Thirty-year-old former soldier in the Nigerian Army Special Forces, Abubakar Afan, tells AYOOLA OLASUPO why he disengaged from military service, and his reasons for rejecting a tempting offer to join the Russian Army
Why did you disengage from the Nigerian Army?
I left the Nigerian Army because the Nigerian government is not treating the military well. I think I had the opportunity to catch up with many foreign armies, so I just had to disengage and do something to take care of myself. The Nigerian government is not treating the military well.
I disengaged from the Nigerian Army Special Forces last year. I’m doing some business, such as selling clothes and other items. I was in the Nigerian Army for 11 years and 100 days, and I believe that I did the best I could during those years.
I just had to leave for my mental health. Imagine that in this current economy, a soldier is earning less than N150,000 monthly without any other benefits. There were allowances whenever we went for operations, but if we stayed back at the barracks, there were no allowances.
The politicians are even doing better than those who are protecting them. So, I don’t think my life is worth serving some selfish politicians. I think the Nigerian government should look at the military and ensure the armed forces are well paid.
You said on your X account that you received an offer to join the Russian Army. How did it go?
It was through a friend who sent my number to the recruiter, and they said that if I agreed to sign a contract with them, they would offer me a sum of N21m when converted from their currency to naira, one hectare of land, and Russian citizenship. And you know there is an ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
What was your initial reaction when the offer was presented to you?
Sincerely, I was tempted. So, I had to think quickly because N21m, land, and citizenship were not worth my life. I have a lot of friends fighting on the side of Ukraine, and I imagined myself on the Russian side, fighting against my friends or killing them, or them trying to kill me.
This didn’t make any sense to me. So, money could not even attract me to sign the contract with the Russian Army, because I think it is a bad idea. In Islam, it is not allowed to fight for money. If such a person is killed, I don’t think he or she is going to make it to heaven.
Are you saying that those friends have joined the Ukrainian Army?
No, they are my foreign friends who are fighting on the side of Ukraine. They are from the United States, the UK, and some other countries.
Did you at any point consider accepting the offer?
I did not. I’m a businessman now, and I’m doing well, so I’m not that desperate for any money or worldly things. The offer even stated that immediately I got to Russia, I would be given those things even before going to any war front, but I was not interested.
That was why I posted on my X account that I was travelling to Russia. It was just to mock the offer, because I’m currently in Egypt for a company job, which I just got.
Did you seek advice or consult with family or former colleagues before making your final decision?
I discussed nothing with anyone because I think I’m old enough to make decisions myself. Even my friends know that sometimes I just take decisions on my own. Whether it’s good or bad for me, I just take the decisions.
What was your wife’s reaction to it?
My wife didn’t want me to accept it, and honestly, I agreed with her that it was not worth dying for. My wife didn’t want me to leave because she loves me so much. Even before I came to Egypt, my wife didn’t want me to come here. She would say I’m doing well in my business, and we lack nothing, so I don’t need to travel. She’s in Nigeria, and when I left, she spent three days crying.
Did your experience in the Nigerian Army form part of the reasons why you rejected the Russian offer?
Yes, I’ve seen a lot of fights and wars, and these are advanced countries fighting each other. It is a situation whereby they have a lot of advanced bombs, and each of them is capable of clearing between two to five kilometres.
Just imagine finding yourself amongst people whose language you can’t speak, and you’re fighting. Imagine what the result could be. You may end up losing your life or your legs, or any other body part, in the process. Despite Russia winning the war for me, I don’t think it is worth going. It was more about trying to protect myself than taking the offer. There are lots of opportunities.
You said you received several messages from people since you rejected the offer. Can you discuss the contents of such messages?
I have more than 40 messages. People were telling me that they wanted to go there instead. I had to tell them that the offer was very dangerous and that I also had to reject it. Imagine if it was good for me, I would love some more people to go there too, but it is not. Some of them kept saying that the offer was better for them, and I stopped responding to them.
The advice I would give to those desperate individuals is that the best thing is to avoid such work, in the sense that their lives could end within just 24 hours. It is better to be at home with your family, and there will be a lot of opportunities soon, either through education or business.
I fought with Boko Haram within a distance of just 50 meters, so I know what war is. The distance was just like the opposite sides of a highway. They were on one lane, and we were on the other lane. So, that was what we did — face to face. It’s more than what we see on television or in a video game. War is a very disgusting experience.
Can you remember some of the special operations you went for?
When I was in service I went for Operation Tura takai bango, Operation Rescue final, Operation Lafiya dole, Operation Rescue Dapchi girls, and Operation Hadin Kai.
How did you cope with the trauma from those war fronts?
I don’t think that, as a soldier fighting wars, one will be able to deal with the trauma fully, in the sense that if anything affects you, one can only get rid of about 40 per cent of it, not all, because war is not a joke.
You must remember some of your colleagues who were killed, those who were brutally killed, and some of the dangerous situations you found yourself in during the war.