Former presidential candidate and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has slammed the government’s reward structure, calling it “brutally unfair” to officers of the Nigeria Police Force.
Sowore, who contested the 2023 presidential election under the African Action Congress (AAC), made the statement in reaction to President Bola Tinubu’s announcement of national honours and substantial financial rewards to the Super Falcons following their victory at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
The Super Falcons won their 10th WAFCON title with a 3-2 comeback win against Morocco in Rabat.
President Tinubu hosted the Super Falcons at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, where he conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on all 24 players and 11 members of the coaching crew.
Tinubu announced a reward of $100,000 (₦150 million) for each player and $50,000 (₦75 million) for each member of the coaching staff.
Each team member will also receive a three-bedroom apartment under the federal government’s Renewed Hope Housing Scheme.
“You have inspired millions, especially young girls, who now see proof that their dreams are valid and achievable,” Tinubu told the players during the reception.
“You have inspired me, too. And it’s great for a nation to have assets that are the hope of today, tomorrow, and the day after. You represent that hope. You ignited that hope. And we will continue to encourage you, the next generation, and other generations after you.”
Reacting to this gesture, Sowore, in a short tweet on Tuesday, said life is brutally unfair to police officers who serve the country for decades with little reward.
“Life is brutally unfair to Nigeria Police Force officers! Super Falcons won WAFCON, trained for 1 year, played for 1 month, were rewarded with $100,000 (N150 million) each and houses!” Sowore wrote. “Police officers protected them for decades, worked 35 years, retired with $1,500 (₦2 million as gratuity), no houses, no medicals, and a little pension!
“The President or the Governor who handed the awards? $1 BILLION in gratuity, a lifetime pension, homes everywhere, full medicals!”
Meanwhile, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga defended the president’s decision in a tweet, saying, “When you remember that Multichoice, the organiser of the BBNaija reality show, is offering the winner ₦150 million grand prize, you wonder why some Nigerians are unappreciative of President Tinubu’s rewards to the Super Falcons.
President Tinubu has rewarded excellence, creativity, hard work, soccer artistry and the undying Nigerian spirit.”
Sowore’s comments come just a week after retired police officers under the Contributory Pension Scheme staged protests in several states, including Abuja and Edo, demanding that the government remove them from the scheme, which they claim has left many of them in poverty.
In Abuja, the retirees marched to the National Assembly and shut the main gate of the Force Headquarters for hours. They carried placards and accused the pension scheme of fraud and corruption.
One of the retired officers told journalists, “I am speaking from the bottom of my heart, sir. Virtually, we have nothing at home. A retired CSP cannot even send his children to school. Our condition has deteriorated beyond repair,” he said.
He added, “Even our wives and children no longer respect us. We are becoming useless to society. Please forgive us if we’ve offended anyone. We are just pushing because we have been pushed to the wall.”
In Benin, the protesting retirees also spoke out. Retired Superintendent of Police Anthony Nnachor said many officers had died due to the poor benefits under the scheme.
Nnachor said; “We are here to let the whole world know the predicament we are passing through. We are on a peaceful mission. Everybody here with me would have served in the force for 35 years meritoriously.
“It has become imperative for us to tell the world the problem we are going through. We are now living in abject poverty, and we can no longer meet our primary responsibility as parents.
“The majority of us are dying. What is the main reason? The police in 2004 established a Pension Act. The serving members of the scheme are supposed to contribute 7 per cent, while the federal government will contribute 8 per cent.
“This means that you are working for your retirement. It is the money that you have worked for that they will use to pay you. At the end of your service, they will calculate what we call a lump sum and give you 25 per cent. What we want now is for the Federal Government to exit us from this evil contributory pension scheme.”
