If You Won’t Protect The Soldiers, Who Will Protect The Nation? -By Muhammad Bashir Abdulhafiz

I am a young Nigerian. Like many of my generation, I love this country with a fierce and undeniable passion. I feel it in the rhythm of the Afrobeat that moves my feet, in the pride I feel when our Super Eagles take to the field, and in the quiet ambition I have to contribute to the greatness we all know Nigeria can achieve. I have the energy, the drive, and the will to serve.

In a just world, this patriotism would lead me to consider the armed forces. What higher form of service is there than to defend the territorial integrity of your nation with your own life? What greater honour than to wear the green uniform, a symbol of protection and national unity?

However, despite this love for my country, I have come to a firm and sobering conclusion that I will never join the Nigerian military. This is not a decision born of cowardice or a lack of patriotism. It is a decision born of observation, of listening to the stories of those who have served, and of a deep desire to see the institution I could have given my life to treat its servants with the dignity they deserve.

My reasons are not rumours, they are realities that have played out in the lives of families across this nation.

1. The Gate is Guarded by ‘Who You Know’ Not ‘What You Know’.
For many young Nigerians, the first obstacle is not the aptitude test or the physical exam, it is the pervasive influence of ‘connection’. We have heard the stories countless times: a brilliant, physically fit young man from a village in the East, with no godfather in the barracks, is turned away, while another candidate from a well-connected family, who may not be as fit or capable, is ushered through. When admission is based on whom you know rather than merit, you are not building a professional army, rather you are building a private club. This immediately breaks the spirit of patriotism. It tells a young Nigerian that your love for the country is irrelevant, what matters is who your father is. How can an institution built on discipline and order begin its relationship with a soldier on a foundation of corruption and unfairness?

2. The Trust is Broken from Within.
The military is built on an unshakeable foundation of trust. You must trust the person to your left and right with your life. You must trust that your superiors have your best interests at heart, both on the battlefield and off. However, we have witnessed too many instances of betrayal within the ranks. This isn’t just about the enemy outside, it’s about the enemy within. It is the senior officer who takes credit for the work of his juniors. It is the unfair posting as a punishment for speaking out. It is the corruption that sees funds meant for soldier’s welfare and equipment diverted for personal gain. When the system itself breeds betrayal, it destroys the very fabric of camaraderie that makes a military effective. To ask a young man to die for his country is one thing, and to ask him to die for a system that might betray him is quite another.

3. The Sacrifice is Eternal, but the Support is Not.
The ultimate price a soldier can pay is with his life. For the families they leave behind, the widows, the children, and the aging parents. This sacrifice should be met with eternal gratitude and unwavering support from the nation. But what is the reality for too many? It is neglect. After the bugle has sounded the last post and the flag has been folded and presented, the story often ends for the state but begins in hardship for the family. There are too many stories of military widows struggling to pay rent, of children unable to continue their education, and of parents left destitute despite their child’s ultimate sacrifice. If a nation can forget the families of the fallen so easily, what message does that send to those still serving? It says, ‘Your value to us ends with your utility’.

4. The Twilight Years are a Time of Struggle, Not Rest.
A soldier spends the best years of their life in service. They endure hardship postings, separation from family, and the constant threat of danger. They do this with the promise of a dignified retirement, a pension to care for them in their old age. Yet, the struggle to access this pension has become a national tragedy. We hear stories of retired generals and ageing veterans alike spending years running from office to office, chasing paperwork, and begging for what is rightfully theirs. After a lifetime of service, they are forced to become warriors in a different kind of battle, a bureaucratic one against the very system they served. To see a grey-haired veteran, who once stood guard for the nation, now standing in line for hours, unable to afford his medications, is a shame on us all.

A Plea to Those in Authority.

My decision not to join is not an act of rebellion, it is an act of conscience. But my patriotism will not let me stay silent. I offer this advice not as an enemy, but as a son of the soil who desperately wants to be proud of every Nigerian institution, especially the military.

To those in authority, I plead with you:

1. Make the Recruitment Process Sacred. Let technology and transparency be the new gatekeepers. Ensure that admission into the military academies and ranks is based purely on merit, medical fitness, and intellectual capability. Let the process be published, monitored by civil society, and free from the stain of ‘connections’. When a young man earns his uniform, his loyalty is to the nation that gave him a fair chance, not to the officer who sponsored him.

2. Purge the Ranks of the Betrayers. Establish a truly independent and empowered body to investigate corruption, unfair treatment, and professional misconduct within the armed forces. Protect whistle blowers. When a soldier knows that justice is swift and impartial within the ranks, their trust in the institution and their loyalty to the nation will be unbreakable.

3. Honour the Fallen by Caring for Their Own. Create a comprehensive, transparent, and automatic welfare system for the families of deceased soldiers. This should not be a matter of charity or bureaucratic application. It should be an automatic right. A scholarship for the children, a monthly stipend for the spouse, and housing support should be triggered the moment a soldier is confirmed dead. Let this be an unbreakable covenant between the nation and its protectors.

4. Make the Pension Process Dignified. Digitise the records. Automate the payments. Create a centre for retiring soldiers to finalise their benefits without the current nightmare of paperwork. A retired soldier should be able to focus on their health and their family, not on fighting for their pension. Treating veterans with dignity is not an expense, it is a debt of honour.

My love for Nigeria is unwavering. I will serve my country in other ways, through my business, my community work, and my voice. But I cannot, in good conscience, take an oath to protect a system that fails its own so fundamentally.

Fix these things. Make the military a true reflection of the fairness, discipline, and gratitude of the Nigerian people. Do this, and you will not only have me, you will have a generation of patriots ready to answer the call, not out of desperation, but out of pride.