Honour our heroes

I appeal to our amiable President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to please compel the army council to look into the cases of officers who wholeheartedly fought for the unity of our country.

Those men really gave on the spot account of the Nigerian civil war and their experiences. “Although many of us were half baked before we were sent to the war front, six weeks crash training was what we were given as raw civilians before going to war. But, thanks to God that we have some committed officers who led us to see the end of the war.”

With this testimony from a war veteran, I appeal to our president to consider the case of those officers as he did for Chief M.K.O Abiola. Some of these officers are still alive today. People like Alani Akinrinade, T.Y. Danjuma, Tuoyo and Alabi Isama who are still living today should be invited to give testimony of what happened during the war and other officers who prosecuted the war, they should be treated as heroes.

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Though other ranks executed the war plan, without a good leader we cannot achieve success. This case should not be seen as victimization on the government because those that fought the Nigerian civil war fought to keep Nigeria one.

All these brave officers should be gathered for the younger ones to tap from their knowledge and experience. Those officers should be invited to our war college and all the military training institutions like the NDA, NMTC and army university to give lectures to upcoming ones who choose to be military.

Let the army authorities treat these men with mercy, justice and equity. Those that have laid down their lives for the unification of our great nation should be honoured.

Developed countries do not treat their heroes as used and dumped elements. Adekunle, Tomoye, Utuk, Gagara and many others have gone, let us correct the wrong which the past military regimes used as an excuse before truncating the First Republic and which still exists till today.

Samuel O. Adepoju,

Ibadan.