Azubuike Ihejirika: My Mother Refused Fetish Marks On Me, So I Grew Up Fearless, Confident

From the quiet resilience of his childhood in a rural community in Abia State to the commanding heights of Nigeria’s military hierarchy, where he served as Chief of Army Staff from September 2010 to January 2014, retired Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika’s journey is a study in conviction, courage, and service. In this conversation with Obinna Chima, he recalls that his mother’s refusal to allow fetish marks on him instilled a deep sense of confidence and fearlessness that shaped his character from an early age. Decades later, that same resolve defined his tenure as Chief of Army Staff, when he confronted Nigeria’s complex security challenges at a critical moment in the nation’s history. Ihejirika, who turned 70 yesterday,  maintains that the Nigerian Army still possesses the capacity and untapped potential to defeat the country’s worsening insecurity, which he described as a cancer that has spread, if backed by political will, societal support, and strategic clarity. Excerpts:

As you turn 70, what moments from your childhood still shape the man you are today?

I grew up in the village. The name of my village is Eluobai in Ovim, in Isukwuato Local Government of Abia State, today. I was born on 13th of February, 1956. Living in my village was like living with nature. We call our place Elucity, because we believe it was a city rather than a jungle. Let me simply say that i was blessed with very good parents. My mother, perhaps due to her circumstances, disliked superstition and everything fetish. She died in 2021. So, because of failed prophesies regarding my birth, I was not born at the ninth month, and according to my mum, I was almost passing the 10th month in the womb. So, the native doctors then imagined that I was already gone. But my mum didn’t agree with them because there was still movement in her womb, and when I was given birth to, I was healthy. When it was time for me to be fortified, as our people used to, where some marks are given to either protect the child from enemies or from dangerous diseases, my mum refused. She refused them from giving me a fetish mark. So, I grew up without fear a very confident. If we are returning from school and if there was any contraption on a tree, on our track, or a rope, that is blocking the road, all the children would wait for me to go forward and take them off. Then, something happened. A story was told by father, about how his own father, who worshipped in the native way, witnessed a tree that represented his god. In those days, everybody had a mini-god, even though they still worshipped the almighty God and they call that one Obasibilelu, that is the god in heaven, but there were other smaller ones with their sub-specialties. So, before my grandfather’s eyes, the tree representing his god withered. So, he called his children that he had done enough worshipping and that every one of us should be free. That was why I grew up not having any iota of respect for fetish things or superstitions, and that had a serious impact in my life, to the extent that when I was appointed Chief of Army Staff, one General who claimed to be a Pastor, came to me that we should pray and do some cleansing before I would sit down on the seat. But, before he finished saying that, I just rushed and sat down in my seat. Another important thing was when I came of age, and I was about to join the Defense Academy. I had prepared to leave the house, but my father called me and gave me some advice. He wished me well and said he wants me to make it in life, but he told me that the greatest wealth in life is the people you have around you. He stressed that the person he calls a wealthy man is one who, when he has problems, has friends who come to his aid. He advised that I should not judge being wealthy by how much I have, either in property or in money. I think that helped me in life to value relationships.

What values did your upbringing instill in you, and how did they influence your decision to pursue a military career?

Before the war started, I was with my grandmother on a farm, and the military band was playing some martial music. The bugle also sounded not too far from the farm. I fell in love with the music, and I tried to find out what was going on there. I was told that one Lieutenant Eneji, one of the pioneers of the Nigerian Air Force, had crashed in Lagos during training, and the military was conducting his burial. It struck me. I said, ‘What an honour. This has never happened before.’ So, that sparked my initial interest in a military career, and later, when I was growing up, the war broke out when I was just 11 years old. Then I began to hear about Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu and General Ike Nwachukwu, who were in the military. Before we finished our secondary school certificate examination, they also came and spoke to the students’ union in the village, encouraging young people to consider a career in the military. So, I jumped into it. By 1974, as I was taking my school certificate examination, I was also applying. But I waited for my school certificate result, which was why I joined the Defense Academy in 1975.

What is the most important lesson you learnt as a young officer that stayed with you throughout your career?

I will say it is human management. My first posting was in Maiduguri at a time when the city was the finest and safest in the whole world. Then, at Maiduguri, people slept without locking their doors. Due to the heat, people slept mostly outside and were so friendly and generous. By the time I graduated in 1982, I was posted to Lagos, and my first task was to look after the soldiers. But it was when I was building the bridge at Ipaja, a kind of military bridge, that I really put my human management skills into practise. At that time, Ipaja was not linked to the mainland with any reasonable bridge, and the wooden bridge they had there had collapsed. I was tasked to launch a military bridge across the place. I applied a little lesson on man-management. I would get palm wine for my soldiers, those who would drink and I realised that they were so motivated because of the quality of food, care, and the fact that most times I joined them in the construction, having been trained also in the construction of such bridges. Of course, I was younger than most of them. We were given two weeks for that job, but we concluded it in one week. So, I will say, man management was my first lesson as a very young officer. If you handle your troops well, they will support you with the output.

