•Army must be mindful of its reward system
News of a protest over alleged promotion of soldiers who were involved in the search for the former Chief of Administration of the Army, Major General Idris Alkali (retd), shows that the army authorities need a sense of balance. The protesters, who are soldiers fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, claimed that the said promotion approved by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. TukurBuratai, was unfair to them.
The protesters were quoted as saying: “The Chief of Army Staff promoted soldiers that went for the search operation of the body of Major General Alkali in Jos but neglected the soldiers in the North-East, whose lives are in danger and dying every day. This is unfair and it will further demoralise us. What death or danger have the soldiers sent to Jos faced, what threat to the nation have they warded off? We are daily being killed by insurgents who have only one mission to disintegrate this nation and to wreak havoc on its citizenry. What have been our rewards?”
It took a two-month determined search by the army to locate Alkali’s remains in a well, after initial burial in a shallow grave. Alkali was declared missing on September 3. He was said to have been passing through Dura, a community in Du district of Jos South Local Government Area, Plateau State, when he disappeared. He was en route to Bauchi State. His car was allegedly stopped by an irate mob on a vengeful mission following an attack by armed men on a shopping complex at Lo-Pamdyet the previous day, resulting in the death of 11 people.
Alkali’s vehicle, containing his personal effects, was recovered on September 29. This discovery involved draining one of the mining ponds at Dura. Apart from Alkali’s car, two other vehicles were found buried under the water, raising suspicion that members of the community used the pond to conceal crime.
On October 31, the army announced that Alkali’s remains had been found in an abandoned well at Guchwet village in Shen District of Jos South Local Government Area. The Garrison Commander said one of the suspects had led the army to the well, and the general’s remains were found after draining the well. The army’s search operation was carried out with a high sense of professionalism. The searchers kept their eyes on the objective of the search, and achieved their aim with minimal disruption of normal activities in the communities involved.
It is commendable that the soldiers involved in the successful operation were considered for promotion. But the protesters have a point. Since the Boko Haram insurgency started in 2009, there have been heavy casualties, including soldiers and civilians. The November 18 Boko Haram attack on troops at Metele village, Guzamala Local Government Area, Borno State, is a case in point. Twenty three soldiers were killed.
A report said: “Nigerian troops in Metele suffered a similar attack in September this year when about 18 Nigeria soldiers were killed while another 151 soldiers and six officers were declared missing in the same area in another devastating attack on 157 Battalion on October 8, 2018.”
It is, therefore, easy to see why the counter-terrorism soldiers protested against the promotion of members of the search party in the missing general’s case. While the searchers may have deserved promotion, the reward system that played up their role to the detriment of the counter-insurgency soldiers is discriminatory. The development is bad for professionalism, motivation and morale.
The army authorities must avoid giving the impression that some operations are more important than others. Such projection cannot promote esprit de corps.
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