How the big bug breached a revered military tradition

The military institution of any country guides its professional code of conducts jealously. It is always insistent on ethical values and unwavering in enforcing disciplinary measures when possible. These values command public admiration, placing it as the most revered among the security services. But when it becomes apparent that the high ethical values are compromised, then the revered institution becomes deformed.

Most analysts are of the opinion that majority of the present crop of military officers, though received the same training as their older counterparts, sometimes, even better, are more inclined to accessing monetary benefits for themselves than service to the nation. The overriding interest is more on holding political office or worse still, being deployed to ‘lucrative areas’, “where there is action but no exchange of fire.”

At his pulling out parade, erstwhile Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah admonished, “the strength of the Armed Forces is in the quality of the individual soldier and his fighting spirit. Fighting spirit imbues him with confidence to stand up to the adversary, rather than flee like we witnessed in the recent past, while adequate attention to his welfare demonstrates his nation’s commitment to his wellbeing and motivates him to sacrifice everything including his life, discipline and sanctions confines him within the military laws.”

Apart from the early 70s, when then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, was said to have alluded that money is not a problem for Nigeria as a country, but how to spend it, there was no indication that the members of the Nigeria military were concerned with how much wealth the country has or how much one can amass to himself, such as to lead them to misappropriate monies meant for the purchase of arms and ammunitions, or simply fritter what is available in order to sponsor a lifestyle of profligacy.

But from 1985, when General Ibrahim Babangida took over the reins of leadership through a coup d’état, the institutionalisation of corruption became apparent, not only in the military, but Nigeria as a whole, despite the pointers from the 60s through the 70s to the early 80s.

Military officers started buying and building mansions heedlessly, preparatory to their retirement, junior officers who were privileged to be close to the favoured few, acquired properties in choice places across the country.

According to Raymond Olugbenga, who retired from the army in 1999, during the President Olusegun Obasanjo purge, “the military lost it during the time of IBB, professionalism was placed at the background, and everyone of us was more interested in having the best that money could buy at the time. We were well compensated. Some incentives were just initiated for some officers to get money, it was the era of chop I chop, man no go vex.

“After the (Gideon) Orkar coup attempt in 1990, the government sought to secure itself, by creating the National Guard. The intention was that they would serve a protecting force to the Commander in Chief, exclusively. If we know much money was pumped into that project, you would be amazed. Their salary structure and compensation package was different from the regular soldier.

“To my mind, this was when corruption gained inroad into the military. The President made it very clear to all his trusted allies that they must ensure every soldier is well taken care of, to avoid a coup. So, it was a free for all thing,” he said.

Another retired General, who preferred anonymity, said the situation really got worse during the General Sani Abacha’s era, where there was a collection of hit men from all the Armed Forces. It was not restricted to the Army alone, unlike Babangida’s National Guard.

“Every sniper in any of the forces was adequately mobilised and given the monetary compensation to be loyal to the Commander in Chief. In essence, loyalty came with a price, and I tell you the truth for those that were on that team, their loyalty was total. The popular saying then was that, loyalty comes with a reward, show your loyalty and be rewarded.

“It was well cooked up that you hardly know who was involved, but suddenly, some small boys (junior officers and other rank) started buying good houses, some built their own houses and stopped living in the barracks, driving flashy cars and all that. It was a thing of envy to others, such that some of the best soldiers sought to be part of the gang. So it was easy for the Commander in Chief to hear any plan against his government, you could not tell who was involved, but the truth is that everybody wanted to be part of the team, to better their lives that is. So it was easy for the Head of State to know, if any section of the Armed Forces was disenchanted or grumbling, who was involved and all the details.”

This situation degenerated to the extent that people sought to join the Armed Forces to become rich, not for the passion of soldiering. With this mindset and a system already polluted with money conscious personnel, the situation persisted unabated, to this point that national interest has become secondary, substituted with personal interest, self-preservation proceeding national security. Soldiers run away from battle, preferring to escort politicians to rallies.

On the day he handed over to his successor, Lt-Gen. Minimah, the 19th Chief of Army Staff lamented the decay in the Army and efforts been made to right some of the wrong, saying, “in the face of unusual events, we had to take unusual actions, some may adjudge us as strict especially in dealing with cases of cowardice and indiscipline. But we had to do what we must do to arrest the drift towards chaos that the Army was heading.”

But the general opinion is that the Army lost focus on professionalism when different military interregnum into politics and the politicisation of the armed forces became a norm in Nigeria from 1984. It became apparent to personnel that if known superior officers are rewarded with a political office, “the boys must also be carried along,” said Alloy Samba, a political analyst in Abuja.

“Most of the appointments made after every takeover, from Babangida to General Abdulsalam Abubakar, the state military administrators were appointed based on loyalty to the leadership. Most of these administrators understood that they were being compensated for their loyalty; hence, they looted the states they were posted blind.

“They all had boys whom they all carried along in the looting spree. So it became a norm in the military that every one of them should have the opportunity to access wealth to have houses that befit their status.

“Another reason is the fact that some of the officers retired with nothing. Until recently, the pension was nothing to write home about, but Obasanjo came and changed that. Before now, most of the Officers who had tasted the good life were afraid to retire to nothing. This prompted the desperate search for political office in order to amass as much money as possible to live well after retirement.”

The political analyst explained that corruption and accumulation of wealth was at some point the burden of the politicians, but when the military decided to be politicians in uniforms, they did not only seek political office, but also adopted the lifestyle and attitude of the politicians. This explains why you find military men lobbying for postings.

“How about admissions into the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), is it still by merit? It takes a written note from an influential officer or political office holder to admit someone there, this has contributed to the low moral and misconduct that has landed the revered institution to where it is today.

“For instance, there are children of retired military officers in the services, who did not desire to be in the Military on their own free will, but were forced into it by their influential parents. They lack the passion, but are only there because it is gratifying. They have never tested combat and always carry Daddy’s shadow with them to facilitate their deployment. Such children are in the job just to earn a living,” he stated.