PUNCH
DAYO OYEWO writes on the plights of widows of soldiers and policemen, whose husbands fell in active service
It was all tales of sorrow, anguish and pain from widows of fallen heroes, as the country marked the 2023 Armed Forces Remembrance Day across the nation last Sunday,
The affected, mostly wives of soldiers and policemen, who lost their lives in active service lamented the non-payment of their late husbands’ life insurance benefits.
The women, obviously bearing scars of deprivation and abandonment, demanded prompt intervention in the payment of their late husbands’ life insurance benefits and other entitlements.
The Armed Forces remembrance day celebration is an annual event meant to honour the nation’s fallen heroes.
This year’s event showcased governments at the state and federal levels restating their commitment and support for the military who strive to maintain the peace in the country.
The event, which should be a time to celebrate the departed soldiers for their sacrifice to the country, may have taken a different twist as the widows in a separate interview with The PUNCH painted gloomy pictures of the challenges they have faced since their husbands died in active service.
They specifically expressed reservations over the non-payment of the life insurance of their late spouses.
While they confirmed that their entitlements had been paid, the widows maintained that the Federal Government kept making blank promises regarding the life insurance payment.
Some of the widows, whose husbands died while fighting Boko Haram terrorists at the height of the insurgency in the north-east, said the entitlement was a meagre amount compared to the unpaid life insurance.
One of the widows of the deceased military officers, Nkechi Nkem-Onyeasor, said she had been neglected by the government since 2014 when her husband died.
She lamented, “They have not even paid me his entitlement not to talk of rendering financial assistance. Let them first pay me the entitlement.”
On how she has been coping since her husband’s passing, she said, “I just finished talking with my son and he told me that I’m losing weight. He said I should check my weight on a scale because he now looks weightier than me. In pain, I retorted that he knows nothing about what I was going through.
“Since schools resumed, I’ve been begging people to help me, even on my various social media handle, so that my children can return to school. I’m yet to complete their last term tuition payment, now, I’m faced with another for this term, as schools have resumed since last week.
