Thread by @Google_12point7

Bravery

6 May 17, I was privileged to fly on the last chopper that brought back the released Chibok girls. Seeing the girls - young, naive BUT broken, was a reminder of how cruel man is. When we touched down, I stayed with them briefly in the C-130 before the Abuja lap.

Military medics began basic checks, deworming them and tending their wounds. There was one particular girl who had lost a leg. She said the Air Force had hit BHT positions & during the strike she lost a leg. I stared at her, wishing it was a dream.

Sitting beside her was another girl - the bravest girl I ever met. For the purpose of this thread, let us call her 'N'. N kept a daily journal of what happened everyday at the BH camp. I snapped as many pages as I could. The girls attested that she was the leader of the pack.

Right under Boko Haram's nose, every night, after the terrorists had ordered them for 'lights out', she would organise the girls for prayers & morning devotion the next day. I found myself smiling sheepishly at this. This is faith. This is bravery.

When the medics were done & we were notified that the C-130 would depart for Abuja, N made a signal & all the girls sat up, crossed their legs & bend their heads. N led them in prayers. I would later learn that this was their routine when there was danger or the bombs dropped.

As the C-130 ascended to Abuja to hand them to Mr President, I looked. A pilot who had flown the chopper was sitting on the tarmac, red-eyed.

It took a soldier to talk us to leaving the tarmac that day. We were just heaving like bereaved men.

'Sarkin Yakin Damboa'

The people of Damboa called him Sarkin Yaki (King of War). But Captain MM Hassan was much more. BHT dreaded him to the extent that Shekau placed a 10 million Naira bounty on him.

Hassan was tough as a nail. 2 years after his death in 2018, I met a corporal in Gwoza, who drove him for most of his operations. The soldier was smiling all through & he said something that touched me.
'Sarki dey smile everytime. E talk say nothing worth person cry'.

He said MM Hassan was the toughest officer he ever knew.

"I happy say I pass through that Oga."

He told me of an incident where Hassan fought through an ambush to rescue him. After then, he never thought Hassan was human until 5 Janary 2018.

On 5 January 2018, MM Hassan died from a detonated grenade in the midst of gunfight with terrorists. May his soul continue to rest in peace.

'041116: My Longest Day Ever'

I remember how excited I was to see Lt Col Abu Ali the first time. He was a Major then. Stories of him sounded like folklore, like war stories brought to life. People talked of his sheer brilliance & sacrifice for his men.

So, the first day I met him he actually came from Mallam Fatori to Maiduguri to collect supplies for his unit. Sounds strange. A Major? Coming to the city to take supplies for soldiers? This is not typical of senior officers. It is one task they would delegate.

I was also surprised by his frame. Man was lanky and very quiet. But you saw the fight in him. He embodies the military song, 'Small body, Big Mind'. He didn't talk much.

When he was leaving, after a brief discussion, he breathed, 'We will win'.

In 2015, BHT carried out one of its bloodiest attacks in Baga, killing numbers so much that it was covered up till today. As far as the battlefield is concerned, we would always credit Abu Ali for taking that town back.

I woke up to a text on 5 November that the officer was killed in a dawn attack on Mallam Fatori. This was 2 weeks after I encountered him. His men eventually beat back Boko Haram but his death still cuts deep.

During his procession, I saw generals cried. The COAS wept. His death rocked the Presidency. He defined patriotism.

May his soul continue to rest in peace. Amen.

'In your words, we will win'.

Eyes from Above

I was in Rann in 2016, before the mishap on the IDPs. The Armed Forces maintain strategic outposts to protect the interest of the country. The one in Rann is one of such.