SLAIN SERVICE MEN AND NEXT-OF-KIN 

Families of deceased officers and men must be well-provided for

Every anti-insurgency war is first a psychological operation. The troops on the battlefield must be motivated enough to want to lay down their lives in defence of the nation. Therefore, when the source of troop morale in any war is in short supply or missing, there is a problem. Last week, the Nigerian Army urged widows and next-of-kin of fallen soldiers with unresolved welfare claims to come forward with verifiable information. This followed allegations of extortion and sexual harassment in the processing of death benefits. We believe the defense of the army on the report. But with recurring challenges around the welfare of families of fallen officers and men, we must ponder whether we are facing the consequences of our own neglect in the growing capacity of insurgents and sundry cartels of criminals as a demoralised soldier cannot perform to optimum level.

There are reports of widows of slain military men under constant threats of eviction from barracks. But their ordeal is mild compared to what families of policemen who die on duty go through. Many of them live in sub-human conditions. They are sometimes ejected from the barracks while still waiting for their entitlements. Indeed, in many cases, entitlements and benefits of police officers killed in the line of duty were hardly paid, leaving their families and dependents to the vagaries of the harsh social and economic situations. Aside from admitting that thousands of its personnel who died in active service were not insured, police authorities cannot even treat the next-of-kins (NOKs) and beneficiaries of those who died between 2012 and 2019 with any modicum of dignity. After requesting them to come to Abuja with a long list of requirements without any guarantee, families of these deceased personnel were still requested to “make transportation, feeding, and accommodation arrangements for the duration of their stay” that lasted several weeks. At the end, many of them were not even attended to. 

What is even more alarming is the sheer number of families faced with this colossal tragedy. In the armed forces and police, deaths have become a daily affair. In the face of serious security challenges across the nation buoyed by the brutal Boko Haram insurgency, general banditry, herder-farmer crisis, and all manner of criminality, many security persons are constantly paying the supreme price so that we may live. According to reports, hundreds of security personnel from the military, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps are killed annually. This bodes ill for our country.

Beyond the case for adequate training and equipment, the issue of commensurate welfare has raised several pertinent questions. How can we expect the best of our police and military officers if we continue to treat them with contempt after making the supreme sacrifice by exposing their families to all kinds of indignity? How can we expect the best from those whom the 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.  We should inculcate the habit of showing appreciation to families of our fallen heroes.