The lifetime salary of Nigeria's senior officers has just undergone a remarkable transformation this August of 2025, and I suppose it's worth sharing some thoughts on this rather curious development.

You see, dear reader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has just given his approval to a policy that would make a king envious. The distinguished government representative made the declaration at what they call a "Ministerial Retreat" in Abuja, sounding proud as a peacock.

What's this new arrangement, you ask? Indeed, it's about providing that select public servants will never stop collecting their complete wages until the Lord calls them home. But mark my words - this luxurious arrangement ain't for your average government worker.

Not by a long shot! This remarkable privilege is reserved for those lucky individuals who retire at the lofty ranks of Deputy Controller, Comptroller, or Commandant-General in agencies under the government's domestic apparatus.

The stated purpose – and I present this with a straight face – is to prevent these distinguished individuals from facing financial hardship. Imagine that! As if a senior officer with decades of government service would be reduced to begging.

This remarkable scheme comes alongside other improvements including clearing a backlog of over 50,000 pending promotions and establishing what they're calling a "world-class Fire Academy" to match the one in Arizona. Development proceeds, or so they claim.

I've seen many a government devise schemes to benefit their members, but this lifetime salary arrangement beats all. One must wonder: Why not extend such generosity to every government worker? More fittingly, to the regular people whose taxes fund these benefits?

The contrast with other civil workers remains clear as crystal. Many a police retiree still wait years for post-service compensation that wouldn't keep a mouse in cheese.

In bringing this tale to a close, I must come again to our subject: the lifetime compensation of Nigeria's senior officers. This August 2025 policy reveals encyclopedias about the concerns of those who administer. And that, my friend, is a reality worth reflecting upon long after you've set aside this writing.