EDITORIAL: Beyond the 15 January Symbolism — What Nigeria Owes Its Armed Forces

As usual, this year’s Nigeria Armed Forces Remembrance Day on 15 January was solemn and colourful. It is an annual ritual held worldwide on 11 November to appreciate the sacrifices of fallen heroes and veterans in different wars and violent conflicts. For Nigeria, the chosen date evokes painful memories of the military’s emergence in national politics in 1966 and the three-year fratricidal civil war that claimed millions of lives, which ended on that day in 1970.

At the Cenotaph of the Unknown Soldier, wreaths are laid at the National Arcade, Eagles Square in Abuja; a 21-gun salute is fired, and caged white pigeons are released, signifying the ascendancy of peace. The assemblage of political leaders, military chiefs, war veterans and foreign diplomats all form part of its rich tradition.

The 2026 event was themed, “Valour, Sacrifice and Unity,” which is truly evocative of history and the abiding lesson that national cohesion must always be cherished. President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, noted to the kith and kin of the war heroes that, “Your loss is profound, and no words can replace the sacrifices of your loved ones. They served Nigeria with honour…” He further stated: “I reaffirm my commitment to the welfare and dignity of the Armed Forces… We will continue to support their actions.”

But beyond these symbolic gestures and reassuring words, the lived reality of Nigeria’s military institution tells a more troubling story. Our military regularly bleeds from questionable retirements of officers, which sometimes breach established rules in ways suggestive of arbitrariness and witch-hunting. Even when such retirements are reversed or declared illegal by courts, there is a disturbing penchant for ignoring judicial pronouncements. The military are subordinate to civil authorities. As such, since there is no place for the disobedience of court judgments in a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law, this culture must stop. Otherwise, it should attract clear and enforceable sanctions.

In 2016, for instance, 38 officers were compulsorily retired by the Muhammadu Buhari administration. The then Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, attributed this to indiscipline, especially the alleged jeopardisation of the war against insurgency. Among those affected were nine Generals, 11 Brigadier-Generals and 11 Lieutenant-Colonels.

They protested. And some of them, including Mohammed Suleiman, a Colonel, dragged the army to the National Industrial Court, which in 2020 ordered that he be reinstated. In its judgment, the court declared his retirement as “ultra vires, illegal, unlawful and null and void.” But the army remained adamant, in an apparent show of impunity. Such unfortunate acts deeply undermine morale within the ranks, sending a dangerous signal to serving officers that redress for injustice may be illusory.

Four cases preceding that of Suleiman followed the same pattern. They involved Nwokoro Ijeoma, a Major-General; Danlandi Hassan, a Colonel; and Abdulfatai Muhammed and Thomas Arigbe, both Lieutenant-Colonels. We are urging the Army Council, the Ministry of Defence and the presidency to address this injustice.

Equally demoralising armed forces personnel is the significant turnover of senior officers each time there is a leadership change in the Armed Forces. Generations of officers are compulsorily retired from service with the emergence of junior officers over and above their seniors as service chiefs in the Army, Air Force and Navy.

No doubt, this is in line with military tradition and within the constitutional powers of the President to choose his service chiefs. Sodique Shehu, a former spokesman of the Air Force, once noted that over 500 Generals were forced to retire in eight years from 2015. This followed the emergence of Messrs Tukur Buratai, Ibrahim Attahiru and Farouk Yahaya as service chiefs under the Buhari presidency, and subsequently Taoreed Lagbaja, Waidi Shaibu and others under the Tinubu administration.

Such huge wastage of human resources with critical skills, still useful to the country for several more years as it battles multiple dimensions of insecurity, alongside the enormous costs of training these officers and the psychological toll on the institution, should deeply concern political leaders. Hence, the need for restraint. These large-scale erosions of potential value must be reconsidered and checked going forward.

Undoubtedly, no responsibility is more demanding or patriotic than a soldier’s defence of a nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Many have paid the supreme sacrifice or sustained life-altering injuries in the discharge of this noble duty. As such, the survivors deserve the nation’s best care, within service and beyond it.
Sadly, the fatal realities of their profession persist even when Nigeria is not in formal warfare. For instance, just four days after this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance event, five soldiers and a police officer were ambushed and killed by terrorists on 19 January in Zamfara State, as they were returning from an otherwise successful Operation FASAN YAMMA. Another five soldiers lost their lives in the Timbuktu Triangle in Borno State when a suicide bomber’s vehicle, laden with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), rammed into an army convoy. These deaths brutally alter the lives of families — children, widows and dependants. Families of fallen officers must be properly informed, promptly compensated, and given structured psycho-social support to help them cope with irreparable losses.

