The Commander Who Changed Ebonyi: How Lt. Col. A.A. Bako Won a War Against Fear—and the Hearts of a Grateful People

By Zagazola Makama

When Lt. Col. A.A. Bako first arrived in Ebonyi State, few people knew his name. To many, he was simply another military commander posted to a state battling violent attacks by suspected members of the outlawed Eastern Security Network (ESN). Communities were gripped by fear, security personnel were under constant threat, and confidence in public safety had eroded.

Yet, within months, the quiet officer from Kano State would become one of the most celebrated military commanders ever to serve in Ebonyi, not because he sought recognition, but because he earned it on the battlefield and in the hearts of the people.

His story resurfaced on Tuesday when Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru, while receiving the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, set aside his prepared speech to tell the remarkable story of an officer whose courage, leadership and selflessness transformed the state’s security landscape.

For the governor, it was more than a military success story. It was a deeply personal account of how one commander changed the trajectory of an entire state.

“I doubted him when I first saw him”

Governor Nwifuru admitted that he was initially unconvinced when the then Chief of Army Staff late Lt Gen Toareed Lagbaja assured him that help was on the way.

At the time, insecurity had reached alarming levels. Armed separatist fighters had established footholds in several communities, forcing residents to flee while security agencies struggled against heavily armed attackers.
Seeking urgent intervention, the governor approached the Army leadership.

“The Chief of Army Staff simply told me, ‘Consider it done. I will send somebody,’” Nwifuru recalled. That officer was Lt. Col. A.A. Bako. The governor confessed that his first impression was one of doubt.

“I looked at this young man and wondered whether he truly understood what Ebonyi was facing. I even thought he looked too young for the assignment.” Sensing his reservations, the Army Chief offered him reassurance.

“He told me, ‘Give him one month. If you don’t see any difference, I will replace him.’” One month later, the governor said, everything had changed.

Unlike commanders who directed operations from a distance, Bako chose to fight alongside his men.

According to Governor Nwifuru, the young commander quickly earned the confidence of officers and soldiers across the various Army formations in Ebonyi by leading from the front.

He was not merely concerned with planning operations; he believed in inspiring those who executed them. One conversation, the governor said, has remained with him ever since.

“The reward system is very important,” Bako had told him. “When officers perform well, appreciate them immediately. It motivates others to do even more.” That philosophy became part of his command style.
Gallantry was rewarded. Professionalism was celebrated. Every success became a source of motivation for the next mission. It transformed morale within the ranks and created a force that believed in itself.

The Battle That Changed Everything

For Governor Nwifuru, one operation forever defined Bako’s leadership. Suspected ESN fighters had launched a devastating attack near a police formation. The attackers possessed overwhelming firepower. The police, heavily outgunned, were forced to withdraw.
Fear spread rapidly. Then Bako arrived.

Instead of directing troops from a safe distance, he climbed into an armoured vehicle and personally led the assault. He did not care that bullets were flying everywhere,” the governor recalled. He moved forward himself. He directed the operation from the front.”

The fierce battle ended with the gunmen neutralised and their stronghold dismantled.
For the governor, however, the greatest victory was psychological. That operation changed everything. It changed the psychology of the criminals. It changed the psychology of our people.”

From that day onward, residents stopped panicking whenever reports of armed men emerged. “They would simply say, ‘The Army is coming.’ “And once they heard that, they became confident.”

Peace Returns

Under Bako’s operational leadership, intelligence-driven operations intensified.
Attacks were disrupted before they occurred.
Hideouts were dismantled. Criminal networks weakened. Public confidence returned.

Governor Nwifuru said the transformation was so profound that the state government strengthened its partnership with the military, providing logistics and rewarding outstanding officers.

Today, he said, the Army often acts before he even has to request assistance. Before I even think of calling for help, they have already responded. Every day I receive intelligence reports of planned attacks that have been foiled and suspects arrested before they could strike.”

The Day an Entire Community Came Out to Say Goodbye

If there was ever any doubt about the impact Lt. Col. Bako had on Ebonyi, it disappeared on the day he was posted out of the Nkwagu Military Cantonment in Abakaliki. What was expected to be a routine military farewell turned into an emotional community celebration rarely witnessed for a serving Army officer.

