Cheating brings nightmare to the victim (nmegbu ejighi atu ura) (Igbo Proverb)

The mob is man voluntarily descending to the nature of the beast. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

When all other rights are taken away, the right of rebellion is made perfect. (Thomas Paine)
It has been very truly said that the mob has many heads, but no brains. (Antoine de Rivarol)
Something made the cocoyam to make that (nwii) sound (ihe mere ede ji bee nwii) (Igbo Proverb)

An oppressed people are authorized whenever they can to rise and break their fetters. (Henry Clay)

Men seldom, or rather never for a length of time and deliberately, rebel against anything that does not deserve rebelling against. (Thomas Carlyle)

Son of man should not hurt son of god and son of god should not hurt son of man (Nwanmadu emegbula nwanmuo, nwanmuo emegbula nwanmadu) (Igbo Proverb)

He that has hyacinth (high scent) as a name shouldn’t rob his body with the cream extracted from the palm kernel (Onye akporo Hyacinth (high scent) adighi nma ima elo äkü) (Igbo saying in Ngwa dialect)

The chameleon said that not even the fire raging behind can stop it from walking majestically as it is known for (Ugwumagalaba si na ya agahi esi na okü na agbata ya na azu hapu iga ije nganga eji mara ya) (Igbo Proverb)

There is an extent a dumb will be maltreated then he will start speaking by force (Odi ebe aga emedu onye ogbu ihe ya ekwue okwu na ike) (Igbo Proverb)

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n Friday the 4th of July, 2008, soldiers that converged from all over Nigeria held Akure town to ransom; the city stood at a standstill, the city got frozen. The soldiers that went on peacekeeping missions abroad became peace disturbers at home; the soldiers that went to pacify aggrieved people in other countries couldn’t be pacified at home even by their superiors upto the extent that they held the commanding Officer of the Akure Army Base, Lt. Colonel Umelo and other senior officers hostage and even wanted to manhandle them save for the security guards that barricaded them from the war songs chanting and irate soldiers. The soldiers that went outside the country to maintain law and order became law breakers and disorderly; the soldiers that went abroad to help others rebuild their shattered lives went rampaging, destroying properties and shattering lives at home; the good boys and girls became bad guys; the soldiers Nigeria had hope on to defend its citizens against foreign aggression became internal aggressors of the people; the “warders” then became the “prisoners”, then pandemonium descended on Akure Town and environs; civilians were caught in a fix, many took to their heels with their heels almost touching the back of their head, even some ran the fastest race of their life that day that Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis couldn’t have competed against were the duo pitched against them, even the historical Phidippides of Athens would have wasted his time trying to match the speed of the civilians in running out of harm’s way.

It was as if a war has been declared as the bushes turned into race tracks; fathers abandoned their loved ones, mothers almost forgot that they have children, everybody put head into the bush, it was as if one of the choruses we used to sing those days in my home church (Anglican) was composed for the people of Akure that day: The song in my own interpretations goes like this “At the last day, father will forsake his son, mother will not care about her children, brothers and sisters will all be on their own before the judgement throne.” Akure that day became ground zero and no man’s land.

Businesses closed up, traders closed shops and left town with the speed of lightning, all activities grinded to a halt. What do one expect, who would like to stand on the way when “mad and hungry cows” are on a stampede? Akure was enveloped in thick smoke as condemned tires were burning as if a new year was being welcomed or as if Ijegun (Lagos) pipeline fire has re-enacted itself. A “bloody” civilian driving a Toyota carina car that tried to disobey the aggrieved soldiers by refusing to turn back when ordered to, remained alive by a whisker as he was manhandled and his car’s windscreen smashed. Akure town became then a “Bermuda triangle” where nothing enters or gets out until the lowering of colours (Nigerian and Army Flags) by the military barrack saved the day, because it is a treasonable offence for a soldier not to stand at an attention (no matter what he or she is doing) during lowering of colours or what some called “sunset”.