How far the Nigerian State truly takes care of the welfare of families of these fallen heroes requires serious national interrogation. It is not only about the dead, but also about personnel still in service. The Military Pensions Board (MPB) and the Ministry of Finance, Abuja, have in recent times been besieged by war veterans, who bitterly complained about unfair treatment by the State. They cited the incomplete payment of their gratuities, Security Debarment and parking-out-of-barracks allowances.

In October 2025, these veterans barricaded access to the finance ministry in a protest with placards. In the past, military premises were the venues for such expressions of grievance, until threats of forceful dispersal by military authorities ended the practice.

During the last protest, one of the veterans, Lawrence Yusuf, said: “I am carrying iron in my body from injuries sustained while in the service. But they pay millions to athletes for 90 minutes of play and ignore us who risked everything.” Mr Yusuf, a retired Warrant Officer, spent 31 years in service.

Mr Yusuf can afford to make himself heard. But those still in service, especially on the battlefield, cannot complain, being fettered by military ethics and discipline. Yet, their conditions are often the most troubling. They require adequate care, proper provisioning, enhanced allowances, and humane deployment policies that avoid prolonged overstays on the frontlines, so that fatigue and burnout do not undermine counterinsurgency operations.

A commitment to the welfare of servicemen loses meaning when remuneration and allowances are too meagre to guarantee decent living conditions, despite their immense sacrifices. Equally troubling is the chronic delay in the payment of pensions and gratuities to veterans, denying them comfort in retirement. Moreover, how does a retiree (or the family of a deceased soldier ejected from barracks) move on without terminal allowances?

The MPB, which pays only gratuities and pensions, was compelled to explain last year that parking allowances are paid by each service — the Army, Air Force and Navy — while the Defence Headquarters settles Security Debarment entitlements. All institutions responsible for these payments must sit up and act responsibly.

The monthly pension of retirees who left service before 29 July 2024, when the new ₦70,000 minimum wage took effect, has become another contentious issue. According to military pension authorities, the minimum wage law does not apply to those who retired before it came into force. This position is morally indefensible and socially unjust. Ex-servicemen are not insulated from the crushing cost of living ravaging the country, and this policy must be reviewed.

How the welfare of these ex-soldiers is handled inevitably affects the morale of those still in service — the rank and file who form the boots on the ground. Many are currently deployed in counterinsurgency battles in the North-East, North-West and North-Central. How are they expected to serve loyally and optimally when the conditions of their predecessors paint a grim picture of what awaits them?

The welfare of the top brass should not be the barometer for measuring the general wellbeing of ex-servicemen. Generals continue to earn salaries for life, retain security details and domestic staff, and are periodically provided with SUVs and backup vehicles, alongside medical allowances that enable treatment in top-tier hospitals. When the pension of a lowly ranked officer cannot feed his family or secure basic housing, the injustice is glaring.

There is a compelling need for military salaries to be competitive, to motivate personnel and enhance professionalism. To further improve welfare, PREMIUM TIMES advocates a properly structured and well-funded scholarship scheme for the children of fallen heroes, particularly those killed by terrorists and bandits in ongoing counterinsurgency operations.

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It may be recalled that President Tinubu awarded scholarships — from primary to university level — to children of the 17 soldiers ambushed and killed in Okuama community, Delta State, in 2024. Similar gestures also occurred in 2015 and 2022/23. Ironically, instances abound of the neglect of federal scholarship recipients, as happened in Russia in 2016 and Morocco in 2018, which forced students to protest at Nigeria’s embassies. This is why such schemes, especially for children of fallen heroes, must be well structured, properly funded and institutionalised.

Consequently, more funds should be channelled into the Army Scholarship Foundation for the children of fallen officers to guarantee sustainability. In the United States, for example, the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation has disbursed over $82 million in scholarships since 2002.

The welfare of soldiers can also be raised through the Affordable Home Ownership for All Soldiers scheme, managed by Post-Service Housing Development Limited (PHDL). Houses built under this scheme must be sold strictly and transparently to the intended beneficiaries. Its pilot scheme of 400 housing units in Abuja has been sold out, with similar projects expanded to Ibadan, Jos, Benin, Owerri, Akwa Ibom and other locations.

As the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Waidi Shaibu, said in December in Ibadan: “A soldier who is assured of his future is better motivated to give his best in the defence of the nation.” This is unquestionably true.

Without the military, terrorists, bandits and violent non-state actors would likely have overrun Nigeria over the past two decades. Enhancing the welfare of military officers and personnel therefore directly correlates with the protection of the State and the security of the citizenry. This is not charity; it is strategic national investment. It must go beyond symbolism, ceremonies and rhetoric. For Nigeria’s survival, stability and cohesion, it must become a deliberate, consistent and institutionalised national policy — one that truly honours the sacrifices of members of our armed forces not with pigeons and parades, but with justice, dignity and care.