Nigerian Soldier Speaks On Surviving Malam Fatori ‘Hell Zone’ That Consumed Col. Abu Ali
Last year, after I returned from Malam Fatori (Borno State), the person I went to replace told me something. He said he never believed I would actually go. He thought that once I heard troops were advancing at Arege, I would run.
Many men heard about Malam Fatori and turned back, but I went because I believed I would return.
But here’s what helped me: I honestly didn’t know any evil was happening there. I had heard rumors, yes, but the moment I saw my name on the list for Malam Fatori, I shut out every negative word about the place. I refused to listen.
Even when people around me were talking, I was already living there in my mind. I told them, Don’t worry. My own is simple — when I go, I will come back.
He told me point-blank that he thought I wouldn’t show up. That I’d hear about Arege and turn back. But all of that was foreign to me. I wasn’t operating on fear. I just went, because I believed nothing would happen to me.
Kadara mi kò pà mí.
𝐶𝑅𝐸𝐷𝐼𝑇: SIMASA SEGUN WHENU (AUTHOR)
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MUHAMMAD ABU ALI
Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali, a highly decorated Nigerian Army officer and Commanding Officer of the 272 Task Force Tank Battalion, was killed by Boko Haram terrorists on November 4, 2016. He died in an ambush during an attack on a military outpost in Mallam Fatori, Borno State, while leading efforts to stabilize the region.
