THE Liberian civil war ended about two decades ago but there are many facts about the war that are yet unknown to many, particularly as they relate to the engagement of Nigerian officers in peace keeping mission in the former war-torn nation. One of the officers that served in the first batch of the Economic Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) peace keeping mission was Prince Boko Babatunde, now the oba elect of Ikoga Zebbe, one of the most populous kingdoms in Badagry area of Lagos State.
The amiable prince enlisted in the Nigerian army shortly after his secondary school education because of his childhood ambition of serving the country. But, as a young officer, he and his colleagues were oblivious of what the war front looked like until they got to Liberia.
Hardly did they arrive in Liberia than the rebels struck and killed one of his colleagues during a parade. The incident made him and others who thought the mission was a child’s play to quickly have a rethink and approached the battle with all seriousness.
Although he admitted that the battle was tough, the oba elect still relishes his love for the Nigerian Army. He said: “I have always had interest in the Nigerian Army, and that made me to opt for it shortly after my secondary school education. Back then in the secondary school, during our literary and debating group meetings about what we wanted to be in the future, I always told them that I wanted to become a soldier. That had been my ambition from childhood.
“I was always looking forward to where I could have the opportunity of serving the nation, and the military always topped the list of all the places in my heart. Fortunately for me, God blessed my wish and I was enlisted in the Nigerian Army without knowing anybody or bribing my way through.
“I wasn’t scared when I was asked to go to Liberia on peace keeping. I wasn’t at all. All I did was to go back home to tell my father who merely prayed that I would go and return safely. I never went with any other thing than my small Bible issued to us by the military.
“As young officers, most of us thought the exercise was a child’s play when we go to Liberia. It dawned on us that it was a serious matter when we started seeing our colleagues felled in attacks launched by the enemies. But that didn’t deter us. Rather, it gingered us to face the battle squarely.
“When we just arrived in Liberia, one of my friends became the first casualties of the rebels. We were on parade ground when they launched an attack and my friend was hit by their bullet. He fell and died instantly. We just heard a sound and the next thing we saw was his dead body. At that very moment, we buckled up and faced the challenge.
“We were regularly given pep talks that as soldiers, that was what we signed for and we should not relent.”
As a dogged fighter, he dismissed the relevance and efficacy of charms on the battle field, saying that those who depended on it during the Liberian war never returned home alive.
He said: “The rebels could fire anyhow and run away because they were not trained. But we could not do that. We always fired when instructed to do so. Bullets were flying all around each time we were in battle with the rebels, but using the training we had received, one could dodge them.
“I never used charms because, like I said earlier, I only went to the war front with the pocket Bible the authorities gave us and the prayer of my father. Charms cannot stop you from dying at the battle front because you are not using only guns. At the battle front, you had grenades, rocket launchers, armoured tanks, artillery guns and others. So, if you fortify yourself with charms to prevent bullets from penetrating your body, what about the other weapons?
“We had many people who trusted in their charms and died. One of them was a friend from Ife. He was very rugged and banked on his charms. He entered rebels’ territories anyhow and ended up wasting his own life.
“Fighting at the war front is based on instructions. If you don’t follow the instructions from your superiors, you are bound to fail. If they ask you to fire, you fire. If they ask you to advance, you do so. And if they ask you to pin down, you pin down.
“If you follow those instructions to the letter, you will not have any problem.”
While the soft spoken prince would ordinarily not have anything to do with bloodshed, he said that he never romanced his guns during the peace keeping mission.
“I was given two rifles and I fired the rebels with them. Of course, I killed the rebels and that was normal because as an officer, you were taught not to romance the rifle but to defend yourself and kill the enemies.
“In a war situation, we have a place called no man’s land. When you are fighting, you don’t cross that place. But when you ceasefire, you can cross it. We could go to rebels’ camp and they could come to ours. In fact, we used to attend parties and have fun together. But when the time for fighting resumed, everybody would withdraw. It was a guerilla war, and because many women had lost everything, they started following our men, especially those that could provide food for them, because that was a major problem for the people during war.
“Some of our men slept with them but I didn’t have the mind to do so because that was part of the instructions, and I told you that if you obeyed the instructions to the letter, you would not have any problem. At times, some of the women were rebels. They would trick you to enter their trenches and after capturing you, they would use knife to cut your neck. That was how they killed some of our officers.”
He also took exception to looting at war front, saying: “If you are also going to the war front with the mind of looting, you wouldn’t come back. You can ask any general about this. You don’t go to the war front with the aim of making money or enriching yourself. You are to go and fight and win. The issue of money is not there, except for the regular allowances.
