Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 32
This is the year 2002! This man was taken
away in 1991 and released in 1997 which
means he spent six years in incarceration
and five years absence from duty without
official leave, he was Awol! A total of eleven
years was wasted yet he was collecting
Salaries and allowances! Is that so? Soldier!
No Sir! I replied
No, what? He asked; have you not been
receiving your salaries? After all you have
not been dismissed from the Army. Your
case was mentioned to me when I took
over, I am the third G.O.C after your went
away, but your file is with my secretary, it
contained a letter from the Police requesting
your release in furtherance of an
investigation but the so called Exoneration
letter from the Court did not get to this
Office else it would be in your file.
The list of all dismissed, retired and late
Soldiers in this division from its
establishment are in files here and your
name is not in any of them, your name is on
the “special Assignment” list, so who has
been collecting your salaries for the past
eleven years? The records with finance HQ
also attest to the fact that your salaries are
being remitted to your base division.
Everything about you have been checked
and updated from HQ immediately your
Lawyer petitioned my Office.
Oga sir! I chipped in; I stopped collecting
salaries two months after I was arrested in
1991, the month that the police brought me
to my Unit to seek for permission to take me
away was the last month that that I was
paid. My bank statement can prove that sir!
He looked at the Colonel G.S and the two
nodded their heads simultaneously. Get me
the C.O finance Right away! The G.O.C
ordered. As the Colonel G.S stood up to exit
the office, the G.O.C added; also get me the
C.O Military Police and Colonel Garuba.
Yes sir! The Colonel G.S saluted and exited.
He continued; hm Boy! So you have been
trying to reach this Office for the past five
years?
Yes sir! I said.
And you said Garuba threatened to shoot
you?
Yes sir! I replied
And he released Soldiers to beat you up
because you requested for his assistance?
The Soldiers attacked me as they saw him
pulled the Pistol at me; they did it in
solidarity I think.
Solidarity my foot! He should have stopped
them at that instance if he did not
encourage such an act, as far as I am
concerned, he sent them!
Your petition also states that you met a brick
wall at my Office, in the person of my
secretary, he said you should come back
after elections right?
Yes sir! I replied.
He must have compromised! The G.O.C said;
how could he have stopped a Soldier from
seeing me? What’s my business with the
elections that I cannot see to a Soldiers
needs? Am I campaigning or something?
He got up and started to pace about the
Office, hands in pocket, humming a tune
and nodding his head to the rhythm.
So what have you been doing for the past
five years? He asked me as he walked past
me.
I went back to school sir! I bought a Motor
Cycle which I use for Okada business; I said.
And now you are married to your lawyer?
He asked
Yes sir: I replied
Any Kids yet? Or this is your first you are
expecting? He asked
We have a daughter! She will be three by
October sir. I replied
Hmm, madam! I admire your courage and
faith in this man! I only read of such
relationships in romance novels, he said to
Amaka, Amaka smiled. So which School are
you and what level? He continued;
I am at U.N.N sir, final year Business
administration sir!
Good! Good! He said, so would you like to
continue with the Army when all this is
resolved?
I don’t think so sir! I said; I would like to go
for my national youth service scheme and
get a good Job worthy of the husband of a
Barrister! Or better still I start up something
of my own.
Wouldn’t you like to be commissioned as an
Army Officer when you graduate? That
would be worth your Wife’s status and it will
in fact boost her career the more! Imagine a
Lawyer married to an Army Officer! There is
no stopping you Guys!
Amaka joined in at this juncture, I think that
would be a good idea sir! She said.
Not to worry Boy! I think you have been a
Victim of some unfortunate inhuman
manipulations. Somebody must explain to
me where your salaries have been going to
for the past eleven years! Somebody has to
tell me convincingly why you have been
stopped and frustrated from seeing the
G.O.C all these years! That your R.S.M and
your commanding Officer must explain to
me why a letter directed to this Office did
not get here! He continued to hum and nod
his head to the rhythm as he pranced about
his Office.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
The Colonel G.S entered the Office
accompanied by the trio of C.O Military
Police, C.O Finance and C.O Signals, my C.O.
they gave the G.O.C his compliments while I
came to attention and gave them theirs.
They all stood at ease before the G.O.C, he
then gave his copy of Amaka’s letter to my
C.O , the Colonel G.S is the most senior
Colonel in the Division expecting his next
promotion to a Brigadier general soonest;
he gave his own copy of the letter to the C.O
Finance to share with the C.O Military Police
but Amaka gave her own copy to the Military
Police Officer.
After twenty minutes of flipping through the
pages, the G.O.C asked my C.O
Garuba! What can you say to all that you just
read!
Sir! My C.O replied: my R.S.M said the letter
was a fake? He also studied law in the
university so he confused me sir!
Who was the letter addressed to? The G.O.C
asked.
It was addressed to you sir!
So why did it not get to me? A letter
addressed to a major general was handed
over to a colonel to deliver to the general,
the Colonel handed over the generals letter
to a common Soldier to deliver, the common
Soldier opened the generals letter and read
its content and went ahead to connive with
the Colonel not to deliver the generals letter
to him! This cannot be condoned! This is
insubordination and total disrespect to the
Office of the G.O.C and coming from a
commanding Officer! A regular combatant
like you Garuba! The G.O.C spoke at the top
of his voice.
