GARLANDS FOR THE FALLEN HEROES

Widows and dependents of fallen officers and men should be well appreciated

The Armed Forces Remembrance Day will be marked across the country today with fanfare. In Abuja, as it is every year, colourful parades will be held, wreaths will be laid by senior military officers, and glowing speeches will be made to remember those who laid down their lives for the nation. We must commend our military, especially for the critical role they have played in the fight against insurgency, banditry, and for making sacrifices on behalf of our country. We must also commiserate with the families of all fallen heroes, even as we hope that they will be accorded the needed attention at this most difficult period.

The men and women who offer themselves for military service and die in the process should be treated as the heroes they truly are. Unfortunately, the nation seems to prefer spending billions yearly on ceremonies rather than ensuring that those left behind by these gallant officers are well taken care of. For years, there have been pathetic reports on the plight of military widows and the children many left behind. Apart from burial expenses and gratuity, the insurance benefits due to some of the families are still pending aside from constant threats of eviction from barracks. These are issues that need to be considered on a day such as this. “Looking at the welfare package for those fallen heroes,” Colonel Hassan Stan-Labo (rtd) reminded Nigerians last year, “the dependents that they left behind – wives and children – I must say that whatever we think we are doing as a country is not enough.” 

Indeed, in many cases, entitlements and benefits of those killed in the line of duty were hardly paid, leaving their families and dependents to the vagaries of the harsh social and economic situations.  Only last week, widows of the officers killed in the 1992 air crash in Ejigbo, Lagos, bemoaned their neglect. What is even more alarming is the sheer number of families faced with this colossal tragedy. In the armed forces, deaths have become a daily affair. From a never-ending Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast to general banditry in the Northwest, to herder-farmer crisis in the North Central, and sundry other criminalities in other parts of the country, many of our military personnel are constantly paying the supreme price. Indeed,  across the country, hundreds of people are being killed almost daily either by criminal cartels or lone wolves who seem to have overpowered the capacity of the state. But the situation becomes more worrisome when these criminals also target our military personnel. The time has therefore come to realise the severity of the threat to our national security by reassessing the current strategies which have proved ineffectual. 

However, beyond the case for adequate training and equipment, the issue of commensurate welfare has raised a most pertinent question: How can we expect the best from those whom society literally denies justice by the shabby handling of their dependents? We must recognise that there is a strategic relationship between the well-being of the personnel of our armed services and the safety of the nation and the citizens. It is only when we take due care of these officers as well as the rank and file that we can legitimately demand that they perform their duties with optimum zeal. The tears of these widows and left-behind children are all a reminder that we have failed not merely our fallen servicemen, but also in our duty to the citizens they were mandated to defend and protect.  

As we join in marking the armed forces Remembrance Day, we must inculcate the habit of showing appreciation to the families of our fallen heroes.