What went wrong? Why did soldiers that served well in another country had to run amok in their own country?

How come that “watchnights” started sleeping; how come the peacemakers then became trouble shooters; how come the dreams of “dreamers” turned all at once into “nightmares”; how come the loved sons and daughters became “prodigals”; how come the “comforters” became then “mourners”; why did the “wipers of other people’s tears” started “shedding basins of tears”; how come the “placaters of others” couldn’t be “placated themselves”; why did the “angels” thread where the “devils” will hate to; why is it that the people that are supposed to be cared for are left on their own; how come the “braves became cowards”; why was the hardworkers not rewarded accordingly; what happened that the “builders had to become destroyers”; can anybody explain why “the safekeepers became thieves”; tell me why those much was expected from were found wanting even in little things; how come that “a full cup became a half one”? How come; how come, how come? Why didn’t cool heads reign as against rashly behaviours? My people in Ngwa dialect would have also asked: “Ndighinu ötü nmiri nji baa la opi ugboro (how did water managed to enter into the stems of the broad leaf pumpkin)?

Upfront, I want to make it succinctly clear that I am not taking side, rather the middle ground here as my motive is to see that the collateral damages resulting from these unruly and shameful actions of the rampaging soldiers are minimised to the barest level.

Those soldiers erred and have no justification for their actions. I know that their patience was tested to the limit, but, they as service personnel should have known better; afterall they signed when they joined the Army to be of good behaviour. They know how aggravated their offences are and I am sure they are well aware of the implications of their actions. What they did was a revolt against the constituted authorities and the disturbing of public peace; their offences can be enlarged to include inflicting body harm to a person or persons and the limiting of other people’s freedom. All these earn a prompt dismissal from the Nigerian Army and depending on the magnanimity or otherwise of the officers that will enter into judgement during their court marshal, some of them might do time in jail.

The Nigerian Army erred the more by withholding part of those soldiers’ allowances under whatever pretense and it was irresponsible on the part of the Army not to have responded positively and on time to the series of complaints laid by the aggrieved soldiers before things got out of hand. The Army helped in creating the ugly scenario by shortchanging the soldiers and still felt indifferent to their complaints.

This is not the first time the military is short paying the peacekeepers it sent on missions outside the country. I learnt from a reliable source that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the military also short paid the peacekeepers sent to war torn Liberia and Sierra Leone. Whereas the United Nations then paid each peacekeeper $150 a day, the military paid them in turn only $5 out of it and the remaining $145 missed without traces into some people’s pockets. Many complained then, but, gave up when threatened of severe consequences if they continue asking for their money.

Being a non-commissioned officer in the Nigerian Armed Forces equates ones to a slave. The Armed Forces treat their non-commissioned officers with disrespect; were those rampaging soldiers that ran amok in Akure of the commissioned officers cadre, they would have received their allowances full and as at when due, but, whenever it comes to anything concerning the lower cadre, the rule of game changes. While the senior officers are feeding fat, growing fat cheeks, huge necks and protruding stomachs; the men of the lower cadre are starving, growing lean and hungry looking.

The damages have already been done, now is only the time to see how to ameliorate the bad effects of the revolt.

Those soldiers must have been frustrated after laying down their grievances through the appropriate channels but got no reprieve; they must have exhausted all other “appropriate” options with nobody listening to them and that riot and mayhem that followed as a result of it must have been borne out of frustrations. It is inexcusable in the military to take such ugly steps, but, I am appealing to the Army to tamper justice with mercy. Those service men deserved to be punished no doubt, but, I would front that their punishment(s) be made as light as possible in view of what they did for the Army in particular and Nigeria in general and on the other hand, taking into cognisance what they have already suffered all in the efforts to get what is rightly theirs. Their punishments will be in order to serve as deterrent to others nursing such abhorred behaviour(s), but, they should not go down alone, they should not be the only ones to face the full weight of the military law. Those that were incharge to pay them but short paid them for whatever reasons should also be punished accordingly. I wasn’t there, but, don’t be surprised that the big Oga incharge of the payment lodged the money in his personal account to yield interests for him before he pays out the money; it could be that one or many senior officers or even junior ones incharge of the payment slashed the approved amount in order to appropriate the remaining.