I am sorry sir! My C.O pleaded.
You are not yet sorry! You will soon be, the
G.O.C said and continued; why did you pull
out your service Pistol at your Soldier at the
Golf Course and why did you not do
anything when your Boys beat him up and
dumped him in the gutter to die?
The C.O was quiet.
Garuba! You are gone o! You are gone! This
woman has written to the Oputa Panel and
the Army has instructed that I solve this case
and revert to HQ A.S.A.P! You and your R.S.M
want to mess up my Career because of your
incompetency!
He then faced the Finance C.O: Adekunle!
How come this man has not being receiving
his salaries for the past eleven years? His
record at Finance HQ is in green, so what
happened at your end?
Sir! Colonel Adekunle explained; when the
G.S called me some moments ago, he asked
me to check up the update of the Soldiers
name on the Divisions Pay roll and I did, his
name is also in green here as his salary was
authorized up till last month!
Good! Good! I love this! The G.O.C said; so
who does the transfers to their individual
bank accounts?
That is the job of my A.O and the pay master
sir! Colonel Adekunle replied. Captain Buka
and Staff sergeant Caleb sir.
Good! Good! G.O.C said; now! Colonel
Martins! He called the C.O military Police; I
want you to get the A.O and pay master
Finance arrested! I want the silly R.S.M of the
Signals Corp, the A.O and the Pay master
arrested! I want you to send men to the
house of staff sergeant Fasasi my secretary
and arrest him immediately and I want
Garuba here detained with immediate
effect! I want action right away and give me
feed back at 1600 hours!
The C.O Military Police immediately removed
the Beret from my C.O’s head and removed
his belt and Boots; he then led him out of
our presence.
The G.O.C then turned to the C.O Finance;
Adekunle! You can see that there are lapses
in your unit! I want an update of all the
Officers and Men on our Payroll here! I want
you to send the list to all unit heads to
confirm the names on the list against their
real head counts! I think there are ghost
Soldiers in this division! All the Soldiers that
have died, are we still paying them? Are
their families settled? The Soldiers that went
on Awol without returning back to the
force, are we still paying them? All Soldiers
that are due for salary upgrade, are they
receiving their dues? I want you to go back
and put your house in order before I send
the Army intelligence to clean your unit for
you! Did you hear me Colonel! He barked.
Yes Sir! The colonel shouted
I want the salary account of all these men I
ordered to be arrested frozen forthwith!
They have been eating this Boy’s salaries for
eleven years! I will make sure that anyone
found guilty will be dismissed and jailed!
The G.O.C continued to shout, banging his
fist on his desk. Their gratuity will be used
to settle this man’s eleven years Salaries they
have eaten! All his leave days will be
monetized and they will pay for it! They will
all be jailed! Every Kobo that they ate will be
vomited!
Call me the C.O Legal! Major Kalu Njoku! Call
him here right away! We have to rejab this
Boy right away! I want him under my
command; I want him to replace that silly
Fasasi as my secretary pending his
commission!
When did you say you are graduating again?
He asked me
This year sir! By September-October sir! I
replied.
Good! Good! You do not need the N.Y.S.C
Certificate as you are already serving the
nation as a Soldier! I want your statement of
result immediately you graduate; you will
join the next set of short service
commissioned Officers in N.D.A come
January 2003! You will be number one on
my list!
The C.O Finance and the Colonel G.S went out
to get the C.O Legal department.
Can you imagine how wicked we humans
can be? The G.O.C asked no one in particular.
Every person that has had a hand in
frustrating your re-absorption into the Army
will be severely dealt with! Any Soldier or
Officer that has tasted from your salaries
while you were in prison till date will be
called up and dealt with, whether the Person
has been posted out o! Whether he is
retired o! He or she must be brought to face
the music! They will all pay. He said banging
his hands on the desk again.
The two colonels entered the G.O.C’s Office
with major Barrister Njoku kalu , the Army
legal Adviser of the division. I was rejabbed
into the Army and all formal documentations
and records were updated and signed by
the G.O.C.
Things happened so fast. My R.S.M in
connivance with the signals past and
present pay masters and Administrative
Officers, the past and present Administrative
Officer and pay master of the Finance Corp
and the secretary of the G.O.C have been
collecting my salaries in turns. They were all
dismissed and jailed ten years each.
My C.O was demoted to the rank of a major;
he was posted to Signals training school in
Lagos as an instructor.
I resumed duty the next week as the
confidential secretary to the General Officer
commanding the 82nd division of the
Nigerian army, the position is meant for an
N.C.O, a non commissioned Officer like a
sergeant or staff sergeant but I sat on the
seat as a private Soldier. I was revered by all
other Soldiers because they knew that apart
from jailing and dismissing some Soldiers
and Officers for my sake, I was also on the
‘A’ list of the G.O.C as regards commissioning
to the rank of a second lieutenant.
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