FOUNDATION LAUNCHES SUPPORT FUND FOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF FALLEN SECURITY OPERATIVES WHO DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY IN 2020

A Non-governmental Organization in Nigeria, Foundation for Families of Fallen Servicemen has launched a Support Fund for children and widows of security operatives who die in the line of duty, calling for donations from goodwill Nigerians, philanthropists and distinguished members of the public.

According to the spokesman of the Foundation, Mr. Falodun Temitope, the initiative was launched following a Special Resolution passed by the Board of Trustees at the 16th Session of its Trustees Quarterly Meeting, held on December 23, 2020.

He stated that the Support Fund was launched as way cushioning the effect of the immediate financial challenges that the dependents of deceased LOWER RANKS personnel might be facing, pending when they are able to obtain such Death Benefits payable to them by the Federal Government through the relevant agencies, and as a way of boosting the morale of other security operatives at the front lines, who are always away from their families during festive periods and beyond, to show that Nigerians are aware of their sacrifices and appreciate their resilience in confronting the nation’s security challenges.

According to the Resolution passed by the Foundation, the total Fund raised will be made public on Saturday, January 30, 2021, and will immediately after be disbursed to the children and widows of security operatives who died in the line of duty in year 2020.

In a separate interview, the Chairman of the Foundation, Mr. Ojo Toluwatope Alex thanked Hon. Senator Abba Patrick Morro and the leadership of the Nigerian Senate for the sponsorship and speedy attention being given to the Veterans Welfare Fund (Est. etc) Bill, 2020 (SB 346), which is currently pending before the Senate, and promises that the Foundation will continue to advocate for better welfare for Veterans and families of security operatives who die in the line of duty in Nigeria within the nations available resources.

The Chairman called on all Nigerians to donate generously towards the Support Fund, as we celebrate the season with our loved ones, stressing that the security of every nation depends largely on the support and respect the citizenry and leadership give to the families of those who die defending the country.

https://familiesoffallenservicemen.org/fallen-servicemen-support-fund/

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As Nigeria celebrates another Armed Forces Remembrance Day on January 15, 2020 Foundation for Families of Fallen Servicemen has appealed to the Nigeria Governors' Forum to declare free education for children of fallen servicemen in Nigeria.

In the letter addressed to the Chairman and delivered to the Secretariat of Nigeria Governors' Forum at 51, Lake Chad Crescent, Maitama, Abuja on 7th January, the Chairman of the Foundation, Alex Ojo, Esq. appealed to the State Governors across the country to seize the occasion of the forthcoming Armed Forces Remembrance Day to make the declaration, arguing that adequate support for families of fallen servicemen is very imperative for the country at this peculiar time in our history as a nation. He added that among other multiple challenges faced by the families, making education free for their children is a gesture that will go a long way to encourage and boost the morale of security operatives and members of the armed forces who give their all to defend the country at the front lines.

The Foundation, according to the chairman, was founded to support the children and wives of security operatives who die in the line of duty in Nigeria. With particular focus on the children, the Foundation states that its mission includes facilitating free education, free health services, housing, and economic empowerment for dependents of soldiers and other security operatives who die in the line of duty Nigeria, with the aim of promoting patriotism and gallantry at the front lines to strengthen security for a safer and more progressive Nigeria.


https://familiesoffallenservicemen.org/2020/01/11/ngo-writes-nigeria-governors-forum-appeals-to-governors-to-declare-free-education-for-children-of-fallen-heroes/

PLEASE TELL MR. PRESIDENT

Please tell Mr. President for me, as Nigeria hands him the baton for the last time, to redeem the land from poverty, unemployment, insecurity and underdevelopment.

Tell the President for me, that at the root of our named problems are the twin of CORRUPTION and ETHNICITY. Tell him that the twin have been there before he was sworn into office on 29th May, 2015, and that they will remain there when he leaves office by 29th May, 2023 unless he does something radical to get rid of them.

Please tell Mr. President for me, that to deal with CORRUPTION, you don't fight judges. You dialogue with them. Tell him that judges are his partners in progress in the fight against corruption, and that he can't achieve any success without them. Tell him to call judges for a meeting and apologise to them soberly about the approach he used in his first tenure. Tell him to go to that meeting with the dossiers of those who are truly corrupt, and show them; adding that he won't use the dossiers anymore, unless the judges concerned commit other wrongs, in which case even the one they have unlawfully acquired will be confiscated and forfeited. Tell him to attach very attractive allowances to every corruption trial they conclude within a specified timeframe. Tell him to assure them that he will double their emoluments before the end of his tenure, as the leakages get blocked and our purse gets fatter.

