We must treat our fallen soldiers and their families with dignity
The report in the American Wall Street Journal that the Nigerian military authorities secretly buried more than 1,000 soldiers killed in the battle with insurgents deserves more than the usual perfunctory response from the Defence Headquarters. In what has become the cheapening of the noble symbolism of paying the supreme sacrifice for country in defence of compatriots, there is an abuse of globally recognised tradition which requires that families of the fallen soldiers be informed and recovered remains be accorded decent burial. That has been the situation in Nigeria for years and there is nothing in the WSJ report that is not already in the public domain.
The sordid practice of burying slain soldiers secretly like paupers, sometimes without the knowledge of their kith and kin started with the Liberian Civil War. At that period, Nigerian soldiers who died in the peacekeeping operations…
Source: Thisday Newspaper
