By Ngozi Nwoke
If you treat the families of fallen heroes well, the living heroes will be more committed to their responsibilities. This is the position of the chief executive officer of Beracah Economic Empowerment Foundation and Beracah Widows Arise, Mrs. Maria Ifeoma Emmanuel.
According to her, families of fallen military heroes should be treated with dignity because their breadwinners died in defence of the country. Lamenting the inability of fallen heroes’ families to get their entitlements, she posited that “accessing insurance claims of a fallen hero is a motivator for the living hero.”
She said that military men were like other human beings, with flesh and blood, dreams and aspirations, even as they also enjoy the companionship of their spouses and children.
She said: “On the day of exchanging marital vows, couples picture themselves in the good life they will both enjoy in each other’s arms in marital bliss. From having children to nurturing them into adulthood and caring for each other are all the aspirations of every newlywed.
“But for the military men, do they see themselves raising a family, enjoying marital bliss until old age? Do the women who get married to them see themselves walking into a union with a man who is as good as a time bomb waiting to explode or they are absolutely ignorant of the risk involved in their husband’s chosen career?”
Answering the questions, Emmanuel explained: “It’s the same feeling of excitement, fulfillment of marital vows for two lovebirds envisioning a beautiful future together, not envisaging a life without their spouse.
“Military career takes the totality of you from inception. The job entails you sign your life to the protection of your nation. Where others run from danger, you run towards it, receiving bullets meant for your fellow citizens. It is a career that comes with so much honour, for only brave men die honourably.
“They are not deterred by the love of wife, children, parents, siblings, friends and associates. Call to duty, they obey, circumstances not withstanding, sacrificing their lives for the survival of humanity; their allegiance is with their nation.
“Are they humans with flesh and blood, you might be wondering. Yes, they have families they love, they have feelings like mere mortals. The difference is that they are wired differently through training with a physical toughness yet a heart so selfless.
“Does this sacrifice come with benefits? Yes, when you enrol into the academy or as a recruit to be a soldier, your life is insured, knowing you do not own your life anymore. Death can occur at any time, throwing your dependents off balance, especially your wife and children, being your immediate family. In view of this, a soldier serves his country with his heart, knowing that his offspring will be well cared for after his demise.”
Emmanuel, however, regrets that, in most cases, the bitter kola does not taste the way it sounds in the mouth.
Take this from here: “In Nigeria today, the case is different, as we have widows of these great men who sacrificed so much to ensure we all sleep with our eyes closed, telling tales of woe as a result of non-payment of military group life insurance claims meant to cushion the effects of losing a breadwinner.
“There are widows whose husbands’ group life insurance benefits have been withheld for over nine years after their death. We shouldn’t forget the military live in a secluded area (barracks), meaning their wives are tailored to certain lifestyle, living in a disciplined environment catered for. But at the death of her husband, they must vacate the barracks to start life in a new environment, learning to live with people who have different orientation.
“Life definitely outside barracks for a widow is pretty expensive. Paying of rent, utility bills and changing of school, among other things, unlike when some bills were deducted from husband’s salary.
“Without government compliance in a widow accessing the group life insurance claims, how is she going to cope with her children? Apparently, it has become a necessity she gets paid to assist her in the reality of her present status.
“Most military wives are sit-at-home mothers, while their husbands are often at the battlefield. Military men prefer their wives not working so as to pay full attention to the nurturing of their kids. This evidently manifests in the difficulties they encounter in embracing life again without their husbands, as widows.
“They start from the scratch to learn how to have a sustainable economy to support their children, which sometimes comes with losing money at first. So, a widow needs every money and support she can get in this transition.
“For a living soldier, this might send a wrong signal affecting his level of commitment to duty. They see the difficulties their late colleagues’ wives and children encounter as a result of insurance money not paid to them.
“Soldiers would want to take their fate in their hands by getting involved in illicit deals that could lead them to financial gains to be economically balanced for their family, in case of eventuality.
“The end result of negligence of not implementing policies at workplaces is corruption and disloyalty. A soldier abandons his call to duty in quest for wealth so that, when he’s fallen, his family will be well cared for with his accumulated wealth, because those who died and whose consolation for their death is group life insurance are not paid.
“I challenge the government that, as another Armed Forces Remembrance Day comes, let the tears and the suffering of fallen heroes’ widows and children motivate them to direct resources more towards sorting out affected families whose husbands’ group life insurance money has not been paid.”