And please, tell Mr. President for me, that judges are not the only stakeholders in his quest to rid the country of corruption. That prosecutors are some stakeholders too, without whom no serious progress would be made. Please tell him that there is need to vet them to ensure they are free from any political taints, and screen them to ensure that only the best hands are hired for the job. Tell him for me, that if I were him, I will calculate their salaries for the rest of the years they have in service, and double it for them as allowance for the job. Tell him I said upon that, I would have rewarded them with attractive bonus for every conviction secured, provided a secured and heavily guarded quarters for them, and attach official vehicles for their individual movements with fierce looking escorts as security. Please tell the president for me, that beyond the allowances, I would have issued official passports to some members of their families who could be targeted, relocate them abroad for a term beyond the tenure of their contracts, and insure them against threats of assassination.

Please tell Mr. President for me, that any attempt to fight corruption without the cooperation and protection of the stakeholders as highlighted above is a sheer waste of time. Tell him, that unless adequate arrangements are made to fight corruption as prescribed above, the fight will end up a farce at the end of his second tenure....and that all hope to redeem Nigeria will be lost with it, because it will become a point of reference, that "...even Buhari himself did not succeed in the fight against corruption".

And please, tell the President for me as well, that ETHNICITY is the foster mother of corruption, and the biggest monster standing in our way to fight and overcome it. And that standing next to it is POLITICAL AFFILIATION. If you don't deal with your brother and make your friend a scapegoat when they break the law, nobody will take you seriously as a ruler, and you will be branded as worse than a corrupt judge. Please tell the President for me, that as a leader, you don't wear gloves when dealing with crime, even if the culprit is your son. Tell him, that every responsible father will on daily basis check the pocket and school bag of his son as he returns from school, to ensure that the child does not take what does not belong to him. The thieves and armed robbers in our society today, including their counterparts in the corridors of power, are those whose parents failed in this critical area of responsibility. And if you don't get at it early, it will be too late to ask him later where he got money to buy power bikes, or private jets, or such other things that are beyond his means.

Please tell the president for me, that if I were him, I will balance appointments into my cabinet in this second tenure, ensuring that northerners are not more than half of my cabinet to reflect federal characters, leaving no room for any geopolitical zone to complain, with strict warning that whoever sabotages my government will go to jail.

Please tell Mr. President for me, that the moment the monster of ETHNICITY is dislodged from the national stage, and criminals are dealt with in equal measures irrespective of their ethnic identities, whether they are boko haram, herdsmen, bandits, terrorists, secessionists, kidnappers, militants or armed robbers, there will be calm in the land.

Tell him for me, that if I were him, I won't keep any non-performing service chief in my cabinet for more than six months. "YOU EITHER SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT OR GET FIRED!".

Please tell the President for me, that Nigerians love him, that they will forgive his failings, and thank him forever if he gets it right this last time. Tell him that this is his last opportunity to get things right, and that by 2023, he will no longer be president.

The security of every country depends largely on how much it values the sacrifices of those who die in defence of its freedom.

And as it appears, there is no better way a country or people can demonstrate that they value the sacrifices of those who die in defence of their freedom than by ensuring that the aged dependents or nuclear family members of every security operative who dies in the line of duty do not suffer untold hardships afterwards.

In Nigeria, our security has continued to seriously degenerate in recent times, causing everyone to wonder what the security agencies are doing.

Yes, the government is doing it's best, no doubts. But the business of security is not the exclusive responsibility of government. The people as a whole have their part to play. There are private schools all over the place, but I doubt if any private primary, secondly or tertiary institution in Nigeria has the policy of providing scholarship for children of those who die in the line of duty.

No matter how brave, no security operative is willing to die in pursuit of terrorists or criminals knowing his children will drop out of school and suffer when he's gone.

No matter how brave, no security operative is willing to die knowing his family cannot afford the rents, and knowing that no one will come to their rescue when their things are thrown out by the landlords.

No matter how brave, no security operative anywhere in the world is willing to die, knowing that his wife and children will afterward drag on through life, in lack and penury without the world lifting a finger.

To my mind, the lack, neglect and uncertainties that the dependents of those who die in the line of duty face is one of the major reasons why security is becoming a major issue in Nigeria; and until we rise up as a people to address it, overcoming our security challenges in Nigeria might just remain a pipe dream.

- OJO TOLUWATOPE ALEX
Chairman and Founder,
Foundation for Families of Fallen Servicemen
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