In four months’ time it will be exactly 32 years after their breadwinners died serving Nigeria in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130 Charlie plane crash and yet sadly families of the deceased are yet to receive monies due the gallant officers and men of the Armed Forces.

It Is a monumental shame that these widows and their children have to go cap in hand begging the Federal Government to honour a responsibility that should earn those in high offices applause and make the bereaved proud of the nation. Not too long ago, the spouses of the dead spoke through Mrs Folake Lasisi whose husband was a Navy Lieutenant Commander at the time of his death on September 26, 1992.

They stunned the President of Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA), Mrs Oghogho Musa with details of their anguish. After the flight, piloted by Wing Commander Pere Aborosun, went down in Isheri Oshun, near Ejigbo, Lagos, it took about 24 hours for rescue efforts to begin.

The government of then Military President, Ibrahim Babangida, was blamed for not responding promptly to the emergency. Family members of the deceased were shocked to hear from sources that there were survivors immediately after the crash but because help did not come early enough, they either bled to death or died of asphyxiation.

Some notes scribbled by the dying were found while a few of them managed to bandage their wounds awaiting rescue. The same government that offered no rescue was quick in giving the dead full military burial at the National Cemetery, Karamajiji, in the Federal Capital Territory. There were promises of taking care of the grieving families left behind.

The various state governments were ordered to provide the families with decent accommodation in their respective state capitals. That was the beginning of a tortuous journey that has not ended over three decades after. The Benue State Government provided accommodation which was not as decent as promised.

In Abia, the widows were asked to provide land for the houses to be erected. Imo State remembered derelict buildings in Owerri and asked families from the state to move in. The situation was a little different in the South-West.

Then Lagos State Military Administrator, Buba Marwa, comforted six families with accommodation in the Isolo area of the state. Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Osun states did virtually nothing to help assuage the grief of the families. We have to single out Lagos for not letting the families down. When the houses provided by Marwa began to

The situation was so bad that they took their case to the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Panel on Human Rights Violation, set up by then President Olusegun Obasanjo on June 14, 1999

Lose value, Babatunde Fashola who became governor in 2007, eight years after the military left, demolished and rebuilt them. Many families are living in disappointment. The situation was so bad that they took their case to the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Panel on Human Rights Violation, set up by then President Olusegun Obasanjo on June 14, 1999.

Some of the widows, Hadiza Pindar, Doorshima Ada’a, Franka Odache and Nwano Eze-Ukaga, were physically present. Mrs Ukaga would be remembered as the woman who carried her seven months old daughter, Adaku, to the burial. Mrs Winnie Ndule arrived with her son, Nuhu. Mrs Julie Jibunoh was accompanied by her children, Nwabu and Chukwuka.

However, despite the fact that Obasanjo was a former military ruler and thus should have had sympathy for whatever happens to his constituency, nothing was done towards assuaging the pains of the widows of the fallen officers by adopting the recommendations of the panel. The commission submitted its final report to President Obasanjo in 2002, but the government has not taken any action to date.

Its report was not released to the public until 2005, when it was published by two activist groups, the Nigerian Democratic Movement and Nigeria-based Civil Society Forum Thus all these children have been abandoned by the Federal Government. Mrs Grace Gbenro was right when all her tears centred on who would help take care of her six children. That question should haunt those holding back their entitlements.

Many of the officers would have risen to enviable positions. Some of their Course Mates made it to the top. Major Charles Njama was of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) Regular Course (RC) 17. Njama’ mate, Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, retired from the Navy as an Admiral. He was Chief of Defence Staff, after serving as Chief of Naval Staff. Aminu Kontagora and Isa Maina, both retired Military Administrators, were also part of NDA 17. Major F.U.

Bassey was the Best Graduating Officer of NDA RC 18. From Senior Under Officer, it was no surprise that he was chosen as Sword Bearer at their Passing Out Parade (POP). His mates moved on. Azubuike Ihejirika became Chief of Army Staff. Sa’ad Abubakar is the Sultan of Sokoto while Honest Stephen died as Hama Bachama. President Bola Tinubu must not allow this injustice to stand. In 2012, Femi Falana threatened to drag the Federal Government to court to pay these widows. In 2021, then Defence minister, Bashir Magashi, promised to pay. This is 2024. The families are still weeping.