Abuja: The National Defence College Officers’ Wives Association (NDCOWA) has called on widows of fallen military personnel to look beyond grief and embrace resilience as they rebuild their lives. The Coordinator of NDCOWA, Mrs. Isabella Okosun, made the call at an engagement with widows tagged ‘NDCOWA Celebrates With Our Matriarchs’ on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to News Agency of Nigeria, the event with the theme ‘Beyond Grief: Restoring Purpose’ featured the distribution of palliative to some widows and orphans of fallen heroes. Mrs. Okosun emphasized that the widows remained pillars of strength despite their painful losses, describing them as ‘keepers of a sacred memory and the embodiment of resilience’. The engagement aimed to spark conversations, share resources, and build connections that would help the women rediscover purpose and strength.

‘We are here for the wives, the mothers, the pillars of hope-the women who hold families together while their heroes answer the call of duty,’ Okosun said. ‘This is your safe space, a sanctuary for healing, for sharing, and for dreaming again. Today is about you, and it is our promise that you will never walk this path alone. You are resilience personified. You are the foundation upon which the future of your families will stand,’ she told the widows.

Okosun explained that the initiative was designed to provide practical tools for widows and families navigating loss. The outreach extended beyond military widows to families of staff in the NDC community who had also lost loved ones.

A resource person at the event, Mrs. Priscilla Ogunu, Nigeria’s foremost Psychotherapist, stressed the need for widows to be equipped with tools to navigate grief. She noted, ‘Grief is hard, but we are confident they are courageous. We taught them to ask for help, to create boundaries, and to learn how to receive love.’ Ogunu, who shared her personal experience of loss, urged the women to harness the power of community, describing it as ‘light that breaks through the heavy blanket of grief.’ She added that the lessons from the program were not for widows alone, but also for other wives and community members ‘who now know exactly how to support someone going through grief.’

Mrs. Naomi Michika, a widow, also urged the women to prepare for the after-death experience as military wives, emphasizing the need to restructure their minds to live and function without their spouses. She advised them not to be full-time housewives, warning that the harsh reality of life would hit when they are left to fend for themselves and their children. ‘You have to move past the initial grief and plan for your future because widowhood requires resilience. You must have self-esteem and avoid being in a state of self-pity,’ she said.