Okay first and foremost, i would like to state that i am an eighteen year old writer so I hope you will pardon my "novice" mistakes. Also, this is a work based on pure imagination so there might be few historical contradictions with respect to the fact that the story is set at 48 years ago, thirty years before my birth. All constructive criticisms and reviews are welcome. Please enjoy!
I would like to tag Danwrites and Larrysun, two of the writers i admire most on Nairaland. Lets get started!




Sergeant Ugwu sat in front of some of the most powerful men in the Wazirian Military, sweating profusely in stubborn defiance to the Air Conditioning unit that persistently blew cold air into the living room. The coarse food and the poor hygiene he had been subjected to over the previous two weeks seemed to be finally taking its toll on his giant muscular frame. Ugwu was one of the most feared non commissioned officers in the Wazirian Military, rumors among the Junior officers had it that he was so accurate with his shooting that he was capable of decapitating a moving fly with his bullets. While some simply concluded that he had the power to appear and disappear, other people concluded that his father had been a powerful witch doctor who had "cooked" his son to the extent that no bullet could penetrate him. Ugwu never did anything to either refute or confirm this rumor, he just left it at the mercy of each of its modifiers. To the senior officers, he was simply an efficient soldier, or now that they had the government in their hands, he was an efficient tool for silencing the opposition. But right now, the story was a quite different one. Perhaps, Intimidated by his ruthless efficiency and his perceived immortality, some senior officials started feeling uncomfortable, thus, rumors immediately emanated from the walls, this time, Ugwu was the bone of contention.
The rumor had it that he had been planning a coup together with some junior officers to overthrow the government. Once a rumor like this started up, one could not tell where it would end. So on a cold misty morning, he was rudely awoken by a hard bang on the wooden door that served his two bedroom flat in Gideon Ofango Barracks, one of the three barracks in Azaro, capital of the the Supreme Republic Of Waziria. He had immediately peeped through the window, when he saw men dressed in the full combat uniform of the Peoples Force of Waziria, he felt a little ease. He had opened the door, expecting a worm early morning greeting from his fellow comrades. But that came in form of a ferocious slap that left an imprint of five crookedly shaped fingers on his cheek. That was two weeks ago. Today, he was seated in front of the most powerful men in the military, momentarily confused. Up till now, all the incidences of the past two weeks seemed to be beyond his comprehension.
"We have sufficient evidence to convict you of coup plotting, treason and disloyalty, the penalty of which i am sure, you know, is death by firing squad"
Said a bloated general whose neck seemed to to be crushing his collars. He paused momentarily, as if waiting for Ugwu to digest the message he had just delivered.
The general made a long speech but Ugwu seemed to hear only the last sentence. Those words came crashing into his spirit with the weight of a sleight hammer unleashed against a stubborn rock. He could feel molten, emotion laden tears rush down from his eyes as he thought about his wife and his two daughters. Their pictures flashed through his mind, persistently. He was awed by the speed of the whole thing, from being one of the most efficient soldiers to being a traitor and an enemy of the government in two weeks. He had been tried in absentia but the judgement was delivered in his presence, in the characteristic brutal military justice he never knew he would be a victim of.

Back in his cell, he sat, alone, mournful. Suddenly, he heard the metal barricades enclosing his cell open with a squeak, he looked up to see General Gulasa Isah, the chief of defense staff.
"My boy. I dont know if these rumors are true, or if this judgement is just, but i am going to give you an opportunity to prove your loyalty to this government. The commander in chief has sent me here with an assignment for you, promising that your sentence would be revoked if you are successful in this mission. News reaching us is that the military overseer of the southern region, Colonel Nwankwo is planning a secession. Now, our intelligence has it that he has the support of majority of the top citizens there and the youth too. The south also has majority of our military equipment, oil wealth and sea ports, I need not tell you what will happen to the rest of us if that bastard Nwankwo succeeds. We would be without oil, we will be landlocked and the rest of us will virtually come to our extinction. Removing or transferring him will virtually spark off the process and make it quicker. We understand that you are his brother-in-law, so the commander in chief wants you to go there and quietly execute him. I ask you to consider this offer to serve this great nation and keep it one."
Without waiting for a reply, he stood up and left the cell in his usual, unhurried manner.

To be continued

Wow.... guys, support a fella with your comments

mrryon: Wow.... guys, support a fella with your comments

I am solidly following you bro....especially as d story is military tinz

You can never tell how good you'd be at something till you start.
I'll provide my observation(s) when I've gone through.

Please adjust your spacing to make for easier read.

DanWrites: You can never tell how good you'd be at something till you start.
I'll provide my observation(s) when I've gone through.

Please adjust your spacing to make for easier read.

Thank you for showing up boss. I really appreciate

Ugwu was immediately caught up in a dilemma of choices. He couldnt really fully control the several questions that stubbornly poured into his mind. He suddenly felt a chilling fever run through him. He found himself in a state of mad confusion, and to his utmost disappointment he could do little or nothing to rescue himself from the quagmire which currently threatened to metamorphose into a quicksand, swallowing every bit of his being. He of course, knew colonel Nwankwo, the chivalrous young officer who was married to his younger sister, Nnenna. He remembered how it all happened .

