How I escaped death fighting insurgency –Soldier
A Nigerian soldier fighting the Boko Haram
insurgency in Borno State has painted a picture of
the sterling efforts being made by Nigerian soldiers
in the north-east to overcome the terrorist group.
In this chat with Sunday Sun, the 38-year old John
Chukwu (not real names), explained how he had
escaped being killed many times by the Boko Haram
fighters. On one occasion, he explained: “They were
firing, but they couldn’t get me. I was just like 100
meters away from them. I was firing the RPG (Rocket
Propelled Grenade). If that weapon hits any wall, it
can bring the house down. I was firing the thing
until it got finished. Then the Boko Haram fighters
engaged me; to the extent that I walked from 20
meters up to 100 meters but they couldn’t get me.”
The soldier further assured that the war against
insurgency could be won a lot quicker if there was
more commitment by the government, the officers
and soldiers of the Nigerian Army.
*What is your rank in the Nigerian army?
I am a corporal.
Attached to which division?
Army Headquarters (AHQ).
*Which unit?
Sorry, I won’t say this.
*Apart from your posting to Borno, have you gone
on any other peacekeeping?
Yes, I was in Liberia and Sudan for 6 months, the du
ration of peacekeeping is six months.
When were you posted to Borno?
I was among the first set of soldiers sent to
Maiduguri when the state of emergency was declared
there.
*When you arrived there, what was your initial
experience like? Did you feel prepared for the war
you went to fight?
When they drafted us, we didn’t even know exactly
what was happening. We were hearing of Boko
Haram, but we didn’t know exactly what they were
doing in Maiduguri.
You mean you were not briefed?
No, we did not know anything until we got to Maidu
guri.
*Were you then surprised when you got there?
Initially, we were on top of the situation. That time,
wherever we came in contact with the Boko Haram
insurgents, we defeated them. That was during the
time of the Joint Taskforce (JTF). The first time, it
was just like a child’s play. But when we entered
there we started seeing the reality. We saw how
soldiers were being killed and there were bombings
everywhere. They deployed us to the bushes between
Nigeria and Cameroun.
*How long have you been there now?
I have spent a year and six months now. Currently, I
am still in Maiduguri.
*Why did you leave Maiduguri?
I got a pass to see my family.
*Do you feel motivated by the army? Apart from your
salary, what other incentives do you get?
Anyway, they try. They feed us sometimes twice a
day. Once in a while, they feed us three times a day.
*You sound as if the food is insufficient?
No, how can a human being feed twice a day? The
Federal Government budgeted N100,000 monthly for
each soldier in Maiduguri, but they are paying
soldiers N30,000. That is operational allowance.
Sometimes, they pay just N28,000. When you come
outside Maiduguri, people will be congratulating you
because they think that you have made it, but at the
end of the day, they just pay us peanuts.
*What explanation do they give you for the cut in
your allowances?
There is no explanation. That is why I am
complaining that the Army is very corrupt, even the
Federal Government as a whole. If you must com
plain, you must do so through the same man that
cheated you. You have to pass through him to lay
your complaints. You cannot bypass him.
*You said you have been in combat with Boko
Haram insurgents. What do they look like?
Boko Haram fighters look like soldiers. When you see
them you will not know the difference between them
and soldiers.
*When you engage them, how do you distinguish
them from your colleagues?
The Boko Haram fighters are hardly fully kitted. You
may see one with canvas and another without
helmet. They hardly wear helmet because it is heavy.
If you don’t have endurance, you can’t wear it. In
the Army, there is standing order that everybody
must wear helmet whether good or bad. Boko Haram
fighters don’t like helmet. So, they will just cover
their heads with that their popular scarf; and wear
the army uniform.
*Do you feel that the government is sincere with the
war against the Boko Haram insurgents?
Mr. President is not sincere with the fight because if
you give someone money to buy weapon, you
should be able to know whether what the person
supplied is new or not. If you buy new Caterpillar
today, you will know that it is a new one. But all the
things we are using are old weapons that Alhaji
Shehu Shagari bought during his time in office. So,
when the government asks them to buy weapon,
they will go and repaint the old weapons and
present them as new ones. And the president will
take it like that.
*Do you think that the president will know that they
did not really buy new weapons?
He knows. There is no way the president will not
know that they didn’t buy new ones.
*If the weapons you use are outdated, does that
mean that Boko Haram has more sophisticated
weapons? What kind of weapons do they use?
Yes. They use Anti-Aircraft. You can use it to bring
down an aircraft from the sky. Boko Haram also uses
RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). And people are
saying that we are fighting war in Maiduguri. And
truly we are fighting war, but there is no equipment.
Could you believe that there is only one jet operating
in Maiduguri?
*How many in your opinion are needed for the fight?
We need at least three or four jets. Borno is big. And
there is no way soldiers can cover the state. The
soldiers there are trying, but the problem is that
everybody in government is corrupt, both the
presidency and national assembly. This is a political
war; it is not a tribal or religious war.
*You mean Boko Haram is fighting for politicians?
