IGBOZURUOKE FORUM

He limped into the Onitsha office of The Sun on that hot afternoon looking dejected and forlon. The 75-year -old, Lt. Lawrence Ebeigwe (retd) from Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State is a war veteran.

He joined the army in 1967 as a very young officer, but had sustained a fatal injury during the civil war.

In an emotion-laden voice, he said the war had shattered his life because of the injuries he sustained as he is now battling to treat himself and also cater for his other family needs.

“I needed Daily Sun to carry my story so that the Federal Government can hear my cry. I know that there are many others like me who have died; some are dying by installment while some others are living like vegetables all as a result of the devastations of the war.

“In countries where things work, we are supposed to be treated like heroes because we put our lives on the line for the country, but here, we are left to die in agony and anguish.  Many people lost their lives during the war, but their families were not compensated in any way.

Those of us who sustained injuries are left to bear the pains and the cost of treatment alone is unbearable. This is unfair.”

While sending a  Save our Soul appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari, Ebeigwe said  he and his colleagues were dying of hunger.

He reminded Mr. President of the need to realise that as the father of the nation, it was his responsibility to ensure that there is happiness of the greatest number of citizens in the country.

Ebeigwe said that as a former military general too, President Buhari should ensure that no soldier, whether serving or retired or those who fought for the nation at any given time, was allowed to suffer.

He described soldiers, including those who fought on the side of Biafra, as great patriots who should be accorded lifetime support and respect.

He noted that successive governments have been playing politics with the issue of Biafra soldiers as no concrete efforts were made to settle them, disclosing that many of them have been reduced to beggars.

This, according to him, was one of the reasons there were so much restiveness among the South-eastern youths who were not happy seeing their fathers and uncles in their present state of abandonment and frustration.

“Government should not look far to get answers why there is so much tension in the land. The youths are restive because oppression and injustice have been so long in practice in the system.  This entrenched injustice and marginalization have long-term consequences.

It is the ripple effects of such acts that we are suffering today. The South-East youths are fighting again for Biafra through IPOB and MASSOB.

Daily Sun