‘My Uncle Left Home During The Civil War, We Never Saw Him Again’

The Nigerian civil war of 1967 -1970 remains a watershed in the history of the Nigerian nation, as it left in its wake, a lot of sour tastes in the mouth.

Yesterday being the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, provided yet again, another opportunity for some people to reflect over that dark phase of the nation’s march to true nationhood.

Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama is one person whose reflection leaves sundry lessons for all.

“I recall how my uncle left home when I was a child to join the army during the Civil War, we never saw him again”, he recollected.

According to him, joining the military is a call to a very serious patriotic service, but which total outcome no one could say for sure.

He said it would only be by God’s grace that some would serve out their time gloriously and participate in the glorious pullout special ceremony.

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Aside the civil war, he stated: “We owe it a duty to pray for those who risked their lives to defend us and our territorial integrity.

“By this honour we give them, we are saying that Military service is not just socially a useful job but a good and honorable vocation which is also a very risky one.

“We must never forget those who died gallantly in active service and the families they left behind. We doff our hats to veterans still alive.

“A good tribute would be to help their families by donating to them either personally or collectively.

“The political authorities must ensure the prompt payment of benefits to families of fallen heroes and pay close attention to the welfare of the veterans still alive.

“This will motivate others who are serving presently in the armed forces to give their all, by serving selflessly”.

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Directing attention to the increased insecurity in the country, he said all hope was not lost but rather optimism that Nigeria would come back from the brink.

“We continue to insist that the government has a constitutional and statutory duty to protect human rights and secure basic justice for all.

“The role of government is to guarantee the minimum conditions that make human rights and justice possible. We thank God for the measure of peace we presently enjoy in this country, but our situation seems to be the peace of “the graveyard.”