May We Never Forget Them and Their Sacrifice, By Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú

To honour their memory, our appreciation must go beyond burying them at the National Cemetery. It must go beyond posthumous honors. The least we can do for those who made the ultimate sacrifice is to demand better conditions and equipment for soldiers on the battlefield. We must demand that the entitlement of the fallen soldiers must be promptly paid without frustrating their kith and kin.

We are once again reminded of the evil of terror when we lost patriotic and selfless soldiers over the weekend to the Boko Haram insurgency in Mallam Fatori, Borno State. Nigerians are joined together in grief, mourning and gratitude for those who fight to keep us safe. Because they fight everyday with courage and nobility, we take our freedoms and liberties for granted. For those of us who live in the areas unaffected by the savagery of Boko Haram, we may not truly appreciate the madness of terrorist rampage, the threat of decapitation, rape and gruesome murders inflicted by the animals who made the North-East of Nigeria home. Everyday on the battlefield, our troops put their lives on the line in service, sacrifice their comfort and face death, while we engage in the ordinary frenzy of everyday life. Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali, described as Nigerian Army’s most efficient fighter died in the service of Nigeria in a gun battle alongside five soldiers with Boko Haram terrorists. The least we owe those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect us and the sovereignty of this country, is to remember and honour them.

We live in dark and perilous times. We live in the age of terror where loose, vicious and amorphous enemies threaten our collective survival across the globe. We live in the age of fear, where terrorists can strike anywhere, anytime. We live at a time where religious loonies kill, maim and put fear in our hearts, as seen recently in Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino.

In the age of information, the news of the death of Lt.Col. Abu Ali and his men traveled quickly. Nigeria mourns them and the social media still wears a mournful look. We thank him and those courageous men and women who have lost their lives fighting terrorism. But gratitude is not enough. Our gratitude and support should extend beyond today, beyond tomorrow and the days to come. To honour their memory, our appreciation must go beyond burying them at the National Cemetery. It must go beyond posthumous honors. The least we can do for those who made the ultimate sacrifice is to demand better conditions and equipment for soldiers on the battlefield. We must demand that the entitlement of the fallen soldiers must be promptly paid without frustrating their kith and kin.

We must also ask questions in deference to the memory of the fallen. Our troops continue to be put in danger by internal sabotage. Who are the sponsors of terror in Nigeria? Are they bigger than Nigeria? Why was an officer and 49 soldiers withdrawn from Mallam Fatori on Friday morning only for Boko Haram to ambush them that fateful Friday night? Who gave advance information to Boko Haram about the troops reduction in number which led to the ambush?

We must also ask questions in deference to the memory of the fallen… Why was an officer and 49 soldiers withdrawn from Mallam Fatori on Friday morning only for Boko Haram to ambush them that fateful Friday night? Who gave advance information to Boko Haram about the troops reduction in number which led to the ambush?

Boko Haram is still a formidable group. Is the Nigerian Army high command telling the political class the true situation on the ground? What practical steps are being taken to end this insurgency by equipping the Nigerian Army, given the extent of sleaze and stealing that has gone on in the last several years? These are important questions to ask, as we continue to hear about soldiers who cannot be accounted for. From October 16 till date, 83 soldiers who went to fight at Gadhigar remain missing.

Attacks on troops are becoming more and more regular because the Army is ill-eqquipped. The troops are fighting with obsolete or worn equipment, while the impression being given us is that troops are better equipped now than they were under Goodluck Jonathan.

A country that refuses to acknowledge its failures cannot make progress. We must admit that the initial successes recorded against Boko Haram was because Nigeria partnered withthe better trained and better equipped Chadians and other mercenaries who fought alongside them. The plot was lost when the Buhari administration terminated their contract. Why terminate their contract given the state of our Armed Forces? Why was their withdrawal not in phases? It is obvious that the military needs an urgent and truthful appraisal of its approach to counter-insurgency operations. Otherwise, Boko Haram will gain more strength and take the battle once more to the civilian population.

We have a moral obligation to always evaluate the cost of the war on terror. Our evaluation must never be coloured by politics. It is one thing we owe our service men and women because soldiers are not inclined to evaluate the costs of war. We can never repay our debt to our fallen heroes, it is our responsibility to honour them and those who made that sacrifice.

Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú a farmer, youth advocate and political analyst writes this weekly column, “Bamidele Upfront” for the PREMIUM TIMES. Follow me on Twitter @olufunmilayo

Credits: Premium Times.

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