Retired Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, former Army Spokesman, has described the ₦3,000 daily Ration Cash Allowance for troops as inadequate, saying it does not reflect Nigeria’s current economic reality.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show, Kukasheka confirmed the figure: “The last time I checked, it was ₦3,000 per day… As at today, it’s still ₦3,000 per day. It’s not increased.” He noted that amounts to about ₦93,000 monthly “in a country where food inflation has gone up tremendously.”
“How do you expect someone to feed on ₦3,000 per day in the prevailing circumstances?” he asked. “A loaf of bread I used to buy ₦500, now you get it as much as ₦1,500 or more… and it’s not just bread, almost everything else.”
Responding to host concerns that soldiers buy their own boots and night vision goggles, Kukasheka clarified: “There are certain things that are basic and there are certain things that are controlled items… Night vision goggles… fragmented jacket, weapons, arms, ammunition, they are control items. So there is no way an individual can buy them unless of course, it is something else.”
He added that while the Army provides initial kit like three pairs of uniforms, “there is nothing wrong in anybody augmenting so that you can feel better,” recalling a commander who took 16 uniforms to the frontline.
Still, he stressed the bigger issue is funding: “The commanders cannot give what they don’t have… You need to draw the attention of the authority on the plight of these personnel… the sacrifices they are making and the remuneration they receive —
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