00:00Today, Lagos State joins the rest of its sister state to celebrate and honor the sacrifices of men and women who lost their lives in service.
00:09Abdon Life Year in Lagos State at the Tafal Balewa Square is the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day,
00:16where top government officials, military leaders and veterans are gathered to pay tribute to men and soldiers who lost their life while serving the nation.
00:30Shabbat Shabbat Shalom
01:00This Young Forces Remembrance Day is an event that normally hold every year, so it's not
01:12a new thing.
01:13And based on what I've seen here so far, it has been the normal way that it has been
01:18done.
01:19So it has been wonderful.
01:20What I will say to seven members of that, what is worth doing is worth doing well.
01:25It is an honor for a country like Nigeria to at least appreciate the effort of their
01:32service.
01:33So it's something to be proud of.
01:35Like I'm standing here for the past 10 years, my husband's insurance has not been paid.
01:42Group life insurance, something that he is entitled of.
01:46And I'm begging.
01:47I have letters, I have sent letters to defense, sent letters to chief of naval staff.
01:53Up till today, there is no answer.
01:56I collaborate with other women, both in Abuja, Lagos and other states, to cry that, please,
02:03sir, pay us, our husband, group life insurance.
02:08But up till now, me, I am 10 years, there are some people that are 15, 12, some 5, some 9,
02:16and there are some that cannot even afford to pay their children's school fees.
02:21They are still among us.
02:23It's a very interesting thing to be one of the Nigerian military wife.
02:30The journey hasn't been easy, but we give glory to God for how far he has taken us.
02:35Apart from being a military wife, I'm also a daughter of a military officer.
02:41And having grown in the barrack, I get used to those things that I watch my mother doing.
02:48There's a language you always say, blanket is our husband or something like that.
02:53When it's cold, she held onto the blanket, meaning the husband has gone on outside assignment.
03:00And then she kept hoping, praying, believing in God that safely with the husband is on.
03:08And presently, with the insecurity we have faced, most of our husbands are charged with outside responsibility,
03:16defending the territory against this health man, disurgency, and the rest of it.
03:23We kept praying hard that God bring them out safely, bring them back home to the lovely family safely.
03:31And God has been faithful all these years, so no regrets.
03:34The first thing I did when I came on board almost four years ago was to have meetings with the widows.
03:41The first group set of people I had meetings with were the widows.
03:45There, we agreed.
03:46Because it used to be a kind of empowerment arrangement whereby some people would be trained and empowered.
03:53And that doesn't make things, I mean, the donation of the government or the governor to go around.
03:58So the widows themselves told me that they would prefer a situation whereby, even if it is once in a year,
04:04we organize a kind of a palliative sharing where everybody will benefit from anything that the government has provided.
04:11And on that note, we do that on a yearly basis.
04:15Today, we are doing the Armed Forces Remembrance Day to remember our fallen heroes,
04:21to pray for them, and to also encourage our military officials,
04:26and to let them know that their sacrifices will never be in place.
04:30To also encourage the families, that their uncles, their fathers, their brothers are remembered by this country.
04:39So as you know, this happens across the length and breadth of Nigeria.
04:43All the 36 states, the Federal Capital Charity, I'm sure the president is doing that right now.
04:47So it's just collectively to remember our armed forces.
04:51The 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day reminds us constantly to keep on honoring
04:56and moving on with the legacies dropped down by these heroes of the nation.
05:01I am Fadi Moreto, live at Stafford Balewa Square for Guardian TV.
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