TWENTY nine years after some 151 middle-level Nigerian military officers perished in a plane crash, their surviving widows are still pleading with the authorities to honour the promises made to them. It will be recalled that on September 26, 1992, a Nigerian Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules crashed three minutes after take-off from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, killing all 159 people on board, including eight foreign nationals, when its three engines reportedly failed. The disaster happened duringthe regime of the self-styled military president, Ibrahim Babangida.

Unfortunately, the fact that the widows are still visiting government offices, 29 years after, begging for the fulfillment of the official commitments made to them, is not only bringing back the sad memories; it is also, in a sense, unwittingly strengthening the rumour that the flight was sabotaged, even though there has been no evidence to substantiate the claim. Truth be told, the present predicament of the widows has the similitude of unending punishment for their husbands. When you treat people who died in the line of duty and laid down their lives in this way, nobody will be committed to this country. This is so, especially in the military where total loyalty, dedication and commitment are major and invaluable ingredients of service. It is, therefore, imperative that the leadership learn to treat the citizenry with dignity.

It is most uncharitable that official behaviour and conduct have tended to suggest disdain for the memories of the military officers who sacrificed their lives to ensure the unity of the country and the protection of its territorial integrity. Such a tendency is unhealthy, counterproductive and insidious. It may discourage serving officers from giving their total commitment to their usually hazardous duties, having seen the fate that befell the families of their deceased colleagues. In light of the embarrassing delay in settling the official commitments to the widows of these deceased officers, quite a few questions arise: where were the coursemates of these deceased officers all these years? What did they do to help the widows of their dead coursemates?Or did the slain officers cease to be beneficiaries of esprit-de-corps because they are dead? Of what value are the colleagues of these people who failed to do anything about their colleagues who died?

Again, what have the service chiefs, in particular, been doing all these years? One reason being bandied in the official circles for the protracted and shameful delay in fulfilling obligations to the families of the deceased is the alleged discrepancies in the records of the officers. But how and why should anyone be talking about discrepancies and delay in settling the entitlements of these widows 29 years after? Yes, it is important to follow due process and procedures in the handling of official assignments so as to operate within the ambit of the law. But if there was sincerity and official commitment to doing what is right and expedient, following the rules shouldn’t have translated into an endless wait by these widows to get their husbands’ entitlements. And of course, there can be no contesting the importance of systems, but while systems are good, it is axiomatic that it is people that make systems: what were those concerned doing all these years?

The posers are literally endless but they all boil down to the characteristic but unwholesome collective amnesia in the official circles regarding the contributions of those who served the country and the levity with which leaders often treat the memories of the nation’s past heroes, especially those who did not hold any political office. It is particularly saddening in this instance that the trio of the Federal Government, the state governments, and the respective services of the slain officers all allegedly reneged on their promises to take care of their families.Nonetheless, there was cheering newslast week when the Minister of Defence, retired Major-General Bashir Magashi, pledged to support the widows. Magashi reportedly made the pledge when he granted audience to their representatives led by their National Coordinator, Ogale Jude.

The minister promised to address the issues that led to the delay and discrepancies in paying the entitlements of the widows. Though he did not give any time line to address the issue, it is hoped that Magashi will make good his promise speedily. For it is in the interest of the military and indeed the country at large that the Minister of Defence honours his promise to support the widows because if the memories of the dead heroes are not treated with the deserved honour and respect, it would be a matter of time before the society is bereft of living heroes.