Veterans and serving members of Nigeria’s armed forces have criticised the government’s claim that a minimum monthly salary of ₦100,000 represents a significant improvement in military welfare, arguing that the pay is inadequate amid soaring living costs and mounting security pressures.
The criticism followed remarks by the minister of defence, Christopher Musa who said the minimum monthly salary for soldiers had risen from ₦49,000 to ₦100,000 after a review of military welfare. He acknowledged, however, that the country’s defence budget remained insufficient.
Speaking in an interview with News Central ahead of its scheduled broadcast, the minister said the government had made progress in improving the welfare of personnel but conceded that funding constraints continued to affect the armed forces.
“It’s not enough,” he said of the defence budget, adding: “When they started, a soldier was collecting ₦49,000 monthly. We tried so hard, now he’s collecting ₦100,000.”
His comments have prompted renewed calls from military personnel for President Bola Tinubu to implement the broader salary review he announced in March, when he pledged to prioritise the welfare, accommodation and benefits of members of the armed forces.
Several serving officers, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the promised pay increase had yet to materialise and warned that prolonged delays were undermining morale across the military.
One officer said the government should move swiftly if it was serious about strengthening the country’s security institutions.
“Members of the Armed Forces risk their lives to safeguard Nigeria’s sovereignty and protect its citizens,” the officer said. “Yet, their current remuneration falls far short of compensating for the dangers, hardships and sacrifices inherent in military service.”
The officer argued that poor pay had contributed to declining morale and an increase in personnel absent without leave, with many struggling to cope with rising living costs.
Another serving soldier said inadequate welfare was also affecting recruitment and retention, as military service had become less attractive to young Nigerians facing the same economic pressures as the wider population.
“The nation needs a motivated, well-remunerated and professional Armed Forces,” the officer said, urging the government to honour its commitment without further delay.
Veterans echoed those concerns, describing the reported minimum wage as insufficient for personnel deployed against insurgents, bandits and kidnappers across the country.
Retired soldier Abdul Isiak said ₦100,000 could no longer provide a reasonable standard of living.
“It is not enough at all,” he said. “If they pay more, they would put more effort into what they are doing.”
Another retired serviceman, Zaki Williams, questioned whether the figure reflected what soldiers were actually receiving and described the amount as “too ridiculous” given the risks military personnel face.
Abiodun Herbert-Durowaye, coordinator of the Coalition for Concerned Veterans, said the salary did not reflect either the cost of living or the sacrifices demanded of those serving on the front line.
“How can that be sufficient for someone who’s putting his life on the line for the country?” he asked.
The debate over military welfare comes as Tinubu convened a high-level security meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja on Thursday, bringing together the country’s military chiefs, intelligence heads and senior security advisers to review Nigeria’s worsening security situation.
Those attending included the national security adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the chief of defence staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, the service chiefs, the directors-general of the Department of State Services and the National Intelligence Agency, and other senior officials.
The meeting followed a series of military operations against armed groups, including airstrikes targeting hundreds of suspected terrorists in Zamfara and Katsina states and counter-insurgency operations against Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in the north-east.
During the interview, the defence minister also argued that Nigeria should consider introducing the death penalty for convicted kidnappers, saying harsher punishments would serve as a deterrent to the country’s escalating abduction crisis.
Referring to the recent kidnapping of schoolchildren in Oyo State, he alleged that the abductors were attempting to pressure the military into releasing detained commanders and had threatened to kill the children if security forces intensified rescue operations.
The minister also rejected allegations of poor feeding within the military, insisting that widely circulated claims misrepresented conditions in the barracks.
For many serving personnel, however, the central issue remains the government’s unfulfilled pledge to improve military pay. While Tinubu assured troops during a Ramadan gathering in March that their welfare would become a priority, soldiers say those promises have yet to translate into meaningful improvements in their livelihoods.
As Nigeria continues to battle insurgency, banditry and kidnapping across multiple fronts, many within the ranks argue that sustaining military effectiveness will depend as much on improving welfare as on expanding operational capacity.