“I felt happy when our batch was asked to come back home for another batch to take over from us. It was a relief from sleepless nights, not having our bath and other discomforts. Some of our colleagues had their feet rotting because of constant wearing of the boot. So, we were happy to come back home to see our families.”
Aside from his love for the military, Prince Sewanu is also a lover of sound education. Unlike his peers who jettisoned their education after enlisting in the army, he combined his love for the profession with his education. From being a secondary school certificate holder when he joined the army, he holds a master’s degree in Business Administration today.
He said: “After completing my primary and secondary school education, I moved to join the Nigerian Army on July 10, 1986. I was in the army training school, in Zaria, Kaduna for six months. After passing out from there, I moved to 123 Battalion, Ikeja Cantonment as a Brigade of Guard. There I was with my commander then, John Madaki, who we used to call Jagua.
“From there, I moved to apply to further my education and got admitted into Plateau State School of Accountancy and obtained an ordinary diploma. After the programme, I returned to the office to start the job. From there, I was added to the first batch of offices that were deployed to Liberia. I served there for six months.
“Immediately we came back to the country, I became very hungry for further studies and proceeded to Nigerian Military School of Finance and Administration, Apapa to study Accountancy. After completing the National Diploma programme, I went for industrial attachment in an audit firm based in Maryland, Lagos.
“After that, I went for my Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro. After my HND, I went for my PGD in Business Administration and Masters in Business Administration at the University of Calabar.
“After the programme, I was redeployed to Kaduna from where I was moved to Ibadan, 2 Div, 81 Battalion. It was while serving in Ibadan that the urge to return home and serve my people came up. I had to come to join the local government service as a senior staff. It was while there that I got the call from my people to lead them.”
If there is any experience as an officer in the military that he would not love to remember or talk about, it was the late Major Gideon Okar’s coup, which shook the nation to its foundation.
Recalling the incident, he said: “I witnessed the Gideon Okar coup. I was with a friend at the Ikeja Cantonment when we started hearing gunshots. I told my friend that, that could be a coup but he said it was robbers. Within a space of time, what I said was right. It was a coup. We quickly gathered and thought of what we could do. We dressed up and headed for the armoury. But on getting there, we discovered that they had taken over the place. We quickly withdrew and took cover till the following day when the coup was foiled. I don’t really want to talk more on the coup.”
After accomplishing his dream of serving his fatherland, the dark complexioned prince gloriously took a bow. “I left the army because, to me, it is not a job but a call to serve the nation. When you have done the little you think you can do for the nation, you come out to do other things.
When I decided to leave, I thought I had done my best and wanted to use my certificate to work elsewhere.”
If he thought that leaving the military to enjoy his privacy was the next thing for him, the prince greatly mistaken. Not quite long after he left the army, his community, realising his immense leadership skills, drafted him to become their monarch. While it came to him as sudden, leading the people is not however strange to him.
He noted: “Right from my primary school days, I have always seen myself as a leader. When I was in secondary school, I was given two portfolios when they were choosing prefects. This continued all through my academic life. So, it wasn’t a surprise when my people called me to come and be the monarch. It is a challenge, and I am ready for it. I have the burning desire of improving my community and the people, using the knowledge I have acquired travelling all over the country and beyond.
“As a widely travelled person, there are so many developments and ideas that I have come across and want to replicate in the community. I love my community and the people and would always work for their interest. Discipline on all fronts is one thing that I will want to thrive in the area. When there is discipline, every other thing will fall in line.
“I was sad when I heard about the abduction of the monarch of Iba. It was not a good thing at all. But I will say that there is little or nothing that the monarchs can do on their own to protect themselves while there is a lot that the government can do.
“I am a family man to the core and I am always guided by the principle of contentment. Even though I’m a young man, I don’t go clubbing or engage in activities that could take the time I need to spend attending to my work. I do attend social functions and take time to enjoy myself at such functions, but I often relax in the company of my family.”
For the youthful prince, having people like the Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, and the Ooni of Ife excelling in their positions is the tonic that fires him up to serve the people.
“I love and respect the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi. He is redefining the traditional stool in the western part of the country and I would want to toe his path. I equally adore our hardworking and humble governor, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, for his achievements within the short time he came into office. Their commitment to changing the society gladdens my heart. Governor Ambode has shown that he is an exemplary leader and we will continue to support him with our prayers.”
