₦airaland Forum

alatbaba1:
I spit on ur grave. U r senseless

I equally spit on your soon to be grave.

They fall so that we may stand
They face bullets so that we may never see them
They kill for us not to get killed
To our fallen heroes , the injured heros
To our gallant men who are still on the field .
May your soul never take a quantum leap from your body . God bless our Armed forces.

[size=14pt]Africa's forgotten wartime heroes[/size]

Page last updated at 23:32 GMT, Friday, 14 August 2009 00:32 UK


British documentary makers Robin Forestier-Walker and Oliver Owen have been tracing Nigerians who fought against the Japanese in Burma during World War II.

On VJ Day, the anniversary of victory over Japan, they tell the veterans' story.

https://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46206000/jpg/_46206991_banana226.jpg
Private African Banana also served as a peacekeeper in Congo and Chad

Mohammed was just 16 when he was pressed into British military service in northern Nigeria against his will.

Now, almost 70 years on, the old war veteran claims he hid his true identity from the recruiting officer.

It was as Private African Banana that he went on to travel 6,300 miles (10,100km) to the jungles of Burma in the Royal West African Frontier Force.

And he has been known as African Banana ever since.

The contribution of West Africans was played down in official versions of the Allied war in Asia, and until now, few have had an opportunity to tell their tale.

In fact, only two in 10 of the soldiers who fought in Burma were white.

The role of Indians and Gurkhas is known. But when Allied commander General William Slim thanked his 14th army at the end of the campaign, he did not even mention the Africans.

Jungle warfare

Nigerians made up more than half of the total force of 90,000 West African soldiers deployed to South East Asia after 1943 as part of the British Army's 81st and 82nd (West Africa) Divisions.

Although the Burma campaign ended 64 years ago, many remain bitter that their contribution was never adequately recognised.

They were central to the push to clear Japanese forces out of the jungle and mountain ranges of Burma, from where they threatened British India.

This was achieved through a gruelling campaign of jungle marches, battles and ambushes, in which supplies were delivered entirely by air.

Usman Katsina remembers it well.

"Everything that was meant to be used - your food, your clothes, everything - was given to you and you were required to carry it, on your head and back. Some even died from exhaustion, from travelling long distances, with a heavy load," he says.

Some of those who earned the coveted Burma Star had already fought against Mussolini's forces in East Africa.

West Africans also joined special Chindit units under the command of General Orde Wingate.

The Chindits fought deep inside Japanese-held territory to disrupt lines of communication.

Their enemy was an extremely dangerous opponent. Japanese soldiers were trained well in the art of jungle warfare, where the first rule was concealment.

It was a skill the Nigerian troops had to learn too.

"The Japanese in the jungle were just like snakes - they hid before you could see them, it was very hard," recalls 97-year-old Hassan Sokoto.

'Lack of recognition'

Umaru Yola fought in the 4th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment. He described how he was hit in the head with a piece of shrapnel that left him with a hole in his skull.

"I didn't die, so God must have decided to give me a long life," he says.


https://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46206000/jpg/_46206992_veterans226.jpg
Many of the veterans feel they were failed by the British after the war

African recruits served as drivers, artillerymen, engineers, medics and clerks, as well as infantrymen and carriers.

Officer positions were reserved for white expatriates from Britain and other parts of the empire, with only one notable exception: Lieutenant Seth Anthony from the Gold Coast was the British Army's first African officer.

Despite the hierarchy, the war in Burma played some part in breaking down the race barriers of the era.

"Initially I saw the white man as someone better than me. But after the war, I considered him an equal," recalls former infantryman Dauda Kafanchan.

In post-war Nigeria, the colonial government gave some veterans land to begin new lives as farmers. The project was also a scheme to reduce their potential impact as a new political force.

"We wanted work. But what could we do? We were under colonial rule and we couldn't change anything," said veteran Dangombe, who found himself without prospects at the war's end.

Nigerian soldiers who chose to continue their military careers went on to form the core of independent Nigeria's national army, which retains the 81st and 82nd Divisions to this day.

Private Banana later served as a peacekeeper in the Congo and Chad. And he returned to the frontline alongside many of his former comrades in Nigeria's bloody 1967-1970 civil war.

But many of his former comrades feel the British abandoned their responsibilities to their former servicemen.

Although they were paid off for their service, some claim they were promised allowances which were never paid, despite their repeated efforts over the years.

And it is not only the money - some veterans are still bitter over what they see as a lack of recognition.

"We were supposed to get Long Service and British Empire Medals" says Dangombe.

"But up until now - nothing."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8201717.stm

The video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5gSlraEGSo

Isaac Fadoyebo was a Nigerian soldier that fought against the Japanese in Burma in World War 2. His unit was ambushed while moving in the Kaladan River Valley and Fadoyebo was badly injured. He was rescued by Burmese villagers who hid them from the Japanese for 10 months.

A British journalist called Barnaby Philips, who had been the BBC's Nigeria correspondent and later worked for Al-Jazeera, made a documentary about Fadoyebo's exploits. He was able to track down the Burmese family that hid Isaac Fadoyebo and deliver a letter of gratitude from Isaac Fadoyebo to them. The documentary, called Burma Boy was shown in 2012. This is the documentary.

(Isaac Fadoyebo died in November 2012)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BREOezfAJSU

nosike3:
I equally spit on your soon to be grave.

Clowns like u are the reason Africa is still what it is today. Never see anything good. Evil ppl everywhere.

xpac01:
This article is either composed by Lai Moh'md himself or by Lai moh'mdian or by an English student who's yet to pass his English exams.
When bokoharam war becomes fought we will know.
For now my respect and prayers remains to the brave soldiers who have been tirelessly fighting to defend our dear nation.
Anywhere you see a soldier baba tuale.

"THEY DIE SO THAT WE MAY LIVE IN PEACE"

How dare you talk to naptu like that you shrimp! Maybe you are new on nairaland but there are some persons here who have earned their strips by their sheer contribution to knowledge on nairaland, and naptu is one of those few. You ll to well to shut your wide mouth and learn from the feet of a man who's probably old enough to give birth to you. idiot!!

May the souls of the fallen heroes rest in perfect peace. Amen. Kudos to our gallant soldiers.

patwilly:
How dare you talk to naptu like that you shrimp! Maybe you are new on nairaland but there are some persons here who have earned their strips by their sheer contribution to knowledge on nairaland, and naptu is one of those few. You ll to well to shut your wide mouth and learn from the feet of a man who's probably old enough to give birth to you. idiot!!

OMG. Kid whatsup When are gonna grow up I wanna know please

President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara and Chief Justice Mahmud Mohamed at the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance Day wreath laying ceremony.
[img]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYxk9YUWkAAdCEO.jpg:small[/img]



President Buhari receiving the national salute at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony today.
[img]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYxKhApWYAA1d7U.jpg:small[/img]


President Buhari lays his wreath.
https://www.tv360nigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/new-Screen-Shot-2016-01-15-at-12.45.jpg


Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, laying his wreath.
[img]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYxKdvcWsAAS5VF.jpg:small[/img]


Prayer by Catholic priest.
[img]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYwDbNHUwAALq6l.png:small[/img]


Muslim prayer
[img]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYwFg87WcAAF3Co.png:small[/img]

President Muhammadu Buhari addressing troops in the north east via video chat.

[img]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYxxjz7WMAQQ_Cj.png:small[/img]

nosike3:
He-goat!!!

Geeez. U jst wake up from comma? Gerra ra here punk.