THEY SURVIVED THE BATTLEFIELD, YET THEY ARE DYING AT HOME: MILITARY VETERANS, FAMILY, RETIREMENT AND THE PRICE OF SERVICE
They joined the military with joy in their hearts. From the depot to the battlefield, they fought with courage. At times, with tears in their eyes, yet they stood on guard to protect the territorial integrity of the Nigerian state.
Their children missed them, and they missed their children. Their wives wanted them around, they wanted the warmth of their embrace, but they were far away fighting a war they knew nothing about. They keep peace in troubled zones.
Though their wives promised for better or worse, they promised never to leave them, but they left them for other men because they could not cope with the fever that comes with loneliness, they could not bear the pain that comes with sleeping alone. They returned from the war shattered. When family responsibilities show up, their wives could not meet up, they call their husbands on duty, (if they are in a region where phone lines connect) they say words of encouragement and reply, “Dear, wait till month end, wait till the salary comes in”.
Their children see other children’s fathers return from work. They see other children rush to welcome their fathers with hugs while their fathers are in a strange land. They sit quietly to think about the little time they spent with their fathers whom they hadn’t seen in 3 years, thanks to the picture frame in the living room. Many a time, these children have no idea of the burden that comes with soldiering. They just believe their fathers are away looking for means to provide their basic needs. Though the barracks is full of life, there are times when the cry of children saying, “I want to see my daddy,” couldn’t make neighbours sleep. A young girl whose father is a soldier once told me she would never be a soldier or allow any of her children to join the military. I asked why, and she told me her father, whom she hadn’t seen in 3 years, is an army officer dispatched to Borno. She hadn’t heard from him in more than a year. She isn’t sure if he is dead or alive. Her mother went to the military barracks to lodge a complaint, but they kept promising they would look into the matter and get back to her.
These gallant men didn’t chase fame, they didn’t chase money, they chose to defend their dear country. We lost many, parents lost their children, wives lost their husbands, sisters lost brothers, relatives lost cousins, homes lost breadwinners, and their loved ones. They didn’t wait to tell the love story together.
The fortunate ones who didn’t become the sacrifice of war return home after years of meritorious service to the nation. They retired and settled in the make shift home they couldn’t complete while away from home. They are broken and battered by war experience. They now return to their wives whom they couldn’t enjoy in their prime. Though fortunate, they retire with bruises and scars.
After retirement, no more free accommodation, they live on the little pension that couldn’t meet the contemporary economic realities. They have no strength to take up other jobs as all they have known has been soldiering. Many of them, due to long absence from home, still have children in secondary and tertiary institutions depending on them for survival. The burden becomes unbearable to them and their old wives. Their children are left to survive on the streets, going into different social vices.
Whenever the government announces salary increases for military personnel, it is pathetic that the retirees are always left out. Their voices are often heard when they take to the streets to protest. Still, during these protests, the government would address their grievances by sending armed serving military personnel to the protest ground. If the protest isn’t well managed, the trigger-happy officer experiencing work stress could disengage the safety of his firearm and shoot our heroes.
They didn’t die on the battlefield, but they are dying of hunger and health challenges. They are at the protest ground where their safety is not guaranteed.
Samson Omotayo Ajibade
Criminologist | Security Researcher
