By Okoi Obono-Obla
One of the greatest African writers and novelists was Professor Chinua Achebe, who wove captivating traditional Igbo folklore together with the advent of European colonialism and its inseparable partner, Christianity, to produce a breathtaking masterpiece known as Things Fall Apart.
In the many parables in Things Fall Apart, one that fascinates me most is that of the lizard that fell from a high Iroko tree to the ground and nodded its head in self-adulation for the feat achieved, even if everyone else turned a blind eye out of jealousy and envy.
In that same spirit, I have enthusiastically praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his decision to increase the salaries of our hardworking and gallant military personnel, who have kept the territorial integrity of the country intact despite the pull of centripetal and centrifugal divisive forces represented by bandits, terrorists, separatists, ethnic bigots, irredentists, religious fundamentalists, and their foreign collaborators and sponsors.
The basic military salary before President Tinubu’s reform was N49,000.
The basic military salary now, after President Tinubu’s reform, is N100,000.
Interestingly, the basic military salary from September 2026 will be N180,000.
No Nigerian leader since 1960, when the country gained independence, has done what President Tinubu has done in equipping, increasing and expanding the size of the military — from expanding the training depot from one in Zaria since colonial times to three spread across the country, to creating four additional divisions of the Nigerian Army, approving the recruitment of 28,000 young soldiers, and now improving the welfare of the military in such a revolutionary manner.
Therefore, he deserves praise from me, even if some people, out of “bad belle” and bad politics, turn a blind eye to these achievements.
In conclusion, like Achebe’s lizard, we must learn to acknowledge great feats even when others will not. President Tinubu’s unprecedented investment in the strength and welfare of our Armed Forces is a historic service to the nation that guarantees that, despite our challenges, things will not fall apart.
