[size=14pt]Meet Gift Nwaobilor, Nigeria’s first tank crew(wo)man[/size]

Wednsday, December 16, 2009
“Her performance too has made General Ewansiha to be quick to support moves to admit women into combat training in institutions such as Nigerian Defence (NDA) and the Nigerian Military School (NMS) which have remained “boys only”military training institutions in the country.”



[img]http://odili.net/news/source/2009/dec/16/tribune/images/feat1[1].jpg[/img]
Trooper Nwaobilor with an Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV)




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It was a man’s world. And even among men, it was not for the chicken-hearted. It was, indeed, the exclusive preserve of the macho men. It was a path reserved for the tough and only the tough dared tread it.

The toughness had to be such that even the fly that had the misfortune of perching on his forehead would just drop dead on its own without efforts from anywhere.

It was a world whose members were viewed as super-humans. And being super-humans, they were seen as people who were not disposed to the physiological dictates of mere mortals. His presence among people evoked some degree of awe. That was the world of the military, especially in the years of yore.

But here rises a pleasant contradiction; the breaking of a jinx, from a supposedly weaker segment of the society; a deviant of some sort. She has not only bulldozed her way into the world of the menfolk, but has, within that world, made her mark where some of the ‘macho men’ dreaded to dare,  It is truth enough that she is wearing the uniform, but she is also deep into the core combat arm. That is the stuff our gifted Trooper Gift is made of.

When at age 19, against initial paternal opposition, Trooper Gift Nwaobilor opted for the army, little did anyone envisage that she would go the way she is going now. But there she is, her smallish physique belying her huge courage heart. And today, at 23, she has not only worn the toga of a “soldier woman,” but has, in defiance of popular societal conceptions, pitched tent with one of the teeth arms of the army - the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps. Beyond merely joining the Armoured Corps, Trooper Gift has equally made significant impressions as the first female crewman of the Nigerian Army.

At the Nigerian Army Armoured School, Bauchi, where Trooper Nwaobilor is currently serving, the Commandant, Brigadier General JAR Ewansiha, pointed out that the posting of female soldiers into the Armoured Corps was a recent development. He recalled that when he was posted in as the Commandant, he decided on the best way to engage the female soldiers and discovered that some of them were very strong at heart and could compete favourably with their male counterparts. He said Trooper Nwaobilor was attached to the Vehicles Holding Unit (VHU) from where she was nominated to attend the Basic Crewman course which makes one a professional crewman in the corps.

The Commandant said he observed, to his surprise, that Nwaobilor did very well in the course. Nwaobilor was the only female who attended the course alongside 59 male participants and emerged fifth in the class. In the words of General Ewansiha, “, she was given the highest assessment, because you don’t come fifth in a class of 60 just because you are the only female. If she did not do well, my instructors do not compromise standards, , they would have put her where she belonged” .

He added that Trooper Nwaobilor’s performance was very good both in the theoretical and practical aspects of the course, stressing, with an air of pride, that “she can handle virtually all AFVs (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) in our inventory. She is very good at that, being her area of specialty.”

General Ewansiha indicates that “by next year, Trooper Nwaobilor will graduate from her A2 course, being the step following the basic (A3).” He also promised to make the female crewman a shining example to others , adding, “Presently, we also have some two or three more female soldiers doing the same A3 course, because we have seen that Trooper Gift’s level of achievement is even greater than some of our own male crewmen,  You know, if women believe in something, they do it with more sense of commitment than men.

“Her performance too has made General Ewansiha to be quick to support moves to admit women into combat training in institutions such as Nigerian Defence (NDA) and the Nigerian Military School (NMS) which have remained “boys only”military training institutions in the country.

The Chief Instructor (CI), Tactics Wing, Colonel MA Iro, commenting on the position of the Armoured Corps on Trooper Nwaobilor’s feat said: “Well, I think as far as the Nigerian Army is concerned, especially the Armour corps, I will say Gift is a very special gift to us. She is the first crew lady we have in our midst. , ”

That Trooper Nwaobilor was the first female to have completed the course as a crewman does not also imply that hers was the first attempt that the school ever made at training a female in that field. Feelers around the school indicate that an earlier attempt in that regards did not meet with success as the trainees, unable to meet the standards required of them, were returned to their respective units.

Also, the perception that Trooper Nwaobilor would be a shining example to her contemporaries is not in anyway in doubt. Trooper Josephine Emeka, a female soldier who is currently undergoing the ‘A3’ Crewman course in the school buttressed this position recently.

