Author: Terver Malu and Okechukwu Oko Publisher: Author House, 2013 Pages:169 Rotimi Olajide Opeyeoluwa
This book probes deeply into the life of a charismatic and intrepid soldier who rose to command the Nigerian Army as the 13th Chief of Army Staff. Lt. General Samuel Victor Malu was indeed prepared for the role he eventually played in both the entirety of his life and particularly his professional calling, as a soldier’s solider because of the kind of background he had and the values he imbibed therein. The book carefully portrayed a boy born into poverty but rich in values inculcated into him by his father that hard work pays, regardless of the circumstances and indeed these values took him to the apogee of his profession. He was conditioned by his background to forge ahead and ensure that with quality education, he could climb out of poverty. Contrary to what obtained in his time when boys his age would readily want to leave home. Drawing on the realization that the power to change his fortune was entirely his, Malu strove for the best at all times. The book is divided into six chapters with a foreword written by former Nigeria’s Military Head of State, General AA Abubakar and a bibliography. The chapters highlight the evolution and trends in his life in an incredible manner. It is indeed a story and a landmark life of enormous achievement. It also exposes the intricacies, manipulations and banality of the military in governance of Nigeria. Indeed, he played the role of Chairman of a tribunal which tried some very senior officers, an act which dogged his steps for the entirety of his life but some may ask what choices did he have. The question to ask is if there was indeed a coup or it was indeed a phantom coup as reported in a section of the media. Chapter 1 Captured the very beginning of the life of General Victor Malu in his native land of Tse-Adoor in Benue State. Though the book didn’t mention his year of birth but he mentions that the center of his life’s orbit were his parents, especially his father, Malu Adoor. His father was strong willed, principled and couldn’t stand being lazy. A disciplinarian and held up the highest ideal from his children, especially from Victor Malu his first child. Though his father was not rich but he didn’t fail in providing for his household. Another early influence over his life was his mother. A woman he fondly wrote about as the calm in the storm. Her words of encouragement, calmness and graceful tenderness complemented her husband’s fiery temperament. She was the “always steady hand…the cool spirit that kept us together”. Religion was another pillar of Victor Malu’s life. His parents were staunch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Mission and naturally the children as well. Sundays were a compulsory appointment date for them. It was non-negotiable. For his father, none appearance in church was a sin. His parents, the church, Sunday school teachers in church and neighbors were the guiding compass of his life. He picked up valuable lessons from them which guided him all through his life’s voyage. One fundamental lesson which he inculcated was treat others the way you want to be treated. It never departed from him; he wrote. For education, he went to Native Authority School in Sankera in Ukum Local Government Area. For his senior primary school, he went further to Vandeikya Local Government Area where he finished in 1961.He thereafter proceeded to Benue Provincial Secondary School in Kastina-Ala between 1962-1966, later the school was renamed Government Secondary School when he wrote the West African School Certificate Examination. For higher school, he was selected to attend the Federal Government College Okposi but couldn’t make it as a result of the outbreak of the civil war, rather he proceeded to the Federal Government College Sokoto. Chapter 2 detailed his evolution as a solider. This became possible due to some factors. By the time he secured admission into Federal Government College Sokoto, he was acutely aware that whatever trajectory he was drawn to, it could only be made possible by an excellent academic result. This naturally compelled him to become serious with his studies and it paid off in the end. Towards the end of his stay in Sokoto, his love for the military soared. He took the entrance examination into the Nigerian Defence Academy and passed. He reported for his formal military training on August 21, 1967 and remained in the army for thirty-one years. His love for the army never waned till the last. He maintains that without any social connections. The army took him from his obscure village to the apogee of the army, the flag house. His military career was profoundly impacted by the training he received from especially his Indian instructors. Some officers such as Generals Musa Yar’Adua, T.Y. Danujma, Olueye and Ibrahim Babaginda. While in the army, he married Esther, a lady he had spotted as a secondary school lad. The marriage was blessed with four children, a girl and three boys. He listed two factors that confronted the institution, which were perennial postings and the plague of coup-making. Chapter 3 was devoted to the war that erupted in Liberia and in which he was to play a pivotal role in seeking a peaceful solution to a brutal war with devastating toll on human and infrastructure with spillover effect on regional security. The carnage prompted the regional economic block, ECOWAS and Nigeria to float a peacekeeping force to check the security concerns in 1990. He served first as chief of staff ECOMOG and the Nigerian contingent commander from June 1992 to June 1993. By 1996, he was appointed ECOMOG force commander. He discharged his duties to the best of his abilities. He restored security, disarmed rebel groups, paved the way for the restoration of peace with the restoration of democratic rule and restored the confidence of the people in the peacekeeping force. Shortly before he could commence the restructuring of the Liberian army, he was recalled to Nigeria and posted as the General Officer Commanding the 2nd Division in Ibadan and by virtue of that appointment, he was also a member of the highest decision-making body in the country, the Provisional Ruling Council. As he was settling into his new assignment, news broke of an impending military coup and as such was appointed the Chairman of the tribunal. It was indeed an assignment that tested him as his friend and course mate, Major General Abdulkarim Adisa was implicated, the second in command of the regime, Lt. Gen. Oladipupo Diya and a sizeable number of officers known to him were implicated. Moved by the facts before him, he delivered judgment that would forever change the fortunes, careers and lives of fellow officers and their families. Chapter 4 chronicled his stint as the chief of army staff. His appointment was crucial for the obvious fact that it coincided with the end of military rule and the advent of democratic rule. An already politized army on account of the years of military rule, Malu knew his work was not going to be easily given the plague of human right abuses, corruption and a highly politized army. He listed other challenges he confronted which included the double speak of the political class, intrusion of the political class in purely military matters, the Nigeria-US military pact and the Odi debacle. Chapter 5 is about his eventual disengagement from the army on April 24, 2011, after thirty-one years of active military service. Perhaps because of his stance on the US-Nigeria military pact, the president relieved him of his appointment. He stated that while it didn’t come as a surprise, when it came, he felt at peace with himself since he had no control over such matters. After all, everything that has a beginning must also have an end. So, a career which saw him round and beyond the country and as a fresh 2nd Lieutenant by the grace of God survived several intrigues came to an end as a three-star general, the chief of army staff, and former ECOMOG force commander amongst other previous appointments. He was pulled out of the man a content man. Chapter 6 was devotion to some closing thoughts. He looked back on his life and career of thirty-one years in the army. He felt satisfied with his accomplishments but admitted there were challenges which he faced. The author mentions that he had no personal animosity towards former president Olusegun Obasanjo but that perhaps their personal differences was borne out of methodology. He recounted a personal pain he felt about the military invasion of his village and assessed it as unjustified. He dismissed attempts to draw parallels with the Odi assault by the military. He vehemently dismissed such analogy in the face of insinuation that as COAS he probably knew about the Odi invasion and the question “why lament when the same army gave your people same treatment”. Without any shadow of doubt, General Victor Samuel Malu’s love for the army was absolute and enduring, regardless, of the sordid turn of event after he left the service. He instructed that the paraphernalia of his profession should accompany him to the world beyond and left word that on his tombstone should be engraved, “Confronted errors with the truth”.
NIGERIA REVIEW OF BOOKS 