A former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya has called on the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to take urgent and deliberate steps to address critical gaps in accommodation and welfare provision for Nigerian Army personnel, especially rank-and-file soldiers.
Yahaya made the call while delivering a special lecture at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, on Saturday during the Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) 2025, where he strongly emphasised the centrality of soldiers’ well-being in achieving operational effectiveness and national security goals.
Describing the current state of accommodation for soldiers as “grossly inadequate and unacceptable,” the former army chief warned that the continued neglect of troop welfare could erode morale, discipline, and combat readiness.
“Perhaps the greatest healthcare challenge facing the Nigerian Army today is the lack of decent accommodation for its personnel, particularly the soldiers. Many are forced to live in makeshift settlements, share rooms with multiple families, or seek refuge in insecure civilian environments,” Yahaya lamented.
He attributed the worsening situation to the Nigerian Army’s expansion in response to rising security threats across the country, which was not matched by a proportional increase in infrastructure, particularly housing.
“Over the last decade, with the spread of insurgency, terrorism, and violent crimes nationwide, we’ve had to massively increase our troop strength. Unfortunately, real estate capacity did not grow accordingly. The result is congestion, hardship, and a welfare crisis within the barracks,” he said.
Yahaya cited instances from his own career where senior commanders were forced to share accommodation and where soldiers’ families lived in substandard conditions, even in operational zones.
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“We cannot expect soldiers to give their best in combat when they go home to squalor and uncertainty. A soldier’s morale starts with the roof over his head,” he added.
Beyond accommodation, Yahaya also raised concerns about the quality of education accessible to soldiers’ children and the availability of medical care for troops and their families.
He praised ongoing efforts by the Nigerian Army to establish and expand welfare schools but noted that many soldiers were still compelled to enrol their children in private schools at great personal cost.
“When soldiers spend their meagre salaries to give their children basic education, it dampens morale and undermines the very essence of military service. Government must do more to invest in educational infrastructure within our formations,” he said.
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On Medicare, he acknowledged the significant improvements recorded over the past decade but recommended the establishment of dedicated rehabilitation centres to support wounded and traumatised soldiers, as well as the lifting of embargoes on the procurement of essential medical equipment and tools.
Yahaya stressed that welfare must be seen as a continuous, system-wide responsibility not a one-time intervention. He advocated for the economic empowerment of non-commissioned officers through technology training in cybersecurity, GPS operations, field communication systems, and basic IT skills.
He also urged the Nigerian Army leadership to establish clear frameworks to check unethical officer-soldier relationships, which he said were undermining trust, discipline, and esprit de corps within units.
“Welfare is not just about feeding or pay, it’s about dignity, fairness, and institutional justice. Soldiers must see leadership as firm, fair, and humane. Promotions must be earned and not politicised,” he advised.
Reiterating the importance of leadership, Yahaya called for structured mentorship programs to build a new generation of professional, confident, and resilient soldiers. He said incentives and motivation schemes must be institutionalised, and soldiers rewarded for loyalty, gallantry, and service excellence.
“No military can be stronger than the morale of its soldiers. Welfare must be constant, comprehensive, and uncompromising if we are to sustain the gains of recent years and confront future threats effectively,” he concluded.
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