The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, has advocated support for wounded soldiers and their families to help their recovery process.
He made the call at a reception organised by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, for him and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, in Abuja, in continuation of their three-day visit to Nigeria to promote Invictus Games.
The Duke said Soldiers’ injuries reflect the true cost of conflict with profound impact on their children, families and nations alike.
Prince Harry said the 50 wounded soldiers interacted with in Kaduna displayed low morale, depicting an end to life.
However, he said the Invictus Games offers them a new pathway to recover and still serve their nation.
He said the proposed Invictus Centre will give the wounded soldiers a new life post-recovery.
“It was and is a privilege to have Nigeria become the first African country to join Invictus, and it certainly won’t be the last. Seeing the plans for the new Invictus Center 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.
“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, as important, 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 then be extended through admiration and respect for the Service members of their families long after we’re gone.
“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 and improve the entire community,” Prince Harry stated.
For his part, the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, said the federal government of Nigeria will continue to support wounded and injured soldiers in their recovery process.
“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,” Badaru said.
The Minister added that the Ministry of Defence understood ongoing sacrifices made by the soldiers in numerous operations against adversaries.
“We want to assure them that the government has a robust program in place to support their recovery in the event of injury,” he stressed.
The Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa restated the Armed Forces of Nigeria’s commitment to support the healing process of wounded soldiers.
“Personally, I feel so excited in 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 looks small when it started in 2014 and today, who knows? In the future we will be competing with the Olympics. We’re looking forward to that and we assure you that the Armed Forces of Nigeria are fully involved in this,” the CDS said.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, approved N88m for purchase of prosthetic to one of the wounded soldiers who lost both hands during an operation in 2021.