Nigeria has lost many soldiers to wars and insurgency. However, their dependants appear to be the real casualties and they deserve to be taken care of, writes OKODLILI NDIDI
The casualties are not only those who are dead. They are well out of it,” these lines as captured in one of John Pepper Clark’s poems, ‘The Casualty’, vividly paints a picture of the fate of Nigeria’s fallen heroes and military veterans.
The poet, obviously referring to the casualties of the Nigerian fratricidal civil war, pointed out that the actual casualties of the war were not those killed because they were well out of it, but those who survived to bear the brunt of the war. Those that lost their limbs fighting, the widows and dependants of the fallen heroes and children orphaned by the war; these were the true casualties.
In what has become a yearly ritual in Nigeria, wreaths are laid at the feet of the ‘unknown soldier’ at colourful ceremonies in commemoration of the fallen heroes, who laid down their lives fighting off internal and external aggressions against the country. Usually, very little is said about the actual casualties – the aged and wounded soldiers, widows and dependants of the ‘unknown soldier’.
For instance, Senate Committee chairman on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, gave a disturbing statistics of soldiers killed by the Boko Haram insurgents since it started a decade ago.
The Senator revealed that 840 soldiers were killed in the course of the fight against terrorists in the Northeast from 2013 till date.
He disclosed further that the slain soldiers were buried in a military cemetery located in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, the epicentre of the insurgency.
Ndume said the figure did not include other soldiers killed by the insurgents and buried in other military cemeteries located in other parts of the Northeast geopolitical zone.
The statistics painted a depressing picture of the ordeal of Nigerian soldiers, who put their lives on the line to defend the country’s sovereignty. But the most disturbing question is, are their dependants and loved ones adequately taken care of by the relevant authorities?
Minister of Defence Bashir Salihi Magashi, during a Ministerial press briefing to herald the 2020 Armed Forces Day celebrations, affirmed that members of the Armed Forces have made the supreme sacrifice and sustained varying degrees of injuries in the fight against Boko Haram in the Northeast, as well as combating other internal security problems in the Northwest and other parts of the country.
The Minister also noted that “in the exercise of their mandate of protecting the territorial integrity of the country against internal and external aggression, officers and men of the Armed Forces face daunting challenges. “Many lay down their lives, others survive with varying degrees of incapacitation. This notwithstanding, they have continued to dedicate themselves to this onerous and patriotic duty,” he said.
Having chronicled these daunting challenges being faced by these soldiers in the course of their duties, it is expected that concerted efforts would be made to provide succour for those they left behind beyond the rituals of the Armed Forces Day celebrations to inspire other soldiers, especially those in the theatre of war.
The minister, however, gloated that “annually, the country, through the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebrations, recognises and appreciates the sacrifices of our fallen heroes, veterans and the Armed Forces. “Government desires that this act of remembrance be implanted in the hearts of all Nigerians so that we can daily act in ways that show our appreciation.
“We owe it a duty to consider the plight of the widows and orphans of the fallen heroes. We appreciate the works of some Non-Governmental Organisations that have catered to these categories of citizens. It is expected that more of such organisations will rise to the challenge of addressing the needs of these special Nigerians.
“The efforts of the services at providing scholarship for the eligible children of their personnel who died in active service up to tertiary level can be augmented by corporate organisations operating in Nigeria to capture dependants outside the official coverage net. This can be considered as a worthy Corporate Social Responsibility initiative,” he said.
Meanwhile, in what looked like a glimmer of hope, Magashi disclosed that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Defence, has forwarded a bill to review the Nigerian Legion Act to Veterans Federation of Nigeria Act to improve the welfare of veterans.
According to him, the bill has provisions for institutionalising the provision for welfare needs of the veterans in line with international best practices.
He urged the 9th National Assembly to assist in the expeditious passage of the Bill. The Minister also disclosed that the Pension Administration of the Armed Forces has been strengthened for optimal performance.
His words: “At the root of catering to the welfare of our veterans is the payment of monthly pensions. To this end, the Military Pensions Board continues to deliver on regular pensions. Periodic Verification Exercises are carried out by the Board to ensure that sharp practices are reduced to the barest minimum.
“The Defence Health Maintenance Limited has continued to provide health insurance services for veterans, widows and eligible dependents of our fallen heroes. The Ministry of Defence will continue to empower the company for the effective discharge of her responsibilities. Zonal offices are being established in all the zones of the federation to increase access to the company’s services”.
Further highlighting steps taken to prioritise the welfare of the veterans Magashi hinted that, “in 2016, a collaboration between the Nigerian Legion and a private sector driven National Personal Asset Acquisition Scheme was endorsed. The scheme was to afford the legionnaires (veterans) the ability to purchase both household and agricultural commodities at affordable, discounted prices within a flexible and structured repayment plan across the country.
“I am happy to announce that the programme has taken off with the distribution at Jos on July 2018, of 400 motorcycles to the Legionnaires and food items to widows of fallen heroes. The gesture was replicated with the distribution of 2,000 motorcycles and 10,000 bags of rice in Abuja in October 2018,” he said.
These steps, as laudable as they may sound, seem a far cry from what is needed to address the plight of widows, children and other dependents of our fallen heroes.
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Findings showed that apart from the emotional trauma families of deceased soldiers are thrown into by the sudden death of their breadwinners, they are often homeless after they have been evicted from their accommodation in the barracks.
One would have expected that the government would initiate a robust housing scheme for the Armed Forces to ensure that in the event of death or incapacitation, their families will not have to wander in the streets in manners that tend to question the rationale behind the sacrifices made by the soldiers.
Another area of serious concern is the welfare of veteran soldiers. A visit to any of the military establishments will expose the fact that these ‘old soldiers’ get little or no attention as they scurry from one office to the other in search of help.
Recently, retired senior members of the armed forces, including Generals, military specialists and professionals, called on the Federal Government to consider the establishment of a ministry for veteran affairs in the country.
In a communique issued at the end of a three-day retreat at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, they demanded that the government should upgrade the Veterans Affairs Division to a full-fledged ministry or parastatal.
They resolved to come together under one umbrella, to be known as the Veteran Federation of Nigeria, under a steering committee to be chaired by retired Major General Abdulmalik Jibrin.
The retired soldiers urged the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Headquarters to develop a database of all veterans in the country, detailing their strength and areas of specialisation and experiences for possible re-engagement.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin spoke about the need for the Veteran Federation of Nigeria to serve as a veritable platform of synergy for veterans associations.
President Muhammadu Buhari, while launching the 2020 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Emblem and Appeal Fund, tasked Nigerians not to forget the soldiers currently engaged in internal security operations.
But the question is, how far can mere remembrance of the sacrifices of these compatriots go in tackling the everyday challenges of the incapacitated soldiers and the family members of the ones that lost their lives?
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