Citation: Oladele BABAJAMU fdc (rtd) (2023). The Nigerian Military Literature: Military Writers and the Nigerian Military Literature. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (YOJOLLAC), Vol. 11, Number 1. Department of African Languages and Linguistics, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. ISSN 2449-0660
THE NIGERIAN MILITARY LITERATURE:
MILITARY WRITERS AND THE NIGERIAN MILITARY LITERATURE
By
Oladele BABAJAMU fdc (rtd)
Abstract
Creative writers worldwide use the genres of
literature such as prose, plays and poetry to express culture, love, history,
war and other general life experience. Military writers like their civilian
counterparts have also used these literary genres to educate their readers on
the virtues of the military. However creative writing in the military has been
given little or no attention because of the seriousness attached to the
profession. Consequently many thought that military men have no time to think
outside the box. Since the publication of an anthology by soldiers of the
Nigerian Army titled “Voices from the Trench” edited by Mamman Vatsa in
1978, there have been many other
literary works published by the Nigerian military writers. This article
attempts to provide basic guidelines for literary enthusiasts and researchers
in this literary field. This study highlights some features of some of these
publications with a brief analysis of the contents of these writings.
Keywords:
Literature, Military, Writers, War, Mystery, Separation
Introduction
In
the words of Sagan, (1985) “Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions
binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distance
epochs”. This is because books and other written materials are required to
stimulate readers’ imaginations and bring out to the limelight the creative
ability hitherto were dormant in the readers. This includes academic texts on
various subjects, autobiographies, essays, service papers, criticisms, reports,
biographies and other literary writings (Alaobi, 2004).
Writing
can be divided into two broad major categories viz; academic and creative
writing. The Nigerian military writers are products of the society and like
other writers have produced great works in the two major categories of writing.
One distinct feature of scholarly materials in the military is their security
classification. Military materials and information are disseminated on the
“need to know” rather than the civil fundamental principles on the ‘right to
know’. This is a major limitation to the contents, topics and the subject of
discourse by military writers. This occurs when the contents of the publication
would have deleterious effect on national interest.
Military
kinds of literature are publications and unpublished works by military men such
as prose, poetry and drama to educate the public about the virtues of the
military profession. (Babajamu, 2021, p. 218). The style and language of
military literature are different from other forms of military writing as the
content of military writing is restricted to the audience with knowledge of
military strategy. The contents of military literature should therefore be able
to discuss the civil background in relation to the personal military virtues of
the writer. The contents of the publications should continually greatly help
the common man in the street to know and comprehend more about the virtues of
the military, its pain and gains, and its services to individuals, communities
and the nation at large.
Majority
of the Nigerian military writers are in love with poetry. Various verses of
poetry can be written in loose form as can be observed in the various works
displayed. Some others have chosen the short story genre to produce prose
publications. The peculiar feature of these publications is that they are
written in simple sentence construction for easy understanding. The target
audiences are often teenagers or children hence choice of words and sentences
structures are kept simple
The
purpose of this article is to highlight some features of the works of selected
military writers and carry out a brief analysis of the contents of these
publications with a view to providing basic information for researchers in
military literature. The scope will explore foreign military writing in the
pre-early 19th century, overview of publications by Nigerian
military writers and highlight the contents of literary works from some
selected Nigerian military writers.
Conceptual Clarifications
Writing: The
Black Law Dictionary defines writing as any international recording of words
that may be viewed or heard with or without mechanical aids. This includes
hard-copy documents, and electric documents on computer media on which words
can be recorded.
Writer: A
writer is a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories etc. especially
as an occupation or profession: an author or journalist (Dic.com, 2022)
Military:
The military is that aspect pertaining to war: Concerned with war. The military
is in law distinguished from civilians by four obligatory characteristics. They
are under the control of a commander: their clothing shows that they are of the
military; they carry arms openly and they obey the laws and customs of war.
Only the military may engage in combat though civilians may defend themselves
from unlawful attack. (Dambazau, 1991, p. 74). The 1999 Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 217(3) states that, “The composition of the officer corps and other ranks of the armed
forces of the federation shall reflect the federal character of Nigeria”. In
this regard, the Nigerian military writers are all officers and other ranks
engaged in writing literary publications to educate the public about the
military profession.
The Nigerian Military Literature:
These are publications produced by military writers in the form of prose,
poetry and drama to help educate the public about the virtues of the military
profession. (Babajamu 2021, p. 218). It includes all forms of literary writings
originated by officers and other ranks within the different services of the
Nigerian Armed Forces. This article will only consider publications by writers
from the Nigerian Army because of the lack of adequate time to assess
publications from members of the Nigerian Navy and Air Force.
