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Continued from Part 4
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself (Proverbs 26:4)
Black Scorpion was the most cruel soldier man that ever fought in Sub Saharan Africa; he killed his soldiers and Biafrans ruthlessly without any empathy, no wonder he died an isolated and an uncherished man (Dr. Ejukwa Osam)
To digress upfront:
In one of his last two articles, this writer wrote about the “Futility of Power” using the life of General Benjamin Adekunle (Black Scorpion) as an example. Then, one Francis Kizito Obeya felt he knows better and did a rejoinder.
The first quote above, Proverbs 26:4, has advised this writer against engaging in any form of argument with Francis Kizito Obeya. Be that as it may, these few points below are necessary, and they are statements to buttress facts and not facts for argument.
First of all, while this writer was born before the war and had to experience that carnage, although through the eyes of a child, Francis Kizito Obeya was born years after the war. While this writer is from Aba, one of the main theatres of the war, and about forty miles from Port Harcourt, where Benjamin Adekunle held sway, Francis Kizito Obeya is from Benue State, many miles away from the war zone, so his folks never felt the agony of the war. While this writer’s uncles and relations fought on the Biafran side during the war, and three of them, Hon. Chief Francis Nwokoma, Alfred Ubochi and Monday Ubochi, were drafted to Port Harcourt sector to face Adekunle and his men, none of Francis Kizito Obeya’s uncles or relations may have, I repeat, may have, fought during the war. The point here is: Alfred Ubochi, one of this writer’s three uncles sent to Port Harcourt sector to fight against Adekunle and his men, didn’t make it back, as he went down fighting for Biafra, not to talk of the other uncles and relations who went to fight in other sectors for the Biafran Army and didn’t return. The other uncles who fought Adekunle and his men in Port Harcourt and were alive to tell their story thereafter, told this writer how crude and ruthless Adekunle prosecuted the war, so this writer had no need to read whatever anybody else wrote, as he had his facts, first hand, from people who were involved in the war and in the field. This writer based his writing on what Adekunle said, as recorded by the journalists, which he, Adekunle, never refuted before his death; and also on what Adekunle did, as narrated by those who were in the field then facing him and his men. Also, as a kid, this writer felt the impact of Adekunle’s war tactics, as Port Harcourt is not far away from Aba, so the war affected this writer in one way or the other.
Francis Kizito Obeya lives in the United States where English is the most frequently spoken language, but, unfortunately, he doesn’t understand English well, despite the fact that he holds a Master’s Degree in Aviation Science. Although English is not our mother tongue, but, Obeya has shown crass incompetence in grasping the rudimentary aspect of it. For instance: Francis Kizito Obeya finds it hard to understand the difference between “may be” and “really is”/”really was”. So many times, Obeya understands English “upside down”. Francis Kizito Obeya is always mesmerized by this writer’s articles; and once he sees any of them, he runs and starts hitting his Computer’s Keyboards in order to criticize what he didn’t understand. This writer loves criticism as long as it’s unbiased; Obeya should take note of that! Unfortunately for Kizito Obeya, this writer can’t write his articles in his native Tiv or Igala or Idoma or whatever Benue language for him to understand the dazzling points made, by this writer, in his articles. In order not reward Francis Kizito Obeya’s folly, this writer would not join issues with him, point by point, as he (this writer) is better than that. Let others tell Francis Kizito Obeya where he went wrong!
Below was a mail Dr Ejukwa Osam, who’s from Cross River State, but lives in New Zealand, wrote to Francis Kizito Obeya in response to his rejoinder to this writer’s article. Dr. Osam magnanimiously copied it to this writer and also gave his permission for it to be published. In addition to his mail sent to Obeya, Dr. Osam also chipped in one of the quotes above.
