By Obinna Ejianya (9News Nigeria – Melbourne, Australia)
At a time when Nigerians are struggling under intense economic hardship, with many barely able to afford basic daily needs, the recent move by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to approve extravagant lifetime benefits for sacked military service chiefs has left citizens questioning the conscience and rationale of the nation’s leadership.
This development comes shortly after an alleged coup plot that led to the arrest and dismissal of 16 senior military officers accused of planning to overthrow the federal government. Barely weeks later, President Tinubu signed the new Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS 2024), conferring astonishing lifetime privileges on the same category of retired service chiefs — a decision that many view as an attempt to buy loyalty and secure personal safety rather than uphold merit or justice.
Under the new terms, the former service chiefs will enjoy lifetime domestic aides — including two cooks, two stewards, and a gardener — alongside an aide-de-camp, a security officer, a personal assistant, three service drivers, and a nine-soldier guard unit. They will retain personal firearms until death, receive lifetime medical care both locally and abroad, and own bulletproof SUVs that must be replaced every four years, with additional backup vehicles such as Prado Jeeps or Peugeot 508s.
These perks are in addition to lump-sum disengagement payments, lifetime gratuities, and other undisclosed monetary rewards.
For ordinary Nigerians enduring widespread poverty, soaring food prices, joblessness, and unpaid pensions, this level of entitlement feels like a mockery of their suffering. The contrast between the opulent rewards of a few and the harsh reality faced by millions highlights a growing moral and economic divide between Nigeria’s ruling elite and its struggling populace.
While the majority of federal workers retire into poverty after years of loyal service, their pensions barely enough to feed a family, the political and military elite continue to enjoy unimaginable comfort at the expense of the public treasury.
This raises a serious question about leadership priorities and the ethical direction of governance in Nigeria. At a time when the country desperately needs austerity, transparency, and fairness, such extravagant rewards to a privileged few send the wrong message — one that deepens public mistrust and widens the gulf between the rulers and the ruled.
As citizens continue to question these developments, one truth becomes unavoidable: Nigeria stands at a dangerous crossroads. The people are watching, hungry for justice, fairness, and accountability — and they are asking in one voice: Where is Nigeria truly heading?
Full List of the Lifetime Benefits Tinubu signed for the SACKED Service Chiefs!
- Lifetime domestic aides (at least 5): two service cooks, two stewards, and one civilian gardener
- An aide-de-camp
- A security officer
- A Personal Assistant (PA), up to the rank of lieutenant or Captain, or a Special Assistant (SA), up to the rank of a Warrant Officer
- Three service drivers
- A service orderly
- A standard guard unit comprising nine soldiers.
- Personal firearms to be retained and retrieved only when they die
- Lifetime medical care, either in Nigeria or abroad
- Lifetime ownership of at least a -Bulletproof SUV – to be maintained frequently, and changed every four (4) yrs
- A Prado Jeep, or Peugeot 508 (or equivalent) as a backup car
These do not include:
- An outright (disengagement) payment
- Lifetime Gratuity
- Other (unspecified) monetary benefits
