by Imoh David
The story goes like this:
The Nigerian government wanted some cache of weapons in South Africa and so they borrowed Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s private jet. Probably because the self-acclaimed giant of Africa could not find a befitting aircraft amongst her fleets of military planes to transport the intended weapons for them, not even among the 10 private jets in Presidential fleet. It is Ayo Oritsejafor’s private jet that was the best.
Meanwhile, Ayo Oritsejafor did not know that the government intended to use his jet to buy weapons. He leased his jet to a second person and the second person leased to the third and then the third to the fourth (who happens to be 2 be an agent of the government and an Israeli with 10 million dollars). I get it, the unknown Israeli man told our government that they should rather buy weapons from South-Africa instead of his country, Israel, because it is better for SA to take the money than Israel who supposedly makes better weapons. So generous of the Israeli. So Israelis buy weapons for us. Military experts from our country did not have to follow to inspect the weapons and the inventory. Beautiful!
Also, the South African government was unaware that the Nigerian government was coming to buy weapons in their country. In their shock, they seized the jet and the money. Well, buying arms is more or less like buying noodles. It is not a serious thing and so, any government can walk into another country without informing the host country that they intend buying weapons in their country. So, a foreign government can just walk into another country like that, buy weapons and then off they go. And this is how the government of Nigeria have been buying weapons since 1960? Terrific! Shebi na me wan born Nigerian.
Kill corruption, don’t kill our soldiers. They are already suffering enough in the battle field because of the senseless partisan politicians and corrupt statesmen hungry for power, don’t make it any worse. Free our soldiers! Reward them, don’t ruin them.
On the other hand, 12 Nigerian Army officers are sentenced to death and found guilty of mutiny while their GOC was simply retired.
First of all, I never knew that a criminal trial can be this fast in Nigeria. This is the quickest criminal judgement. What happened to the trials of EFCC cases on corrupt politicians and former governors? Is it after our great-grand children will die of old age that they will deliver the judgement? My country is amazing! If you want something to arouse your irritation, look no further, just start discussing Nigeria.
So, these 12 brave soldiers who were starved of their funds including military weapons by the government, suffered an embarrassing defeat in the hands of terrorists and lost their colleagues alongside battle just because some greedy Generals refused to do their works, and they are now found guilty of mutiny because they protested against the corruption and treason perpetrated by their superior.
If a General should starve soldiers of their weapons and allowances isn’t he committing mutiny? Trying to compromise the morale of soldiers and arousing their disaffection through a calculated decision of refusing to arm them is a treason and a mutiny against the state. The end result of this is the encouragement of high level treason against the state. What manner of justice is this? Aren’t they telling those soldiers that it would have been better they betrayed the state and fought for terrorists instead? Soldiers who fought for the state against terrorists are now rewarded with a death sentence, because they were dissatisfied by the compromise of their GOC against the state. Anyone who deliberately takes an action to undermine the victory of the State in the fight against an external threat has committing treason and is planning mutiny, not the other person who is protesting against the person trying to undermine the victory of the state.
What are they teaching people here? That the reward of some top Chief conspiring against the state by starving the agents of government is retirement while those who aim to bring to light this conspiracy are punished by death. We are awesome!
So people who fought to protect the nation at the cost of their lives are rewarded with death? They did not die by the hands of Boko Haram but rather in the hands of the same people they were fighting. What a gratitude! Wouldn’t it better if they were terrorists and got killed by the government than to be an agent of the government and then ended up being killed by the same government?
Isn’t it awesome that men who stole billions in Nigeria are yet to be sentenced behind bars and some were granted Presidential pardon but those who put their lives at stake in the field are being rewarded with the grand prize of the gallows? What a nation! Are we not telling ourselves and others that it is profitable to be a big thief than the one revolts against big thieves?
Kill corruption, don’t kill our soldiers. They are already suffering enough in the battle field because of the senseless partisan politicians and corrupt statesmen hungry for power, don’t make it any worse. Free our soldiers! Reward them, don’t ruin them.
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Imoh “Son of David” is an author and publisher and he writes from South Africa.
Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.
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