EXCERPTS OF GOVERNOR CHUKWUMA CHARLES SOLUDO’S EXTEMPORE SPEECH AT THE 2024 ARMED FORCES REMEMBRANCE DAY.

“I pray for the repose of the souls of the members of the Armed Forces who fought gallantly to secure our land and also, for the patriotism and commitment of those who are still in service. We pray that God will give them the courage, life and health to continue to serve our fatherland as they have sworn and taken oath to do so.

I say it is a double barrel event! One is to celebrate those who have gone and at the same time, celebrate the living.

We remember all those who fought, to maintain the territorial integrity of our nation, those who have gone on peace keeping missions all over Africa and the world, as well as those who fought during the civil war that ended on 15th January 1970. And I want to believe that the choice of this date is quite auspicious.

Today as we remember all those who died in the course of service, we remember that particular incident and as a nation, we will be able to say never again.

This country remains united, remains strong as the greatest black power on earth as we pay tribute to our heroes who died in the course of service.

We also remember the widows and the widowers along with the legions and all those who retired from active service. May your days continue to be long as we also pray for a healthy life. You spent most of your productive age in the service of our nation, we appreciate you.

I want to specially use this opportunity, to appreciate all the men and women in uniform who are serving here today in Anambra State.

Those who have served especially since I assumed office as the Chief servant of the state on March 17th 2022. We’ve fought together, battled together, bonded together, fighting a common enemy.

The criminals who are in the bush, who come under various guises, their mission is one of big, lucrative criminality. That is who they are, that is what they are about, who are involved in kidnapping and killings of many ndi Anambra residents.

We also again commend the Armed Forces; the Army, Navy, Airforce, Police, Civil Defense, DSS and all the other armed forces including our gallant men of the vigilante services who are also fighting alongside members of the Armed Forces. Some of them as well have paid the supreme sacrifice.

Due to your combined efforts, your gallantry, professionalism and commitment, today the eight local governments that were totally under siege when we arrived here, hundreds of camps all over in all our bushes and forests, I think it is fair to say with every sense of modesty, that the difference between then and now is like the difference between day and night.

We want to thank you all as you continue to devote your time and efforts to the service of our state.

Anambra today is certainly one of the safest states in Nigeria today if not indeed the safest state.

The Christmas season was an eloquent testimony to that where ndi Anambra had an unprecedented mass return in all communities and villages. Even Ukpor that had three or four camps, in those days nobody could go there, but Ukpor had a mass return during this Christmas.

And so, we are here to celebrate our Armed Forces and our fallen heroes, may their souls rest in peace.

“We will never take your sacrifices and commitment for granted. We remember and we will do whatever we can to support the widows and widowers, to support members of the legion, pledge our support to members of the Armed Forces as you continue to toil day and night.

Everyday, you put your lives on the line so that the rest of us can sleep. Be rest assured that Anambra State Government under my leadership has your back.

We will continue to provide whatever support that we can to keep this state safe, and have security, law and order firmly established as the foundation for every society.

All over Nigeria today, there are insurgents, kidnappers, miscreants and criminals who have taken laws into their hands but without security, law and order, there can’t be any Society. We can’t build the Nigeria of our dreams without taking a firm grip of security, law and order.

We also want to remember members of the state House of Assembly. You make the laws for law and order; our judiciary, our judges, our magistrate, all working tirelessly and very hard to ensure that all who misbehaved are called to order and help to interprete and ensure law and order.

And for those who are in the streets, members of the Armed Forces, SARS, Vigilante, we commend you but we must also stress the fact, to remind ourselves as ordinary citizens that we all have a duty in ensuring security, law and order prevails

It’s not just the duty of the Armed Forces but the duty of all. Everyone has a role to play.

When we came on here we launched a programme, “if you see something, say something.” Everyone has a role to play. Whether it is the intel about criminals in the bush masquerading under all manners of name. They are not unknown gunmen, they are known criminals. They have parents, siblings and relations. They come from villages, they come from our communities. They are our friends, send your intelligence, send intel, give us information and the members of our security team will take them out so that the rest of us can have peace.

We cannot have a society where people pick and choose which laws they should obey, or they don’t like. That will be a society that will be defined as Anarchy. When a law is lawfully passed by a lawful authority, everyone in a democracy, a decent society, a civilized society is bound by that law.

As I said in one church service, if people begin to choose which laws they would obey then there would be no need for the ten commandments because it’s gears towards restraining mostly individual behavior. We can’t have a society where people do what they like. That’s an aberration in any decent society. As they say, order is the first law in heaven.

Today, as we celebrate our Armed Forces, both those dead and living, we want to remind the entire citizen that we can make their job easier by each of us resorting to responsible citizenship.

Be the change that you want to see! If you see something, say something! Also, we show empathy and understanding to the members of the Armed Forces. When you see them at those check points, they are there for you. Imagine yourself standing under the sun and rain, from morning to night. They are not your enemies, they are our friends, they are there to protect each and everyone of us.

Thank you and God bless you!