Oh! Death: Where is Thy Sting!

What a sad day in our history!

We lost our Chief of Army Staff in the company of his entourage.

What a tragic loss!

They did not fall on the battleground on Friday evening but at the Kaduna International Airport. 

The world as most people say is a temporal place and we all are actors only but for a short while in it. Just like the rising and setting of the sun, we shine bright, and when it’s time we exit the stage.

In my years of being a military wife, I’ve had the privilege of meeting a lot of “gentlemanly” officers and soldiers cutting across the branches and places my spouse has been deployed. I’ve also had the privilege of connecting with many of them alongside their families.

Again, being a military wife, I try to prepare myself for some kind of sad news, HOWEVER, nothing prepared me for the Friday the 21st of May 2021 news. When the news filtered in of an air crash involving a Nigerian Airforce Beechcraft conveying the Chief of Army Staff(COAS)- Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, top principal officers, and some crew members.

I first prayed for it not to be true not because it can’t happen but just because I know within myself of this possibility clinging to the side of my mind about a senior officer who goes WHENEVER THE COAS GOES… The Provost Marshal Army(PMA) – Brigadier General OL Olayinka, who became my good friend in 2004.

It was 3:35 AM when I got the message from a friend in Nigeria so I quickly tuned Nigerian news and realized it happened just two (2) hours earlier!

Hmm…At first, I couldn’t believe it.

The reality suddenly hit me that if the story is true (as I still try to doubt it),  I would never get to see him again, and that saddened me so much.

Immediately, my mind quickly went down memory lane. I remembered just like yesterday when Oga Olayinka, an amiable gentleman was serving with my soldier in Zaria. I would never forget the gifts he bought for me whenever he travels.

How could I?

Or even those moments we spent together with him when he visited my family. He played a vital role during my church wedding preparation and ceremony which he also attended in Abuja.

In all honesty, Brigadier General OL Olayinka was a kind-hearted and brave officer!

He was in fact, an HONORABLE GENERAL.

Unfortunately, his tenure as Provost Marshal Army was short, after a long and distinguished career in the army.

Before I could finish digesting all that, I learned another top military police General, Brigadier General Abdulkadir was also in the ill-fated flight. We had a great relationship all through his stay in Bangladesh a few years ago.

As it is, with a heavy heart filled with grief, I had to accept the reality as the military loses yet some among its finest with their dreams, plans, and aspirations cut short.

OH! Death Where is Thy Sting?

They all served our nation gallantly with diligence and dedication.

And I can’t imagine the grief their families would be passing through right now.

All they would have left are only memories of the times they shared.

My heart goes out to their wives, families, and loved ones. May God Almighty grant them the fortitude to bear this shocking and painful loss.

May the souls of our departed warriors:

• LT GEN I ATTAHIRU
• BRIG GEN OL OLAYINKA
• BRIGADIER GENERAL MI ABDULKADIR
• BRIG GEN KULIYA
• MAJ LA HAYAT
• MAJOR HAMZA
• SGT UMAR
• FLT LT TO ASANIYI
• FLT LT AA OLUFADE
• SGT ADESINA
• ACM OYEDEPO

REST IN PERFECT PEACE…AMEN!

This incident brings to fore the need to place our soldiers’ spouses in the scheme of things while planning for the soldier as he carries out his assignment. There is almost nothing in place for soldiers’ spouses in most African countries except for the entitlements of their late soldiers which cannot last forever compared to them being empowered. I say this because when the sun sets, the spouses are the ones left behind to pick the pieces and see how they can get it all back together again with the sad memory of their soldiers who died serving lingering in their minds.

Above all, this is an “eye-opener” for all to think about their lives.

I think there’s an absolute need for every human on this planet to change for the better.

Amend your ways, seek forgiveness from your creator and repent for good

as no one knows when the time shall come.