Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday made a case for the welfare of the families of ex-Servicemen who died
in the course of serving the country.
Nigeria, the governor said, must not shirk its
responsibility in creating economic opportunities for the families of the
ex-Servicemen who put down their lives for the unity and progress of the
country. This, he said, would keep the faith of their children in oneness of
the country and increase their patriotism.
Sanwo-Olu stated this when he received a delegation
of ex-Servicemen who paid a courtesy visit on him at the Lagos House in Alausa.
The delegation, made up of alumni of 3rd Regular
Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), met with the governor ahead of
their yearly reunion holding on Tuesday and Wednesday in Lagos.
Spouses of the ex-Servicemen also visited Wife of
the Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu.
While receiving the delegation, the governor said:
“The country owes a duty to honour servicemen either dead or alive, because
their thoughts and aspirations are the benefits some of us are enjoying today.
As members of the third Regular Course, it means each one of your members has
at one point or the other played a part in the wellbeing of our country.
Therefore, we must not let their families regret the action and heroism of
their fathers who put down their lives to keep us united.
“The legacies left by ex-servicemen also bring the
burden of leadership on the present crop of leaders. We must do a lot more so
that the generations coming behind us would also have good things to say about
us.”
Sanwo-Olu described the ex-servicemen as ‘men of
high calibre’, noting that their gallantry had shaped the Nigeria narratives
since independence.
He charged all Nigerians to promote unity and
uphold values that would make the labour of the servicemen not to be in vain.
He said: “I am delighted that ex-servicemen still
make out time to do what is important to mankind, which is to bring happiness
to people that truly need it. It goes to show that we have improved on the
foundation that was bequeathed to us. The activities of the alumni group have
also made people to believe in Nigeria, which is the common nationality all of
us truly share.”
Leader of the delegation and former Senate
President, David Mark, praised the Lagos State Government on behalf of ex-servicemen
for creating a peaceful atmosphere to host the meeting of the participants of
the third Regular Course, noting that the alumni took the course 52 years ago
at a time Nigeria was facing internal crisis.
Since the alumni body was constituted, Mark, who
retired from the military with the rank of Brigadier-General, said the group
usually met on September 3 and 4 every year to help widows and children of
their colleagues who died in active service to the country.
As part of the group’s activities, the former
Senate president said children of fallen soldiers get yearly scholarship to
enable them further their education as well as give them hope after the death
of their breadwinners.
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