Rimdan: How greed crept into the military
General Yakubu Rimdan (rtd) is former Commander, 31 Airborne Brigade of the Nigerian Army. In this interview with ISA ABDULSALAMI AHOVI, he spoke on how greed bastardised the military tradition.
Is the military you joined years ago, the same as today and what has gone wrong?
Well, to be candid, so many things have gone wrong in the military. Comparing the level of discipline now and during our time, you will see there is much difference. When the colonialist masters trained us, the discipline that was instilled was really very high. We were not allowed to handle financial matters very much the way it is happening today. During our time, the foreign officers were the chief accountants in the Armed Forces and they knew exactly what they were doing. But after the Civil War, that is, from 1970, when the Nigerian Armed Forces began to have indigenous commanders, a lot of things came to play.
We found that discipline started to diminish in the sense that people started getting exposed to financial matters. And so, a little bit of insincerity came in, and quite a number of officers were court martialled for their involvement in fraud. Even at that, the level of discipline was still high, because quite a number of us, who served under colonial masters, were still around and we did our best to maintain standard inherited.
It is somehow, unfortunate, that discipline began to erode from the 1980s, when the military intervened in politics, and we started having young officers as governors and military administrators, while quite a number of senior officers did not have access to such positions. So, we found that those younger ones, who had political appointments, now played about with money, such that senior officers had to go very low, sometimes, reaching to the junior officers who were having these military appointments. That started affecting the standard of discipline in the Armed Forces.
Those who were very senior in the Armed Forces and could not have access to money, whatever was released to them for the Command and control of their formations, they started pilfering a little bit from it. That was why quite a number of officers were court martialled. And of course, that directly or indirectly, started affecting the level of discipline and training in the Armed Forces. But as I said, the present day ‘boys’ called those of us who were there, as the ‘analogue soldiers’ or the analogue members of the Armed Forces. They did not see us as people, who knew what money meant. They made us believe that they were there to amass wealth and live above their earnings. So, naturally, it must affect standard of discipline and training. During our time, money meant for the purchase of weapons to execute some operations were never diverted, misdirected or stolen. Politicians tempted young member of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to financial acquisition and making them partisan.
What do you make of armsgate and the unfolding revelations from the arms purchase?
I know Colonel Sambo Dasuki. I know him very well. He was a very young officer. He was one of those good officers we had during the early part of 1980s. But having become so exposed and influenced by politicians, he found himself working directly with the political hierarchy of the country. Otherwise, I would not imagine somebody like him diverting money meant for the purchase of arms. Politicians get people easily influenced. That was why Dasuki found himself in the mess. Otherwise, I do not believe Dasuki would be what he is today. But again, that is aside, because of his involvement in politics, the leadership of the country has made him what he is. It is unfortunate that there are people who are not even in his shoe that are supposed to be the real military men, but also got involved in embezzlement, looting of the Nigerian common wealth.
People are saying we don’t pay taxes. Of course, we pay taxes. Every military man pays tax. It is only when you retire that they will calculate certain amount of money being paid to you as your pension, which is not taxable, but every military personnel pays tax. And of course, we pay for our accommodation. So, we are not getting everything free, except for pensioners.
Can’t the military personnel take away their eyes from the resources in their care?
You see, in the military, we are taught to obey orders without questioning them. When your commander orders you to do something, you have taken an oath that you will do it to the very conclusion and to the satisfaction of your commander and for the achievement of the purpose, which such an order is supposed to achieve. So, we don’t argue with our leaders, who are commanders. And in our case in the past, when we were given money for certain purposes, we made sure such money was directed towards achieving that. But today, it is not the same thing.
So it is now agreed that greed has finally crept into the military?
Greed, we cannot deny it. Selfishness, greed, dishonesty and lack of transparency have actually crept into it, as evidence that of what has been going on in the Armed Forces today. Remember that many officers are still being investigated. Greed is still there. We can’t get away from it because of the handling of funds meant for military training, purchases of arms and that nature. They are many. And it is not easy to get away from it.
What is the way forward to sanitise the system?
To bring back professionalism in the Armed Forces, proper training and accountability are needed. There must be proper checks and balances, so that nobody takes anything for granted. Unless that is done, I bet you, it won’t be easy taking away greed and dishonesty from current leaders.
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