Sylvester Awenlimobor: Let’s revisit the Nigerian soldier’s disgruntlement

by Sylvester Awenlimobor
The following story was done by our late friend and brother, Sylvester Awenlimobor. It was originally published on the now defunct Nigerian Telegraph on August 4, 2013, after he returned from a fact finding visit to Yobe state.
Given the CNN report that has just surfaced, it has become pertinent again, and I hope it may never get lost.
May Sylvester, rest in peace. Amen.
Soldiers deployed to Yobe State have decried the long absence from their families, with most of them telling Nigerian Telegraph that they have become demoralised; a development that military experts have criticised as highly improper.
Soldiers were deployed to the state after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, on May 14, following series of attacks by dreaded Boko Haram sect in the region.
“The troops and other security agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists,” the president said. “This will include the authority to arrest and detain suspects, the taking of possession and control of any building or structure used for terrorist purposes, the lock-down of any area of terrorist operation, the conduct of searches, and the apprehension of persons in illegal possession of weapons.”
Disgruntled soldiers 
Three soldiers, who asked that their identities be protected, told Nigerian Telegraph that their families have been left alone for too long without any attention; and this has led to some of their wives running into the comforting arms of their superiors at base.
“See, you journalists should tell the world, we were supposed to be here for only three months but this is the ninth month that we are here,” said one of the soldiers, whose family is based in Ibadan, Oyo State. “They did not even allow us go and visit our wives; and now they have started doing rubbish outside.
You know that because of the network situation here, we cannot even reach them. Like now, I have to reach Fika to make a call, and it is not every time I would be leaving my base to call, so I have not heard from my family since. I have two children, but my wife is still young and fine. That other officer you saw earlier, his wife has started sleeping with one major in the barracks. You nor see him face? How can you tell him to be dedicated?”
Another soldier said he feared his marriage was over. “We have overstayed here,” he said. “I will tell you the truth, I am very unhappy. I have some colleagues in Jos that have been there for three years, their wives have left them for other men and it is bad.”
Military authorities react
When contacted, Brigadier-General Chris Olukolade, the Director of Information, Defence Headquarters, said that no soldier was given an exact timeline for deployment.
“In the first place, no soldier is expected to stay beyond the stipulated period, and I don’t know where they got three months from,” he said. “Posting of soldiers is determined at a strategic level and no soldier is given an exact timeframe for a mission.”
This view was also expressed by a retired general in the Nigerian Army who did not want his name published. The military analyst had scathing words for the disgruntled soldiers, warning that such complaints can be seen as insubordination; with disastrous consequences.
“Generally, tours of duty span 6-month rotations,” he said. “This was the norm for troops who were sent to the Cameroons in 1959-60 and to the Congo in 1960. It did not change in Liberia and Sierra Leone or Somalia, in the Bakassi Peninsula and the Niger Delta where we were effectively at war. That pattern has held true with all the UN and AU peacekeeping operations – from Lebanon to Chad and Darfur. Some ECOMOG troops stayed for 9-15 months in one rotation because that was what was needed to sustain the initiative and preserve battlefield gains.”
Eugene Mambo, of the United States Marine Corps, also agreed that tours usually carried a lifespan but it was generally understood that timelines are loose in such military operations as authorities determine how long a tour lasts based on its success parametres.
“Usually, we are given a time frame of operation but if the operation requires more time, we have to stay and complete it,” he told Nigerian Telegraph “There was a time I was sent on an assignment to El Salvador for two weeks, but we eventually stayed for six weeks.”
When asked if there were motivating factors the US Army applies when soldiers were expected to stay longer on such tours, he said: “Well, of late when soldiers are expected to stay longer on assignments they usually are given a day or two off before they return back to the field”.
He, however, added that it was unwise to pull out full batches of soldiers from the field during rotations. Rather, a phased withdrawal, according to him, is employed as the soldiers who would be replacing the exiting batch would need time to get used to the terrain.

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