Today is Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Nigeria, an annual event to commemorate the nation’s servicemen and fallen heroes. The event, celebrated on January 15 each year, also honours veterans of World War I and II, as well as the Nigerian Civil War. It is a day set aside for sober reflections on the significance of the armed forces to the country.
While the Armed Forces Remembrance Day is celebrated on November 11 every year globally, it is known as the armistice day, commemorating the end of the first World War. But with the formal end of the Nigerian Civil War following the surrender of the Biafran secessionists on January 15, 1970, the date was changed to mark the restoration of Nigeria’s unity. Amid the celebration in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari led a wreath-laying event and reviewed a presidential parade at the National Arcade in Abuja.
He was joined by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Tanko Muhammad; and the service chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, among other dignitaries.
After prayers were said in both Christian and Islamic ways, President Buhari who is the Special Guest of Honour at the event laid a wreath to honour the fallen heroes.
