Thorns In My Boot - S01 E32

Story 2 years ago

Thorns In My Boot - S01 E32

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.