What did it mean to you personally to be appointed Chief of Army Staff at that point in Nigeria’s history?

It meant to me an opportunity to bring about changes. That was why my vision was to transform the Nigerian Army into a force that is better and able to meet contemporary challenges. The military by nature, is conservative. We like to stick to rules, and we hardly make changes. Not just the Nigerian Army, but the military globally. So, I was privileged to hold appointments that prepared me for the office of the Chief of Army Staff. Command in the Army is in layers. I commanded 30 men as a troop Commander. You may call it a platoon commander. When I got to the rank of a Captain, I became an Officer Commanding, and I had about 100 people under my command. When I became a Major, I taught at the staff college. It was there that I was promoted. As Captain and as Officer in Charge at Basawa Barracks, Zaria. I also held other appointments, like working in the Department of Military Secretary, where I was Deputy Military Secretary Three. This was at a time Nigeria was involved in Operations in Liberia and later Sierra Leone. It was my task to generate the officers that would be posted, either as an enforcement to those operating or to prepare the new battalions billed to go there. Of course, that opened my eyes to the problem of manpower because it was there I realised that the Nigerian Army was grossly understaffed. I also saw some things that needed to be improved upon in the promotion system, having missed a promotion myself. After that, I still went to the War College and learnt operational acts and all that. But before I became the Chief of Army Staff, I was appointed the Chief of Army Standards and Evaluation. So, the mandate given to me by the late General L.N. Yusuf was to review all the training manuals of the Nigerian Army and bring them up to date. That involved visiting all the Nigerian Army Training Institutions, including the banned training school. With that, I saw all the inadequacies and the areas that needed complete change or improvement. So, I set up over 20 different committees to review these manuals until they were ready for publication. But suddenly L.N. Yusuf left office and the project stalled. So, one day, General Yusuf called me while on retirement and from a sick bed to find out if I had published those manuals. I told him that I was no longer in charge and he said, “Look, you are the one to publish those manuals; that was why I entrusted you with that job.” So, when I became Chief of Army Staff, that project was one of the early things I implemented. In line with my vision, which was to transform the Nigerian Army into a force that is able to manage the country’s challenges.

What would you describe as the toughest decision you had to make during your tenure?

The toughest decisions I took had to do with deployments. Deployments included the selection of those who would work with you, because whatever you do, the quality of those around you matters a lot. Along with deployment, you will have things like promotion, retirement, and administrative matters. It is difficult to single out a particular aspect and say it is the toughest. There were some postings I did towards the end of my tenure, to ensure that I keep track with the mission statement of the Nigerian Army, which is to win all land battles. When those deployments were made, there were ripples all over the country with different groups putting pressure on the authority and so one. There was also serious pressure that I should retire General Mustapha Dennis Onoyiveta (Rtd), that he was the Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the late President Yar’Adua, and during that period, as ADC, he wasn’t approachable and amenable. They even said he should be retired because his counterparts in the Police and the DSS, who were at the lower rung, had been retired. But I refused. I said this Officer was one of the best among his peers, and I said no. I called for his file, looked at it, and saw that it was excellent, and nobody had written a petition against him. But it was a tough one. Also, another case was during a promotion. We had a case where three officers, after the Board Assessment, emerged first. Now, what would happen? Should we drop one or two? I said no. Instead of dropping any of them since they were so good, we’d better research and create additional vacancies to enable them to be promoted. This was because not promoting any of them would send wrong signals and demoralise them, and show that competence or merit did not matter. Interestingly, the three officers were from Kano State. Of course, there were those I changed their deployment, and hell was let loose. Of course, I did not reverse the deployment.

What is your assessment of the nature of insecurity Nigeria is facing today compared to what existed during your time in service?

