Generals Desperate to Retire Rich.

Byline: Ochereome Nnanna

Help! We are surrounded by top brass of the uniformed law enforcement agencies who are doing everything in their power to enter the club of the super rich before they are retired.

It is not a new thing. The trend probably started after the civil war when members of the armed and security forces started rewarding themselves with the powers that their uniforms conferred on them.

Some of the richest Nigerians alive made their fabulous fortunes either as military or security officers (Army, Navy, Air Force, Customs, Immigration, Prisons, Secret Police, and the regular Police) or uniformed officers who occupied public or political office (Heads of State/Presidents, Service Chiefs, Ministers or Military Governors).

In a recent article he published in Vanguard and Financial Times of London, Ambassador Patrick Dele Cole put it this way: "it is said in the Nigerian military that you will never find a poor admiral".

The term: "admiral" simply represents the "generals" of the various security and law enforcement forces mandated by the constitution to provide us with protection. In other civilised countries, such top officers look forward to retiring heroically to receive healthy pensions and gratuities.

In the UK, some hope their services to the …