Chief Osita Chidoka, a former minister of aviation has called on the Federal Government for proper identification through documentation of military men who lost their lives in the war against Boko Haram and other forms of internal insurgencies for adequate compensation.
Chidoka, who made the in Awka on Friday said the families of the military men deserved the support of government and people of Nigeria for the supreme sacrifice they paid for the country by laying down their lives.
Chidoka, also a former Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Corps, said this as he embarked on a 48km marathon of 48,000 steps to mark his 48th birthday.
He said the marathon was aimed at raising 30,000 dollars or N11 million for the families of the dead soldiers who were in difficulties.
He noted that the gesture was to draw attention to the plight of the victims and hailed the gallantry of the soldiers who had battled to save Nigeria from internal insurrection for years.
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He also called on Nigerians and corporate bodies to encourage the military to do more to wrest the country from the hands of internal aggressors.
“For about eight to 10 years now, Nigeria has been at war with insurgency, without these soldiers, terrorists would have taken over the country, so we have to let these soldiers know that we value their efforts and sacrifice.
“I remember the Chief of Army Staff lamenting that soldiers are not fighting in the war front.
“For me whose grandfather went to the second world war and came back with one leg from that war, he would have become a destitute if not the care he enjoyed from the British Government.
“So, it is time to let our soldiers know that this country cares about them, Nigeria is in difficult situation, we have to let them know that their efforts are not in vain,” he said in a statement by his Media aide, Ikechukwu Okafor.
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Chidoka said the money realised on his birthday marathon would be used to support the dead soldiers’ families in their various areas of need.
He said the dead soldiers should not be allowed to die in vain, adding that beyond Army Rules of Engagement, Nigerians should appreciate them for the role they played in the peace and freedom they enjoy.
“I have met with a couple of the families of these dead soldiers and their stories are quite disturbing, so I am using the occasion of my 48th birthday to raise 30,000 dollars as a first step in reaching out to these families.
“We intend to intervene according to their needs, help them to settle down, see to the education of their children, accommodation and even set up businesses for their widows,” he said.
According to the statement, Chidoka started his lone-man run/walk by 3:30 a.m. on July 18 and covered the 48,000 steps marathon and terminated at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat in Abuja after about five hours. (NAN)
