General T.Y Danjuma is your former boss and he recently labelled the Nigerian Army as taking sides in the on going clashes, especially in the North Central states. What is your opinion?
I want to establish one fact here, that I know the General well enough. First of all, General T. Y. Danjuma, when he was a Major, was involved in the coup that toppled the administration of General Aguiyi Ironsi, at Ibadan.
I was part of that team. I was the commander of the 106 Gun, a weapon that we carry on top of a Land Rover. My overall commander then was Lieutenant Walbe who later became ADC to General Gowon, thereafter, it was during the first operation I met with General Danjuma.
After this first encounter, did you meet with him again in the course of your service as a soldier?
Yes, of course. I went to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and got commissioned as a second Lieutenant. I was posted to sector 1, a location that was fighting the rebels, located at Nsukka. As at that time General T.Y. Danjuma was still a Major commanding that sector.
I was later posted to 4th Battalion commanded by the late Salihi and I became the adjutant of that battalion, all still under the command of Major Danjuma in the first Battalion where I served as the adjutant and the commander of the Delta Company. We fought and liberated Enugu and later, my battalion was given the responsibility to make sure that Enugu was safe for the new administration that was to come in.
Thereafter, Mr Ukpbi Asika was appointed as an administrator of the then East Central State with the headquarters at Enugu. I was then posted to the 44th Battalion, which was, at that time, commanded by General Ibrahim Babangida who was a captain as at that time. He was my commander until the capture and liberation of Okigwe and Umuahia. This is how and when I got to know General T.Y. Danjuma very well.
During this period, T.Y Danjuma has proved to be very serious and competent infantry soldier, Danjuma was a competent and a brave infantry officer. As at that time some of us were looking forward to become someone like him. He was well respected because of his exemplary performance.
Thereafter, at the end of the civil war, he rose to become a commanding officer of a division before he was moved to become the Chief of Army Staff and subsequently, he became the Minister of Defence, all with exemplary performance.
Where exactly did he get it wrong?
You see, for such a man whom the entire generation of the Nigerian military, past and present hold in high esteem to make such a derogatory statement against his own army, one he once commanded, honestly, I felt disappointed that a very senior officer of his stature and a high ranking person in Nigeria, he would have chosen a more conducive atmosphere to air his views over what he observed as shortcomings of the military.
As a retired top military officer, he has access to the Commander-in-Chief, the President or any other high ranking military officer in the country.
Why are you disappointed is?
My disappointment is that for him to come to the public and say the military is colluding with the same people they are fighting, how can this be possible? If you are pointing fingers to someone, the rest is pointing at you. He trained some of us and we were emulating him, so, is that the legacy he left behind for us?
When T.Y.Danjuma was fighting the rebels, he was fighting what is known as ‘defined favour’ which means the rebels had a location where they could be tracked down but these insurgents are not like that. They operate from different angles that are very difficult to find in a particular area.”
The Americans could not defeat the Vietnamese because they are not fighting in a defined area. These young chaps are facing a similar situation. It is very difficult to understand that a fine and well trained officer of T.Y.Danjuma’s caliber could make such comment publicly. Defend yourself? How can they defend themselves? Does he want the country to descend to a state of anarchy?
I am not really happy with what the General said. It is not polite at all for a junior officer to speak harshly on a senior officer, but the senior officer must respect himself for him not to go out of line.
What will you expect of him at this point in time, as many people, including yourself have condemned his utterances on the military institution?
He needs to apologise to this country. He should apologise to the military he once commanded. Is he telling Nigerians and the rest of the world that the army he left behind is rotten?
Does it mean that he did not leave a legacy behind? As a leader, can’t he sit down and think that the problems confronting the Nigerian army of today is different from that which he commanded? If he has any solution that can help the army overcome its present predicament, he can reach the Chief of Army Staff, he can reach the Chief of Defence Staff, he can reach the Commander-in-Chief.
and then