During my tenure, the situation was more predictable. But today, it is more than fluid. If you look back to somethings I did as Chief of Army Staff, as part of the implementation of my vision, if you examine them deeply, you will see that all the effort was to prevent what is going on now. I had what I call a containment strategy. This strategy was to restrict Boko Haram to the fringes of the north-east, while we build the capacity to deal with the problem. I realised that we lacked strength. Though the Army was about 80,000 when I took over, before I left, I had added more than 20,000, within just three and half years. We used to recruit between 1,000 and 2,000 annually, but I had to turn most of the Army Training Schools into recruit training grounds. I also did recruitment for drivers so as to turn out drivers in large quantities. We also had to tamper with the educational qualification for soldiers, to get some mechanics who had no school certificates or who had just one or two papers. One thing we did to curtail this menace then was to dominate the major roads leading out of the north-east. So, whether you are coming from anywhere, you will meet soldiers on patrols. I didn’t have the luxury of doing roadblocks because I had compared the two. From experience, when I was in Kaduna, I compared the two and realised that mobile patrol is better. But we still had some roadblocks in the case of Kaduna and Abuja, because of the volume of traffic as well as intelligence. Today, it is like when cancer has spread. When cancer spreads, treatment is not easy. The biggest problem Nigeria has is that we prefer to live in denial from the real fact. Of course, the military has training schools, War Colleges, Institute of Strategic Studies, and others. Such institutions exist to enable a nation to foresee problems before they manifest. Any nation that waits would be overwhelmed. The battle is like a race; it is not like a wrestling match. If you pause, the enemy keeps moving. First, I commend Mr. President for bringing back the National Anthem, whether it will give us a small sense. The other national anthem talks about celebrating our heroes past, and we don’t know who is a hero. The Boko Haram, their leaders are following the teachings of Osama Bin Laden. Some Nigerians wrote to Osama Bin Laden, requesting for three things: The asked for training, weapons and money. Osama Bin Laden in his response, promised them training in a place not far from Nigeria; promised them weapons, but he said they should look inwards for money. So, if Boko Haram needs money, they just kidnap some people and money will come. So, we must agree that Nigeria is at war, which was my pronouncement then. But the Chief of Army Staff will not declare war. But if I see war, I would know. We saw the bombs, analysed and we saw the sophistication. We saw their organisation even if they were rag-tag. But now that it has spread, drastic measures would be required. I cannot share what I think should be done in this interview. If I am requested, like my colleagues used to do from time to time, I air my view. All I can say is that the situation is not good.

In your view, does the Nigerian Army currently have the capacity to decisively tackle these threats?

I will you an example. Let me refer you to Sun Tzu, in his ‘The Art of War,’ he said know yourself and know your enemy, and you will fight a thousand wars. It implies that first, you must be truthful and honest with yourself. It means that you have inherent weaknesses; list them, and you have your strengths; list them as well.  You identify what you lack, and then you find out how to fill the gap. In ‘Things Fall Apart,’ ‘Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has also learnt to fly without perching.” I can say that the Army has the capacity, untapped potential, but working under an environment that degrades their strength.

What role should external partners like the United States, Russia, China, and others play in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges?

Relationships and defence pacts are very important. Nigeria is not an island, and of course, there are experiences you will get by working with external bodies. The most important things you will receive from others who are superior to you are training and equipment. But you don’t wait for them before you start producing your own equipment. My project at the War College was on ‘Military Industrial Complex in National Defence: Discuss.” But in the course of that study, in conceptualising military industrial complex, I realised that any nation that relies on another for all its defence needs has not yet arrived. Capacity building is a continuous thing. You cannot buy capacity, but you can get help. However, while you are being helped, you have to struggle quickly to acquire capacity. During my time as Army Chief, the United States was able to train some units for us. But there was no continuity. As I left the office, they also left. Now, if we expect foreigners to solve all our problems, it will not materialise. But if you say you don’t want foreigners, things would worsen, because we have not built that capacity. When I say the Nigerian Army has capacity, I know the potential. I also know that with societal support, they can do better. If the whole society agrees that enough of all this nonsense we see around and with the political will, it will stop. The situation we have today does not happen in many countries.

Looking back, is there anything you wish you had done differently as Army Chief?

As Army Chief, I find it difficult to pick on things I should have done differently. But certainly, if I look at all the days I spent as Army Chief, I realise one thing: I approached my job strictly as a professional, but I ignored the fact that an Army Chief is also operating at the highest strategic level. So, one of the things I could have done differently is that I could have taken a little more time to explain some of the strategic decisions we took to Mr. President. Not doing so leaves gaps which could be exploited by interest groups, maybe for political reasons or otherwise.

What did service to Nigeria demand of you personally and of your family?

The way postings come, particularly when you are a young officer, you can be here now, and the next moment you are posted. Your first child might be coming at a time you are drafted for a mission or course, and all that. So, the first training we give newly recruited civilians, is to remove the civilian mentality from their head. So, this is an area that can be looked into. But looked into carefully so that you don’t remove the soldier in the man.  If a soldier is alerted or called upon, you don’t look back, you just dress up and go there. That is the training. That is the soldier in you. As I rose through the ranks, at every point, I always had very good subordinates. I always made sure that I avoided any officer with psychopathic tendencies. I mean, not bringing too close an officer who is a praise-singer and who would applaud every decision. I prefer those who would stand before me and argue their points. Of course, it was reflected in my project in the War College.