From the early hours of the day, residents abandoned their daily activities and converged on the cantonment. Market women.
Traditional leaders. Religious figures. Retired military personnel. Civil servants. Youth groups.
Children. Former National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members. Entire families.

They came not because they had been invited, but because they wanted to say thank you.
Roads leading to the cantonment became lined with cheering residents waving flags, singing songs and offering prayers for the departing commander. Many struggled to hide their emotions. Others openly wept.

For many in Ebonyi, Bako was not merely leaving a military posting. He was leaving behind a safer state than the one he met.

A Legacy Beyond the Barracks

Among those paying tribute was former corps member, Glory Daniel Ajah. With emotion in her voice, she described a commander whose influence extended far beyond military discipline. Sir, your leadership was not just felt; it was experienced. You led with purpose, treated everyone with respect and made the cantonment a place of learning, growth and excellence.” Others described him as firm but fair.

Quiet but highly effective. Demanding but compassionate. Professional but approachable.
Soldiers remembered a commander who shared risks with them. Residents remembered a man who restored hope. Young officers remembered a mentor who believed leadership was earned, not imposed.

A Farewell Reserved for Heroes

The farewell ceremony itself reflected the respect he had earned. Military units under his command staged an impressive parade, displaying the discipline and professionalism he had instilled. Tributes flowed freely.
Songs filled the air. Banners bearing messages of appreciation fluttered across the cantonment.

Children of soldiers stood beside community elders as everyone joined in celebrating a commander whose service had transcended the walls of the barracks. There were no elaborate political speeches. No grand declarations.
Only sincere gratitude. It was less a farewell and more a community’s way of saying thank you.

The Measure of Leadership

Governor Nwifuru believes the greatest legacy of Lt. Col. A.A. Bako cannot be measured solely by the number of operations conducted or criminal hideouts dismantled. His true legacy lies in restoring confidence where fear once prevailed. “People see soldiers in uniform,” the governor reflected. But behind every peaceful community are officers who make difficult decisions and put their lives on the line for others.

“If nobody praises them, Ebonyi people will continue to appreciate them because we know the price they have paid for the peace we enjoy today.”

Long after the farewell parade ended and the convoy carrying Lt. Col. Bako departed Nkwagu Cantonment, the memory of that day remained etched in the minds of many. Lt. Col. A.A. Bako did not simply complete a military posting in Ebonyi.

He left behind a legacy of courage, trust and peace one that transformed a state once haunted by fear into one that now looks to the future with renewed confidence.

The Commander Who Changed Ebonyi: How Lt. Col. A.A. Bako Won a War Against Fear—and the Hearts of a Grateful People

Nwifuru Hails Tinubu, Army Chiefs for Restoring Security, Establishing Military Depot in Ebonyi

By Zagazola Makama

Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the Nigerian Army for transforming the state’s security landscape, saying the establishment of the Nigerian Army Depot in Mmasiara and decisive military operations against separatist violence have ushered in a new era of peace and development.

The governor spoke while receiving the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, who visited the Government House in Abakaliki ahead of the passing-out parade of recruits of the 99 Regular Intake at the Nigerian Army Depot, Mmasiara on Tuesday.

Nwifuru described the establishment of the depot as one of the most significant federal investments ever made in Ebonyi State, saying it was both historic and unexpected.

He said he was overwhelmed by the decision of the Nigerian Army to site such a strategic military institution in Ebonyi, a state he noted had long felt overlooked in terms of major federal establishments.

“What the Chief of Army Staff has done for this great state is very shocking and unbelievable. It is wonderful and highly commendable. For us to have a Nigerian Army training depot here is a landmark achievement and the first of its kind in our history,” he said.

The governor attributed the establishment of the depot to the support and vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing it as another demonstration of the President’s commitment to equity, national integration and inclusive development.

Reflecting on the 2023 general elections, Nwifuru noted that despite the President receiving relatively few votes in Ebonyi State, his administration had continued to demonstrate fairness to the state through key appointments and developmental projects.

He recalled that one of the President’s earliest decisions after assuming office was appointing an indigene of Ebonyi as Minister of Works, describing the appointment as unprecedented.

