A Nigerian soldier, Kolawole Stephen, has shared a gripping and emotional account of his journey from Sokoto to Abuja — a journey that revealed the harsh reality of insecurity on the nation’s highways.
According to him, he travelled in a convoy of just two Hilux vehicles, each equipped with an AA gun. But what started as a routine movement quickly turned into a reminder of how fear has reshaped daily life for many Nigerians.
He narrated that while the convoy paused briefly along Kwangila Road, he noticed an unusually large number of vehicles pulling over with them. At first, he was confused — until someone explained that the motorists had been trailing the soldiers since they left.
They believed the convoy offered safety.
“They were using us as their protection, hoping that our presence alone meant safety.”
One of the men following them muttered quietly in broken English, “Eetiz zat bad…” — a simple sentence carrying the weight of fear, resignation, and helplessness.
Stephen said many passengers sat tensely in their seats, worried and uncertain. He approached some of the drivers and advised them to maintain distance so the soldiers could respond effectively to any threat.
They agreed. Some managed faint smiles.
But as the journey continued, he watched the long line of vehicles through the wing mirror — families, traders, travellers — all trailing behind the soldiers, depending on them as though they were the last thin line between life and danger.
“People now follow soldiers the way someone grips a lifeline. And that is not how it should be.”
The soldier expressed deep sadness over the situation, reflecting on how insecurity has forced ordinary Nigerians to seek safety in the shadows of armed military convoys.
“I cannot save everyone,” he wrote, “but these ones… for the time we are together, I promise with every fibre of me, no threat will reach them while I can fight.”
His story stands as a powerful reminder of the reality many travellers face — and the burden placed on the shoulders of those sworn to protect the nation.
By Kolawole Stephen
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