Ayodele Olawale former Nigerian soldier, has revealed that Boko Haram terrorists often gained the upper hand in battles due to the Nigerian Army’s lack of adequate ammunition.
Speaking on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Tuesday, Olawale shared his harrowing experiences as one of the 70 soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny in 2014 after demanding better weapons to combat the insurgents.
Olawale explained that Nigerian soldiers were limited to just 60 rounds of ammunition and two magazines, while the insurgents were equipped with more powerful, sophisticated weapons.
While reflecting on the 2014 incident, Olawale stated that with proper military equipment, insurgency could be defeated quickly.
He noted that Nigerian soldiers have already identified the terrorists, but without sufficient arms and ammunition, victory is hindered.
Olawale, who has since been pardoned, lamented that little has changed since the soldiers first raised concerns about inadequate arms in 2014.
He said, “The truth is that things have not changed. The truth is that, you know, my colleagues in the army, those are still in the system. They won’t be able to tell you that things have changed.
“They will just tell you all is well because, you know, there is this pattern that the reason why we suffered mutiny was because we spoke out, because we cried out.”
He said all Nigerians knew that there was no such thing as mutiny.
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“We fought, we did the best we could do, but simply because we cried out that this wicked and deadly set that came against us, terrorised the country, they were more equipped in terms of weapon. “If Boko Haram (terrorists) are coming to attack us here (for instance), all the way from Lekki, they would be shooting.
“You would be hearing the sound of MG (machine gun). You understand? If you want to come to fight me here, you are supposed to come in hiding. You know, ambush me and unknown to me, you start attack.”
Olawale said the terrorists would come with full confidence.
“You know, if they belt their ammunition on GPMG, you know, as a result of the diesel they have in drums, there will be no stoppages. The only thing you would be hearing is the sound from as far as a like Lekki to this place, you’d be hearing their sound. That is to tell you that we are coming. We are not scared.
“They understand that they will never run out of ammunition.”
“You can now imagine they are coming to meet us; me, the highest rounds I have with me is 60 rounds, 30 rounds, two magazines. So I have to start as a trained person. We are trained. We have to start making sure that we count our rounds,” he said.
He said each bullet counts and each bullet is meant to perform the work it is sent to do.
“But at a time, the last operation we went for at Kaffia forest, my colleague rightly said, when those people had an upper hand on us was when they began to hear soldiers shouting: ammo, ammo, ammunition.
“This tell them that, oh, these people are out of ammunition. And before you know, there is Boko Haram by the right, Boko Haram by the left, Boko Haram behind us. It is God’s grace for us. So for them, for anyone of them saying we are turning back, nothing has changed.”
Olawale continued, “Like one of my colleagues said, if we have enough weapons, sophisticated weapons, ammunition, we are going for war, we have already identified these people.
“We are more than able, Nigerian soldiers are more than able to tackle the ongoing Boko Haram stuff.”
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