“For the first time since Nigeria’s independence, an Igbo man from Ebonyi State became Minister of Works. It is one of the most strategic ministries in the Federal Government today and reflects President Tinubu’s belief in fairness rather than politics,” he said.

The governor also recounted the severe security challenges that confronted the state at the height of attacks by suspected members of the outlawed separatist group known as the Eastern Security Network (ESN), saying several communities were under siege while residents lived in fear.

According to him, the situation changed dramatically following the intervention of the then Chief of Army Staff, who deployed a new General Officer Commanding to oversee military operations in the state.

Nwifuru praised the commander for adopting an aggressive operational strategy that rapidly dismantled criminal strongholds and restored public confidence.

He said the commander combined operational effectiveness with strong leadership, motivating officers and soldiers through an effective reward system that boosted morale and encouraged exceptional performance.

“The officer understood that recognising gallantry immediately inspires others to do more. That philosophy transformed the fighting spirit of the troops and changed the security environment in Ebonyi,” he said.

The governor recalled one of the defining operations in which troops confronted heavily armed ESN fighters who had attacked a police formation.

He said while security personnel initially faced overwhelming firepower from the attackers, the Army commander personally led the assault, directing armoured vehicles into the battle despite the risks.

According to him, the operation resulted in the neutralisation of the armed attackers and marked a turning point in the fight against violent criminal groups operating in the state.

“That operation changed the psychology of both the criminals and the people. From that day, once communities heard that the Nigerian Army was responding, confidence returned because people knew the Army would confront the criminals decisively,” he said.

Nwifuru said the bravery displayed by the troops strengthened the relationship between the military and local communities and encouraged the state government to continue supporting security agencies through logistics, welfare and operational assistance.

He expressed appreciation to the officers and soldiers serving in Ebonyi, noting that many had risked their lives to restore peace across previously troubled communities.

The governor assured the Chief of Army Staff of his administration’s continued support for the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, stressing that sustained collaboration remained essential to preserving the peace and stability currently enjoyed across the state.

He also commended President Tinubu for strengthening the Armed Forces and supporting initiatives aimed at improving military infrastructure, manpower development and national security.

Nwifuru Hails Tinubu, Army Chiefs for Restoring Security, Establishing Military Depot in Ebonyi

My Binoculars: Memo to Governor Zulum….2

Still On The Annual Flooding of Maiduguri and Why Sleepy BOSEPA Must Be Reset to Face Contemporary Reality

By: Bodunrin Kayode

Your Excellency, it is quite unfortunate that in spite of your spirited drive to get a permanent solution to the perennial flooding in the metropolis of Maiduguri, very little has been achieved even with a standing flood committee of “experts” which is yet to please the flood wearied residents of the metropolis. As far as residents are concerned, there will surely be the usual flood this year 2026 because the appointed experts are yet to prescribe professional reticulation to redirect the flow of excess rain water in the metropolis out of the built up areas. And I don’t think they are being pessimistic. It’s just the kind of fair comment common to the common man.

In their loud thoughts, they will continue by saying: “They are too careful not to recommend the bulldozing of houses built on waterways to allow free flow whenever it rains heavily. They have also not been able to do the right thing which is to recommend for a massive reticulation of modern drainage network system in the known flash points.” However , for watchers like us, we feel you may need “at least 1000 km of modern drainage system at the danger zones in the metropolis. By building such concrete gutters within the next six months before you leave, you would be hitting the nail on the head. Anything less will invite another flood in 2028 and beyond. The committee must also hurry up and re-strategize their engineering skills in conjunction with the key ministries to please the residents of Maiduguri metropolis against the pending rainy season. This is because many people are unhappy with this annual floods and as I noted earlier they tell themselves that “it will come anyway and nobody will help us out. We will at least use our buckets to scoop the water out if we can to stay alive.”

NIMET prediction on Borno, the lingering causes of flooding in Maiduguri and solutions

With the prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) that rainfall this year in Borno state will surely be above normal, we are definitely bound to have another cycle of flash floods in the city of Yerwa and the resultant backlash effects as usual. Nimet has already predicted that Borno is one of the states that would be affected by floods due to heavy rains this year and I don’t think we should take it for granted your Excellency. By now, the machinery to pull down illegal structures should have been activated so that houses standing on the paths of water flow would be cleared from existence. We are aware of work going on at Dala Kogi Tipper. The fact that it is over 70 percent completed is a sign that indeed Acresal is bent to reduce the damnation residents go through in that axis of greater Maiduguri. None of the wards within Maiduguri, here and konduga can be exempted from flash floods. The city centre is not exempted either because many mistakes where made while constructing roads before you came sir. Engineers disregarded the gradient of the topography and laid asphalt anywhere thinking that should do.

