The Value of Life and how we honour our dead. Is there Honour in Death for the Nigerian Soldier?
This week is Independence Week when we celebrate our Independence 64 years of One9ja.
In years prior to and post-independence, tens of thousands, if not more, of Nigerian soldiers lost their lives in defence of the Crown and the Federal Republic of Nigeria to keep Nigerians safe & to keep Nigeria one.
On my way to my farm, I had the opportunity to visit the Commonwealth War Graves & the Military Cemetery Lafenwa in Abeokuta, located on the right-hand side of the road to Randa.
On entry one is met by luscious green grass & a well-kept memorial to Commonwealth soldiers who died in defence of the Crown. It is a quiet, serene, and beautiful place. I recommend it to all who visit Nigeria.
As I moved into the grounds, I approached some men seated on benches and introduced myself; they told us they were there to maintain the Nigerian Military Cemetery, which was further on & divided by a see-through fence.
The Nigerian Military Cemetery Lafenwa is in a deplorable state with overgrown weeds; you can hardly see the graves or any memorial.
The old men on the bench told us they maintain the Nigerian side and that it is in such a sad state because the military is not devoting funds and resources to maintain it. We must ask: have funds been devoted but diverted? Someone should find out, as I can’t believe the military wouldn’t budget funds to maintain the graves of its soldiers who died in the line of duty.
They said they do the job voluntarily. I asked if they were retired military men; they said they were not but were just farmers doing the work as a gesture for being allowed to farm on barrack land. There was no grass but just wild bushes, which they say they cut every Saturday, but to me the wild weeds are very high—a few months worth of growth.
As the conversation got deeper, I told them I would take pictures & publicise the disparity between the beauty of the Commonwealth Cemetery & the shambles of the Nigerian Military Cemetery so those in authority could do something about it.
Then one of the old men said I can’t take any pictures because I need to follow protocol. I asked him, What protocol is that? He just said I have to take permission because they do not want to be blamed for letting me in.
This statement is outrageous. There is no such protocol. A military cemetery is a public place where Nigerians and the public should be able to have free access to to honour our gallant soldiers who died to keep us safe.
I advised them a number of my uncles served in the Nigerian Army & fought in the Nigerian civil war, and one died in the war; his body may be in the cemetery. I never got to see the graves.
I left dejected. This Nigerian mentality where people assume a false authority without justification or legal backing is destroying our progress. Publicising the disgraceful plight of Nigerian Cemetary Lafenwa in contrast with the beautiful Commonwealth cemetery where foreigners and Nigerians are buried may bring attention to authorities and philanthropists who will ensure proper plans are put in place to make sure Nigerian soldiers who died in the Civil War, Congo, ECOMOG, fighting Boko Haram, IPOB, Niger Delta Militants, Banditry, etc. are buried and remembered in a dignified manner.
I went on to the farm and was drenched by rain. The rains have been relentless but good for farmers, especially those growing corn & vegetables.
Unlike the notion that all farmers are subsistence farmers using cutlass & hoes. I found that in the areas from Abeokuta to Oyo, there are vast hectares of Mechanised & semi-mechanized farming going on. You will see lots of tractors all over the place working the fields. My farm is no different, while some bushes are brushed with cutlass and chainsaws. The weeds are killed with herbicides, and then the land is ploughed twice by tractor prior to planting.
I’ve been advised not to plant corn as the time passes, so I will plant cassava and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes will act as cover to reduce weeds.
Whats your view? Please share this post so those who matter do the necessary thanks. Are we to assume foreign lives are valued more on Nigerian soil, even in death? This is completely unacceptable.
Femi Oke
Betta9ja
