CAPTAIN ZORRO
…………………………………CORPORAL SALARY IN 1970 NOT MORE THAN N38,000
…………………………………..SOLDIERS COLLECT AT LEAST N50,000
……………………………………ALL HARMONIZATION
……………………………………..OUR ARREARS ARE WITHELD FOR MORE THAN THREE
YEARS NOW
…………………………………..FATHER OF 13 CHILDREN,ENLISTED IN THE
MILITARY AT THE AGE OF 19
……………………………………ONLY TWO BEDROOM HOME DEMOLISHED BY LASG IN
2007
He is one of the last men standing, at a time Nigeria is bedeviled
of a dreaded security challenge perhaps Nigeria can draw from the field experience
of a titan in battle.
He will not run away like the current field of soldiers who
are afraid of dying on the field of service to there fatherland.
His name is retired Sergeant Joseph Asher Ibukunoluwa who fought valiantly in the Nigerian Civil
war to keep the nation as one in the early 1970s.
During the war, Seargent Ijitola fought in several war
fronts principally in areas like Asaba,Okpanam,Ore,Benin,Agbor,Iselukwu,Otolor,Ugwashi
Ukwu among others in the Middle Belt region
of the nation ,he served as the Public Relations Officer of the 2nd Division,7th
Brigade Division in Asaba .
He revealed to Paedia Express exclusively that he was the
first Nigerian soldier that entered the famous Ojukwu Bunker aside from the
rare opportunity of serving under a certain Major Sanni Abacha who was to later
emerge as Nigeria’s Head of State and Commander –In-chief of the Armed Forces.
According to him ,he was so brave that he was able to
survive capture and the disdain of been arrested as a prisoner of war as eh fought
himself through this during the war thus earning himself the sobriquet ,Captain
Zorro.
He noted that he has battled gun boat attacks from the
enemy,fought in the famous invasion of Asaba Textile Mills
He decided to call a day with military service after 27
years of distinguished service ,after having been trained as a football coach
in the then University of Ibadan.
Mr Ijitola is also a human rights activist who apart from
working with the United Nations briefly as a human rights observer now works
with the African based Centre for the Defence on Human Rights and Democracy in Africa.
He called on the current regime of Dr Goodluck Jonathan to
try to do something urgently to honor the memories of his fallen colleagues who
died in various battle trying to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
But for all the hue and glory,Sergent Ijitola is almost
dying as he lives in a virtual difficult
situation having been abandoned by the nation eh so much served meritoriously
in the past.
As a corporal he did not collect more than a paltry N38.000
as compared to this days when a military officer will not even be paid less
than N50,000.
He has been to the government salary harmonization exercise but
for the past three years now nothing has come out of this.
To cap this up the only two bedroom building that eh was
able to put up for all his years of toil as a military officer was demolished by
the Lagos state government in 2007.
Who will wipe the tears of Captain Zorro away?
………………………………….CORPORAL SALARY IN 1970 NOT MORE THAN N38,000
…………………………………..SOLDIERS COLLECT AT LEAST N50,000
……………………………………ALL HARMONISATION EXERCISE HAS YIELDED NO
RESULTS TILL DATE
……………………………………..OUR ARREARS ARE WITHELD FOR MORE THAN THREE
YEARS NOW
…………………………………..FATHER OF 13 CHILDREN,ENLISTED IN THE
MILITARY AT THE AGE OF 19
……………………………………ONLY TWO BEDROOM HOME DEMOLISHED BY LASG IN
2007
He is one of the last men standing, at a time Nigeria is bedeviled
of a dreaded security challenge perhaps Nigeria can draw from the field experience
of a titan in battle.
He will not run away like the current field of soldiers who
are afraid of dying on the field of service to there fatherland.
His name is retired Sergeant Joseph Asher Ibukunoluwa who fought valiantly in the Nigerian Civil
war to keep the nation as one in the early 1970s.
During the war, Seargent Ijitola fought in several war
fronts principally in areas like Asaba,Okpanam,Ore,Benin,Agbor,Iselukwu,Otolor,Ugwashi
Ukwu among others in the Middle Belt region
of the nation ,he served as the Public Relations Officer of the 2nd Division,7th
Brigade Division in Asaba .
He revealed to Paedia Express exclusively that he was the
first Nigerian soldier that entered the famous Ojukwu Bunker aside from the
rare opportunity of serving under a certain Major Sanni Abacha who was to later
emerge as Nigeria’s Head of State and Commander –In-chief of the Armed Forces.
According to him ,he was so brave that he was able to
survive capture and the disdain of been arrested as a prisoner of war as eh fought
himself through this during the war thus earning himself the sobriquet ,Captain
Zorro.
He noted that he has battled gun boat attacks from the
enemy,fought in the famous invasion of Asaba Textile Mills
He decided to call a day with military service after 27
years of distinguished service ,after having been trained as a football coach
in the then University of Ibadan.
Mr Ijitola is also a human rights activist who apart from
working with the United Nations briefly as a human rights observer now works
with the African based Centre for the Defence on Human Rights and Democracy in Africa.
He called on the current regime of Dr Goodluck Jonathan to
try to do something urgently to honor the memories of his fallen colleagues who
died in various battle trying to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
But for all the hue and glory,Sergent Ijitola is almost
dying as he lives in a virtual difficult
situation having been abandoned by the nation eh so much served meritoriously
in the past.
As a corporal he did not collect more than a paltry N38.000
as compared to this days when a military officer will not even be paid less
than N50,000.
He has been to the government salary harmonization exercise but
for the past three years now nothing has come out of this.
To cap this up the only two bedroom building that eh was
able to put up for all his years of toil as a military officer was demolished by
the Lagos state government in 2007.
Who will wipe the tears of Captain Zorro away?
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