Foreign Military Writers from Pre-early 19th
Century
The
book of Psalms in the Bible contained many chapters and verses written by King
David Jesse. The one time a shepherd boy who later became a king and a war
commander reflects the entire human life in poetry. The verses reveal human
emotions, from the joy of God’s wisdom to a deep contrition for his sin and
shortcomings, anger over national injustice and lack of vision to sadness or
weakness and lack of understanding.
Cal
Von Clausewitz (1780-1831) the Prussian General was among the famous military
author of the late 19th Century. His most notable work, Vom Kriege (on War) was unfinished at
his death. He asserted that, war is the
continuation of politics by other means… The character of battle is slaughter
and its price is blood. This forms the feature for the study of opportunity
costs of war.
William
Slim (1891-1970), a British military officer who participated in World Wars I
and II in his book titled, “Defeat into Victory” gave a good conceptualization
of military leadership. And Charles De Gaulle (1890-1970) of the French Army in
his book placed emphasis on absolute loyalty in the military: There is no fundamental human right in the
profession of arms: Men who adopt the profession submit their own free will to
a law of perpetual constraint of their own accord.
On
Leadership, Collin Powell, a retired four-star General in the United States
Army says: The day soldiers stop bringing
you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either
lost confidence that you can’t help them or concluded that you do not care;
either case is a failure of leadership.
The nature of the olden day’s war required a
lot of physical participation because most confrontations are done at close
quarter- range. Despite the strategic demand, these military men still have
time to write about their various experiences for future generations. The basic feature of their publications is
their choice of genre principally on their war experiences as depicted in their
memoirs and autobiography. The contents of these publications serve as
inspiration for other military men to also think outside the box and emulate
their literary efforts to sustain military literature. Consequently, military
writers worldwide have continued to use their intellectual property to address
the dearth of military publications to project the military as one of the most
disciplined fields of human endeavors in the world.
Overview of Publications by Nigerian Military Writers
Many
of the vanguard Nigerian military writers also produced memoirs and
autobiographies. The earlier indigenous books published by military officers
centered on their experiences during the 1966 coups. One such book is, “Why We
Struck” by Adewale Ademoyega, a publication regarded as an authoritative book
on the first coup-de-tat in Nigeria.
The second sets of publications were the books
written by officers on their various experiences in the Nigeria Civil War
(1967-70). Examples include: ‘My Command’ by Olusegun Obasanjo, “The Nigerian
Revolution and the Biafran War” by Alexander Madiebo and the “Tragedy of
Victory: by Godwin Alabi Isama among others. These writers participated in the
civil war and were products of the contents of their work and as such they made
the subject matter simple for comprehension by various readers.
Some
senior military officers who had the opportunity of having extra regimental
postings to serve under the civil authority also shared their experiences in
books such as the “Combatant in Government” by David Jemibewon, “Diplomatic
Soldiering” by Joseph Garba, and the ‘Federal Republic of Nigerian Army’ by
Major General Chris Alli amongst others. The contents of their publications
were based on their experiences in civil service.
Some books came in the form of a collection of
academic professionals which were edited or sponsored by commandants of
training institutions and corps. Many of these books focused on Geo-politics.
They include “History of Nigerian Army 1863-1992”, and the “Concept and
Practice of Global Peace and Security in the Nigerian Army in Global Security”.
These books served as reference materials for further research on the chosen
topic. They also address the dearth of military publications required for
public knowledge.
Some
talented officers have also written on their experiences gained in peacekeeping
operations outside the country. The “Reversed Victory: Story of Nigerian
military intervention in Sierra-Leone: by Major General R.A. Adeshina is
typical example of military officers who were involved.
In
the wake of the 20th century came the generation of autobiographies
like; ‘Because I am Involved’, by Odumegwu Ojukwu, “My Loyal Command” by
General Abdulkarim Adisa, Victor Ndulue’s “Rumbles in the Old Academy” and ‘My
Watch!’ by General Olusegun Obasanjo are a few example.
Life
in retirement for military men became an adventure in writing as some retired
personnel explores themes in retirement. Many of these vanguard publications
provided the inspiration for other officers to build and carry out further
research on the various literary works. The majority of these writers were men
that joined the military after the independence and were the foundation upon
which the indigenization of the Nigerian military was based. By oath of
allegiance, they were not permitted to produce inciting publications
particularly in areas
xwhere
human rights are involved. Many of the works were not therefore based on
ideology but basically to educate and inform their readers.