Read his mail to Francis Kizito Obeya:
“Hi Francis,
I read your rejoinder and simply laughed. As a man in the mid 50s, I witnessed the war. I have interviewed many people who fought during the Nigerian Biafra civil war, all the soldiers except one army colonel at Ikom CRS had (no) positive view of Black Scorpion. This lunatic officer killed many soldiers within his unit that showed any form of cowardice as well as perpetrating atrocities in the enemy camps. My own uncle ran away from his brutality and madness on the battle field. Many other soldiers crossed to the Cameroon for fear of Adekunle. His charms and magic were all true as he was not fighting as a natural man.
Although you have the right to your opinion, you have no idea how ruthless that man was. He was very cruel and behaved like a senseless beast reminiscent of Gen Ariel Sharon. Before you pour scorn on Temple, inquire from higher authorities e.g. Gen Obasanjo, Gen Gowon, soldiers who fought with him, inquire if he took authority from anyone during the war. Why was he removed as commander of Third Marine commando? Read My Command by Obasanjo you will get lot info about the lunatic General. The numerous atrocities he committed I understand was meant to keep Nigeria one, we are reaping that unity today with myriads of problems.
My advice to you is if you read an article make some investigative facts for example how many titles did Black Scorpion get, how many streets were named after him? Where was he celebrated, why was he a social millipede? Why was he ostracized by the army? Why did he regret his role in the last civil war? Temple is not a friend but I thought he wrote a very nice article which reflected the sayings of the arrogant General or Brigadier. Similarly, the citations (quotations) about Brig Adekunle were from credible sources.
He is lucky to have attained 78, the young fellows in federal and enemy forces he ruthlessly killed did not get half the chance that vampire got. He is also lucky he got away with mass murder; if it were today he would have ended in prison like Charles Taylor.
I also laughed when you said Temple did not bring evidence of mass graves? Are you out of your mind? How can you give evidence of what Muritala did in Asaba? How can you give evidence of corruption in Nigeria? There are thousands of things happening in the useless country called Nigeria that have no evidence. I doubt you are an Igbo man, are you not a Benue man? Igbos are excluded from the presidency and marginalized, is it because they were defeated? I am a Cross Riverian but share Temple's opinion about the candidate of HELL FIRE Gen Adekunle.
Have a nice day
Ejuks E. Osam
BSc. Pol. Science, UNIPORT
MA Social Policy, Univ of Kwazulu Natal Durban, RSA
BSW/MSW, USA
PHD Clinical Social Work, Otago University, New Zealand
To refresh, this was this writer’s original article:
http://ift.tt/10b7Hrs
And this was Francis Kizito Obeya’s rejoinder to the above article:
http://ift.tt/10b7Jja
To the main topic:
 f the stories making the rounds these few days are confirmed, then the Nigerian military has turned the table against the insurgents in a jiffy. First of all, the Nigerian military retook Bama after a fierce battle against the insurgents, who previously sacked the town, killing and displacing many persons. The Nigerian military, we were told, have started reversing the gains of the insurgents after the latter intimidated it, and made many of its personnel, and some Customs personnel too, to run across the border into Cameroon for safety. And now, the latest is that Shekau’s impersonator, Mohammed Bashir, who was the killer-in-chief of Boko Haram, was set up and killed in an ambush, just as he used to do against the Nigerian forces’ personnel. Remember that about two weeks ago, this writer rightly predicted, for the insurgents, that they would soon be made to have a taste of their own medicine, and that was what happened to the leader of Boko Haram, if he was the one actually killed.
Why the sudden change of fortune for the Nigerian military, after it has been cowed so many times by the insurgents? Why is it only now that President Jonathan stamped his feet on the ground and gave the Nigerian military the marching order to rout the insurgents once and for all that our soldiers started performing as all Nigerians have long expected them to? That’s the puzzle here! What has the Nigerian military started doing differently these few days that it has failed to do all these months and years, thereby giving the insurgents the “blank cheque” to run amok over the north-eastern part of Nigeria? Why has the President not been as forceful as he was this time around? There are still many questions begging for answers, because, immediately the President gave the military this last ultimatum to deal with the insurgents once and for all, the Nigerian army, with an air cover from the Nigerian airforce jets, dislodged the insurgents from Bama, we were told, and from there, there has been no stopping of the Nigerian military again in its offensive against the insurgents, culminating in the killing of the Boko Haram’s leader, the capturing, killing and the surrendering of many insurgents respectively. These mean that all the while, some people have been sabotaging all efforts to rout the insurgents till now. Nigerians want to hear more about this!
