Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to sustained collaboration with the Federal Government in supporting members of the Nigerian Armed Forces, fallen heroes, and their families, while calling on Nigerians to draw lasting lessons from the country’s history of division and internal conflicts.
Mbah made the pledge on Thursday during the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day and Wreath-Laying Ceremony held at Okpara Square, Enugu, describing January 15 as a solemn national moment for reflection on the sacrifices of those who laid down their lives for the country’s peace and security.
According to the governor, the day serves as a reminder that the freedom and safety enjoyed by Nigerians came at a heavy price, stressing that honouring fallen heroes must go beyond ceremonial observances.
“As a state government, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting the Armed Forces and their families. This support goes beyond ceremony. It is reflected in practical care, in advocacy, and in partnership with the Federal Government to ensure that those who serve, and those who have served, are treated with respect and care,” Mbah said.
He added that the remembrance ceremony was also a moment to acknowledge families who continue to bear the pain of loss long after the battlefield has fallen silent.
“On this day of remembrance, we honour those families who continue to carry their memory. And we recommit ourselves to the values for which they served: unity, discipline, service, and respect for human life.
“The wreaths we lay today remind us of the responsibility to live as citizens worthy of the sacrifices our heroes made for us,” he stated.
Mbah, however, stressed that the sacrifices of the Armed Forces should not be confined to an annual ritual but must remain etched in the collective conscience of the nation.
“When a soldier falls, the loss does not end at the battlefield. It enters homes. It settles into families. It is borne in the human heart and becomes part of daily life for those left behind,” he said.
He noted that the grief of loss is often silent but enduring, carried by spouses, parents, siblings and children who grow up with memories instead of companionship.
“Grief does not announce itself outwardly; it is carried for a lifetime by spouses, parents, brothers, sisters, and by children who grow up holding memories instead of hands.
“We recognise the weight you carry. We recognise the lives that were disrupted, the futures altered, the memories that require loving guardianship. Your loss is now ours to help you carry,” the governor added.
He emphasised that remembering fallen heroes also comes with a moral obligation to care for those they left behind.
“As a society, we must not look away from that responsibility. To remember the fallen is also to care for the living. To honour the cost of human life is to ensure that families are supported with consistency and compassion,” Mbah stated.
On national cohesion, the governor underscored the importance of peace-building and conflict prevention, warning that Nigeria’s past offers painful lessons.
“Above all, peace and security are sustained by a mindset that understands the value of prevention.
“Our history carries the scars of division. From the Civil War of the late 1960s to later internal conflicts, we have learned, at great human cost, what happens when unity fractures and lives become casualties of discord,” he said.
According to him, those experiences should guide current and future actions as a nation.
“That history reminds us that progress is never guaranteed, and that peace and safety must be protected by restraint, dialogue, and shared responsibility,” Mbah concluded.
Speaking with reporters at the event, the President of the Military Widows Association of Nigeria, Enugu State chapter, Mrs. Sarah Charles Ugwuabonyi, commended Governor Mbah for his concern for the welfare of military widows and their families in the state, while appealing for job opportunities and skills acquisition programmes to further ease their burden.
Highlights of the ceremony included the inspection of a guard of honour by Governor Mbah, the laying of wreaths at the cenotaph of the Unknown Soldier, and the release of pigeons as a symbol of peace by the governor and other dignitaries, including the Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uchenna Ugwu.
Other dignitaries who laid wreaths were a representative of military widows, Mrs. Fatima Umar; the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General O. A. Fadairo; Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship Madueke, Rear Admiral N. Friday; Air Officer Commanding, Ground Training Command, Nigerian Air Force Enugu, Air Vice Marshal A. G. Kehinde; Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, CP Bitrus Giwa; Director of the State Security Service, Enugu State Command, Mr. Humphrey Ohikhuare; Chairman of the Nigerian Legion, Enugu State Chapter, Dr. Emeka Igweshi; and the Chairman of the Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council, HRM Igwe Samuel Asadu.
The event was also attended by the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai; the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Barr. Victor Udeh; and the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Okechukwu Edeh, among other dignitaries.
