GEN. KODJI*, The soldier of compromise (With a link to the burning Anglophone
upheavals)
By Franklin SoneBayen
 |
| General Jacob Kodji |
You would expect a general fighting a
ruthless terrorist group like Boko Haram to be bossy, brash, brutish, beastly,
uncompromising...
Short
and simple, you would expect him to exemplify "COMMANDEMENT" that is,
imposing state authority by which, the state must be seen to be strong even at
the expense of the wellbeing of the nation, that is the people loving to
belong.
In
a state of war or state of emergency/siege, you therefore want to be more
tolerant of the soldier's muscle-flexing, so when you are reporting in a war
zone, in a war against a faceless,
ruthlessBoko
Haram, you expect minimal flexibility from commanders accommodating your crew
and guiding you around sensitive combat zones.
Leading
a Canadian crew reporting Boko Haram in some of the most sensitive locations in
the Far North region in October 2015, I came face to face with a kinder,
gentler, courteous, flexible soldier --
General
Jacob Kodji, a northerner. He was very bilingual.
After
a few days of airlifts by military plane and helicopter around sensitive battle
theatres and ground trips, escorted by Cameroonian special forces, BIR, in full
combat gear for real battle patrols, time allotted from Yaounde for my crew and
another from the French Canal+ group had run out but footage envisaged for the
assignments were still largely insufficient. More time was needed and the
military plane at our disposal was set to fly back with us to Yaounde the next
morning as scheduled.
Lieutenant
Mbende assigned by Defence Communication Chief, Col. Didier Badjeck, to guide
the two crews, did not have the mandate to extend our stay. We requested
special consideration from the commanding general on the ground and were led to
General Kodji's office in Maroua late at night.
I
was only hoping against hope, knowing how apprehensive any military would be
with foreign journalists around a war zone – security concerns, risks of
strategy leaks/espionage and all.
With
the measure of courtesies to keep guests of any standing at ease, the general
squeezed time out of endless strategic meetings with other senior officers
under his command to receive us late that night. He knew the importance of
communication even in war. He listened
to our concerns and Lt Mbende's explanation of his own orders from Yaounde,
gave room for views to be expressed around the table back and forth from media
crew members, and advised that since the plane had other missions to accomplish
and could not be grounded just for us, those who wished to stay on could reach
practical logistic arrangements with the escorting officer and fly their way
back to Yaounde (at their cost).
Not
as if the discussions were all jolly like a chocolate party. No! At a juncture
when one of the media crew members sounded like prolonging our coverage time
was an obligation the military simply had to bend to, Kodji came close to
losing his temper and warned he could withdraw his special consideration and
send us boarding the plane the next morning as initially planned. He said he
was going out of his way just to help our crews to fulfill our missions. After
apologies, he returned to his natural good humour and everyone left satisfied.
I
wish there were other General Kodjis at other "war zones" or
situations of siege elsewhere in the country who view situations even of
deadlock as human concerns and approach them with human consideration, knowing
that rain falls on all roofs and that someday, someday... (who knows tomorrow?)
I
may be fantasizing, but I'm thinking if someone like Kodji – firm but
considerate, humane though a commander in a war zone – were commanding troops
in the West Cameroon "war zones", we would see fewer abuses, less
deadlock, more negotiations and compromises, because generals do negotiate,
perhaps better than civilian civil administrators.
Rest
in peace General Kodji.
*First
published on Facebook (facebook.com/sonebayen)
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