The Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Yahaya has announced the donation of five million naira to the families of the fallen heroes.
The Governor who made the announcement during the lunch of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Emblem Appeal Fund, in Gombe, encouraged other individuals and organizations to emulate the kind gesture by donating towards their welfare
The Deputy, who represented the Governor, Manasseh Jatau, said the 15th of every November used to remember as the commemoration day of the fallen heroes
He recalled that they fought to ensure peace and stability in Nigeria and in the World, throughout the World War and the Nigeria Civil War.
Meanwhile, the Widows of the fallen heroes in Gombe State at the event called on Nigerians to lend a helping hand to the families they left behind, after serving the country.
Some of the widows who spoke with Voice of Nigeria said that ever since the demise of their husbands, they and their children had been leaving from hand-to-mouth.
One of the widows, Mrs Talatu Ali-Yusufu, who is now based in Kwaya, Billiri Local Government Area of Gombe State, said she lost her husband some 30 years ago and she and the children had been managing life in serious hardship.
She said four out of the seven children her husband left her with had gone to school, while the remaining children had resorted to rearing animals in the bush adding that those who picked them as their guardians had not felt the need to send them to school, saying the society was taking care of the families of those who paid the supreme price of defending the territorial integrity of Nigeria, as it should.
Mrs. Ali-Yusufu, however, thanked the Nigerian Legionnaires in Gombe State, who had been supportive of them over the years, with periodic relief assistance.
She specifically asked that the government step in to assist them with residential accommodation and animals, which they could keep and earn a living from them, saying they do not even have lands to cultivate food for the family.
Mrs. Esther Manzo, who is based in Kumo, Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State, said life had not been easy for her and the children, because she lost her husband 20 years ago and she alone had been raising their seven children, who fortunately for her, had been educated up to senior secondary school.
She, however, said they could not go beyond secondary school, due to lack of funds.
“My husband died from an accident on his way from Yola, Adamawa State, where he went to collect his retirement benefits. His corpse was brought home without the benefits he collected in 2003,” Mrs. Manzo said.
She also appreciated the assistance of the Legionnaires, who she said had given her sewing and grinding machines but called for more assistance to enable the children to continue with their education and have jobs to do.
The widow of the fallen hero said she learned to cultivate the land, which she hires from people and fries commercial beans cake in order to make ends meet.
She called on her fellow widows to find useful ventures in order to keep their families going.
Mrs. Manzo said the husband had served in Baruwa, Taraba State, as well as Lagos, Benin in Edo State, and Ekom, Akwa Ibom State.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Legions of the Gombe State Chapter, Sergeant Adamu Dogo Mayafin Waja, said the day was being commemorated annually in honour of the officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, who paid the supreme price to keep others safe.
He said the date was changed in Nigeria to reflect January 15, when the Nigerian Civil War ended on January 15, 1970, saying the first shot was heard on 6th July 1967, to signify the commencement of the Nigerian Civil War.
Sergeant Dogo thanked the Gombe State Government for the opportunity given to them to perform security duties in 12 schools in the state in the past 20 years without a problem.
He, however, appealed for more government intervention for befitting office accommodation and facilities, because he inherited a rented House as an office, which had broken Doors/Windows, without light, water, or toilet facilities, as well as two vehicles that were in bad shape because of its long use for 11 years.
Similarly, Sergeant Dogo thanked the 301 Artillery Regiment for their support, while calling on all other security agencies, including the organising Ministry of Youth Development, for their interventions.
PIAK