He continued running, panting heavily. The early morning mud and dew gave his feet some brownish coloring, temporarily camouflaging his black feet. As he continued running, exhaustion stealthily crept in. He could feel his heart pounding furiously against his chest. His feet were getting heavier, then stiffer. Then, suddenly, the air seemed insufficient. He could feel sharp pains as his heart punched above its weight, his eyes were bloodshot, he tasted his salty sweat on his lips, and squinted his eyes to get rid of the sweat that had become a bit painful. As he tore through the chilly, early morning air, he scared away nocturnal creatures receding to their hiding places for the day and he rudely woke up the day creatures from their half hearted slumber. Then suddenly, his pace slowed down, he wanted to get as far as possible from his nemesis as he could but his body seemed to have different ideas. He fell to the moist forest floor, almost involuntarily, and he couldn’t muster enough strength to stand up and continue his flight. As he lay heavily on the ground, breathing hard at first, then slowly, he started feeling a sharp pain on his left leg. He dragged himself up to see the source of the pain, when he raised his head up, he a saw red, sticky, viscous liquid smeared on leaves, living his trail open.
Removing his shirt, he tore them into shreds and tied his wound, trying hard to stifle the groan that fought hard to escape from his mouth. He looked ahead, the next village wouldn’t be too far now. He tried to get back on his feet but two hefty hands pinned him to the wet floor, temporarily paralyzing the upper part of his body. He struggled to free himself but he was silenced with two heavy slaps on both sides of the cheek. The slaps left an imprint of five crookedly shaped fingers on each side, giving him a look of a man with long tribal marks. He looked up and saw a vague figure standing in front of him. He was sure he knew the person standing in front of him but his head could not immediately place a name on the figure standing in front of him. The person, dressed in camouflage, brought out a pistol and aimed it at him, he slowly increased the pressure on the trigger then the last thing he saw was bright light……
Colonel Nwankwo jumped up from his nightmare. Now in his mid thirties, he had risen through the ranks in the military like a monkey would climb a tree, swiftly. Being one of the few people with a college degree at that time in the military, he was highly respected. But he was not short of enemies. Other military officers considered him a snub and over educated for the military, they held that the military was not for the “bookish” but for the fit, so they viewed Colonel Nwankwo and other educated officers with contempt. Colonel Nwankwo had grown up in an affluent home, his father being one of the richest men in West Africa. He always had a strong will, ego and he was indeed a snub. Many people viewed him as selfish, arrogant and stubborn, but he always countered such allegations by insisting that person with such attributes wouldn’t even make it through military school. The truth was that he was not thrown out of military school because of his wealthy father’s influence, not because is altruistic, or diligent, or an extremely good officer. At 6ft, he was a huge man and he had an intimidating presence. He had bushy eyebrows that seemed to hide his tiny eyes. His nose rested firmly on his face, his nostrils drew copiously from the air around it. He always kept moustache, it gave him a distinctive appearance. He had a particular liking for the fairer sex, it was an Achilles heel exploited badly by the business men who bid for contracts at his office. Despite all these, Colonel Nwakwo was still a compassionate man who appreciated and valued his people, the Ogbi people of western Waziria.
Colonel Nwankwo dragged himself from his bed and sat down for a moment, staring blankly at the milk colored wall paper that masked the original blue paint the building had. The dream he just woke up from seemed to have drained him of a sizeable amount of strength. He stood up, sinking his feet into the soft Persian rug that covered the floor. He felt like a giant walking on two needles when he stood up, he staggered a bit before he gradually found balance. He was still sweating profusely and his head ached painfully like a man on a hangover. He looked around his huge bedroom then he went to the stereo player resting on the table adjacent his bed, slotted in a tape and pressed the start button. As the music slowly flowed into the room in gradual leaps typical of a highlife song, strength flowed back into the body of the ailing giant. Within a few minutes he had recovered sufficiently from his morning sickness. He went near his door and pressed a red button. Almost immediately, there was a knock on the door. A slender looking man, dressed in and impeccably neat and ironed camouflage with his boots reflecting light so well they could replace a standard mirror walked into the room.
The officer thumped his boot on the soft rug, producing a slight thud, then he mechanically lifted his hands and brought two fingers near his head, typical of a Wazirian military salute.
“Good morning sir!”
He shouted, putting his chest out as if trying to say
“Don’t mind my slim frame, I’m still strong enough to protect you.”
“Good morning Sergeant Bantu, How is the morning?”
Colonel Nwankwo asked, not even bothering to release the poor officer from his constricted position.
“The morning is beautiful sir! The lawns have been done, the flowers trimmed, the cars are ready, the soldiers await further instructions sir!”
“That’s good, you may leave now.”
The soldier turned like a remote controlled robot, and he made his way to the door.
“Bantu, tell Lt Nwani to come meet me here in 30 minutes time. Tell him to come with my full schedule for today”
Colonel Nwankwo already knew his schedule for the day. One part of it stood out from other activities like a giraffe would in a country of midgets. It was his meeting with other members of the state military council, or SMC. His kinsmen were in perilous times, there was a nationwide onslaught against them, especially in the south.
“Is our fault that we grasped the opportunity of change with both hands? Is our fault that we are adventurous? Have we killed or maimed anybody from the south living here? Is our fault that we are the most successful?”
These were the questions that constantly reverberated in the deepest parts of his mind as he got prepared for the SMC meeting. He just couldn’t comprehend the logic behind the lunacy of these ignorant southerners. Every day, countless lorries transported refugees from the south to the west, bringing back the dead, the sick, the wounded. He had informed the commander in chief about the nefarious and inhumane acts unleashed on his people, but so far, nothing had changed. He knew the time had come to make the change.
“If the gazelle fails to challenge the inevitability of its fate in the belly of the lion, he would always end up in the feces of the lion”
He philosophized as he wore his immaculately clean and meticulously ironed camouflage. Ejiofor the cleaner was always a good hand to entrust clothes to.
When he got outside, he was greeted with the stiff salute of some huge looking officers carrying guns that looked capable of scaring even evil spirits. He replied, frowning his face in a mock seriousness, typical of senior military officers. To add severity to his look, he wore dark sun glasses. He immediately made for the car whose door had been flung open by a soldier near it. He entered the car and saw a face he knew well already sitting and waiting for him.

part three coming up. show some love guys