Literary Works from Selected Nigerian Military Writers
The
works of literary enthusiasts in the military commenced with Pius Okigbo’s
“Labyrinths”, with an anthology by the ‘People in Khaki’ published in 1978 and
titled “Voices from the Trench”. It was edited by Mamman J. Vatsa. The veteran
gunner officer, Domkat Bali also published “War Cries” in 1984 and Oladele
Babajamu’s, Verses from the Gunner’s Post was published in 2003.
Since
the publication of the anthology by soldiers of the Nigerian Army titled
“Voices from the Trench”, many Nigerian military writers have produced great
literary work in all genres. The anthology consists of one hundred and forty
poems written by officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army. The themes of
these poems varied from war, emotions,
love, family and societal values. A few of them are reviewed below:
Tears from Barrack Children
In
the poem, “Complaints of an Officer’s Son”, Ogundeko (Vatsa 1978, p. 104) wrote
about the wish of an officer’s son. This is a reflection of the agony of the
family as portrayed in the theme of separation that constantly drew military
men away from their loving families. In the poem, the officer’s son lamented
how little time his father had to spend with them. He said in lines 2-7 here
that;
I wish the clock could turn
back
Then we would do the things
we need to do
Before Daddy got promoted
and posted
And had no time for us
Then he would take us to the
tennis court:
We would pick balls while he
played
With Fanta for a reward in
the mess
But why can’t the clock turn
back, mummy?
Daddy travels too much and
he won’t take us:
When he is at home he hasn’t
time for anybody
Is this the only job
he can get?
“I
wish the clock could turn back”. Thinking the impossible as the old adage “if
wishes were horses beggars would ride”. This is the lamentation of an officer’s
son. He remembered the good times their family spent together before the
promotion that separated their family. To the father, he labored to get a
promotion, a sign of progress for him in particular and the family at large. It
is possible that the whole family might at one time or the other prayed
together for this promotion. However, promotion is always accompanied by both
positive and negative development. This is because nothing is perfect in life.
The negative aspect of this promotion is that Daddy has no time for them again
as he was posted out of location. This separation of families is a recurrent
theme in military poems.
The
son also remembers the good old days with Daddy, in the mess, at the swimming
pool and at the university campus. He later got carried away about the good
times of the past forgetting that it was the benefit from the same profession
that made them to enjoy all those things. He however out of frustration in the
last line asked a hypothetical question, “Is this the only job he can get?”
Daddy like his colleagues are all married to this military job at the expense
of their family until retirement.
Babajamu
(2014, p. 26) brought out the effect of the separation of soldiers from their
families through frequent postings, operations and military assignments in his
poem Bidemi. “Born only when papa is away/grows up to know that papa is that
man/who sneaks in at night and goes away two days after. The children in their
lamentation.
And so another BIDEMI is
Born
Papa, so far away and yet so
near
Oh papa, would you ever come
home
How long shall I have to
wait
Shall I be Bidemi for ever?
This
is the agony of having a papa that sneaks in at night and goes away two days
after. The man might have been given the privilege of a weekend pass or by
taking advantage of a short distance decided to be coming home to see his
family on weekends. The child could not understand why the father will be
spending such little time with his family at home. He has no knowledge of what
risk the father must have taken to visit them. He later asked the question,
“Shall I be Bidemi forever?”
The
verses explore the dilemma of military children who needed time to understand
why their father sneaks home like a stranger. The poem also ends with a
rhetorical question, “Shall I be Bidemi forever”? Bidemi, a Yoruba name given
to children born in the absence of a father may end up being a lifelong name of
the children of military men as they often are away at the birth of their
children.
War-
related Poems
Lieutenant
General Buratai, a former Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army confronted
the falsehood in diverse indigenous ways, and employed another dimension of
military poetry that sought to educate and admonish religious extremists of the
Boko Haram sect that terrorized the Northern Nigeria. He wrote a poem to the
leader of the Boko Haram sect in February 2018 titled ‘End of the Road’.(Chinoko 2019, p. 34)
It’s time to surrender
The deceit is over
Fake ideology preached no
more
Surrender before the patient
birds
Hovering above you ready to
land
Easy prey you are Shekau
Your foot guards perished
Your foolish pawn escaped
Abandoned to your
follies and perils
The
poem is a nonviolent but gentle appeal for the leaders and members of
Boko-Haram to forsake their ideology of creating a caliphate in the Northern
part of Nigeria. The language of the poem addresses the issue in a simple way.
The poet uses different images and symbols like “the patient birds” referring to combat aircraft in stock: “Hovering
above you ready to land”, the planes carrying out reconnaissance and
intelligence in order to gather accurate information to perform the required
action. The poet, writing from a position of strength concluded with the
consequence of not surrendering; be to perish, die or be abandoned.
