By Akakan Umoh
The remains of Akwa Ibom-born son, Captain Tony Afangideh from Obong Ntak in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of the state were rested on Friday, 13 September, 2024 at the Guards Brigade Cemetery, Abuja.
Afangideh was killed on Friday, August 30, 2024 by bandits on his way to official duty in one of the Nigeria’s North-East states.
He graduated from Nigerian Defence Academy 67RC (NDA).
The 41-year-old captain left behind his aged parents, wife, two little children and siblings.
A relation of the deceased who did not want his name in print narrated ‘‘Do you know the aged father, Mr Jumbo Afangideh, a retired soldier who went to Liberia as a contingent on ECOMOG in the 90s, was rather invited to travel to Abuja to witness the burial? He travelled by land because he could not afford air ticket. The mother of the slain soldier could not travel to Abuja to witness the burial of her son.
‘‘The Nigerian Army used to have a lot of appeal to me, especially when I was a young man. But very recently I have lost every bit of that enthusiasm when what I had been seeing at a distance happened to me.
‘‘This is not to say I no longer hold the military in high esteem; I still do but the death of my maternal cousin, Capt Anthony Jumbo Afangideh, has shattered my enthusiasm. I have become disenchanted and despondent. I do not think I can endorse any member of my family, paternal or maternal (my nuclear family is already outside the consideration),to join the army.
‘‘I am pained. I had expected the Nigerian Army would send a team to pay condolence visit to the devasted, old parents of the gallant officer, in the village, using their representatives here in Abak or Uyo. The officer hailed from Obong Ntak in Etim Ekpo LGA. They never came.
‘‘Tony’s death is painful. It will remain painful for life.
‘‘To date the Nigerian Army Headquarters has not issued a bulletin in clear terms on how he was killed. Every thing about his death seems to be shrouded in secrecy,’’ he lamented.
Another relation queried ‘‘Imagine the young wife and the children he has left behind in the course of serving his fatherland! I couldn’t bear the sight of the aged parents who are grossly devastated when I visited them yesterday in the village.
‘‘Why are we losing our energetic and brilliant young officers to senseless upheavals in the North? Is this the way to engender unity and peace in the country? Why has banditry been allowed to become part of our culture? Should we continue to fold our arms and watch Nigeria become another Afghanistan?
I feel dejected and despondent!’’ the man added.
