An enjoyable retirement is the dream of every Nigerian worker. But for some ex-military men life after service has not been easy.
On the 15th of January each year, Nigeria honours its military men who died in the line of duty. But as these dead heroes are remembered, their retired colleagues worry about post service conditions of the military.
A number of these old soldiers, as they are fondly called once slept on the streets of Abuja just outside the defense headquarters in protest of unpaid entitlements.
One of the ex-servicemen, Francis Ofodile, who retired from the Nigerian army ten years ago, said his gratuity was not fully paid and there are issues with his pensions till date.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian legion was established to cater for the welfare of retired military men. Among its objectives, is to help ex service men establish and run agro-based industries in any part of the federation.
The legion believes it is achieving these goals through partnerships with the organised private sector and the National Asset Acquisition Scheme. A scheme designed for economic empowerment of interested ex-servicemen.
The ex-military men do not agree with the legion’s claims and have chosen not to depend on it for empowerment .
Francis is now an entrepreneur while Adegboyega works in a private firm. But not all retirees of the Nigerian military have been this lucky. They feel better retirement welfare packages for the military by government will indeed make their sacrifice for national peace and security worth it.
Military casualties – From civil war till date
Let’s take a look at how many soldiers have sacrificed their lives during the civil war and in the fight against insurgency.
During the civil war, there were about 100,000 overall military casualties.
Since the insurgency started in Nigeria’s north east, hundreds of members of the armed forces have died in the line of duty
In 2018 alone, about 200 soldiers were killed in the line of duty. There was outcry from Nigerians when news filtered in that the 157 task force battalion in Metele, Borno state was attacked with dozens of officers and soldiers killed.
Days later when the army reacted to the incident, it said 23 soldiers were killed in the Metele army base attack, while 31 others were missing.
Just this year, two pilots and three crew members were killed while providing close air support for ground troops of 145 battalion,in Damasak, Borno state.
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