What Pro-Biafrans Don’t Know About War
– 95-Year-Old WW2 Veteran
You fought in the Burma war; how were you enlisted?
Due to my contact with the Katsina royal family, the then Emir of Katsina, Sarki Usman Nagogo, who was the Magajin Gari, took me in as a horseman (sojan doki). I was trained and moved to Nasarawa Bugaje, where we stayed with our officer, a white man called Captain Wilson. We stayed with some others like Adudu Mani, a grandson of Emir of Katsina Muhammadu Dikko. After our training, we were commissioned and horses, and other regalia were issued to us.
At that point, a request was sent from the Queen of England, that war was raging and men were needed at the warfront. The request came from Kano, and six of us, including Ahmadu T. Sale Ruma, Faruk Musa and Mammam Boyi volunteered. We were asked to be on standby. We were paid 1 Dala (that is two shillings, which is equivalent to 20 kobo of today) daily as feeding allowance. A military truck filled with white men came from Kano and took us to Enugu, where we stayed for six months as more men came to join us. We were later relocated to Lagos, from where we moved straight to the warfront in Burma in 1943. It took us three months on the sea to get to Burma. Could you recount your
experience at the warfront in a foreign land?
We formed part of what was known as the 82 Division. Many men had died in the 81 Division and they were being retrieved when we arrived. So, on arrival we went straight to the warfront. As soon as we got there we saw corpses and wounded soldiers being carried on stretchers. It was horrific. We intensified prayers for our safety. The warfront was devastating. The Japanese and their war guns were something else. I can recall that the then Emir Sarki Usman came to meet us there as well.
That was your first contact with war. Coming from the palace, a place of luxury, how were you able to survive?
To be honest with you, it was horrific to be at the warfront. In a town known as Ann, many lives were lost when an oil bomb was released. Burnt corpses littered the warfront, there were skeletons all over. It was devastating. That day will forever remain unforgettable. The Japanese had closed up the borders and our regiment officer, David Stewood, took us through another route. It was all in the night and very dark as well. As we laid siege in the bushes, we heard some thunderous sounds. The earth was shaking. A group of moving elephants was running towards our direction. We narrowly escaped death that night. You see, in that war we also fought against dreaded animals. We had a lot of horrible
A military truck filled with white men came from Kano and took us to Enugu, where we stayed for six months as more men came to join us. We were later relocated to Lagos, from where we moved straight to the warfront in Burma in 1943. It took us three months on the sea to get to Burma
experiences. I came close to death when I was accosted by a Japanese. He sighted me and started shooting. I had to hide behind a bamboo tree, after which a friend of mine spotted him and shot him.
It will amaze you to know that the Japanese had never seen a black man before then. Some of them who were on our side would scrub our bodies with water, thinking that we painted our bodies to be able to hide during the night. They were amazed at what a black man could do. So many of them were afraid of black men. But it was an advantage to us as we had seen and interacted with so many white men before we went to their land. Food supply was excellent during the war in Burma,
How long were you at the warfront? How were you able to communicate with people from diverse languages and cultures?
We went there in 1943 and returned in 1946. It was three years of unforgettable memories.
Communication was issued as signals, but those of us from northern Nigeria were using Hausa to reach out to others and the few that could communicate in English. Holes were dug for wireless communications for medical aids and food. I can recall that it took the intervention planes to bring
The elderly in that region can recall how that place was decimated; all living things fled to the bushes. Many were killed. That was war. A lot of families separated. At a time in Nsukka, corpses littered everywhere and vultures fed on them
us food and water when there was siege on us. Hunger killed many of our men during that siege. Towards the end of our stay, our division was moved to Calcutta, then Raghu. We stayed there for three months to get clearance for a return trip home. It was a happy moment. We spent 70 days on the sea and to the glory of God, all the six of us returned home alive. They are now late; I am the only one still alive.
When we returned to Katsina, the Native Authority gave us jobs. I was taken to the Kafin Soli agricultural office. How did you also get involved
in the Biafran war?
When we finally settled down to our new jobs, the Biafran war came. It was as a result of Ojukwu’s succession threat. There was an announcement that old soldiers were needed urgently.
Gowon had travelled to England to seek assistance and the Queen asked him to return and get those that fought in the last war to help him. That was when the announcement was made. And we also voluntarily made ourselves available to save the country. If we did it elsewhere, why not our land? We assembled in Kaduna and moved to Enugu and Onitsha. I can recall that three truck-load of soldiers were attacked around 9th Mile. Many were killed at the spot. I think the war started in 1967.
It amazes me that some children are calling for war in the name of agitating for Biafra Republic. They don’t know what war looks like. Those who know them should tell them. The elderly in that region can recall how that place was decimated; all living things fled to the bushes. Many were killed. That was war. A lot of families separated. At a time in Nsukka, corpses littered everywhere and vultures fed on them.
Were you honoured when you returned home?
There was nothing to write home about. A little money was given to us aside the job they offered us. But we always find joy when we assemble during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration. We always recount our ordeals and laugh over them.