A night at the frontline

A journalist’s experience in the frontline of the ongoing fight against Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria. By Musa Umar Bologi.

Monday, 7 August

2:02am

Enemy’s ambush

Bullets were flying around and everybody ran for cover. “Give me my rifle,” I shouted at a soldier close by. The enemies were inching closer to our base. Some combatants took a cover behind the tanks stationed away from the road. We called for reinforcement, and within minutes, a battalion of troops arrived, and pushed the enemy backward.

We exchanged fire for about 30 minutes. Our fire overpowered their’s and with one of them captured, in minutes they were pushed backward. We advanced to the next village, about 20 kilometres from where we were ambushed. Ready to proceed, the commander looked back and saw the last tank rolling behind us.

“We can’t leave this place unsecured; the terrorists will attack the village again,” he cautioned. “We cannot all advance at once, hence we put the lives of the people here in danger.”

He ordered some soldiers to stay behind with a tank and some GPMG. We moved with our armoured vehicles to another hideout of the enemies, to forestall possible regrouping. Suddenly, from the back of my shoulder, I felt a pang of pains roaming through my veins. I touched it; red liquid drenched my palm. “I have been shot!” I screamed. In the midst of the confusion, I suddenly opened my eyes. It was a nightmare.

Sunday, 6 August

7:57pm:

A story hiccup

The convoy halted at an army base about three kilometres from the village. The officers and their embedded journalists disembarked from the vehicle. Dusk had already fallen, and silence enveloped the air. Soldiers manned the entrance of the base. An M-rap, armoured vehicle and two weapon-mounted-Hilux vehicles faced the main road. A set of soldiers were battle-ready outside the base, to stave off any possible threat.

The base occupied about 15,000sq meters in a perimeter fence. It consists soldiers accommodations, toilets and bathrooms; officers accommodations; briefing room; cafeteria; a church and mosque; arms store; guards room; industrial borehole with storage facilities; four watchtower; solar electricity system; and helipad.

The room allocated to us (four journalists and two officers) was directly facing the gate in the soldiers’ side. It had four double-decked beds, each with mosquitoes net fixed on it. It was the harbour for the special strike force. It reminded me of my hostel life in boarding school during my secondary school days.

Besides each bed was a cupboard, camouflaged bag and food flask. A white table with three chairs was arranged neatly beside the rear window. The table had some stationery on it. There were also binoculars, some military gadgets and stationeries, probably for administrative purpose, on a table.

My eyes were heavy; I needed some sleep, but the deadline for stories must be met. There was no telecommunication network from service providers at the base, except the wi-fi network in the conference hall. The wi-fi network was bad, hence efforts to send heavy emails proved difficult. After several attempts without success, I returned to our accommodation to get something to eat.

10:36pm

A frontline dinner

“What is this on the table?” I asked a special force troop. “It looks heavy, is it also a binocular?”

“No, it is not,” he replied. “It is a night vision goggle.” He picked it up and handed it over to me. It is a black rectangular-shaped object, about 60cm long, with a viewfinder at one end and a lens at the other. It has buttons at the side for adjustments to regulate the distance and intensity of light.

“Let’s go out and try it,” the soldier suggested, and I followed him outside the room. I pressed the viewfinder against my left eye and saw objects clearly like a negative of a photograph. I knobbed a side button to see the distances of objects.

“The night goggle enables us to see clearly at night and advance to the next location without the enemy noticing,’ he explained.

After about 10 minutes adventure with the gadget, I entered the room to have my dinner, which was served by 10:36pm. It was jollof rice with meat in a take-away pack. The meal was a surprise for we never thought that a meal at the frontline could be delicious.

5: 27 pm

A journey to FOB, Buratai

It was not until about 5:27pm that we left the Nigerian Army Special Forces School located in Buni Yadi in Yobe state and moved towards Biu, in Southern Borno state.

I, alongside the other three journalists, was in the convoy of the Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, touring frontlines in the Northeast where troops engage Boko Harm terrorists. Our journey to the school for the army chief to assess the training of troops and newly-acquired equipment before they are launched into the theatre of operations.

It took our convoy two hour from the school to Buratai village in Southern Borno state, and we headed straight to the Forward Operation Base (FOB), which is about three kilometres from the village. 

Biu-Buratai axis in Southern Borno state was a significant area for the insurgents. It was the terrorists supply route of food, fuel and other items, hence they struggled to secure control of the axis through their several attack on settlements along the route.

The FOB serves as a blockade of the terrorist food supply and the advancement south wards to neighbouring states of Yobe, Adamawa, and Gombe.

The base is close to Alagarno, where there are still pockets of Boko Haram terrorist hiding in the forest. It is also about 35 kilometers to Damboa, where one can take a road to Chibok and Gwoza – two locations that are close to the infamous Sambisa forest.

Monday, 7:13 am

Humility of a General

The weather was a little bit cool. It is the type of weather that one would like to spend with a loved one, but for the exigencies of duty, we, like the troops, were made residents of the frontlines. 

After the morning prayers and routines, a call came for a breakfast with the army chief and soldiers. The breakfast was served at the dining hall, with the soldiers tables set facing that of the chief. I and the Army spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, sat at a table adjacent the chief’s, sipping our tea gently, and taking the egg and bread that accompanied it. The army chief was also served the same menu as the soldiers, whom he personally served.

 It was an opened interactive session as the army chief chatted with the soldiers over the challenges in which they are mired in the frontline. The absence of the commanders at the table was a deliberate attempt, I believe, to ignite confidence of the troops to air their views about their challenges without fear.

The strategy paid of as many soldiers bared their minds about the ongoing operations and their rotation.

We left the FOB at about 8: 45 and headed towards Damboa, and later to Maiduguri to continue the tour of the frontlines with Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff.