difficulty of the vegetation in the rainforest of the Oyo National Park. Swathes and stretches of the landmass are virtually impenetrable by sunlight, nay by aircraft and drones, which made target identification difficult, and added a layer of complexity to the rescue plan. This called for utmost restraint and regular review of strategy to ensure that no abductee’s life was lost in the event of a firefight. With the identification and arrest of close family members of the bandits in a cross-country raid by security operatives across several states in the North, and the relaying of these realities to them, they were compelled to be as civil as possible with those they were holding.
While the kidnappers eliminated two teachers, Michael Olugbade Oyedokun and John Olaleye as part of their initial efforts to force government into a negotiation, the security services equally lost personnel including the 28 year old Felix Ademe Isaac, an Army Lieutenant. Police Sergeant John Abena Jerome and Army Private Silas Musa, also paid the supreme price, even as Lance Corporal Adamu Hussein is recuperating from injuries sustained during the operation. A number of the marauders were neutralised and eight of them arrested by Nigerian security services. For the further enlightenment of scoffers therefore, the coordinated, multi-service operation, was in no way an outdoor camp by the “boys scout movement.”
The quantum empathy he demonstrated, the sincerity of his identification with his people when they despaired the most, when their morale was at its utmost nadir, recommends Senator Abdulfatai Buhari’s example to his colleagues, serving and prospective, and indeed everyone paid to serve our country by we taxpayers. Overindulged on our commonwealth, many in his position would have sought momentary escape to the posh, plush comfort of their foreign addresses, while the heart-wrenching Ori-Ire saga lasted, distilling updates from their home-based aides. At best, such people would have stayed glued to the relative insulation of the nation’s capital, in the false name of “doing the job for which they were elected.” Buhari demonstrated practical leadership when it mattered most.
Tunde Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), teaches Creative Writing at the University of Abuja