Why #ThankASoldier Campaign Could Be Turning Point In Improving Military–Civilian Relations

Editor’s note: In this week’s column, ‘Yomi Kazeem writes on the importance of improving the relationship between Nigerians and soldiers of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

In the weeks leading up to November 11, Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom, one distinct trend develops: the use of remembrance poppies. Political figures, TV personalities, footballers and regular citizens are often seen wearing these poppies which hold a special significance for them. In the UK, poppies are used to commemorate military personnel who have died in war, and the practice has been popular since 1921. For the British, the commemoration and honouring of fallen soldiers holds a special place and, having been in place for so long, public figures often attract criticism for not wearing poppies.

In Nigeria however, it is difficult to suggest that the commemoration of soldiers holds similar significance. The nationally designated Armed Forces Remembrance Day is January 15 — the day when Biafran troops surrendered to federal troops thus marking an end of the Civil War — but the day holds little resonance among most Nigerians unlike the case in many other countries. The problem in this regard, it can be argued, is linked to Nigeria’s general, albeit sad, lack of recognition for its heroes on a proper scale, but on a much lower level, among everyday Nigerians, other issues are at play.

The reality is that civilians have historically had a love-hate relationship with the military and there are a number of reasons for this. Factually, Nigeria has spent about half of its entire independent status under military regimes which differed only in the severity of their brutality, stranglehold of power and suppression of civil rights. As is the case with military regimes, there were multiple instances of unfair trials, jailing and killing of civilians and a strict regulation of everyday citizens. As a consequence, Nigerians’ primary emotion towards soldiers and the military in general was fear.

Even during democratic dispensations, it was not uncommon to hear of cases of abuse of human rights involving soldiers and so just as Nigerians feared military regimes on a wider level, individually, soldiers also came to be feared as well.

The resulting effect of many years of this state of affairs is that Nigerians primarily fear soldiers rather than respect them and, over the years, that fear has also bred disdain.

However, over the last few years, the Boko Haram insurgency has, in its own way, reminded Nigerians of the sacrifice soldiers are making to keep our country safe. The most quoted death toll figures when the Boko Haram insurgency is discussed are civilian casualties but perhaps forgotten amid the rubble is that there has also been a significant number of military casualties as well. Regardless of the brutal military regimes and human rights abuses (which cannot be ignored, or excused, by any means), Nigerian soldiers continue to put their lives at risk and many have paid the ultimate price.

To breed a deep culture of appreciation for these soldiers, Nigerians need to be reminded of this, and on social media, a growing campaign tagged #ThankASoldier is focusing on doing just that.

The campaign has Nigerians sharing stories and pictures of known relatives on duty and in the battlefront. It also has social media users taking selfies in which they pose with a salute in honour of soldiers, fallen and serving. Already, some of the effects of the campaign show that it is helping to humanize soldiers who put their lives at risk for Nigerians, and helping Nigerians appreciate, on a better level, the scale of their sacrifice. Stories of families of fallen soldiers not being adequately catered for have clearly struck a chord and continue to do so.

Perhaps coincidentally, the campaign is also raising questions on the welfare of soldiers who are ill-equipped and underpaid at the same time when a major arms procurement fraud scandal is ripping through the country. The obvious conclusions from the scandal is that funds meant for purchase of arms and equipment of soldiers was illegally diverted, seemingly towards, among other things, financing elections. These revelations put the scale of the obstacles soldiers have faced in the last five years into even more chilling context.

Having already began to slowly effect change in Nigerians’ understanding of the problems their soldiers face, the #ThankASoldier campaign can also be a turning point in how Nigerians show them appreciation but it will be baseless optimism to think that the historically frosty relationship between civilians and soldiers will be fixed with a social media campaign and a hashtag as it will not. In the same regard, Nigerians with real horror stories at the hands of soldiers will likely be cynical and attempts to crucify them for the supposed lack of empathy will do more harm than good. The journey to fixing this issue will be long and on the way, some things need to happen.

Soldiers — and law enforcement in general — have got to learn to have and maintain a better and courteous relationship with Nigerians. This will have a two-fold effect as fear will be replaced with respect on the part of Nigerians and condescension will also be replaced with respect on the part of soldiers. #ThankASoldier, by itself, will not be enough to fix decades of ill-feeling but it’s a good place to start.

Author, ‘Yomi Kazeem

‘Yomi Kazeem is a media professional based in Lagos, Nigeria.

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com or its editors.

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