Nigeria - Mr. President's 2014 budget proposed a N59bn figure to take care of ex-militants as against N10.245bn for EFCC, and a joint figure of N46bn for both the Armed Forces and the Police Command.
As kids we all had big dreams and fascinating ambitions. I wanted to become a Medical Doctor, had siblings, cousins and friends who wanted to become Accountants, Engineers, Lawyers, Architects, etc. Well, some of us achieved our career desires, others got better career directions than they had hoped for, while some others got worse ones. It's called LIFE.
However, our parents and guardians never mentioned the option of becoming militants (or terrorists), so we never had the choice of making that an option. Infact if I ever heard those words while growing up, I must have also heard that it's terrible, it's a crime etc.
One can not now but wonder why fastforward to present day, that "uncommon, terrible and criminal" profession gets a national budget provision bigger than even the agencies that are supposed to fight crime and guarantee our safety as a country, while none of the professional options we had as kids made it to the list.
If our country can say no to paying unemployed graduates a social security stipend to help them keep body and soul together while job-hunting, pay a pitiful sum of N19,800 to youths serving their nation and falling victim to terrorist attacks in unfamiliar territories as monthly salary, peg minimum wage for the entire national workforce at an amount that can not even buy you a good Android phone, not to talk of subscribing it... Would it be safe to say choosing career paths, we were misguided?
This is just a reflective thought. I'm happy at least the ex-militants are being rehabilitated and given a new lease to life in order for peace to reign in the country. I'm happy that the country under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan is looking out for the ex-militants, but the question is, "who is looking out for the rest of us who faced our studies and graduated to seek unavailable jobs or learnt trades to be able to contribute to the nation's economy by practicing what we learnt commercially... rather than picking up arms and fighting to be seen and taken care of too?"
This is food for thought, not just for our leaders but every Nigerian in general.
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