At a point, everything went wrong for the Nigerian security forces, in their battle against the insurgents, that almost all Nigerians were baffled while asking the question about how we got it so wrong. The youths in the north-eastern part of Nigeria lost faith with the Nigerian military, and decided to take their fate in their own hands thereby scoring the Federal Government low in its war against terrorist activities in that part of the country. At a point, report had it that no fewer than 10, 000 youth volunteers, retired military personnel, vigilante and local hunters decided to declare total war on Boko Haram, saying: "Enough is enough". At a point, the youth volunteers converged at the palace of Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Umar Garba Al-Amin El-Kanemi, demanding the support and blessing of the royal father, saying they have resolved to enter Sambisa Forest, the insurgents' famous camp and other hideouts, to hunt for the terrorists. In their words: "We may not have heavy guns like them (Boko Haram), but we are optimistic that with our sticks and other locally- made arms, we will raid all terrorists hideouts and rout them out if given the permission by the Federal Government”. Then came the news: While the Nigerian military personnel, whose training cost the country a lot of money were being subdued by the insurgents, the youths and vigilance group members in Michika and Madagali local government areas of Adamawa State on Tuesday night (Sept. 9) killed about 80 Boko Haram insurgents fleeing the areas. Report had it that the insurgents, who had been wrecking havoc on some boundary communities in Adamawa and Borno States, were said to have run into the bush after running out of arms and ammunition. Thereafter, normalcy returned to those LGAs. And then, after the youths had driven away the terrorists, Nigerian troops returned and were stationed in strategic places there.
The Youth Leaders, according to Sunday Punch, said they decided to take up arms, as the activities of the Boko Haram sect has intensified despite military presence and the state of emergency declared in the area, while noting that that it was true that Boko Haram was gaining “an upper hand in the war”. A youths’ leader in Chibok, while calling on the Federal Government to “wake up,” and the security agents to be motivated and be well equipped, said: “The people of the state have lost confidence in the military, especially with the recent happenings. And as the citizens of the area, it would be better for us to stand up and defend our land. That is what is going on now. As we know, most of the major towns have been captured by Boko Haram and we believe that they are planning more attacks on more locations that we consider to be safe. That is why the youths are ready and prepared to go after them and to defend the area.” Also, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Pan Chibok Youths Association, Dr. Allen Manasseh, while noting that those in government had not been fighting the insurgency with sincerity, said youths had been consulting with leaders in the state on how to take on the sect. Hear him: “There is no single person that is telling the truth. Everybody is lying. Everybody should join hands to fight Boko Haram, not somebody blaming another person. I can affirm that the sect is taking over because of the mass exodus of people from that place. People are always afraid because anytime the sect notifies them of an impending attack, it usually actualizes it.”
The question many people have been asking is why the government cannot defeat Boko Haram up till now. At worst, the government should have deployed one quarter of the Nigerian military personnel against Boko Haram and there would be no way the terrorists will not be crushed in a matter of weeks, but, it seemed that some of those gaining from the insecurity and sabotage were preventing the early routing of the terrorists for selfish reasons until now. The president later understood it that the buck stops on his desk and decided to take the belated initiative by ordering an all out war against the insurgents. The president should not be waiting for advisers, who are only galoots or moles. If he gives his orders and they are flouted, he should be ready to fire and hire a new person with immediate effect. Boko Haram has dented his image and that of the country unimaginably.
