by Imoh David

The average Nigerian can attest that the Nigerian military is at its best when dealing with the ordinary civilian on the streets. The average Nigerian resident can narrate a story or two where he witnessed the display of khaki brutality on a harmless cotton. If you want to find-out how well trained and equipped your military is as a Nigerian, wear a camouflage mufty and head towards a van filled with Nigerian soldiers. You’ll experience true anointing and baptism.

Reputably known for making civilians do frog-jumps on the streets while kicking them in the butt or tearing their whips recklessly into a large crowd and commuters traffic just to make way for their military convoy which is known for ridiculing traffic wardens and beating traffic lights. Maybe obeying traffic or civil order is not part of the Nigerian military training , maybe…

But I am surprised however, how they do not fail to shower their military-styled discipline on civilians who beat traffic lights. How do they know that beating the traffic is wrong? I thought they do even know what the traffic stands for since they might be no traffic lights in the barracks and might wondering why civilians are merely being “bloody” by lining up behind some fancy lights. But alas! They beat other people for doing as they do. Okay I get it; Khaki wants to be the legitimate law-breakers and the cottons are the bloody defaulters that must be punished. What else do you expect? Like banana-republic, like soldier.

The reputation of the Nigerian military is flawlessly embarrassing when it comes to human rights abuse. The US military did not fail to testify of this on their first attempt to work with them on the Chibok girls missions. So embarrassing it was that they had to announce to the world they cannot work with our military due to their oozing human rights practice.

When governor Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state first introduced the military into the streets of Akwa-Ibom around 2008, the ordinary citizens who never had an encounter with soldiers unlike the typical Lagosian, Port Harcourt or Kaduna residents, saw hell in the hands of these strangers on khaki. The okada riders were top on the list. Soldiers will drag a grown man from his car and do him like how my High school proprietor use to do to us back in high school, simply because he was on his cell-phone while behind the wheel. There was one they beat-up a middle aged man for overtaking their convoy.

Afterwards, they graduated to women wearing trousers, and guess what they did to them? They were busy ripping their trousers off and exposing their undies. The soldiers who were mostly from the North and probably Muslims saw these southern fashion as haram and of course they interpreted their own form of justice on the women. Women began editing their wardrobe; the fear of Khaki was beginning of deeper-life fashion in Akwa-Ibom at the time. Governor Akpabio quickly returned the social terrorists on Khaki to where they came from and Akwa-Ibom residents were happy ever after.

The Nigerian military should be praised day and night. They may not be perfect but they are the only functional government body in Nigeria at the moment.

Isn’t it sad that the military became an antagonist to the Nigerian citizen? Men who are suppose to protect them from external harm became the internal parasites to them; who will police the soldiers against the civilian? Who will protect the man in cotton against the excesses of the men in khaki?

However, in times of Boko Haram as this, the military have been of great help and we can pretend that they were never brutal and excuse their civil “vampirism” as the resultant effect of the lack of combat engagement and the manifestation of a hunger to practice their militarism. Thus, when the desirable is unavailable, the available becomes the desirable. The lack of combat from an external threat must have inspired their frustration on the civilian. Let’s just create an excuse briefly, yes we know it is stupid to do so. We create an excuse (even though is stupid) to put the bitter memory of our relationship with our soldiers aside so as to at least encourage and thank them for their combative effort against this evil, Boko Haram.

The Nigerian military should be praised day and night. They may not be perfect but they are the only functional government body in Nigeria at the moment. I can do anything, but to pick up arms to fight for this country which has registered itself as the most unserious and clueless of humanoids on earth is a luxurious virtue for me. But for these guys (the Nigerian military) to do this; put their lives on the line and be willing to sacrifice the comfort of their families with the gift of sleepless nights and constant panic. They should be praised and adored for this.

The statues of our fallen soldiers in the war against Boko Haram should be erected in the public and museums, their names be written in gold and their families should be adopted by the state.

If all of them were like me, who will fight Boko Haram? Well, if all of them were like me, some people in this country will be disappeared and I will ensure that I’m not taking orders from clueless superiors! These guys are given crude tools and inferior weapons by the state and then sent into the war-front to be humiliated by the enemies of the state. In the news, it was reported at a time that their allowances are not paid to them. Who gets humiliated this way and then still choose to sacrifice for the same state that is starving them? How else do you describe true love and patriotism? These guys are the truest patriots of all. The rest of us (including this Son of David here) are all hypocrites and cosmetic patriots.

Take a look those clueless greedy chaps in the FCT; our legistlooters, excecuthieves, polithiefcians, THEFTnators, PINGnisters, grubnors and pastorpreneurs. Which of them can and will be willing to take up arms to fight for us? They are only patriotic in corruption and cluelessness. If the chips are down, all of them will disappear to their real countries; UK, US, Dubai, Sweden and wherever they steal our moneys to. Is it Farouk Lawal, Senator Chris Anyanwu in the National Assembly that will stay back and take arms? Or is it El-Rufai that will go to Chibok forest for us? Or Ayo Oritsejafor and the Northern Emirs that will die for us? They are even protecting themselves and their properties with the Nigerian military.

These so called preachers and national priests in CAN and the national Imams, they have private jets and before Boko Haram reaches their doorsteps, they are already in the air screaming Hallelujah. Some will be watching us in their mansions in London saying “Dia ris God o”. But our soldiers are in the field fighting and bleeding for us all to be safe. Likewise the SSS; we do not what these men do for us in the secret. Gathering intel and trying to break into the ranks of the enemy and espionage is a very dangerous and suicidal job. They must be rewarded greatly than everyone else.

We must honour these men. They are truly patriots. Their families must not be forsaken. Their wives, their children, parents and siblings must be comforted. Their names should be reciting in the schools. They are heroes, they are Gods, they are truly selfless men and better than all of us.

Henceforth, when I see a Nigerian soldier, I’ll salute him with earnest adoration.

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Imoh “Son of David” is an author, publisher and business man and he writes from South-Africa.

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.