flushing out insurgents.
He said, "If we are hoping that outsiders will come and do it for us, from my military experience, it doesn't need to happen that way. Nigerians have to be in the forefront. They (foreigners) will only assist you when they come in. We shouldn't just assume that these foreign troops will come and do the work for us."

Another retired general, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also cautioned politicians against utterances that could heat up the polity.
He said, "We all know the implication of military rule on the polity. Military rule is becoming unfashionable and we should have no cause to be worried. Politicians only need to put their acts together for the unity of the country."

Col. Usman, in his reaction, said Nigerians would no longer accept military intervention again.
"Whatever anybody is planning, I think that nobody will take it (military intervention); the international community will not take it, ECOWAS will not take it, even Nigerians will not take it. Our African Union will not take it, so I don't know who will take it."
Usman said the postponement of the polls was not good for democracy.
"A situation where the president and the military can arm-twist the Independent National Electoral Commission chairman to postpone the election is not good for us," he added.

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