‘Until no known insurgent is living…’

Nicknamed ‘Bush Colonel’ in the jungles of Marte and Gamboru-Ngala, in recognition of his valour in the battle against the Boko Haram insurgents, this youthful ‘diehard’ soldier bragged that, in body and soul, he is the Boko Haram war, and the war is him; and even his fractured left arm and fingers cannot humiliate him […]

Nicknamed ‘Bush Colonel’ in the jungles of Marte and Gamboru-Ngala, in recognition of his valour in the battle against the Boko Haram insurgents, this youthful ‘diehard’ soldier bragged that, in body and soul, he is the Boko Haram war, and the war is him; and even his fractured left arm and fingers cannot humiliate him out of it.

In spite of his fractured left arm and fingers properly plastered and wrapped with bathroom towel, for various reasons, the 35-year old infantry sergeant vibrates with valor, as though he was never pinched by any by any speck of the enemy weapon in his combats with cattle rustlers and bandits in Zamfara-Katsina-Kaduna States axis of violent crime, and currently the Boko Haram insurgents in the local government areas of Borno State being liberated from the insurgents, where he sustained the fractures.

The towel wrapping physically conceals whatever ghastliness of the wound around the fractures, but also metaphorically his intense revulsion for violent crimes in the region of terror and insurgency, banditry and such others threatening the security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the citizens and their country.

The youthful soldier hails from Adamawa State.

Exuding the characteristics of a soldier properly bred and drilled in the combat with the twin crimes ofextreme violence – banditry, on one hand, and terror, insurgency and militancy on the other, and his heart long petrified against their perpetrators, he told his story, with his ‘rock-solid’ resolve to return to the frontline as soon as he is certified healthy enough by the doctors of the 44 Brigade Nigerian Army Referral Hospital, Kaduna, where his case has been referred to.

“I have been fighting in the Military Joint Task Force since 2015; I have been engaged in the combat with the insurgents in many fields in the local government areas liberated from Boko Haram captivity since then.

“One of my most fierce encounters was at Cikingudu in Marteand MafaLocal Government Areas and several other communities liberated in the state, especially in Dikwa and GamboruNgala; but in between, I was taken to Zamfara State to fight with the cattle rustlers and Fulani bandits.

“My first fierce encounter with the insurgents was at Cikingudu in Marte Local Government Area; we clashed with the insurgents for days, but in spite of the insufficiency of provisions we were victorious; I sustained this injury (fractured arm and fingers) at Cikingudu; apart from this, I have not sustained any injury so far in all the other operations I have been engaged in whether in GamboruNgala or any other place for the past two years and five months I have fought in the insurgency war; I have killed a countless number of insurgents; that, of course, is obvious, because killing insurgents is the name of the game we have been trained to play; I still cannot remember how God delivered me from their ambushes and scheming in the bushes where they (the insurgents) have mastered much more than us (soldiers).

“The other injury I ever sustained is internal; I sustained it when I went close to a mine planted by the insurgents; some force came down on it and it went off; I was close to it, and it inflicted the internal injury in my ribs, and I still feel it; this on 20th January, 2015, about 8 am; that was when we were going to Kerenuwa in Marte local government area; immediately after I sustained that internal injury, I was rushed 7 Div; I was treated for several days; when I felt okay, I went back to the front line.

“In spite of these fractures you are seeing, I have always felt that no injury can incapacitate me from fighting; fighting the insurgents or bandits is in my spirit; Boko Haram war is me, and I am the Boko Haram war; I mean to tell you that the war is fully within me; I am an Adamawa man; there is no way I can like what the insurgents are doing right from my mind; I love engaging in the insurgency fight because it is what God has destined for, and I cannot change what God has destined for me; for me, these people (insurgents) should never be allowed to go scot free; they should be wiped away completely.

“I am eager to recover soon; I feel I can always go back to the bushes to fight the insurgents; my body is itching, and I mean it; as soon as I recover, and my arm and fingers are okay, I would love to see myself back in the bushes fighting; I can tell you that the pain of not fighting now because of this injury is more than the pain of the injury itself.

“In spite of the injury, I can still handle a gun with my right hand; so, even in my present condition, no man can fight me, not even any insurgent or bandit, you should know that, although you are a civilian, and you don’t know what fighting means.

“It may surprise you to hear that majority of us injured and on admission are eager to go back to the battle fields it is in our body and soul; our bodies have been trained for it, and our souls have been conditioned for it; it is in our blood; this is how it is; any soldier saying he doesn’t want to go back to fight because of any injury is not properly trained and conditioned in body and spirit, or he is not even a soldier by conviction at all; this is my zeal.

“Now I have been referred to 44 (Nigerian Army Hospital, Kaduna, for treatment; I am to leave any moment from now; but as soon as I recover, and the doctors certify me healthy enough to go back to fight, and I am told to the bushes at Banki or Marte or Baga, to God be the glory, I will accept to do so with every zeal; I am a man; I am a diehard soldier; that is why I have been nicknamed ‘Bush Colonel’ in the jungle; oh yes! That is my name there; to my knowledge, I am the only soldier so nicknamed in all the communities we clashed with the insurgents, especially in Marte where I am more familiar among the troops.

“I have not foreseen the end of the Boko Haram war, because the insurgents are still around in the bushes; they are sparse everywhere; this is why I subscribe to President Buhari’s statement yesterday (Sunday, 1st October, 2017) that soldiers will remain in the front line until everywhere is completely safe and secure from the insurgents.

“I love to be among those who will remain in the front line until the Boko Haram war is over; it cannot be said to be over until is really over and certified over by us who are in the front line; that is when no known insurgent is living; I want to be among those to certify that it is really over,” the diehard ‘Bush Colonel’ concluded.

‘Bush Colonel’ seemed an unconscious spokesman of the umpteen of the injured combatants now undergoing treatment under the Theatre Command of Operation Lafia Dole, charged with the responsibility of completely crushing the Boko Haram insurgency.