The cause and effect of the riot are well known, but, to refresh my reader’s memory these are what the tabloids wrote of the riot:

“The atmosphere at the Owena Barracks of the 323 Artillery Regiment of the Nigerian Army in Akure, Ondo State was a rancorous and mutinous one. Hundreds of soldiers went on violent demonstration over the alleged military authorities' cut of the United Nations (UN) allowances for their peacekeeping operations in the former war-torn Liberia. The soldiers, all dressed in their Army fatigues, took over the whole stretch of Ondo Road, setting up bonfires to block the entrance to the Akure metropolis through the Ondo axis. Chanting war songs and brandishing sticks and cudgels, they moved in bands and siphoned fuels from hapless motorists who were caught in the confusion that the whole scenario had been turned into, to wet disused tyres that were immediately set on fire.

Civilians living around the barracks, which is located in the outskirts of the town, ran helter- skelter and most were forced to trek long distances, having disembarked from their vehicles as no vehicular movement was allowed to and from the metropolis. Elsewhere in the town, palpable fear gripped the residents as news filtered in that the soldiers were on rampage resulting in abrupt paralysis of social and economic activities. The whole stretch of the road which is about two kilometres away was enveloped in thick smoke billowing from the many bonfires made by the irate soldiers while panic-stricken traders hurriedly closed their shops. One motorist, who was caught in the mayhem, was beaten to a state of coma by the soldiers for disobeying their order to go back to the town. The windscreen of his Toyota Carina car was also smashed.

The riotous situation was the same inside the barracks as hundreds of soldiers held hostage the Commanding Officer (C.O), Gabriel Umelo, a Lieutenant Colonel, and other senior officers of the military in his office. The presence of armed guards who formed a menacing ring around the CO's office saved the officer from being abducted as the atmosphere became more charged with the soldiers heaping unprintable words on him.

Some of the peacekeepers said they were drawn from across the country to participate in the operations and that instead of the $1,228 that the global body approved for them on monthly basis, authorities of the Nigerian Army were shortchanging them by paying them only $3,000 for the six-month period. They claimed that since they returned to Nigeria on April 23 from the operation, which they started on September 12 last year, life had been difficult for them because they were not paid their allowances”.

The soldiers made an interesting point when they said that the immediate cause of the mayhem, was the way they were abandoned since a week when they converged in Akure from their various stations across the country to collect their money. They claimed that for about a week, they had been sleeping under trees with no provision for feeding and without any explanation or apology from any quarter. They also said that a female member of the contingent died out of the frustration from the endless wait for her allowances even as they lamented the agony of serving the UN under the Nigerian flag. According to them, Nigerian troops were known for tattered uniforms and rickety vehicles and that even when they were kitted, they were made to pay for it.

The Army reacted by issuing this statement:

“Hundreds of soldiers involved in violent protests in Akure, Ondo State on Friday are on the verge of being penalised as they would face a court martial. Already, a board of inquiry has been put in place to identify and investigate the soldiers that participated in the action which the Army described as most “unprofessional conduct.”

The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen Emeka Onwuamaegbu explained that there was a mix-up in the payment from the Finance Department of the Army headquarters. He said that the board would also find out why such a lapse happened. He said that the mistake did not justify the action of the soldiers, whom he chided for failing to listen to pleas by their Commanding Officer for time to address the problem.

