Zulum’s ₦150m Gesture: Standing With Families Left Behind by War

By Abdulsalam Alkali.

In homes marked by silence and absence, the weight of loss still lingers.

Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum, governor of Borno State, stepped into some of those spaces—meeting families of military officers killed in the ongoing insurgency in Nigeria’s North East.
His visit was not just symbolic. It came with a ₦150 million donation—₦50 million each to the families of three slain officers: Lt. Col. Salihu Iliyasu, Lt. Col. Aliyu Saidu Paiko, and Lt. Col. Umar Farouq.

In Abuja, Zulum was received by the widows of Iliyasu, Na’ima and Rakiya.

The meeting, though brief, carried the weight of shared grief. The governor described their late husband as a “dedicated and committed servant of the nation,” a phrase often used—but deeply felt in homes where the cost of service is personal.
From there, he travelled across states—Niger and Kano—continuing a quiet pattern that has come to define parts of his leadership: showing up.

For families like these, support often fades after the headlines. But Zulum says his administration intends to remain present—not just with financial assistance, but with long-term support, including scholarships for children left behind.

The governor also reaffirmed plans to reach more families of soldiers killed or still missing in the conflict, many of whom continue to wait for closure.

In a region where the insurgency has stretched over a decade, the human toll is measured not only in casualties, but in the lives reshaped afterwards—widows navigating uncertain futures, children growing up with memories instead of parents.

As the visits ended, Zulum offered prayers for the fallen, asking for their admission into Aljannatul Firdaus, and for strength for those they left behind.

But beyond the prayers and cheques lies a deeper reality: long after the battles are fought, it is families like these who continue to live with the war.