Nigeria, on Wednesday, marked the 2014 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, with some retired military personnel calling on the Nigerian government to consider an improved remuneration for them and their involvement in the fight against insurgency in the north.
The yearly event is organised to commemorate the end of the Nigerian civil war on January 15, 1970 and honour military personnel that lost their lives in the line of duty.
In Kwara State, retired soldiers called on the Nigerian government to effect the increment of 35 per cent in their monthly pension due to them since three years ago.
The event took place at the Metro Park Ilorin and was attended by the state governor, Abdulfattah Ahmed.
Governor Ahmed inspected the guard of honour and laid a wreath in memory of the fallen heroes.
In Akwa Ibom, the governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio, urged Nigerians to defend the country’s democracy and avoid creating the same circumstances that led to wars and violence in the past.
Paying glowing tributes to the fallen heroes for their supreme sacrifice to ensure the unity of the country, Governor Akpabio said that the best way to show appreciation for the sacrifice of the unknown soldier was to allow love to reign in the country.
Elsewhere, in Kaduna State, the chairman of the Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigerian Legion, Retired Colonel Haliru Ibrahim called on the country’s military authorities to engage the services of retired military personnel in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the region.
Speaking to reporters during the closing ceremony of the event in Kaduna, Colonel Ibrahim stated that the current security challenges could be surmounted if the military hierarchy would bring in some ex-service men with enough military tactics and experience.
“The ex-military men are ever willing to render more service to their fatherland, especially playing a role towards ending insurgency in the country,” he said.
January 15 is set aside by the Nigerian government to remember military personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty and also take stock on how the armed forced have fared in the preceding year.
The ceremony features prayers, 21-gun salute, laying of wreaths and release of pigeons to symbolise peace.