How do you define patriotism after decades in uniform?

Patriotism is supposed to be a straightforward term. I will say that Nigeria is still existing because patriotic Nigerians are in the majority. That is people who still believe in this country are in the majority.

(Cuts in) Some people may disagree with that statement that patriotic Nigerians are in the majority?

Yes, if they do, fine. If we have more unpatriotic Nigerians, the country would have collapsed. I once went to General Azazi when I was new, and I asked him, ‘Sir, how come that those who need Nigeria more are the ones who do things that would destroy Nigeria?’ Really, Nigerians are very patriotic. Our endurance level is high. Patriotism in the Nigerian context takes me back to the new national anthem. We told God to, ‘grant this our only request – to build a nation where no one is oppressed.’ That to me is patriotism. I can claim that I am one of the most patriotic Nigerians. When I was in office, a Senate Committee came that they wanted to investigate appointments I made because there were allegations of tribalism in the postings I made. When they got to my office, they found out that my principal staff officer then came out and they asked every officer to introduce himself and they did and they were all from different tribes; they called my ADC and found that he is from Plateau State; the Military Assistant also introduced himself. Of course, unpatriotic Nigerians abound and you know that it is easy to destroy than to build. Being mentored and favoured by somebody not from my tribe, further strengthened by belief in Nigeria. That was why in my administration, I cherished officers that are hardworking. Of course, the greatest thing that moves a nation forward is unity. Because of this, some nations before they recruit you into the military, you will denounce religion and tribe. It is the national anthem that you will uphold. It means that irrespective of where you are from, that fellow beside you is your brother. That was why sometimes ago I said it would be nice if there is compulsory military training for our youth. If we don’t include this compulsory military training and we continue the way we are going, we may get to a point where we might pay dearly for it. That is because the military inculcates patriotism in you, such that it grows with you. I am not saying that once you are a military man you cannot be unpatriotic. We have seen loots of that also and when such things happen we call it an aberration. If tribalism and ethnicity has become a culture we now hail and nurture, then we are not heading towards the right direction.

What advice would you give to young Nigerians who see military service as a calling today?

I will encourage them and I will implore all levels of government and authorities to also encourage them. I will also implore the public to tone down the castigation of the military. It is in realising the nature of the conflict we have now that I established the Civil-Military Affairs Department. We didn’t have that before. We just had Public Relations Officers who would explain whatever we did. Military service is the highest form of service you can render in any nation. Their remuneration in developed countries and some places exceeds what we do currently over here. Again, everything is not money, there are some privileges they also enjoy. A soldier fighting has a family; so when you send a soldier on a mission, you have divided the family, and that means two pots of soup. If his salary was to be N100,000, it means you have to double it and it is money well spent because he is standing in the

As you look to the future, what gives you hope, and what worries you most, about Nigeria’s security and national cohesion?

As a nation, we should invest more on security. We should invest our time, resources and we must take security seriously. The greatest trouble with the security situation in Nigeria today is that the populace is getting used to bloodletting. In advanced countries, animals are killed in abattoirs, and the killing of an animal is not even done with a video. So, the youth coming up today are getting used to blood. It happens we condemn and it happens again, we condemn, and we get used to it. I was in charge of Operation MESA, which was the operation for managing the crisis in Kaduna State. Governor Ahmed Markafi would release the funds required for the operation in advance. He had the political will. So, there must be the political will. When I was retired as Chief of Army Staff, I just left without worry because in December 2013, I had released the operation funds for half of the next quarter, to the extent that my leaving in January did not affect the operation. Funding the military is not a favour. Of course, how do you win hearts and minds? There is competition between Nigeria as a government and the terrorists on the other hand. How are they recruiting? The people funding them are funding them so much that they can convince the youth and attract them to their sect. So, there is multiple war involved. Now, as things stand, we have to go back to the drawing board. We must work towards nation-building. God has given us a country; it is us that would turn it into a nation where no one is oppressed. Let us go back to nation-building. How do you convince the youth to be patriotic? Of course, earlier I recommended military training. But that military training will have multiplier effects because the criminals have all the advantages. Arms proliferation is not good, but if you cannot take the arms from the hands of criminals, then why should you deny arms to those who are mature and you can even trust? So, a man who has worked in Federal Civil Service up to the level of a Chief, is not trusted to be trained and armed? Not to talk of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). FRSC was established because of accident and for rescuing people. But today, the safety we are talking about is the safety of being protected on the road from kidnappers and other criminals. So, why are we wasting time in training and equipping them? And then, if you are arming one vigilante, why can’t you arm the other? We should get more serious and then support President Bola Tinubu in all his efforts, support the military, try to tone down the negative comments about our nation.