A retired civil war veteran, Col. Nasiru Salami, has expressed his disapproval of his children joining the Nigerian Army due to what he described as the poor treatment of retired military personnel by the authorities.
Speaking on Wednesday as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on the occasion of the 2025 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, the 76-year-old veteran recounted his harrowing experiences during his service, particularly in the Nigerian Civil War.
Salami joined the Nigerian Army in October 1967 and was sent to the battlefield just six weeks after enlisting.
He spent 11 months on the frontlines during the civil war (1967–1970), enduring life-threatening injuries, including severe damage to his right foot, which required the insertion of plastic materials to aid healing. Despite his injuries, he returned to the battlefield to continue fighting.
Reflecting on his military career and post-retirement struggles, Salami expressed regret over the poor welfare of retired soldiers. “For now, I will never recommend any of my children to join the Nigerian Army,” he said. “I am their father and they are seeing me now that my life is not to their expectation. They would want me to be higher than this, full of joy and other things that would make them happy. How would I now encourage them to join the army?”
Salami noted that he advised his two graduate children against joining the army, suggesting alternative military branches like the Navy or Air Force, which he believes offer better conditions and treatment.
As the Secretary of the Nigerian Legion’s Lagos Chapter, Salami revealed that the organisation has over 24,000 members, many of whom face similar challenges. He lamented the government’s failure to pay war bonuses promised over 50 years ago, as well as his unpaid pensions and other post-retirement entitlements.
“We are asking for war bonus, those of us who fought the war. I retired in December 1983 and they promised us heaven and earth that they would give us our war bonus but up till now, we have not seen it,” Salami said.
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