From Onwuamaegbu in his own words “What happened was a mix-up by the Finance Department. We had two battalions that came back from Liberia — the 72 Para-Battalion, Makurdi and the 323 Artillery, Akure. Part of the allowances of the Makurdi battalion was paid to them before they came back. Unfortunately, when the Finance people went to pay the soldiers in Akure, they paid them the balance of allowances meant for the Makurdi battalion. When the mix-up was discovered, some of the soldiers got agitated and despite attempts by their Commanding Officer to explain the situation to them, they went on rampage. The situation has since been brought under control and we have set up a board of inquiry to find out why there was the mix-up by the Finance Department. Secondly, the board has been asked to identify all the soldiers involved in the rampage, and thirdly, any soldier found culpable, will be made to face a military trial.”

On civilians who were injured during the mayhem, Onwuamaegbu said, “The Nigerian Army wants to apologise to all Nigerians, especially those who were caught up in the unfortunate incident. We are very sorry for the misconduct of these soldiers. The Army does not have tolerance for such behaviour. Instead of them to allow their Commanding Officer to sort out the matter, they behaved very unprofessionally.”

As I have already said, the Army should not come too hard on those irate soldiers, in as much as what they did are unpardonable or inexcusable, the army should be lenient in punishing them as they are humans made of fleshes and bloods and are bound to make mistakes when denied their rights. I also appeal to the presidency and the national assembly to intercede on behalf of those soldiers so that they will get the minimum punishment while those that might have been responsible for short paying them should be fished out and punished in order to prevent the reoccurrence of such an ugly incident. Also, I am appealing to the Army to see to it that as the soldiers are being punished, the remaining part of their allowances that is the root cause of these problems should be paid to them. I don’t want a situation where they will be punished and still lose the remaining part of their money as that will mean, as my people in Ngwa dialect say, “Onye ügwü lawa la nwa anwula” (The circumciser should go because the child he came to circumcise is dead). On their own part, the rampaging soldiers should be under no illusion about the aggravated nature of their offences; they have no right to do what they did as they are not civilians and Nigeria will not condone such irresponsible acts from the men and women in uniforms, they should start counting their lost right away.

The military and paramilitary forces have remained as they were during the colonial era, that’s why they are still institutions for exploiting the people through one way or the other. During the colonial era, these institutions were used against the people.

The Armed Forces are covering up a lot of payroll fraud being perpetrated by the officers and men. Before I left Nigeria, I knew of some military personnel (even the non-commissioned ones) working in military pay offices all over the country that were unimaginably rich and when you compare their monthly salary with what they have in terms of properties (houses, cars etc) one wonders how on earth they came about all those properties taking into account the meagre salary of theirs. Working in military pay office is like someone landing in a gold mine and such a person will never remain (financially) the same from then onward.

The senior officers heading the financial branch of their arm of the armed forces usually become instant billionaires on retirement; for instance, successive Chief of Army Finance, Chief of Air Finance or Chief of Naval Finance respectively never retire from the service without billions of Naira in their accounts or stashed somewhere. I was reliably informed that all the successive service chiefs (Chief of Defence staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval staff, Chief of Air Staff) always transport large sums of money in different currencies in Ghana-must-go bags from their respective offices to their houses or secret locations on almost daily basis. These are monies budgeted to keep the branch of the Armed Forces they are incharge of, working and battle ready; that’s why all the branches of the Armed Forces have obsolete weaponry and demoralised officers and men. The Nigerian Airforce can only boost of about two battle ready MIG Fighters and few helicopters, the other day; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Paul Dike, was telling the senate armed forces committee the pathetic story of the Nigerian Air Force that has no fighter jets, the Navy on its own cannot boost of any class A warship except N.N.S Aradu that should have been disengaged from the service as most of its gunnery cannot even function again, the Navy has no single submarine in this 21 st century while Libya can boost of about three; the Army has only obsolete arsenals save for now that the problems in the Niger Delta region forced the government to acquire few modern ones and lest I forget, Gordon Brown, the British Prime minister is planning to equip the Nigerian Armed Forces so that they can be able to wipe the Niger Delta people out of existence making it then possible for oil to continue flowing unhindered, then, they (Britain and the north) will continue controlling the purse and pulse of oil. The military option to the crisis in the Niger Delta Region should not be on the table at all because my people say “Ana agwo ogwü anya udo, odighi nma itinye ya ose” (while seeking peace, anything that will hinder the process should be avoided). Let the Brits and the northerners know that they will meet their waterloo in the Niger Delta Region if they decide to go it militarily, because in this case, might, power and weapons will not carry the day; they (Brits and northerners) can never win over a people that have steel-resolved to fight for their rights even till the last drop of blood. I will save this topic for another day.