It is a political war. This popular politician from
Borno (name withheld) is truly a Boko Haram
sponsor. There was a time they attacked Gamboru
Ngala. That was where that man’s father used to
live. At that time, Boko Haram destroyed more than
200 houses, killed 18 policemen and about 350
civilians, burnt a police station and destroyed more
than 150 vehicles on the road.
The father of that politician was in his house, but
nothing happened to the house. They only broke
some of the glasses, forced themselves into the
compound and moved 14 vehicles from the
compound.
There was a man from Adamawa State who told me
that he was abducted by Boko Haram as he was
returning from Maiduguri with his family. They were
camped in Sambisa forest. In that forest, our big
men go there on Fridays. Whenever they are coming,
they (the captives) would be asked to lie face down.
The man said he managed to look up sometimes and
the only person he could recognize was that
politician.
The man even told us that we (soldiers in Maiduguri)
are just fighting for nothing. The big men in Nigeria
know what is going on. There is no day in Maiduguri
that you will not lose at least 15 soldiers. Soldiers
are dying in large numbers. If you go to the cemetery
in Maiduguri behind Maimalari Barracks, the graves
there are uncountable. If anybody dies in Borno, they
will bury him there whether his people come or not.
The army does not want people to know that they
are killing soldiers. And truly they are killing soldiers
in Borno.
*You mean that the army is not telling the people the
truth about the war?
They are not telling you the truth. And you know,
Army has their own spokesman and their own
pressmen. It is what they tell you that you will take.
They hardly tell you that they killed soldiers; and
they are killing soldiers everyday.
*Do you still have the will to fight on?
Yes, we have the will to fight on. Our slogan in the
Army is: “No going back.” The problem we have is
the weapons that we don’t have in Borno.
*Have you been in combat with Boko Haram?
It is the life in Borno. Even as a civilian, you will be
seeing how soldiers are doing it. Personally, I have
escaped death twice. I was firing to the extent that
my ammunition got finished. Then Boko Haram
engaged me face to face; they were firing at me, but
it was God that saved me.
How did you escape?
They were firing, but they couldn’t get me. I was just
like 100 meters away from them. I was firing that
RPG. If it hits any wall, it will bring the house down.
I was firing the thing until it got finished. Then the
Boko Haram fighters engaged me; to the extent that I
walked from 20 meters up to 100 meters but they
couldn’t get me. I think that it is just God that said it
was not my time to die. At the end of that day, they
killed one of our men and injured three that day.
*Do you think that Boko Haram have more fighters
than the army? Are people still joining them?
They are increasing in number. If they find
themselves in any village, they will capture any
young man from 15 years and above and force them
into Boko Haram. Then there are foreigners joining
in.
How true is the story that some soldiers escaped to
Cameroun?
It is true. That same place in Ngala; this is Ngala
(pointing to a map), this is Cameroun; the distance
is not up to 15 meters. All these places are water. So,
there is no other place they can go to apart from
Cameroun.
*So the Boko Haram fighter overpowered them?
They are many. They are many. You know what
happened in the first place, soldiers killed many of
them. When Boko Haram ran out of ammunition,
they will go and come back. So Boko Haram went
home and reinforced.
So, finally the soldiers ran out of ammunition. It is
either they need to camp or they called for
reinforcement. Meanwhile, Boko Haram had already
reinforced and they kept firing at the soldiers.
Normally, soldiers fire controlled firing, but for Boko
Haram, once they fix their magazine, they will finish
it on one person. Five of them can engage you like
that and about 90 rounds will be coming to you at
once. So, there is nothing you can do.
*Is it that the army does not send enough soldiers?
Borno is too big. What they do sometimes is that
they will deploy 200 soldiers to this place, 100 the
other place and may be 50 in another place. And
Boko Haram knows everything. They use small boys
in the village to spy on the army. The boys will
pretend to be helping the soldiers and then gather
information for Boko Haram.
*You also claimed that some soldiers are working for
Boko Haram?
There are many; both soldiers and officers. There are
many of them.
How do you think this war can be won?
Sincerely, I don’t know. But if the government can
bring in more weapons, maybe, we will be able to
win the war. We have just one jet in Borno. The
same jet is serving Adamawa, Yobe, Kano and
Bauchi. In the whole of Nigeria, we don’t have a jet
fighter. I don’t know what is happening. Sometimes
when you call for jet for reinforcement, the jet will tell
you ‘I only have one bomb,’ ‘I want to go and
refuel,’ I can’t see them.’ Sometimes when the jet
comes, it will start bombarding and killing soldiers.
*Do you feel helpless as a Nigerian soldier?
Nigerians can help themselves if the president agrees
to bring in modern weapons. I don’t feel helpless, it
is something we signed. I will be going back to
Borno.
*So, why are you volunteering this information?
I am doing this because of my friends who have died
fighting this war. I lost eight of my friends in one
day. We were going for an operation and one of our
vehicles was ambushed. I was just lucky to be in
another vehicle. That was how my friends lost their
lives. More importantly, I want Nigerians to know the
truth about what is happening in Borno.
