In our national anthem, we sing boldly about the labour of our heroes past and we pray to defend them, but as we celebrate our armed forces Remembrance Day, the labour of those soldiers that died for Nigeria is going in vain. The way and manner our service men are treated leaves much to be desired. I have heard different accounts of soldiers and families being paid paltry amount as severance package after working so hard for over 20 years. .I interviewed a soldier recently that after over 35 years of working his take home pay couldn’t complete his house and today he struggles with providing a roof over his head. There are also challenges of logistical nightmare and battle fatigue for some of the troops, as some of them stay too long on the battle front. I must confess our soldiers are doing so much with the little resource, there is a dearth of Armoured personnel carriers and other equipment. Although some spending has been done recently to purchase equipment, but more needs to be done, our troops can’t continue to use Vans in place of Armoured personnel carriers, We must also strive to provide the right ammunition for the soldiers. The recent attacks on the Army facility in Biu, Borno State, is demoralizing. I strongly believe our troops are capable of destroying banditry but they must be given support. Recently, some retired soldiers protested non-payment of arrears. We must never allow this happen in our country, we must give the best at all times to our heroes.
Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com
