JANUARY 15
"Today we remember our fallen heroes..."
I remember deciding to attend a church service in the early
hours of Sunday the 9th of November 2014 at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. It
was going to be my second time at that particular predominantly
"white" church so I looked forward to fellowshipping with a different
breed of people than what I was already used to. The bus ride from Stanley Road
to Queens square was uneventful; I alighted and made my way towards the hotel
via Lime Street. The mammoth crowd gathered to my left and right in front of
the World Museum caused me to pause for a moment. "I thought they said
these fellas don't believe in God or go to church" I said to myself.
The reverence observed by the thousands of people with
poppies pined to their clothes that morning as prayers were said was awesome
and priceless. It was all in honor of every slain military personnel killed in
battle and in defence of their union. I thought it would have felt out of place
if I sauntered towards them and joined in the ceremony so I turned right
towards the train station instead to join the church service. A good number of
those at the hotel also had poppies on as a mark of solidarity; in fact the
entire nation observes this ritual for weeks prior to the grand event which
involves multiple marching bands and veterans.
I wrote a piece a while back in honor of the Nigerian
Military partly inspired by what I thought was inadequate recognition of their
sacrifices especially by the government in power and partly by what I observed
during the remembrance day parade I was privileged to watch on January 15th
2009 on the streets of Langtang, the seat of the Tarok nation in Plateau state
by several old and maimed retired soldiers from that town alone. It seems the central
government only performs wreath laying ceremonies and do nothing significant
until the next year. I must admit there are resettlement centers, housing schemes
and other measures to ensure military officers and their families are taken
care of but this to the best of my knowledge is grossly inadequate. The greatest
damage which I believe has been done to our current and ex-service men (inclusive
of women) exists in the psyche of the people they were commissioned to protect.
There is a huge possibility that the Nigerian people
especially those who are not directly affiliated to the military have little or
no regard for whatever the military has ever achieved and to some extent; they
cannot be blamed. Today marks the 49th year since the day a group of
predominantly Igbo army officers stormed sites in Lagos, Kaduna and Ibadan to
halt the stagnant wheel of the 5year old nation called Nigeria. The many
misconceptions and assumptions from that era have allowed for the demons which those
brave officers claimed they wanted to exorcise then to graduate to
principalities that have become somewhat immovable. Nigeria has become a nation
whose foundation is corruption, impunity and injustice. The volume of blood
shed is beyond measure and the hemoglobin reserves are presently facing
extinction. The entrance of the military into governance and the subsequent
games to enthrone and unseat dynasties has contributed to the depletion of any
affection towards the military. The war, the numerous conflicts; the
accusations of massacres and the diverse dictators have not helped to improve the
image of the armed forces in any way.
Why would the people remember the exploits of the military in
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo Kinshasa or in Sudan. Why would the people
remember the pilot, who was shot down, captured and beheaded by Boko Haram or
the many young officers left exposed to die in the Northeast in defence of
Nigeria’s territory. It is easy to forget those fathers, sons, fiancés and many
highly intelligent officers cut down in their prime because they signed up to
defend us. Many must be wishing a speedy execution for those of them who dared
to question their commanding officers and were thereafter court-martialed. It is
understandable why Nigerians will ignore any officer carrying a piggy bank for
contributions towards the armed forces. Who will give money to an establishment
whose personnel beat up and humiliated a certain woman in traffic? I remember a
friend having his side mirror smashed by a soldier because he was prevented
from twisting and turning in traffic. Many have been harassed for wearing camouflage
themed outfits or black boots similar to military issued gear. The numerous
people who have been sent to the stars by vicious slaps will never wear a poppy
for the Nigerian military neither will anyone who has been intimidated or
humiliated by anyone with a belt, beret, sweater or car sticker indicating
military status.
Today also marks the official surrender of the Biafran army
45years ago after Lt. Col. Ojukwu fled Uli. The history of the nation has been
corrupted and distorted ever since. The schools do not teach this part of our
history and subsequent cases of injustice have been repeatedly swept under the
carpet of wishes. Sadly, the civil war has persisted in the minds of many and
the previously strictly ethnic battles have been corrupted by religion. We all
lost and we were all vanquished because we have seemingly failed to learn
fundamental lessons from an avoidable war and continue to repeat the same
mistakes.
One major disservice done to the armed forces is the failure
of the system to record and display the efforts of the average soldier, airman
or seaman. The major tales are those of the generals who benefitted from the
system they helped to create and reinforce. The authorities themselves are
locked up behind their high barb wired fences and sand bags unaware that they
ought to open themselves up to the people they serve. I am not sure who the
commanding officer of the Northeastern offensive is; the only fellows we see are
barrel bellied service chiefs and an army spokesman who appears to me like a
political spokesman of the president of the federation. They turn out information
and figures which end up being heavily disputed or inaccurate; the people do
not realize if they indeed have an effective military capable of defending them
but one which would be readily deployed to stop a harmless civilian protest
against the central government. The events of January 2012 come readily to mind
when soldiers were sent to Ojota to stop the Subsidy protests.
How about the Military having a museum? How about displaying
the relics of the Northern and West African Frontier forces in a huge building
for Nigerians to walk in freely and get educated. Of what significance is a
bullet ridden black Mercedes Benz car at the National Museum in Lagos when very
little truth is known about the occupants of that vehicle. Why do Nigerians not
have a clue of the truth about the men who moved on the government in the early
hours of this day 49years ago? Apart from Majors Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna and Ademoyega;
I doubt if the photographs of the others exist in any document. I saw a video
on the Biafran war a few days back and a well-spoken young man was said to be
Tim Onwatuegwu. Even the stories of villains and tyrants are told; how much
more those who risked it all for their country and for what they thought was
right. It is the relative absence of this type of information that must have
encouraged some Nigerians to believe a certain politician who suggested that
the Military regimes before his entry as president did not buy a single rifle
for the army. I wonder if the problem is that most things remain classified but
I wonder if that is the reason why we do not have monuments in every state
where the names of service men from these states killed in action are inscribed
for the sake of their families and posterity. It is not enough to name
airports, stadia, streets after a few and have a couple of roundabouts and
statues for the likes of Fajuyi and Ademulegun. The current group should be
adequately supported to do their jobs. It is not enough to increase the recurrent
expenditure of the military while the basic tools for their duties are
inadequate, obsolete or nonexistent. The fear of empowering the military enough
to move against a civilian administration like it happened under Shehu Shagari
may have led to a deliberate marked decrease in the capital expenditure required
to equip the military to become a modern day fighting force they ought to be.
The sacrifices of these men and women should be adequately
recognized and documented for all to see. The names of all those who fell (as
much as possible) in the Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone should be inscribed in
the public squares and not left to just imagination of the Nigerian people
trying to put a face to the Unknown soldier.
LONG LIVE THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.
 |
| Wing commander Chimda Hedima.(RIP) |
Joa
150115
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