Daily Independent Online.
*
Thursday, June 17, 2004.
Retired soldiers give Obasanjo ultimatum
over war bonus
By Don Bassey
Correspondent,
Abuja
Retired soldiers,
especially those who took part in the 30-month Nigerian civil war between 1967
and 1970, have asked President Olusegun Obasanjo to immediately approve war
bonuses for them within 30 days or face massive protests to be tagged
“Operation Call to Pay.”
The soldiers, under
the aegis of National Association of Military Pensioners (NAMP), in a letter to
Obasanjo, Senate President, Adolphus Wabara; House of Representatives Speaker,
Bello Masari; Defence Minister, Rabiu Kwakwanso and his Minister of State, Dr.
Rowland Oritsejafor, also demanded for the immediate payment of nine months
pension arrears including a 12 and a half per cent arrears of increment.
Equally on the
soldiers’ list of demands is the release of the House of Representatives
Committee on Defence report of the ad hoc committee set up to probe reports
that senior personnel of the Directorate of Military Pensions lodged pensioners
funds in fixed private accounts.
The letter, dated
June 16, 2004 and signed by the body’s National President, Comrade Benson
Eromafuru, said the retirees have decided to take their destiny in their hands
“after a crucial assessment of the suffering of military pensioners and
the death of thousands” of their members in the five years of
Obasanjo’s government.
Vowing not to give
in to entreaties or threats, the association said: “Mr. President, we
want you to be aware that nothing is well in this country for now rather we
wish to say that Nigeria is on top of gunpowder and if allowed to explode, will
be very catastrophic and may signal the end of the co-existence of our country.
This is our last decision and we will not retreat or surrender until the last
pensioner is killed.” Threatening to go to war if need be, the soldiers
said: “We must remember that we all have at one time or the other come
face to face with death during the Nigerian civil war but that we are alive
today is by the mercy of God almighty. So, if it means that we must fight another
war before peace, then we shall not be afraid to fight, after all, the world is
aware that we have begged, cried and pleaded but to no positive result.”
The pensioners
urged former military Heads of State and other retired generals to intercede
and ensure that their benefits are released before the expiration of the
ultimatum.
Copies of the letter were sent to Generals Yakubu Gowon,
Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Major General
Joshua Dogonyaro.
