LETTER TO MY CHILDREN ON FATHERS’ DAY
Bobo T in uniform
…………..Why I joined the Army
…………on the battlefield
………..I was wounded , thrown into the bush
…………I have one artificial arm now!
Family members and friends did not know my whereabouts for the past two years .In fact they did not know that I was conscripted into the Army to fight in the war as a Combatant Soldier .On the battlefield I saw broken limbs and human flesh that littered everywhere . I saw human heads rolling on the ground while I heard the shrill cries of wounded soldiers. Now I am with one arm.Taiwo Abiodun narrates his experience .
My dearest Children,
Please don’t tell your friends and family members that I have joined the Army . Don’t tell that I am presently on the battlefield fighting for their hearts would be in their mouths. Don’t tell that with my naked eyes I am seeing hot bullets flying past my ears as I escaped being hurt by the whiskers or by a hair’s breadth. Few days ago grenades were thrown to where I was standing , though I was not hurt but some of my combatants were mortally wounded. Imagine I have no basic training but only trained how to use the gun. I only had One Station Unit Training (OSUT) for two weeks before we were despatched to the War front.
T Bobo ready to fight
I cried when I remember that you could become fatherless if I die in this war. Who will take care of you?. I know you will all call me useless and good- for -nothing father who brought you into to this world to suffer. But don’t blame me , blame my destiny .Now I forced myself to be reciting Psalm 23 by fire- by -force for I don’t know when last I went to church. I am forced to be singing ” Nearer my God to thee….” when seeing death face-to-face.
I am with some armed-to-the – teeth nicotine-stained -teeth angry soldiers with blood-shot eyes who throw grenades and enjoy sending sorrow into people’s lives.
Last month I was in charge of one of the armouries where they stored ammunition like : Submachine guns, Heckler & Koch, Light Machine guns, M60 Machine guns, Vickers Machine guns,General Purpose Machine Guns, MG42 among others before I was drafted into the middle of War. My loaded Beretta M9A3 gun replaced my old SIG P226 and now is in its holster on my waist.
Could you believe that everyday, bombs and ballistic missiles are thrown to where I am ? . It is like I am the enemies’ target during the counter offensive to take over the territory . I was almost captured as enemy combatants surrounded some of us and opened fire on us but I shook off my body as if nothing happened . Some believe I have African Bullet Proof. They were all surprised as one of them with a bayonet rushed at me ready to butcher me like a cow but the bayonet broke into two.
Babalawo Of the Nation (BoN)
From the air, enemies are dropping F-16 Fighting Falcon,P-51D Mustang dropping bombs. Combatants wait behind minefields .Our enemies attacked us with drones , fighter bombers patrol. We retaliated and attacked them too with the newly acquired sophisticated BoN 7174, war planes.The sound of bombs , rockets and other weapons were thunderous and deafening .
One evening I visited a nearby town that had been ruined by soldiers with their weapons . I did not know when I broke down and wept like a baby seeing how devastated the town has been reduced to .I developed goosebumps when I saw domestic animals who were confused as they run around, trembling on hearing the booming of guns and other sound. Dogs were barking restlessly . Goats were bleating and running for safety while cats were meowing and running around. Two big cats sat on a sofa chair with their owner who was already dead, he was said to have been hit by bullets . The cats dreadfully sat with their scary eyes glowing but the chicks and chickens were running around pecking grains from the waste bins suddenly I saw massive buildings came down crumbling as a result of bomb. It was like an earthquake while some bungalows obeyed to the law of gravity. Infact many lost their lives as a result of being hit while some were electrocuted . Many were buried alive while some were under rubbles. War is not good. Some parents left their children behind and ran for their dear lives while some took shelter in underground or basement .Government and private institutions were attacked .Streets were littered with decomposing corpses. A two- year- old blood- soaked toddler was playing with her mother’s hair not knowing she was dead as a result of the shrapnel that tore her stomach and another lodged in her heart.
One could see the mushroom cloud forms all from the detonated bombs .Their water was polluted. The air was polluted as a result of stench coming out from the dead corpses and the blue sky turned dark as a result of these pollutants .In the night one could see fire that ‘lighted’ the city as a result of the burning houses -no thanks to the enemies’ rocket launchers . Churches and Mosques all went up in conflagration .Human beings were roasted alive in their homes and offices. I wept when I saw what war has caused in this town.
