Boom Boom Boom…
The rich and poor within the vicinity, quickly evacuate. Running out of danger.
The call is made to commanders to prepare their soldiers for action.
As the evacuees run out of danger, the soldier is under oath to run towards the danger.
He has to find who is creating the chaos and bring him down and also has to rescue and escort those who are left behind into safety.
You run with your own family away from danger. The soldier leaves his own family behind in uncertainty.
Under the scorching Sun and under torrents of rains and thunderstorms and lightning, in the snares of the mountains, valleys, savannahs, and mangroves like life-threatening reptiles and fauna, amidst falling trees and ocean waves, the soldier braves the odds to prevent those who want to slaughter us from beholding us.
Poorly paid, poorly equipped, poorly housed, poorly fed, poorly kitted, poorly loved, yet, the soldier tries his best to leave no turn unstoned.
Marshaled by a top brass plaque by a track record of corruption, the soldier, in spite of the difficulties he encounters, never turns back knowing the full consequences, if he does.
Many don’t return to meet their families. They fall to the bullets and bombs of the enemy. Their families are usually not better afterward, yet more people are still becoming soldiers.
Once in a while, the soldier also gets us civilians upset because they usually molest us. Yet they never fail to wear their gear when they are called upon.
The treasured family time and protection you enjoy in your home is the dream of the soldier and his family. He spends long hours, days, months, and even years away from home and it usually comes impromptu.
There are moments when the soldier cries too. There are moments when the soldier is genuinely afraid. There are moments when the soldier is weak and there are moments when he needs to motivate himself. But the soldier has to keep fighting while you worry only about how the soldier must ensure your safety.
You see why we should all celebrate the soldier?
Let’s give them all the salutes. I am a soldier’s son and I love soldiers.
Citizen Agba Jalingo is the Publisher of CrossRiverWatch and a rights activist, a Cross Riverian, and writes from Lagos.
NB: Opinions expressed in this article are strictly attributable to the author, Agba Jalingo, and do not represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch or any other organization the author works for/with.