– Source:Nigerian soldiers’ widows have been reported as lacking support from the army, and even experiencing sexual harassment while claiming their late husbands’ benefits.
Their concerns echo the findings of our recent study as military sociologists.
The research focused on Nigerian widows who lost their husbands in the Boko Haram conflict, and the extent to which the Nigerian Army fulfilled its responsibilities towards them.
Boko Haram is officially known as Jamaat Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), meaning “people committed to the propagation of the prophet’s teachings and jihad”. The Islamic State’s West African Province is its splinter group. They are Islamist terrorist groups operating in north-east Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.
The Nigerian Army has been involved in the conflict since 2009, and the conflict has taken various forms of unconventional warfare.
The army’s response to the women’s grievances supports our study’s claims that it is an uncaring institution.
This neglect is demonstrated through the dysfunctional military bureaucracy and the unprofessional conduct of officers dealing with welfare benefits.
Our research
Our research is part of a broader study on how Nigerian military widows have coped after the loss of their husbands.
The conflict with terrorist groups has resulted in thousands of deaths and permanent injuries to soldiers. More than 36,000 people have been killed since 2009 when the conflict began while 2.2 million have been displaced. It has also left widows and orphans.
The research was conducted through in-depth interviews, including conversations with Nigerian Army officials and 29 widows of commissioned and non-commissioned officers between December 2020 and March 2021.
The key findings highlighted the limited military support in accessing benefits and a broader lack of societal support for the women and their association, the Military Widows Association.
It also draws attention to the complexities of combat-related death, perceptions of military service, and the socio-economic vulnerability associated with widowhood in Nigeria.
Caring and uncaring institutions
A caring institution demonstrates empathy and compassion towards its members, treating them with dignity and respect.
An uncaring institution responds to the sufferings of its members in the opposite way. Its organisational structure reinforces its “non-caring” nature.
Bureaucratic and hierarchical institutions, such as the military, are regarded as less caring than decentralised and flat-structured organisations because of their seemingly rigid and impersonal methods of operations.
Military organisations do provide formal support and care to their members. But because care in the military is typically delivered through bureaucratic channels, it can make the support feel impersonal.
This has contributed to the perception among Nigerian soldiers’ widows that the army is uncaring.
Our findings
Our research revealed that the Nigerian Army offers compensation and benefits to the families of soldiers who die in combat. It covers burial expenses, provides a pension for 60 months, pays out insurance, and sponsors education for children. For comparison, the United Kingdom Armed Forces provides life payments to the surviving partner and children, and bereavement grants to the surviving partner and children of the deceased.
However, Nigerian Army widows sometimes encounter obstacles when trying to access their late husbands’ benefits and entitlements.
One of the widows we interviewed noted that some women were not aware of the benefits. The army was supposed to ensure that they got what they were entitled to, but:
… it is not like that in practice; one has to keep calling them, keep travelling up and down and many things can go wrong when one contacts them sometimes, they will send a not completely signed document. It is insulting…
Our study found that there are no clear guidelines for administering these benefits. Widows must navigate the administrative paperwork on their own.
Other challenges include lengthy delays in bureaucratic processes and military officials neglecting their duties in carrying out administrative tasks.
Some of the widows interviewed alleged that officials deliberately caused delays.
One of the widows said she had her husband’s death certificate, but also needed a condolence letter from the army to process the benefits. This was not forthcoming, so she resorted to using a senior colleague of her late husband to accelerate the process. According to her:
… he called the persons in charge, he found out that they typed it but had not sent it for over three months.
There are also delays and inconsistencies in the payment of benefits, with women not receiving sufficient information about payment timelines. Widows who continue living in the barracks due to unpaid benefits face eviction threats. Some prefer to remain in the barracks, where they can access accurate information and pursue their benefits more effectively.
Their children are also affected. Widows have to be present for the yearly scholarship screening for their wards, which involves long, arduous inter-state trips to the Nigerian Army headquarters in Abuja. These trips do not guarantee timely payment of the scholarship.
Widows interviewed suggested the process was set up to frustrate them into relinquishing the benefits.
These challenges show that the Nigerian Army’s approach to the widows of soldiers who died while battling Boko Haram is uncaring.
Our findings show that neglecting the families of fallen soldiers has far-reaching implications. It results in severe financial hardship and emotional trauma. In turn, it could potentially lead to a loss of trust and morale among serving soldiers.
It may have a broader impact on the recruitment and retention of personnel in the Nigerian Army.
What needs to be done about it
Nigerian Army authorities should decentralise the claims for death benefits and gratuities, as well as their associated procedures.
Centralising these administrative processes at the army headquarters has led to a dysfunctional system that has hindered service delivery to the affected women.
There are no support units to provide the necessary information on how widows can claim their benefits and seek remedies when needed.
Improvements can be made by establishing dedicated desks or offices to offer comprehensive guidelines, support and feedback on the claims process. This would address the specific needs of the widows on an individual basis.
There is also a need to address the corruption, dereliction of duty and lack of professionalism among personnel.
Fisayo Ajala does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
By Fisayo Ajala, Stellenbosch University