Bobo T inspecting a grenade
I knew all these would happen to me because it was war. The fiercest battle I ever faced was the the night our Army’s 67th Mechanized Assault Brigade was bombarded by stupid , good for nothing and blood thirsty ragtag soldiers who had used all kinds of hard drugs from Indian hemp to Cocaine . Up till this moment I refused to wear my helmet because it is too heavy. Although I forgot my Compass at home .Our 32 Mechanized Brigade Army was supplied Ordnance.
Our soldiers fought using submarine weapons from water .We fought by air and by land , we didn’t care about their landmines. Yes, the enemies shelled us with their artillery bombs and rockets where over 500 soldiers were torn into pieces like rags . The sight of the dead and wounded soldiers is horrific .It is gory . It is gruesome . Stomachs were ripped open , eyes gouged out , shattered bones all over the place while human brains mixed with blood as bullets were lodged in some of their skulls.
This is not the war one would be equipped with AK 47. This is not a war one would go with ordinary amulets or talismanic rings. Yes, of course I went with my charmed rings , amulets , gbetugbetu but non worked .Some of our soldiers were taken as Prisoners Of War (POW).
T Bobo
Presently all the rivers are dirty and had been polluted while the rain that fell few days ago was black in colour no thanks to the smoke or emissions released from the guns and bombs.There is far -reaching environmental damage. The plants , food and crops are contaminated .
Could you believe that we have little time to relax and have fun with women? . Me who love women more than anything . Me who love anything in skirt. Me who love sikisiki. Ah, my manhood shrinks whenever I heard the sound of the booming of the guns and sighting war planes hovering round where we are. Where is fun on the battlefield? .I have heard and seen great men who fell by the wayside because of women . It happened two weeks ago , bombs were rained on men and women copulating!. I did not pity the men who exited this planet earth through same ‘ way ‘ or passageway they came into the world.
Could you believe that two of our soldiers were summarily executed for betraying us? .The two soldiers were Judas as they connived with our enemy combatants and showed them some of our armouries. They revealed our War strategies to the enemies. The cat was let out the bag when one of them who was found with wads of currency notes spilled the beans when he was drunk. Our Infantryman (Leader) called the two and they confessed , that was how they were asked to dig a trench and were shot dead right in our presence to teach others a lesson. We were betrayed no wonder why some of us were captured or killed like flies.
Taiwo Abiodun at it again
Last month I was wounded .As I bend down to pick a Mark II 20 lbs bomb and another German SC250 aerial bomb, it exploded and cut off my right arm completely. I just found myself among those presumed to have died and was evacuated into the bush. Among the dead, I saw some wounded soldiers still struggling to stand up but fell again while wild animals like wolves were eating up human beings who were not dead yet but struggling and twitching – half dead! .
I saw vultures feasting on dead bodies. I was weak and had lost pints of blood . It was one of the soldiers who came to dump dead bodies that saw me jerking and shouting that took me back to the Camp where the surgeon clinically cut off my hand that was dangling for only a tiny flesh that held it. It was already gangrenous and decomposing !.
We don’t know when the war will be over as they had just supplied us new ammunition like planes,tanks, tank destroyers,trucks,aircraft among others.
In the war I heard the clanking of guns, and soldiers brazenly using their swords and Bayonets on their enemies. I saw human skeletons still in military uniform with their helmets on their heads. I saw headless bodies and some dried human skulls these soldiers used to drink water , in fact some of the soldiers who believe that drinking human blood would add to their physical and spiritual power drank the blood . I saw some who are Cannibals, eating human flesh . I saw a man who used one hand to fight when the other had been severed but still fighting with the other hand .I saw one legged-soldier like Long John Silver in the Book, Treasure Island, fighting for his life.
Happy Father’s Day, I will soon be back home
BURY ME WITH MY BLING BLING
When my bullet-riddled body is brought home please dress me very well in my Jeans Jeans. Don’t forget to put my rings on my fingers and my necklace to let them know I am that Bobo T, T Bobo, Babalawo Of the Nation, BoN. Give me the Military salute. Remember to sing that emotional and thought -provoking song written by Jeremiah Rankin in 1880
God be with you till we meet again,
By his Counsels guide ,uphold you,
With his sheep securely fold you,
God be with you till we meet again…..
Crazy guy called Bobo T, T Bobo, Babalawo Of the Nation, BoN