In
The Crucible of War, Mamman-Lai
(2017, p. 95) wrote;
That
nothing good comes out of destruction of fellow beings and nature endowment. Neither
has brute force achieved; Sustainable peace and development. Yet, politicians
legislate and declare war. Commanders plan campaigns. Officers lead men to
battle
Soldiers
face the crucible of war.
The
Crucible of War described in detail how war is conceived made and executed. It
brought out the roles of the different personalities involved in the planning
and conduct of war together to a meeting point. This is the point the poet
described as the Crucible of War. This is because war and its related issues
are serious matters. The Poet pointed out that nothing good comes from war,
therefore war should be avoided at all costs.
Vatsa
(1978, p. 125) in There Was War, painted the consequences
of the political leader’s mentality of pushing soldiers to fight for the
interest of the state. The consequences of war are enormous. People across the
war zones were always in confusion and apprehension. several people are displayed
during war creating the problems of refugees or internally displayed persons as
the case may be.
There was war/ A cruel war/sisters shooting
brothers/It was an affair/horrible and full of fear.
Bullets
from South
Travelled
north
Blood
flowed
And
many moaned
Children
lost mothers, mothers’ children
Then
came peace
Full of
pity and needs
Forever
many would remain alone to mourn
The
theme of eternal or permanent separation by death pervades Vatsa’ poem. This
time children loses their mothers and “forever many would remain alone to
mourn”. Peace would eventually come, as in Line 6, the price outweighs the
consequences.
Promoting Societal Virtues by Story Telling
Many
Nigerian military writers have chosen the short story genre to produce prose
publications. The peculiar feature of these publications is that they are
written in simple sentence construction for easy understanding. The target
audiences are often teenagers or children hence choice of words and sentence
structures are kept simple. A few of them are reviewed below.
The Mystery Girl on the Plateau by Mathias
Efeovbokhan (2006): The book contains eight short stories on the life and times
of a young and growing family. It portrays the joys, sorrows, pains and
happiness in a house bent on attaining a commendable level of excellence
through ding of hard work. The story is told through the mouth of a young
growing child. The storybook is written to entertain, inform, educate and can
be used as a teaching medium in the primary and secondary schools as the
vocabulary cut across ages.
Emmanuel
Onyekachi Ugwu (a Major and Lawyer in the Nigerian Army) published, “In Search of Greener Pastures and Other
Stories” in 2014. The book contained seven short stories: With scenarios
painted in Nigeria and France on the good upbringing of children,
disillusionment of those who travel abroad unprepared, and hope for children,
among other issues. It also touches on corruption as a major impediment to the
development of African countries, especially Nigeria and suggests ways to curb
corruption in the country.
Victor
Ndulue, Shadows of Gunpowder in 2020
is a masterpiece. The protagonist in the book, Ikeagu has to resign himself to
the crucible of excruciating pains, confront renegades, dare the forces of
darkness and surmount the challenges of a land that holds no place for the
weak. With endurance and braveness, he was able to conquer every opposition and
became a successful man in the community. The book is written in simple
language and easy to understand. The author like Chinua Achebe laced the story
with native proverbs and idioms like on the virtues of patience: “he who breaks the yam tuber in hurriedly
digging it out of the ground must of necessity go down on his knees to remove
the remaining part. He has to be patient. P. 5.
When
it was time for the protagonist, Ikeagu to leave his parents to another town to
learn endurance training required to toughen him for the various challenges
ahead, his father said, Have you not
heard that a dog trained by a woman usually develops appetite to feed on eggs?
One who relies on a woman to provide for him usually takes his supper very
late.pg25. These proverbs and A man
does not need a bloated stomach to demonstrate wealth (pg 265) are few
selected examples. The target audience is the younger generation. The book is
didactic in nature as it teaches virtues to the youth of the country.
Drama Publications
There
are only a few publications in this genre: Probably because of the peculiar
style of writing and the various stagecraft required. The veteran of military
playwrights in Nigeria is Elechi Amadi
(1934-2016), an author of plays and novels that are generally about
pre-colonial Africa. Amadi served in the Nigerian Army and retired at the rank
of Captain. Amadi’s first novel, “The Concubine” (1966) was made into a film
and directed by accomplished Nollywood film director Andy Amenechi in 2007. His
other drama are “Isiburu” (1973); a story about a wrestling champion who was
ultimately defeated by the supernatural power of his enemy, Estrangement (1986)
and the Woman of Calabar (2001).
