Brigadier General S.K. Usman (Rtd) has raised concerns over the feeding allowance for Nigerian soldiers. He said the current amount does not match the cost of living.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday. He reacted to questions on welfare and conditions faced by Nigerian soldiers .
“How do you expect someone to feed on 3,000 Naira per day in the prevailing circumstance?”
He linked the challenge to rising food prices across the country.
“A bread, a loaf of bread that you used to buy 500 Naira, now you get as much as 1,500 or more.”
He said commanders cannot increase the allowance on their own and called for attention from authorities to review the situation.
“You know, the commanders cannot give what they don’t have.
You need to draw the attention of the authority on the fight of his personnel in respect of the circumstances, sacrifices they are making and the remuneration they receive.”
He said there is a need to review the allowance in line with current conditions.
“We still have to go back to that issue that you need to impress on the authority to see how best they can increase the ration cash allowance of the troops vis-à-vis the prevailing circumstances.”
Reacting to a viral video on soldiers’ welfare and feeding. He said units have internal systems that manage food and welfare.
“I know in any given unit, there is also what they call a food committee, and it is all encompassed.” He added, “The officers and soldiers are all part of the committee, you know, determining the menu based on the availability of the resources in house.”
He rejected the description of food in the video and raised concerns about how such claims are presented.
“I take exception to that when I say, I think we should look for a better word to describe the numbers of the officers who are doing marvellous job in serving this nation.”
He also pointed to a growing trend among soldiers and the need to carry out investigations when such issues arise. “The truth is that, sincerely speaking, now there is a renewed trend, a kind of trend among, soldiers wanting to be content creators.”
“Whenever people come up with issues like that, it should be thoroughly investigated.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