Back to the topic: Those soldiers that suffered during their peacekeeping missions outside Nigeria were too happy to go do the jobs because of the incentives of which money is one of them and not because of the love to leave their loved ones for months to go and serve in unfamiliar and dangerous terrains. Those Nigerian military guys that participated in peacekeeping missions must have had at the back of their minds how to spend the money they made from the peacekeeping job on their return back to Nigeria and for their superiors to withheld part of that hard earned money must have been very painful to them as they couldn’t actualise the dream(s) they had about what they will use the money for; for them their dream(s) dissipated before their eyes.

We all read how a Nigerian peacekeeper lost his dear life in Haiti early this year during the food crisis riot there; I might not be surprised to hear that the loved ones he left behind haven’t received all the allowances the United Nations paid him postmortemly or that someone in Nigeria might have kept part of the money that is supposed to go to that bereaved family. What about the 46 peacekeepers returning from Sudan only to die in Nigeria through road accident: The question remains: Why should those men travel by road, why didn’t the Army and Nigeria arrange to get those men flown to the nearest airport to their barracks then? Have their families been well compensated? Yar’Adua and the Army promised heaven on earth to those families on the burial day, I hope that was not playing to the gallery, I hope those widows and their children will not be forgotten in the next few months, as is usually the case in Nigeria. We just learnt that a Nigerian soldier working as United Nation-African Union Peacekeeper was shot and killed in Sudan's western Darfur region, bringing to 14 the number of Nigerian peacekeepers so far killed in Darfur. Peacekeeping job is a dangerous one, so it is sinful for anybody to short pay those that made through it alive.

The corruption in the military pension departments stinks to high heavens; about two years ago, two Army pensioners slumped and died while waiting in the queue in Makurdi for their pension and gratuities; then pensioners, I was told, came from every part of Nigeria and had to wait for about seven good days to be attended to and they had to queue up every day under the scorching rays of the sun with no provisions for food and water made for them. For the dead duo, their own pension came too little too late. I know that incidents like this do happen on monthly basis all over Nigeria.

Peacekeeping jobs are highly sought for by the officers and men of the Armed Forces and Police because of the instant gratifications that come with them; peace keeping job brings with it a lot of goodies. A personnel never remains the same after serving in a peace mission; such a personnel depending on his or her rank, which kind of peace mission and how long it lasted, can conveniently afford state-of-the-art properties thereafter, he/she makes new international friends and establishes connections and all these give the personnel respect from his/her peers and superiors alike. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I knew of some officers of the Armed Forces that served in peace keeping missions like UNIMOG (United Nations International Monitoring Group) in the Kashmir Region along the India/Pakistan Border and other hot spots all over the world then, who bought the latest model of cars then with their allowances while returning back to Nigeria and they were envied by their colleagues and superiors who couldn’t afford such luxury those men that went on peacekeeping missions had.

Why those soldiers revolted might not be far from the fact that they saw how their superiors are “swimming” in money while the men and women of the lower cadre suffer and the most painful aspect of it all to them might have been that they don’t live in opulence and affluence like their superiors and still the money they suffered to earn by participating in peacekeeping activities outside Nigeria were coveted by their superiors who have much themselves, but, still take away part of what the United Nations or African Union paid them.

To Be Continued