The N150m gift given by President Bola Tinubu to each member of the Super Falcons, Nigeria’s women’s football team, has sparked widespread outrage among retired soldiers and police officers. The team recently won the 10th WAFCON title, and the President’s gesture has been met with mixed reactions from the public. While some people have praised the President’s gesture, many others have criticized it, describing it as extravagant and a misplaced priority.
Retired soldiers and police officers have expressed frustration over what they see as the government’s preferential treatment of sports figures, particularly female footballers, while those who spent their lives securing the country are left to suffer in retirement. A retired soldier, Lukmon Aderibigbe, questioned why footballers earn in a day what soldiers who had spent years on the battlefield were denied. He lamented that the government had been unfair to soldiers, citing the example of a colleague who was abandoned by the government during treatment after sustaining a gunshot injury during a military operation against Boko Haram.
Another retired military officer, Adamu Bashar, condemned the money splashed on the victorious Super Falcons, describing it as “a complete waste of scarce resources.” He called on the Federal Government to extend similar gestures to retired military personnel who had spent their entire careers protecting the country’s sovereignty. Bashar stated that most retired soldiers are being paid peanuts, and that the government should give them even N20m to boost their morale and encourage youths to join the military.
The gift has also sparked outrage among retired police officers, who have been demanding their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme. Mannir Lawal, a leader among the CPS-retired police officers, said the gesture to the Super Falcons exposed the government’s unwillingness to address the long-standing grievances of ex-police personnel. He argued that police retirees deserved more than “a three-bedroom apartment and some token money,” stressing that their years of service involved grave risks.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has defended the gift, saying that many Nigerians were happy with the N150m reward given to the Super Falcons. Onanuga warned critics not to link the reward to other issues, insisting that the gift was justified and well-deserved. However, critics argue that the gift is a reflection of the government’s misplaced priorities and its lack of concern for the welfare of retired soldiers and police officers who have sacrificed their lives for the country.
