Are The Soldiers Killed In The North Less Important Than Those Killed In Delta?

▪️IN THE NORTH;1) 36 Nigerian soldiers killed in ambush by bandits - Nasarawa 18/08/2023 (Punch)2) Bandits kill 10 soldiers in NDA attack in Kaduna -5/04/2022 (Al Jazeera)3) 17 soldiers feared dead as bandits attack Zamfara community - 25/07/23 (Channels)4) At least 30 Nigerian soldiers killed in ambush after mine attack in Shiroro Niger state - 3/07/2022 (Reuters)5) At least 50 Nigerian soldiers killed in a deadly ambush by suspected Boko Haram gunmen in Yobe state - 24/03/2020 (Premium Times)▪️Opinion;©️Ray Onwaeze🔹Thu 21/03/2024▪️MILITARY REPRISAL ATTACKS IN NIGER DELTA STATESThe military business remains a dying business. So every enlisted personnel should expect death to come calling somehow, sometime, somewhere, someday.Listed above are part of the countless incidents of supreme sacrifices paid by our gallant soldiers in the defense of the Nigerian nation and its citizenry.Most killings of Nigerian soldiers have always been in the North with 80% of Nigeria's territorial space and its overwhelming security challenges - from Islamic terrorists and Fulani bandits.But hardly has it been reported that villages or communities in the North have been razed, buildings demolished, common folks slaughtered or rendered homeless in vengeance attacks by soldiers, in reprisal for killings of their fellow officers and men. As we speak, the killing of soldiers continues in the North West, North East and North Central.*▪️16 SOLDIERS KILLED IN OKUAMA, DELTA STATENow enter Delta State Thursday, March 14th, 2024 @OkuamaWhile the genesis of the military clash with the Delta state community is yet to be dispassionately unravelled, the military has gone to town with its own narrative to the exclusion of that of the besieged community.It has shut down the Okuama community from the outside world, ousting the Police, Journalists and outside observers while conducting a vengeful campaign of killing and maiming, razing and demolishing buildings, and sacking an entire community over the loss of 16 officers and men of 181 battalions Bomadi.While any killing of Nigerian soldiers for whatever reasons is treasonable, condemnable, reprehensible and totally indefensible, the truth must be told that wanton reprisal by killing mostly defenceless villagers, razing and demolishing their buildings over some criminals on the run, is a most unprofessional Act by supposedly well trained and disciplined soldiers!It is a shame on the civilian-controlled FGN that the army has been allowed to carry on as an army of occupation. Nigeria is not under military rule, but the Army is acting as if we are. The Civilian FGN has been overawed by an unsubmissive military and seems to have panicked in abdicating its responsibility to its ordinary citizens.As the military continues to do things the way it deems fit with little or no Civilian supervision or oversight, the question then remains; Who's In Charge In Nigeria Right Now?The collective utter lack of electoral legitimacy by those in power today has denuded the Civilian governments at all levels, including the NASS, the State Assemblies and the Judiciary, of the moral authority to call the rampaging military to order.Instead of quickly restoring Law and Order, the Civilian Govts from Aso Rock to the Senate have continued to massage the military ego with platitudes, demanding "Swift Justice For The Fallen Soldiers", but at the same time remaining silent in grovelling, collaborative neutrality, over the continued killing and sacking of mostly innocent villagers, forcing them to flee into their neighbouring communities or into the bush filled with decomposing corpses of their relations and missing family.Now has this same treatment ever been meted out to villagers in the North where killings of Nigerian soldiers remain fair game, daily by Bandits?The conclusion to be drawn from the ongoing military assault on the hapless, exploited oil-producing citizens across the Niger Delta state(s), is that the macho image of the military can only be put on display when dealing with ethnic minorities. That is damning Indeed!Not only is the selective fightback by the military when attacked in the North as against their response in Nigeria's Southern minorities but the military response reeks of double standards. It also exposes our current Civilian governments at FG and state levels, as having sold out to the military, and are now hostages to the same military who are supposed to be subordinate to Civilian control.The corrupt Judiciary aided slide into a lawless state of anarchy, the lack of electoral legitimacy by Civilian governments @FG and States, and the continued criminal looting of our common patrimony.. all have resulted in the military holding Civilian governments in contempt, which tragically exposes the 4th Republic to possible putsch without notice.This is the tragic reading distilled from all the serial military/civilian clashes. Going forward maybe something may happen soon. Nothing is currently off the table, but let us wait and see what happens next !!!