As a matter of fact, I don’t think that it is too late for stake holders to hurry up and be involved in the proactive push to save commuters around “baban cross” for instance which is a major gateway round about to the town by any one coming in from the international airport. That area needs complete overhauling to stop flood water taking over the roundabout while motorists struggle to cross from leventis area to the government house or to exit the city through Borno express terminus.
For as long as there is no active “underground” exit drainage system to protect commuters on foot and vehicles from the annual flood which used to take over the biggest roundabout whenever the rains are heavy, we should prepare for the same take over of the road by rain water before the end of July 2026. This one and many others may have nothing to do with bad garbage management but the inability of the flood committee to see the need to proactively recommend corrective engineering for the ministries concerned to correct. The roundabout is really an embarrassing flash point for floods every year and none of the engineers in the flood committee have been able to study the gradient of that place and suggest a redesign of a massive drainage to take the flood water to the nearby river Ngadda which passes by the zoo through maduganari.

This round about always becomes an eyesore at the peak of the rainy season when vehicles are halted halfway into their drive from the leventis feeder axis through the St Patrick’s Catholic Church axis possibly up to the govt house for instance. Vips may be immune to this heavy flood water which is bound to come in because most of them use SUV’s which navigates through such flood waters even if their entire tyres are submerged into the flood.

The second most striking cause of annual flooding in the metropolis is the inability of the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency BOSEPA Street cleaners to realize that they should not be moving garbage from the streets to the narrow gutters. Rather, garbages should be packed out of the gutters to cans and sent to organized dumps. This is what happens in cleaner capital cities in the country. The way the street cleaners send garbage and sand into the gutters in the suburbs of the city is unhygienic. Some of them have joined residents to dump anything into the narrow gutters found in so many suburbs of the city. My fear is that if they are not checked, we may soon become like Lagos which has one of the biggest slums in Nigeria and the worse example to emulate if we must get out of this lingering annual flooding. But come to think about it, if an illiterate sweeper dumps half a paint bucket of sand swept off Baga road for instance into a nearby gutter, it may not have been generating blockages over time if the drains were deep enough. By deep enough I mean the minimum of about half a metre deep to swallow heavy rains. But we keep on having this nightmare because most of the existing drainages are colonial gutters not more than a foot deep some of which has been covered by sand accumulated over the decades. And that is a big wrong which should be corrected.

Key stakeholders and their expected roles in dealing with basic causes of the flood.

Your Excellency, it is expected that if stake holders should contribute to stop this flooding, the standing flood committee should wake up and understand that the problem has been a fundamental one from the inception of the state capital. It also has to do with the behavioral pattern of residents who seem to hate gutters so they deliberately cover them up so it doesn’t accumulate mosquitoes where it is not properly built. I have lived in Mari Kuwait where on a scale of 1 to 10, I can say they are hanging around two and a half over 10, Bolori fits into a paltry 5/10, Baga road and Shagari low cost 4/10, Bama road 6/10, post office before the fly over 4/10 and most of the five major roads 5/10 averagely. They score these low marks in my understanding because as nice as pompomari bypass is for instance there is no serious drainage system on both sides of the shoulders. That itself is a mistake that should not be allowed to linger into this perennial mess.
Most parts of the state capital are below sea level as such we expect that massive drainages should have existed from inception. More than 50 percent of the heavily populated areas in Maiduguri are without proper drainages and sadly an agency like the Borno urban planning agency has not had the political will to call for the building of modern drainages in critical flash points in the metropolis even before the creation of Borno state geographic information service (BOGIS). Sadly too, were drainages do exist, some influential residents build homes on the routes of these shallow gutters and make commuter movements sometimes very painful across certain suburbs like Bolori and Baga road. Most of the houses on the second street behind Anser-ud-deen school in Bolori for instance were built on the only drainage in that area and nobody is doing anything about it.

