By: Manoah Kikekon
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| Olumayowa Akogun-Abudu and Bola Tinubu |
ABUJA – In a scathing and emotionally charged open letter, a Nigerian Army veteran, Olumayowa Akogun-Abudu, has directly called out President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he describes as the deliberate abandonment and betrayal of the country's military veterans. The letter, a cry of anguish from a community feeling forgotten, accuses the Tinubu administration of neglecting its promises and leaving retired soldiers in poverty and despair.
The letter, made available to News Peddlers on Friday, details a litany of grievances held by thousands of veterans across Nigeria.
The retired Lance Corporal, who also works as a corporate security expert, expressed that the veterans have “endured humiliation, poverty, neglect, and endless empty promises.” He stated that the silence from the Presidency has moved beyond mere neglect into a feeling of a personal and deliberate betrayal, questioning the very leadership of President Tinubu.
At the heart of the veteran’s complaint is the alleged diversion of promised palliatives. The open letter reminds President Tinubu of his 2023 public declaration that veterans would receive support to cushion the effect of economic hardship.
However, Akogun-Abudu claims that almost two years later, these palliatives were never released through the official and lawful channel—the Military Pensions Board. Instead, he alleges the welfare package was placed under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and the Nigerian Legion, institutions he and many other veterans accuse of “mismanagement, opacity, and insensitivity.”
The letter poses a series of piercing rhetorical questions to President Tinubu, highlighting the dire situation of retired soldiers. “How do you expect a veteran living on ₦50,000 pension to survive in a country where even a loaf of bread and bag of rice is now a luxury?” Akogun-Abudu asks. He further questions the logic of entrusting veteran welfare to bodies that have been previously accused of malfeasance, asking, “How could you send men to war when you needed protection… but send them to beggars when they need survival?”
In a powerful conclusion, the veteran contrasts the government’s promises with the veterans’ reality. He states that the promised “Renewed Hope” has become “renewed suffering” and that promised compassion has been replaced by “cold political distance.” The letter ends with a list of demands, including the immediate release of all welfare through the Military Pensions Board, a full audit of the Nigerian Legion, and a formal address of the petitions submitted by veterans. “We are not asking for charity. We are asking for what was promised,” he asserts, signing off as a representative of “thousands who refuse to suffer in silence.”
As of the time of this report, the Presidency has not issued an official response to the open letter. The poignant plea from Olumayowa Akogun-Abudu has, however, begun circulating widely on social media, sparking a national conversation about the welfare of Nigeria's military veterans and the accountability of the Tinubu administration to those who served the nation.