Malam Usman Baba Patigi (Samanja) is a popular Hausa
writer and actor from Patigi in Kwara State. He served in the Nigerian Army
from 1967 to 1985 as a signaler. His plays are centered around his character’s
antics. He mixes dramatic comedy to entertain the audience. The stage setting is
a barrack background that illustrates various situations of unconventional
escapades from troubles. His stage name “Samanja” is derived from the title of
the rank of sergeant major. The drama series was meant to enlighten the civil
populace on the regimentation in the military.
“An
Officer and a Gentleman: is a play on Military Court Court-Martial
written by Lt. Col. RSB Bello-Fadile in
1992. The play is based on an allegation that during the recording of the
Military History marks, Capt. Walters altered a Cadet’s mark. Investigation was
carried out and charges were prepared. During the arraignment:
COURT PRESIDENT: Captain Walters. I
read your charge: that you, Captain Paul Walters N/003138 of NDA, being a
person subject to military law is charged with making false documents punishable under Section 65
(b) of the NA Act 1960; in that at NDA, Kaduna You on or about July, 1988
altered the mark of one Cadet Balad (NDA/555) in the Assessment Sheet for
Regular 104, to make him come first knowing that the entry was false in a
material particular. Is that your name and particulars?pg6
PROSECUTOR: Can you tell this Court, the ranges
of marks for Military history which you recorded?
PW 1: Yes Sir. In fact, we were complaining about
the poor performance of the course in Military History.
MEM: My friend, why don’t you answer the simple
question and stop the rigmarole? (pg11).
The play is intended to give officers and men
of the Armed Forces an idea of some salient aspects of court- martial
procedures. Each stage of a court-martial is carefully presented with style and
simplicity such that the whole complex process becomes crystal clear.
In The Virtuous Wives, Oladele Babajamu,
(Part 4 in his book F Grass to Greatness 2020) highlights the various aspects
of the social life of barracks women with emphasis on economic empowerment. The
drama reveals how soldiers’ spouses referred to as ”virtuous wives” benefits from
the dividend of the program tagged “Better life for Rural Women” initiated by
the First Lady. This culminates in a welcome celebration ceremony after their
trip to Japan and India.
The
play can be described as a didactic commentary on the activities of soldiers’
wives within the military barracks. It reveals the good, the bad and the
perfect aspects of barrack life. This is with a view of bringing out the virtue
of soldiers’ wives. The play is replete with barrack lingo such as Pidgin and
Hausa to reveal a typical realistic barracks life. For instance, dialogue from Episode one;
MRS AYUBA: That na psychological effect of
barrack life on soldier’s children and wards. Mothers have a lot to do,
particularly when their fathers stay long in operation areas.
MAMA CHINEDU: Na only God go help
us; as children are products of their environment which often affects what they
turn out to be in the future
MRS AYUBA: Zakari no be like that o! Since he start school. Na im dey come first. E say he wan go National Military Academy to
be Army Officer. Im mates don even
nick name am ‘Captain’.(Pg114)
Conclusion
The
Nigerian military writer like their civilian counterparts has used their
intellectual property to produce publications in all the literary genres of
prose drama and poetry. Many of these works are not based on any ideology. The
basic feature of their publications is their choice of genre principally on
their war experiences as depicted in their memoirs and autobiography. The
contents of these publications serve as inspiration for other military men to
also think outside the box and emulate their literary efforts to sustain
military literature. Consequently, military writers worldwide have continued to
use their intellectual property to address the dearth of military publications
to project the military as one of the most disciplined field of human endeavors
in the world.
The
reviews of these military Kinds of literatures revealed that the majority of
the publications are in the poetry genre. Military materials and information
are disseminated on the need to know rather than the civil fundamental
principles on the right to know. This could be a major limitation to the
production of works that would interest the public as the content of such works
could be contrary to national policy However, the few available literary works
would no doubt provide the required guidelines for literary enthusiasts and
researchers who might pick interest in the Nigerian military literature.
References
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B. (1984). War cries. Civilities
Bello-Fadile RSB, (1992). An officer and a
gentleman. Tamanza Publishing Company.
Garnaar,
B. A. (2009). Black law dictionary. West Publishing.
Gaulle,
C. D. (1960). The edge of the sword. Faber and Faber.
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C. (1985) Contact. Chicago.
Chinoko,
A. D. (2019). Military leadership in a complex security environment, KAS Arts
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A. B. (1991). Military hair terminologies. Spectrum Books.
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Efeovbhokan, M. (2006). The Mystery Girl on the Plateau. MJ-One Publishers.
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O. (2003).Verses from the gunner’s Post. Unilorin Press.
Babajamu,
O. From grass to greatness. Denique Publishers.
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O. (2021). Review of military publication of some selected military writers.
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