By Tunde Oso

Head of the Association of Urhobo Mayoral Family Crown, AUMFC, who is also an ex-militant leader, His Excellency, Dr.  Israel Agimor Eshanekpe aka Akpodoro has called on the President Bola Tinubu, and public spirited individuals to make more efforts towards improved welfare for families of the members of the Nigerian Armed forces, who paid the supreme price in the service of their fatherland noting that the only way the nation can immortalise its fallen heroes is to make life easier for their families.

The Mayor stated this in a statement he issued at a well attended event in Abuja, Wednesday in commemoration of  this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day an annual celebration that takes place in the country every January 15.

Akpodoro said, although the Nigerian government and the Ministry of Defence led by Lt. General Christopher Musa have the goodwill to exit the families of fallen heroes from poverty, but argued that there’s more to do.

He noted that after the death of their loved ones, families of the demised soldiers easily relapse into poverty due to poor capital development saying most soldiers wives lack skills to sustain them after the death of their husbands adding the government should ensure training for wives of soldiers for self sustainable life.

?Nigeria Armed Forces,? he noted, ?Are the pillars of any nation without which,? he argued, ?No nation can survive,? stressing, ?It is important for the government to do more for soldiers, who are alive and the dead because they are our national heroes.

?They live to serve their nation and after their demise, the nation owes them continued care by uplifting their souls even in death in the manner their families left behind are cared for.

He noted that surveys across all the sections of the Armed Forces widows and families of fallen soldiers depicts neglect and abandonment by successive governments, however, commending the current administration for its efforts to rewrite ‘the ugly’ trajectory of the wives of the nation’s heroes who died in active service to humanity.

“While we sleep, our soldiers are awake to protect us, they keep the National integrity and sovereignty intact against external and internal aggressors and for these they deserve to be honoured in the way the government and citizens stand in for the families they left behind.”

“This season of honouring our brave men and women, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Their courage, dedication, and selflessness inspire us to be better citizens. We remember the fallen, the survivors, and their families. Their sacrifices should never be forgotten.

May God bless Nigeria and bless our Armed Forces,” Dr. Akpodoro stated as he called on the business elites to join force with the current administration to lift up the families of the nation’s fallen heroes.

“I salute the courage and sacrifices of Captain Umar Farouk,  a Nigerian Army officer who led his team to rescue civilians from Boko Haram captivity, unfortunately he was killed in action in 2015; Lieutenant Colonel I.J. Ogunleye, a courageous officer who led operations against Boko Haram lost his life and was posthumously promoted to Colonel after his death in 2014; while Police Inspector Samuel Eze was killed while responding to a distress call in Abuja in 2020 and Major Mahmud Hassan, a pilot who died in a plane crash during a mission to rescue stranded civilians in 2018 amongst many others. These heroes’ sacrifices will never be forgotten.

 ?I have implicit confidence in the capacity of the Gen. Musa to make life better for our military men and women. We must regularly put smile on their faces to encourage the living,” the Mayor concluded.

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