The Port Harcourt Volunteer by Sam Ohuabunwa

Author:Sam Ohuabunwa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: strategy, military thriller, military strategy, pogrom, war strategy, war tactics
Publisher: Sam Ohuabunwa

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Conscripted Soldier

Aba was where I really saw battle and I am not done with Aba yet,I shall return to it in the next Chapter. But a time came in this sector that things calmed down a bit, allowing us to resume sending Civilians to go behind enemy lines to harvest cassava under some kind of military escort. The cassava was then sold in the markets for processing into Garri, some of which got sold back to the Army to help feed the soldiers. Essentially, this was the main source of income for the officers in our unit. The Salaries from the Army seldom came and after a while it ceased completely. It was income from this type of transaction and a few other sundry activities that enabled us meet the most basic need at this time, which was food. I do not remember any other significant expenditure item except perhaps cigarettes, Indian hemp, Palm wine or local gin for many of the soldiers.

It was at this time that I asked for a 'pass' to go and visit with my Parents, whom I had not seen for many months. The last time I saw them was at Elele. But by now they had moved to Mbaise, having stopped in several other towns and Villages as refugees since they left their residence in Rumuogba, Port Harcourt, after the town fell into the hands of the Federal troops. I was granted two-weeks pass, equivalent of a two-week Leave. This was my first leave in nearly two years of active engagement in the war front. I went with my batman, Harcourt Eneogwe. We located my parents in Nnarambia-Ahiara area of Mbaise. My Parents were staying in the home of a family friend, Mr. Mbamara, who lived in Port Harcourt, in the same area we lived. He was also involved in the Cow and Butchery business as my father. As a matter of fact, he was one of my father's business partners who took care of the downstream side of the Cattle business. So they were very pleased to host my Parents and siblings making them feel at home in their Country home.

At this time, my mum, Madam Matilda Nwaliezi Nwannediya Ohuabunwa had moved from the hospitality and catering business which was her forte in Port Harcourt to dealing in Women's Clothes, especially wrappers. My father, Mazi Ephraim Sunday Inyama Ohuabunwa, fondly called 'Sonny Nwangbokwo' by close family who suffixed his name with that of his grandmother, who actually brought him up, since his mother died early, or 'Seargen' by his military colleagues who went to the Second World War with him, continued to collaborate with some of his partners in the Cow butchering business. He was a very brave soldier who survived a vicious Bayonet attack in Burma. He attained the rank of Sergeant in the West African Frontier force (WAFF), that fought alongside the allied forces to rout the Nazi Germany led by Adolf Hitler in the Second World War (1940-1945). He kept me abreast of their movement.

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