The choice of a man to choose a career path is strictly personal. A man decides what choice of career to pursue. For those who have chosen the path of ensuring that the safety and well-being of others are protected, while putting theirs on the line, the least they should get from their country is appreciation, better remuneration, greater incentive and gratitude from a grateful population. Indeed, the military profession, as well as other uniformed security organisations, remains a noble one.
For too long we have toyed with the lives of these men. We have played politics with their welfare and in the process we have succeeded in taking the shine off their profession. We have made them appear beggarly, live miserably and die pauperised leaving behind families that immediately after their death are condemned into a life of abject poverty and deprivation.
There is nothing inspiring about being a Nigerian soldier that makes anyone hopes to become one, even during military rule. The barracks they live are dilapidated; promotions are not based on merit but other parochial considerations. In the military, a school dropout can rise to become a general while a graduate with good degree remains rank and file. Not because there is anything special about the one who rose to become a general but simply as a result of clannish and other mundane considerations.
Our conventional security agencies are over-stretched. There are millions of young Nigerians wandering the streets with nothing doing and yet nobody has thought it wise to employ more hands and equip them properly. Finance cannot be the problem because we see how millions and billions of naira are developing legs and wings and jumping or flying out through the window. Some billions of dollars were discovered somewhere in an Ikoyi flat and many months after we still do not know where it came from. It is only in my country that millions of dollars will just walk to the airport unaccompanied. It is only in Nigeria that money meant for the welfare of soldiers and procurement of arms to tackle insurgency will be diverted into personal use and life will go on as normal. It is only in my country that millions of naira is spent cutting grass in desert regions and the culprit will be allowed home to enjoy his dessert.
Juxtapose this with the experience in other climes and you will be forced to think that there is something inherently wrong with us as a people. A nation that has no place for merit and reward for hard work will forever remain underdeveloped.
Recently, according to Reuters’ account, militants killed around 100 Nigerian soldiers in an attack on an army base.
The insurgents attacked the base in the village of Metele in northeastern Borno State, the epicentre of a revolt by Boko Haram and its Islamic state splinter group. The insurgents according to sources took the soldiers by surprise. “The base was burned with arms and we lost about 100 soldiers. It is a huge loss. Many troops are missing,” the sources said. One soldier said more troops were killed as soldiers who were trying to recover bodies from the initial attack were ambushed.
“We all flew because we didn’t know where the bullets were coming from. They killed some of us who went to evacuate the bodies of the killed soldiers. We left our amour, tanks and weapons. They were all there. The village is still under their control,” the source said.
The report also quoted four security sources saying around 100 died in Metele and the death toll was not final. The fifth said 96 died in the northeast in recent days, mostly in Metele.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, last Wednesday said only 23 soldiers were killed in the Boko Haram attack. He also put the number of troops wounded in action at 31.
Also speaking, Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazzau, Minister of Interior, insisted that the Boko Haram insurgents had been degraded despite recent setbacks.
Asked to justify the Federal Government’s claim that Boko Haram had been degraded in the face of steady incursions by them, Dambazzau said: “Of course, there’s no doubt that Boko Haram has been degraded. Don’t forget the fact that in 2015 when this government came in at that time, about 14 local governments were flying Boko Haram flags, that is not the case today.”
There is no doubt that our soldiers have been gaining the upper hand in the war against Boko Haram. It is also a fact that many of the territories held by the insurgents in the past had been re-gained by the Nigerian soldiers. But it is also a fact that Boko Haram still remains a major threat to us. There is no need playing politics with the fight against insurgency. We cannot be wasting time speaking about degrading Boko Haram while the terrorists group is still killing soldiers and civilians alike as well as humanitarian aid workers on daily basis.
The casualty suffered by the Nigerian Army in Metele is colossal, whether the figure is 23 as Buratai said or over 100 as reported in the media. The truth the military authorities must realise is that Nigerians no longer believe in accounts on casualty as given by government authorities because this is mostly played down for obvious reasons.
What the authorities should be concentrating their energies on is how to avoid such inexplicable and avoidable deaths. How can Boko Haram attack a military formation unaware? It is certain that somebody, somewhere simply was not alive to his responsibility. The mere fact that such a high number of soldiers died almost on a spot is indicative of the fact that they clearly were caught off guard. This is something that even as Boys’ Scouts we were advised to always be prepared.
In saner climes many people would have lost their appointments or resigned honourably over such a scandalous and unfortunate occurrence. Telling us that 23 died and not 100 as reported is missing the point; the crux of the matter is the circumstances around which they died. Soldiers in theatres of war have continued to cry of poor feeding, poor health care, lack of standard weapons. They are made to work like elephant but fed like ants.
For close to four years the federal government has continued to make references to a government supposedly sacked for non-performance. After more than three years do we still blame the previous government for poor feeding condition of soldiers and poor remuneration? Do we still blame the previous government for this unpardonable incident in Metele that has claimed the lives of many breadwinners and rendered their children fatherless and condemned their beneficiaries to lives of miseries?
Good enough, the president while visiting the soldiers last week, acknowledged that they deserve all the attention that the nation’s leadership can demonstrate.
He said security remains one of the cardinal objectives of his administration and promised that no effort will be spared to support troops, including reviewing their welfare package.
“I want to assure you that, as your commander in chief, I will do everything within my powers to continue empowering you by providing all the necessary equipment for you to prevail on the field. I also want you to be aware that I’m currently looking into measures to improve your entitlements and welfare generally,” he said.
Let us hope that this will not be another promise made on the spur of the moment. Let us hope that for once our soldiers will be made to smile under President Buhari, a retired army general himself.
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