This writer concurs with the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) that released a Press Statement expressing its worry about the recent incursion into some towns and villages, especially in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States in the north eastern part of the country by the Boko Haram terror group. NLC said that these violent attacks and reported seizures and declaration of an Islamic republic remain unacceptable and must never be allowed as a republic cannot exist within a republic. The NLC, while bemoaning the speed with which the insurgents are taking over communities even in areas reported to have heavy security presence, advised that it is time the Nigerian armed forces prove their preparedness to protect and defend the Nigerian people and their territories by using all within their armory to protect our territorial integrity. The NLC was right to note that the credibility and professional image of our armed forces would be at stake, even in global ratings, if our forces, who have been widely acclaimed to have performed so well during peace keeping operations in different parts of the world, would allow themselves to be overrun by insurgents back home. The Statement signed by Abdulwahed Omar, President of NLC, believes the government can do more in ensuring that the troops are well-kitted with modern weapons and all that is required to fight contemporary wars, as the situation has obviously moved beyond mere insurgency. On this point, the Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Mohammed Saleh, who is a retired Army General, said it was impossible for the military to win the terror war with the present obsolete equipment and the alleged fraud in Ministry of Defence and the armed services. And to confirm that, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, revealed that for the country to win the war against terrorism there was the need for diplomatic lobbying for foreign assistance in areas of equipment.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) summed it up, few weeks ago, by frowning at the unprecedented national embarrassment the increasing seizure of Nigerian towns by the terrorists and the reported fleeing of 480 Nigerian soldiers to Cameroon during an attack on a military base in Gamboru Ngala and asked the government for an immediate solution to the worsening security situation in the northern part of the country that has allowed Boko Haram to proclaim its rule over a part of the nation’s territory, terming it the biggest threat to Nigeria’s unity and territorial integrity since the country’s civil war. The Party implored President Jonathan to set partisanship aside and rally the nation against Boko Haram, which by all indications seems to be getting bolder and stronger, to such an extent that the group is now hoisting its flag over parts of the nation’s territory. The Party wondered why the President is more interested in his re-election when the nation is on a precipice, noting that Nigeria must survive as a nation before any party or individual can rule over it. The Party noted that the president’s overt concentration more on his re-election, rather than on fighting the terrorists, offends national sensibilities at a time when:
- our citizens are being daily slaughtered and our troops are struggling against the terrorists who are bent on Balkanizing our nation.
- over 200 school girls remain missing more than 150 days after they were abducted.
In the same manner, APC also advised the military’s high command and its civilian leadership to quit politicking and fashion out ways for the military to live up to its constitutional responsibility of maintaining Nigeria’s territorial integrity. Hear the APC: “Nigeria has never had it so bad. The country’s military that was being hailed worldwide for its sterling performance at global peacekeeping missions has now reached a level where its troops are deserting, engaging in mutiny or simply unwilling to fight. There is no way to spin what happened on Monday August 25, when 480 Nigerian soldiers escaped to Cameroon. The Ministry of Defence called it ‘tactical manoeuvre’, but did not explain how soldiers fighting insurgents along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon will foray 80 kilometres into Cameroon! The issue that should agitate the minds of Nigerians now is whether our troops are adequately equipped to battle Boko Haram and, if not, what has happened to the funds allocated for such in the past. As we said in our earlier comments on this issue, between 2010 and 2014, a total of US$14 billion was allocated for defence, security and the police. What has happened to these funds? Nigerians must start asking questions rather than just blaming soldiers. Nigerians must ask why the alarm raised by Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno concerning the low morale and lack of necessary fighting equipment by the military was dismissed on the altar of partisanship. Nigerians must ask what next, if a rag tag band of marauders are now carving out territories for themselves in our nation. Things cannot and must not continue like this”.
