Today is January 15, Nigeria’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day. It’s a day set aside to remember the men and women of our armed forces who have given their lives in the service of this nation. Today, we look at the conflicts, both within and outside our borders, where we have lost valiant men, valiant women, our brothers, our sisters, our officers.
I’m not a poet, but I offer these lines as my tribute to our fallen heroes.
Tiny cries are heard
A baby is born
“It’s a boy”, they scream
Here begins his story
From the cradle, he is nurtured
Day by day, he grows
First steps, first words
One milestone after another
Move forward a couple of years…
Yesterday’s baby is now eighteen
He says he wants to join the army
He wants to serve his country
With love and strength and faith
His parents are adamant
“Our son would not join the army”
He’s our only child
Finally, they concede, he’s free to join
So he enlists
Nigeria Military School
Nigeria Defense Academy
Where heroes are forged
He believes in his country
His country would value him
His country would be there for him
His compatriots will respect him
Then an insurgency breaks out
It’s time to defend his country
He gladly accepts the call
To serve his fatherland
He lines up for his equipment
One rusty AK47, 30 bullets
What would he do with these?
Against RPGs, M16s and suicide bombers
Still he obeys
The labours of heroes past
Shall never be in vain
He enters the battlefield
The radio is dead
The tank is immobile
There’s no air support
The situation is hopeless
Yet he bravely fights on
His bullets are expended
He fights with his hands
His knife, the only friend left
A bullet hits his left leg
He remains standing, fighting
Another bullet hits his right leg
He falls to his knees
Where are his comrades?
Where is the medical team?
Before he finally blacks out
He thinks about the country he loves
His name is Unknown
His country is Nigeria
The government may forget him
But in our hearts he will always stay
Jilomes 
well done
quite touching at d closing stages.
good, boy.
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Thanks. I guess the words carried me at the closing stages
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You re right.It make sense,its loaded.More grace oo
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Thanks
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