On The Making of a Soldier

The Making of a Soldier is one of such books. Unlike most books written by soldiers for soldiers, Sgt. TG Tijan reaches out across the divide at a civilian population that has, for ages, been awed by the men in green. How ordinary humans are transformed into a seeming race of super humans has always […]

The Making of a Soldier is one of such books. Unlike most books written by soldiers for soldiers, Sgt. TG Tijan reaches out across the divide at a civilian population that has, for ages, been awed by the men in green. How ordinary humans are transformed into a seeming race of super humans has always been left to the imagination. Tijan’s book provides some measured insight into this process.

Told in the first person, Tijan recounts how he was transformed from a “bloody civilian” to a gun totting soldier – the picture on the cover says so. The fact that the events are personalised, are told from the perspective of one who has been through the process and had the wisdom to record his feelings, his fears and the joy of his triumph, makes this an interesting read.

In 136 pages and 20 chapters, Tijan puts a human face on how soldiers are made. The events in the book occurred some two decades ago when he was recruited in 1988 but he narrates his experiences in a fresh, frank and factual manner (with a number of pictures to compliment).

For those dreaming of joining the army, for those who have dreamed of joining the army, this book is fodder to their imagination as it creates the ambience of the recruitment Depot, of the drills and exercises, the excitement of putting on the uniform for the first time and the inevitable hurdles one must overcome to become a soldier. Tijan did not even leave out the songs (he has their lyrics written out in the appendix.)

For those who have passed through the NYSC orientation programmes; it brings back vivid memories of those weeks of paramilitary drills. It evokes the same feeling even in soldiers who have long forgotten those early days in the institution as Brig. Gen. MA Koleoso noted in his foreword to the book. It reunited him with his past.

The book is detailed on a personal level, even though it is apparent that it was heavily censored (I guess for “security reasons”). But what Tijan has managed to do is chronicle a transformation process shrouded in secrecy and distorted by misconceptions. It showed that the army is not just a government backed cult that churns out mean and heartless brutes; it shows that they too were once like everyone else.