The Armed Forces Remembrance Day, AFRD, is observed on the 15th of January every year to commemorate fallen heroes and servicemen of the Nigeria Armed Forces.

To celebrate the day, military personnel from the army, navy, air force and the Nigerian Legion, along with the national and political leadership converge at the National Cenotaph in Abuja and Cenotaph of the thirty-six states of the federation to lay wreaths.

As the nation marks 2021 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, there is no denying the fact that it is a time of security challenges of high magnitude.

This can be gleaned from the global terrorism report that the country is ranked as the third terrorist country in the world, after Iraq and Afghanistan.

Incessant attacks against civil populace and security personnel by Boko Haram and Islamic States West African Province, ISWAP, along with activities of kidnappers and bandits lead credence to this unfortunate terrorism ranking.

The security threats have undermined Nigeria in areas of trade, investment, economy, education, health as well as agriculture and frequently denied citizens the freedom of movement.

While inaugurating the 2021 Armed Forces Remembrance Day emblem and appeal fund, President Muhammadu Buhari had appealed to Nigerians to desist from actions and comments that could jeopardize the unity of the country.

The president reminded Nigerians of the need to guard jealously the unity of the nation which was won at a great cost.

To achieve this, no doubt, calls for the collaboration of all and sundry even as security forces strive to tackle insurgents, with some level of successful operations in the Northwest, North Central and North East geo-political zones.

It is worthy of note that combats which include Operation Lafiya Dole, Hadaran Daji, Harbinkunama, Whirl Stroke and others such as Accord, Sahel Sanity and Katsina had led to the return of normalcy in some of the affected states where terrorists and armed banditry were on the increase.

As the country celebrates the nation’s fallen heroes who served gallantly and paid the ultimate price, there is the need to ensure the wellbeing of personnel who are in the forefront of the battle to keep the nation secured and other members of the armed forces..

While military authorities should promptly address issues such as promotion and housing to motivate the officers to perform optimally.

It is equally vital that government sufficiently provide logistics support for the armed forces to operate with the best modern warfare equipment and military technology.

Also, families of the armed forces personnel who died in active service should be promptly supported and benefits of their deceased breadwinner paid in full.

Nigerians on their part should always endeavour to be committed to ensuring the nations unity despite differences in religion, ethnicity, political affiliations and other diversities.      

Olusola Otunuga

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