A Plea for Nigerian Soldiers’ Welfare

 By Wale Igbintade writes

Given the economic hardship currently being faced by Nigerians, an increasing number of Nigerian soldiers are expressing their displeasure over the failure of the federal government to pay the ₦35,000 wage award to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal as promised.

President Bola Tinubu, after announcing the removal of the petrol subsidy, had said the ₦35,000 wage award alongside the payment of a 40 per cent special salary increase to workers would help cushion the efforts of high transport costs amid the rising cost of food and other commodities. But soldiers said nothing had been paid to them.

Femi Adegboyega joined the Nigerian Army about 17 years ago. He was among the first set of soldiers deployed from different parts of the country to combat the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State. Despite sleeping in the bushes as well as classrooms, with his operational allowances unpaid on several occasions, he remained in the military and is currently helping the country to combat armed separatist terrorists in the South-east. 

“After losing many of our colleagues to attacks in Maiduguri, some of my friends left the Army. But I still remain to prove the love I have for my fatherland,” he told HumAngle.

“People keep leaving the military because of lack of adequate welfare, and it appears that isn’t going to change. People even get punished for talking to the press and expressing their displeasure publicly,” he reportedly alleged. 

Indeed, it was reported recently that a soldier was locked up for exposing the welfare challenges troops are subjected to at the frontlines. Soldiers allege that the Official Secret Act of 1962, is often used to punish their colleagues who speak to the press about their poor condition of service on the ground that they leak information and official secrets, against the provisions of the Act.

The law prohibits government workers from transmitting classified matter to a person not authorised on behalf of the government to transmit it. Section 7 of the Act provides for penalties as punitive as 14 years imprisonment for whoever breaches the law.

Adegboyega had spent the last 16 months on the frontlines combating terrorism without compensation. 

Now, he and many other soldiers have turned to beggars, soliciting funds from friends and strangers while other soldiers are forced to indulge in nefarious and illegal activities to meet their personal and family needs. 

Last December, a soldier stationed in Borno State expressed his frustration at his inability to visit his family due to the transport fare that he claimed was higher than his salary.

In a viral video that circulated on social media, the soldier expressed his dismay at being unable to reunite with his family after a year of service in the trenches.

He said: “The Nigerian Army gave me a pass to go and see my family as I had spent one year in Maiduguri. As I left the bush, I reached the park and they told me that from here to my town is N35,000. I calculated it; going home and coming back is N70,000 and my salary that I was paid this month was N50,000. I don’t have any option again; I’m going back to the bush.”

The soldier was said to have been promptly arrested and detained. As of the time of writing, he had reportedly been moved to the military Special Investigation Bureau (SIB) underground cell in Abuja, waiting to be court-martialed.

The outcry over the poor remuneration of soldiers has fuelled criticisms against the unequal treatment of Nigerians serving the country in different capacities. 

Critics noted that while the ruling political class allocate humongous salaries, allowances and other benefits to themselves, soldiers who put their lives at risk for the citizens to sleep peacefully are not well catered for.

In a recent interview on national TV, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, lamented that some Nigerian soldiers earned below N50,000 monthly and called for a review. 

“My soldiers collect less than N50,000 as salary in a month. We all know the situation on the ground. My appeal is for them to have a salary worthy of the work they are doing. We deserve to have that so that it can encourage them to want to do more,” the CDS reportedly said.

He also decried the meagre N1,200 per day paid to officers and soldiers as allowances for being on the field to confront terrorists and others.

These stark revelations by the General have led analysts to conclude that the current wage structure in the military presents a scary scenario. They wondered how a soldier would earn N50,000 per month in a country where a bag of rice currently costs almost N100,000. When a soldier on the frontline gets home after such a long time, he will be expected to pick up the bills accumulated by the family while also taking care of himself or herself, including attending to health challenges.

This is why those who spoke to THISDAY concluded that it is depressing that the wages soldiers earn are not even enough to pay for their transport fare to visit their families from the war fronts. Unless the country seems to suggest that soldiers are not meant to raise families, this horrible wage structure must be addressed without delay.

The fact is that poor pay is not limited to the military alone. It also applies to the police. Recently, there was outrage when the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun doled cheques of ridiculous and paltry sum of N1.5million to the families of the personnel who were killed in the line duty. Those who expressed concerns, wondered what a meagre sum of N1.5million can do for a family of an officer who had served for five or more years?

Given that Nigerian soldiers are putting their lives on the line defending the country, the current wage structure which can only engender poverty has to be reviewed immediately.

They certainly deserve better treatment. There must be a salary review for the security services so that they can do their best for the country.

Members of the ruling group must go beyond self-enrichment and prioritise the well-being of Nigerians by ensuring fair and sustainable wages for workers.