Nigerian Army couple who are both generals:How we met, married and coped with war
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Brig.-Gen. Clifford Wanda and Brig.-Gen. Cecelia Akagu are arguably the only couple to become generals in the Nigerian Army. They share their experiences with LEKE BAIYEWU

When and how did you join the Nigerian Army?

Wanda: I started my military career as a Boy Soldier in the Nigerian Military School in 1974. That was my entrance into the army. After graduating from the military school, I proceeded to the university where I read medicine. After graduation, I was then commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1986 as a Lieutenant medical doctor.

Akagu: I didn’t know much about the army until 1984 when I went to Makurdi, Benue State. I went out with my uncle and I saw some people running. I asked my uncle what they were doing and he said ‘they are people who want to join the military.’ I picked what my uncle said and went away. During the next intake, I went there. I had a friend called Stella, a Calabar lady. She came to me and said ‘Cecelia, how do you feel being called retired Colonel Cecelia?’ That was how we went for the form and I went for the recruitment (exercise). During the recruitment, they were not too sure of my name. I used to be very skinny and slim but when they assessed me, they knew that I was fit for the job. When they were doing the selection, they picked a lady and said, if she was not picked (shortlisted), I would be the second person to be picked. When I got to the camp, they asked if I was Monica, I said no. They said, ‘Thank God. We didn’t want to make a mistake. We wanted you to be among the girls to be picked.’ That was how I started the journey.

Of all the professions available to you, why did you choose to become a military officer?

Wanda: I have always loved the army because I first came in contact with the army through my foster dad who was a soldier; I lived with him and grew up with him. That was the beginning of my love for the army. Again, I went to a primary school that was in the barracks – a military primary school in Enugu. From my father and having lived in the barracks for long, I took up the interest. In fact, I was so much in love with the military that before I took my First School Leaving Certificate, I insisted that I must go to military school. I was not going to take any examination other than a military school examination, which I did and passed. I proceeded to military school in 1974. It would interest you to know that when he (foster father) bought the forms from the military school, I was so small then that they refused to give him the forms. They requested that if I was interested in the army, I should raise up my hand. I raised my hand but they said I was too small. But when there was no other person to take the forms, they gave it to me, which I filled. I took the examination that year and I made it to the military school. Such was the love I have for the army.

How did your parents and those around you feel when you insisted on following your military passion?

Wanda: My foster dad, who I grew up with was already in the army. He loved it and even though my siblings didn’t want me to go to military school and join the army, that was what I loved they were saying, ‘you can die, you can be injured.’ For me, it was like an adventure. It was something I loved. I grew up in the barracks, I saw the way soldiers did their things – the military gear, the discipline, and everything associated with the military. I could not be discouraged.

As a lady, was there a time when you felt like making a U-turn due to the rigours of the training?

Akagu: No.

How did you meet your wife?

Wanda: We met in 1990 during our training – our orientation course. Having been commissioned, we started our orientation course in Jaji. We were course mates, so to say, even though she was a Second Lieutenant and I was a Lieutenant. We met during the course and the relationship started from there.

What d

Few years time it will be me and my swthrt. The only difference is she z In d air force am in the army kudos generals

Dem look like deeper life members.

Lol....na WA o.