The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry has said Nigerian soldiers wounded in the various operations across the country, and their families need more support from government, corporate organisations and individuals to help them in their recovery process.
Prince Harry said their injuries reflected the true cost of conflict with profound impact on their children, families and the nation.
He said this at a reception organised by the Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa for the Duke and his wife and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, in Abuja in continuation of their three-day visit to promote Invictus Games.
The British Prince said the 50 wounded soldiers he interacted with in Kaduna displayed low morale depicting an end to life.
He said the Invictus Centre proposed by the Nigerian government would give the wounded soldiers a new life post recovery, adding that Invictus games offers them a new pathway to recover and still serve their nation.
Prince Harry said: “As some of you know, when one person serves, the whole family serves and we cannot leave families behind in the healing journey. When one person’s trauma affects those around them, the healing of that one person can affect or improve the entire community.
“As we look forward, let’s keep in mind that by uniting our efforts, we can make remarkable progress in acknowledging the sacrifices made by our military personnel, and most importantly their families…offering support for their path to rehabilitation and recovery.
“Our hope is that the warmth and hospitality that has been so graciously offered to us will be extended through admiration and respect for the service members and their families long after we’re gone.
“It is a privilege to have Nigeria become the first African country to join Invictus games. Seeing the plans for the new Invictus centre makes me very emotional, and to hear from the minister himself to say that it’s going to be made very quickly makes me very happy as well.”
The Minister of Defence Abubakar Badaru said the federal government would continue to support wounded and injured soldiers in their recovery process.
He said: “Today, I want to reiterate the unwavering commitment of the Nigerian government to the health of our wounded and injured soldiers. We are dedicated to the recovery and rehabilitation in this pursuit.
“We are eager to collaborate closely with the Invictus Game foundation to extend its vision to all formations within the armed forces of Nigeria”.
He said the Ministry of Defence understands ongoing sacrifices made by our soldiers in numerous operations against adversaries.
“We want to assure them that the government has a robust programme in place to support their recovery in the event of injury,” Badaru said.
The Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Christopher Musa restated the commitment of the military high command to support the healing process of wounded soldiers.
He said: “Personally, I feel so excited here this evening. One is that we never thought this single action of giving them the opportunity to attend the Invictus games will make this difference.
“It gladdens our hearts to see how excited, how happy, how joyous our troops that were injured feel. The few of them that represented us in Germany made a great difference. But for them to be able to have worn gold and bronze for the first time, I think it’s something that is highly commendable.
“I want to say a big thank you to the Duke and Duchess for that singular action. It looked small when it started in 2014 and today, who knows? In the future we will be competing in the Olympics.
“We’re looking forward to that and we assure you that the armed forces of Nigeria were fully involved in this”.