Trooper Emeka said, “Trooper Gift is my senior and my role model. Because of her achievements, I am motivated to run this course, and I hope to follow her footsteps and come out in flying colours. I am truly happy for her.”

That Trooper Gift Nwaobilor could break all the barriers and even dazzle the menfolk has evoked a lot of curiousity. The curiosity in this case has spanned from her premilitary background to her social environment.

Nwaobilor was born, not with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, but was rather born and bred in a family setting where the ‘struggle for survival’ is the watch-word. Born into the family of Mr. & Mrs. manliness Nwaobilor of Umuagwulu Amaise, Alaukwu Autonomous Community in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State on January 3, 1987, Trooper Nwaobilor attended Amaise Central School, Umuobiakwa from 1992 to 1997.

The first in a family of six children four boys and two girls Trooper Nwaobilor proceeded to Alaukwu Comprehensive Secondary School, Umuobiakwa, where she sat for the SSCE and NECO examinations. She also attended a computer training programme with CADTECH Computer Training Institute after which she joined the Nigerian Army in August 2006.

Asked whether she thought she could cope, combining her role as a female tank crewman with that of matrimony when she eventually gets married, Trooper Nwaobilor said she was sure she could, with determination and the grace of God.

As for her relationship to her largely male colleagues, Trooper Gift said “they treat me with respect and regard me as their sister. Sometimes, I go to them for advice and they also come to me for the same reason.” Asked whether she would have preferred a corps other than the Armoured, she said, “I have no regrets whatsoever, especially as an armoured personnel. The corps has made me what 1 am today, so there is no other place for me to go than to stay where I belong and enjoy what I do.”

”Trooper Nwaobior reasons that the basic course she had concluded was just the starting point in her career and that she looked forward to running the advanced stages of the course from next year. She says nevertheless, with her present background, she could function effectively, adding that she is psychologically prepared to withstand any situation.

Culled from New Soja
Brigadier General.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/dec/16/614.html

Pleased to meet you Gift. . . . .

MrCrackles:

Pleased to meet you Gift. . . .  .

You fit marry her?

Way to go Gift . . .

This is another tough Igbo lady. Another one has a PhD but is a taxi driver by choice. Ada Igbo kwenu.

Aloy.Emeka:

You fit marry her?

Nah. . . . .

MrCrackles:

Nah. . . . .

Are you afraid she will kick your butt?

mekusxxx:

This is another tough Igbo lady. Another one has a PhD but is a taxi driver by choice. Ada Igbo kwenu.

She wasted her money studying archeology. You only need a commercial drivers license and school cert to become a taxi driver. Does she work for Alao Akala?

Aloy.Emeka:

Are you afraid she will kick your butt?

Too young to get tonked by this strong woman. . . .

MrCrackles:

Too young to get tonked by this strong woman. . . .

Won't she make you stronger?

Aloy.Emeka:

Won't she make you stronger?

No o o o o . . . . I nor want "Soja"

MrCrackles:

No o o o o . . . . I nor want "Soja"

   

U dey fear make she no kick ur kokoro   

skfa1:



U dey fear make she no kick them

Soja laydee is going to be a real handful. . . . .

MrCrackles:

No o o o o . . . . I nor want "Soja"

hehe stay thirsty my friend.

It is really an achievement that needs handsome rewards not mere talk.

MrCrackles:

No o o o o . . . . I nor want "Soja"

Unless you want tpia instead.

Unless you want tpia instead.

lol. . .@ tpia. . .she will tank your mood with bad attitude

slimes:

It is really an achievement that needs handsome rewards not mere talk.

Reward for what?. She is only encroaching in men's private space. That area in the military is reserved specifically for the men.

paddy_lo:

lol. . .@ tpia. . .she will tank your mood with bad attitude

he he

Aloy.Emeka:

Unless you want tpia instead.

Tpia *_{Claps his dunlop slippers together and fiaaaaam out of the window - as fast as his legs can take him*}

slimes:

It is really an achievement that needs handsome rewards not mere talk.

REWARDS LIKE?

chosen04:

REWARDS LIKE?

Assorted Taliban bomb making paraphernalia confiscated from blood thirsty Iraqi extremists in Basra . . . .

These Igbo people sef!

First female pilot and now first tank crew woman.

hmmmmm, una too much!

even first nigerian ashewo sef na igbo, un too much