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Lieutenant-Colonel Muhammad
Abu Ali
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Had fate chosen a
separate sequence of events, Muhammad Abu Ali, the lieutenant-colonel killed
by Boko Haram on Friday, would still be alive.
TheCable
report continues:
Abu,
commanding officer of the 272 Task Force Tank Battalion, died at about 10.00pm
on Friday when suspected insurgents attacked the 119 Battalion Nigerian army
location at Mallam Fatori, northern Borno state.
But
a senior army official who spoke with TheCable on Sunday said Ali was close to
leaving Mallam Fatori ahead of an army raid on Sambisa Forest.
The
officer, who asked not to be named, also confirmed that Ali was not in his tank
— his most prized weapon — when the attack happened.
“He
was outside the tank; he was outside with his radio system. And because it was
dark, nobody could exactly see the enemies who shot him,” he said.
“The
firing came from behind. When these people [Boko Haram] came, he went towards
that direction to see what was happening. He was not in the tank.”
He
also spoke about how the soldiers who were killed with Abu may have survived if
they had the most basic tool for smothering night attacks.
“You
know, night attacks are always difficult,” he said.
“If
you’re going for night attacks, you need your night sight — your night
vision goggle — so that you can identify your targets clearly. You know
what it means to fight in the dark? Confusion. You don’t know who is who.
“But
I tell you what, there are only two night vision goggles to an entire
battalion. In some cases, you will even find a battalion that has no single
night vision goggle.”
A
battalion normally comprises 700 soldiers, but the army typically
deploys under-strength battalions against Boko Haram, some containing 300
to 400 soldiers.
“Ali
went to Mallam Fatori, and the while thing was successful, it was after the
operation that this Boko Haram attack was launched,” the official continued.
“The army
was preparing for an attack in Sambisa, so Ali was to withdraw from
Mallam Fatori ahead of the Sambisa operation. He was preparing to come back
when this thing happened.
“There
was serious preparation, which means it would happen soon. He had already
received orders to withdraw from Mallam Fatori and come for onward movement to
Sambisa. It also means that if Boko Haram had delayed that attack by a few
days, Ali might have left Mallam Fatori alive.”
Back
in June, TheCable paid tribute to Ali’s professionalism and bravery,
following words of commendation by soldiers directly involved in the war
against Boko Haram.
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| Nigerian Army Battle Tanks |
TRIBUTE: Abu Ali,
‘Intelligent’ Lieutenant-Colonel Who ‘Doesn’t Brag’ But Is Killing Off Boko
Haram In Borno
Muhammed
Abu Ali is the name. You may have heard about him before: he is the officer who
was granted accelerated promotion from rank of major to lieutenant-colonel in
September 2015, for his courageous performance in a series of the army’s engagements
with Boko Haram.
His
elevation was first announced shortly after one of the army’s fiercest-ever
battles with Boko Haram, in February 2015, culminating in the recapture of Baga
from insurgents. But the official decoration was delayed until September when,
after another monumental success — the capture of Gamboru-Ngala —
Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, visited the war front.
During
that decoration, Buratai praised Ali for his “courage, bravery and
exceptional performance in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists”.
Tukur
is not alone in his opinion; and it has now emerged that even soldiers,
majority of whom have built an unwanted reputation for always criticizing the army hierarchy, have tremendous respect for Ali’s professionalism.
Purest Gold from Miry
Clay
For
all of the army’s hardline public relations tactic, discontent is high among
soldiers and officers DIRECTLY involved in the ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ (peace
by force) in Borno state. But as Ali’s example shows, good work and
truth require no trumpet; they always find their way to the public.
During
TheCable’s recent investigative trip to the theatre of war, the first mention
of Ali came at a time a sergeant was complaining about the crude equipment and
archaic manner with which the army was prosecuting the war.
“Yes,
the problem is that the Nigerian army still has this archaic idea of fighting,
relying more in the numerical strength of its troops rather than on equipment,”
he had said.
“There
is nowhere in the world, a civilised or modernised army, where they want to
lose soldiers in large numbers again, and that is where you need
these equipment.
“If
you have good equipment, it will reduce the number of casualities on your side
but if the weapons are not there and you want to use the number of your
soldiers, then definitely you are going to suffer casualties.”
He
then cited the example of the recapture of Baga, but he was quick to recognize Ali’s “brilliance” in its success — even though the original intention was not
to praise the officer.
“In
the case of tanks, what one tank can do, 200 soldiers cannot do it; 300
soldiers cannot do it if the tank is functional and serviceable,” he said.
“In
the case Baga, when it was recaptured from Boko Haram, the officer who led that
operation, Abu Ali, a major at the time, told the soldiers that they should not
worry, that they should only do five percent of the job, that he was going to
do 95% of the job with the tanks.
“And
that was exactly what happened. He did most of the work with the tanks. He
was a major at that time and his promotion after the operation was automatic
because he performed very well. One smallish guy like that o.
“After
they recaptured Baga, the soldiers were so happy that they raised him up,
telling the president to elevate him to the status of colonel, not even
lieutenant-colonel, because he really performed; he tried. Even
recent operations in Sambisa Forest, he led some of them.”
Respected By Soldiers
Ali’s
elevation was not just the decision of the chief of army staff or the rest of
the army hierarchy; the soldiers fully supported it. According to a soldier who
witnessed his “leadership qualities” in Baga, and two others who were with him
in Sambisa, soldiers were generally “very happy for him”.
“He
led us with the T-72 when we advanced to Monguno and Baga, and he
collected those places,” he said.
According to
Wikipedia, the T-72 is a Soviet second-generation main battle tank that
entered production in 1971. About 20,000 T-72 tanks were built, making it one
of the most widely produced post-World War II tanks, second only to the T-54/55
family.
There
have been at least three upgrades to the tank, the most popular being in 1988
and 1995, although they are unavailable in Nigeria.
A
second soldier who extolled Ali’s virtues said: “After he collected those
places [Baga and Monguno] in 2015, they brought someone else to replace him and
they took him to Sambisa area; we went with him to Sambisa.
“He
is a brilliant fighter. When he began hanging his promotion emblem
officially on September 9, we were together on that day and we were all very
happy for him.”
A
third soldier, who had spent time with him in Sambisa, went as far as touting
him as a potential helmsman of the army: “The man is very active; very active.
And he is a very calm and intelligent person. He doesn’t brag, he knows his job
and he is very simple.
“He
is a future chief of army staff, if I may say, but he has to be wary of
the corruption that is the shortcoming of many good hands in the army.”
Like Father, Like Son
It
is interesting to know that Muhammed Abu Ali is the son of Colonel Abu
Ali, who was governor of Bauchi state from August 1990 to January 1992 during
the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida.
At
this rate, no one would want to bet against the younger Ali surpassing his
father’s achievements. He is already a lieutenant-colonel and should he
continue his anti-Boko Haram heriocs, it won’t be long before he earns
another elevation to the status of colonel, which his father was before
retiring.
From then on, anything —
just anything — is possible!
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