An officer of the
Nigerian Army has written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari to complain
about alleged corruption and sorry state of troops.
The officer, also part
of the war against Boko Haram, wrote the letter in reaction to the army’s
dismissal of the complaints of Abdulrauf Aliyu, a private of the Nigerian army.
Aliyu had complained
that he was abandoned after being shot by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.
However, Brig. Gen. Sani
Usman, spokesman of the army, denied the allegation, saying Aliyu was declared
a deserter for leaving the hospital he was receiving treatment without being
cleared by the authorities.
“This is a clear case
of a deserter from the Nigerian army trying to run a campaign of calumny
against the Nigerian army on Social Media,” The Cable quoted him as saying.
But the soldier who
wrote the letter spoke in defence of Aliyu and also drew attention to the
plight of his colleagues.
Full text of letter
below…
“Having read the online
correspondence between Dr. Idris Ahmed of CUPS and our Army spokesman,
Brigadier General S.K. Usman, I have decided to take a major risk and write to
your Excellency directly over this issue.
Sir, I am a course-mate
of Pvt. Abdulrauf Aliyu, who Oga S.K. claimed that he has gone AWOL. We trained
at the same company, Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria, Kaduna State. We are presently
posted to Operation LAFIYA DOLE. On behalf of all the colleagues of Pvt.
Abdulrauf Aliyu, I categorically refute the allegation that Pvt. Abdulrauf
Aliyu deserted the Army.
The Sections 59 – 63 of
the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, as
quoted by Oga S.K., has always been mentioned by our superiors, to protect
themselves and antagonise us, whenever they have done mischief.
Your Excellency, the
case of Pvt. Abdulrauf Aliyu is actually not an isolated one. There are many
such cases of soldiers who got wounded on the battlefront. It is true, some are
well looked after, as mentioned by Oga S.K. Usman in his press release.
Unfortunately, due to
corruption in the system, some unfortunate soldiers, mostly from less
privileged backgrounds, are left to fend for themselves. Like myself, Pvt.
Abdulrauf Aliyu comes from a humble family. He sustained life-threatening
injuries in the abdomen during a routine operation. The initial first aid
treatment and medical care that he received was very inadequate.
With full Army
permission, Pvt Abdulrauf Aliyu and his family paid for his transfer to
University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. Unfortunately, the care he received
in Maiduguri Teaching Hospital too was inadequate. Eventually, his family had
to pay for his transfer to a specialist facility in Sokoto.
Your Excellency,
corruption in the Army is REAL, and it is killing us. Every man and woman who
decided to join the Army knows the risks. While we expect to die in the hands
of the enemy, we don’t expect to die in the hands of the Nigerian Army, due to
corruption and criminal negligence.
Just the other week,
about 14 (I am not sure of the exact numbers) of our colleagues died in the
hands of Boko Haram, who attacked the Army camp. The circumstances surrounding
their unnecessary death warrants a full investigation by his Excellency. Sir,
you will be shocked of the outcome.
The bodies of the slain
heroes are still lying here in Damaturu, Yobe State. The story of this
incidence has hardly been officially published by the Army or Nigerian media.
Attached is the picture of the commander of the camp. He too died in the
attack.
Your Excellency, this
is the third month in a row that we have been denied of our operations
allowance. We have to rely ONLY on our meagre salary for everything. From
battalion commanders, to Company and Sectors leaders, we are all in debt,
because our salaries are not enough to sustain us at the battlefront while
feeding our families back at home.
It is a big shame that
we have joined the Army to defend the civilians, yet we have to go to the
civilians in town to borrow money to fend for ourselves at the battlefront.
Take for instance the food that we are fed. Most of the times it is not fit for
human consumption.
I attach for your
perusal, your Excellency, the lunch that was fed to us this afternoon
(3/11/2017). As you can clearly see, there is not a single piece of meat or
fish in it. The taste of the food is so bad that we have to add surplus salt to
be able to eat it. This is also dangerous for our health. A plate of our food
per soldier is probably about two hundred Naira (N200).
It is said that the
Federal Government spends about fourteen thousand Naira (N14,000) on each
prisoner in Nigeria. Here, at the battlefront in Operation LAFIYA DOLE, the
Army spends about six hundred Naira (N600) per day per soldier on feeding us,
while in reality billions of Naira is appropriated per year for this purpose.
Your Excellency, we are
treated like animals. Most of us are afraid to talk because of the dire
consequence. As the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, your Excellency,
kindly investigate. There is corruption in the Army. Brave soldiers are
needlessly dying.”
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