As part of security measures for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration which holds Saturday, the Federal Government has announced the closure of all roads leading to the Three Arms Zone where the National Arcade is located.
The area houses the Three Arms of Government – Executive (Presidency), National Assembly and Supreme Court while the Arcade itself is located within the Zone by Federal Secretariat complexes and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opposite the Eagle Square, Abuja.
Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan in a circular, had told the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the general public of the roads closure by 2.00pm prompt on Friday.
This is contained in a circular HCSF/PS/SWO/007/iv/552 signed by the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe, on behalf of the Head of Service of the Federation.
The Director of Press in the Office of the Head of Service, AbudulGaniyu Aminu, said in a statement: “This event, which involves the wreath laying ceremony by President Buhari, accompanied by top government officials and members of the Diplomatic Corps, would hold on Saturday 15 January at the National Arcade, Abuja. To this end, all offices within the Federal Secretariat Complex are to be vacated at 2.00pm on Friday, 14th January.”
Expected at the event for the laying of wreaths in honour of the nation’s fallen heroes are President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Tanko Mohammed, among others. The wreath laying ceremony marks the end of the 2022 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebrations.
Meanwhile, the Publicity Secretary, Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers Association of Nigeria (RANAD), Captain Yusuf Abdulmalik (rtd) has described the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration as a cosmetic display of affection by the present government, insisting that the administration has failed to address the plights of ex- military officers in Nigeria.
Abdulmalik explained in an interview that while the various arms of government took advantage of the occasion to mislead the public about their concern for the veterans and their families, the truth remained that very little attention or care, in policy terms, was extended to them for the rest of the year.
Abdulmalik, who said he had stopped attending the Remembrance Day ceremonies, held that the occasion had totally failed to address the concrete issues affecting ex-service men in Nigeria or to lift them out of their present precarious financial condition.
He accused the Federal Government of neglecting the needs of ex-service men, poor implementation of the various approved wage increments, unpaid arrears and other forms of policy insensitivity, lamenting that though President Muhammad Buhari and the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd) were both ex- service officers, the benefits of their exalted positions had not been felt by their colleagues.
Lamenting that several efforts made to secure their intervention had been fruitful, Abdulmalik recalled the recent protest by military veterans to press home their demands, pointing out the protest was informed by deplorable living conditions in which the veterans had found themselves.
Talking about the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration, he said: “Every year, they assemble at different locations for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, they make fine speeches, they make donations, they launch the emblems and that is where it all ends. And after that, the veterans continue with their sufferings. Even the money realized from the donations, nobody knows where it ends.”
According to him, the 2022 Armed Forces Remembrance Day should, therefore, be an opportunity for the Administration and its key actors to resolve to make up for the past misdeeds and improve the welfare of “these gallant retirees.”
“This is a moment for them to search their conscience, to ask the right questions, ensure effective implementation of approved payments to the living retirees. That way, even those of us who are gone to the other side, would have genuine reasons to celebrate with them on the occasion of the Remembrance Day,” Abdulmalik stated.