Bolori junction is a typical example of engineering failure. In spite of the fact that a big drainage emptying system has been built on the left side of Baga road on the junction leading down to the Baga road market, flooding still continues because of this technical failure. This is a technical challenge beyond the ordinary resident or even the media which is also a stakeholder. It has to do with engineering failure within the ministerial bureaucracy which even your Excellency barely tolerates. Your Excellency, it is not too comforting to see residents continue to suffer such engineering failures while they keep complaining of flooding annually. These are some of the lapses that the initial flood committee you set up before the flood must continue to fix. It has to wake up to it’s responsibility if they do not want Borno to deteriorate into a state of despair like residents of some advanced slum states in the country. The removal of residents from the path of such critical drainages expected to serve the city of Maiduguri is more of policy matters beyond sleepy agencies like BOSEPA.

Sleepiness of BOSEPA and why it must be reset to modern realities

It is sad that BOSEPA itself is yet to realize it’s frailties and have resorted to looking out for short term solutions for the lingering garbage accumulation in the capital city which is equally contributing to massive flooding. In my opinion, BOSEPA is grossly backward and most of their staff live and operate as if they are orphans whose parents do not exist anymore. All they know your Excellency is to sweep streets and spray chemicals which is just 30 percent of what they should be doing. Even the law setting up the agency needs a review if that agency would live beyond 2036 or 2040. So many things are wrong with BOSEPA your Excellency and if they are not flogged into line, they will continue to embarrass themselves and the government. Their relationship with their parent ministry is highly convoluted with dangerous red tapes strapping them into almost a comatose agency which gets activated only during the week of environmental sanitation. The most painful discovery about them is that they walk around with that air of self righteousness indicating that they are doing their best when we all know that their best has never been good enough.

You invite them to clean gutters, they will heap the garbage up on the shoulder of the road for the rains to send same back to the gutters and cause flooding in that general area. They look as if they are a seemingly confused agency which has not been able to live up to its responsibilities simply because they have not had the right kind of direction in the last eleven years of pretending to clear garbage to assist in the management of flooding in Maiduguri. Your Excellency , these people don’t seem to have the capacity to envisage the future and plan for the city because most of their management staff lack the requisite exposure to take the agency from where it is now to where it should be. Above all they do not seem to have the political will to embark on a private sector collaboration to handle waste management.The worse challenge they seem to be grappling with is the right implement to work with. And independent BOSEPA should not have less than 200 trucks and a massive fuel dump to assist them with the job

Your Excellency, greater Maiduguri needs nothing less than 2000 waste containers to assist them to do their work. These should be placed in certain strategic areas of each ward and suburb to assist residents to dump their waste for onward ferrying. And for BOSEPA to be able to ferry these on a 24 hour basis, they need the assistance of the private sector because they can’t do it alone. There are hundreds of secondary streets tied around five major routes in Maiduguri. There are many idle young people that can be employed in the clean Maiduguri vanguard and they will be responsible for coordinating the cleaniness of their streets with special allowances. Once the bins are full, they will call BOSEPA vehicles to pick up even if it is less than 24 hours.

Enlightenment of residents about waste dumping and management using the Shara vanguards

Finally, we must concentrate on enlightenment of the people to direct their garbage into these trash cans placed on the roads. Hundreds of them can be manufactured locally. Your Excellency, you will need the services of the residents by way of the household heads, “Shara vanguards”, Ulamas, Chief imams, Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN) Secretariat, Commissioners of information, environment, health, works, BOSEPA, NUJ and the NYSC. The great flood of 2024 showed that a lot of lapses exist in and around the way flood water can be managed by key stakeholders.

Sewage linkages to the gutters must be be stopped because that is one way to support the proliferation of cholera in the city. Dumping of wastes should be seen as a sacred duty whether or not it is raining. People should be enlightened in local languages to stop dumping it into flood water whenever it is raining because it will surely go and block one drain or the other in the city. New dumping sites should be created in conjunction with nesrea so that mistakes would not be made in terms of long term projections. So many things to be corrected. But not to bore you with too much emphasis, I will keep my binoculars clicking and seeing what your people are up to in the entire environment sector. Yours sincerely, Bodunrin.

My Binoculars: Memo to Governor Zulum….2