Things were going wrong with the war against insurgency that at a point Olisa Agbakoba, a former President of Nigerian Bar Association, advised President Goodluck Jonathan to relieve the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, of his job, because, since the military had failed in its mandate to win the war against Boko Haram, Badeh had no right as the CDS, to remain in office. Agbakoba maintained that the CDS who was appointed in January this year had lost control of the army, citing the case of about 480 Nigerian soldiers who ran into Cameroon during a confrontation with the Boko Haram insurgents as a confirmation of his position. He therefore called on the President to show more seriousness in tackling the insurgency, adding that the first step to take was for him to sack Badeh. Agbakoba said: "I think our first task is to look around the world and ask whether our Nigerian intelligence and military infrastructure are doing just what they ought to do. If I were the Commander-in-Chief, I would invite the CDS, Alex Badeh and tell him that if he loses any command in the army, it's over. If the President fails to send a strong message that the mission is not accomplished, then the chain of command would be weak. In the army, it is obedience to superior orders. How can you have Nigerian soldiers carrying our equipment into Cameroon and running away? It tells you that the Army is degraded. The only way that you can solve the Boko Haram problem is by a resolute decapitation of the leadership. There is no other way."
As if Agbakoba’s advice spurred the President into action and kept the Chief of Defence Staff, Badeh, on his toes, things started changing, for the better, for the Nigerian military.
The President then ordered a belated all out war against the insurgents, and then Nigerian warplanes started carrying out air strikes against Boko Haram militant bases in Bama, Borno State, in a government counter-attack against Boko Haram's drive to create an Islamist enclave.
Boko Haram has been able to operate unhindered while leaving tales of woes, death and destruction of property along its trail, because, (Paraphrasing Ibrahim Usman, in what he wrote on Friday, 26 September (elombah)), our soldiers are demoralized, are outgunned by the insurgents, frequently not paid in full, abandoned on the battlefield and left without enough ammunition or food. The war against Boko Haram has lingered because of the endemic corruption in the Nigerian Military, where millions of dollars budgeted for the fight against the so called insurgents went into the pockets of the superior officers. The Nigerian soldiers were deliberately rendered ill-equipped in the midst of well-equipped enemy. This is what one protesting soldier told Daily Trust Newspaper reporter: “Whenever we voice our grievances within the precinct of the barracks, our superiors accuse us of disobedience… Sometimes they even say we would face mutiny”. Similar statement was also made by another soldier: “We were only given guns and some ammunition, even the armored tank that we are supposed to go with was withdrawn”. The military hierarchy in Nigeria has been sending an unequipped army to fight well equipped insurgents. By implication, soldiers were led to the slaughter slab with their hands tied, while their superiors siphon the approved funds for the military and moved about in armor-plated vehicles.
The 12 soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny should be pardoned while those who caused their action should face the music as Master Sun, author of the book, The Art of War: Complete Texts and Commentaries, graphically illustrated the consequences of a weak army in a battle: “So an army perishes if it has no equipment, it perishes if it has no food, and it perishes if it has no money”. Further elaboration on this by Mei Yaochen (1002-1060) concludes: “These three things are necessary- you cannot fight to win with an unequipped army”. By implication, the commanding officer who gave the order to an unequipped army to fight well equipped insurgents, knowing fully the uneven degree of strength of both parties, should be tried for being an accomplice to cold blood murder. Similarly, he should be tried for subverting the country’s effort to win a war, for obviously by design the ill-equipped Nigerian soldiers were meant to be defeated.
Fact is that the recent killing of Shekau’s impersonator will not bring insurgency to an end. Two leaders of Boko Haram have been killed previously, Mohammed in 2009 and Shekau in 2013, and these didn’t slow the insurgents down, rather it spurred them into more deadly actions. So, the killing of Bashir now may or may not be the beginning of the end of insurgency in the north-east. The insurgents are yet to give up. Read more:
http://ift.tt/1Bt3IlK
This writer hopes that the military hierarchy, field commanders and their men would not flout the President’s order henceforth, as many of them have done in the past in acts of sabotage. The President should be ready this time to let heads roll, if his order is flouted. The Nigerian military and political leaders should be ready now to say goodbye to the past, because it's time to move on, it's time to start over, if they do not want Nigeria to go in flames soon, courtesy of marauding bandits!
To be continued!
TIT BITS
http://ift.tt/1Bt3KtJ
THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!
Continued from Part 4
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