General Osuji sat at his desk, going through a bunch of documents while his special assistant stood in front of him, awaiting his approval, so he could send to the appropriate office for immediate action.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay, sir?\u201d His special assistant on Media, Nduka Obi asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026I\u2019m fine\u201d He stuttered through his reply. \u201cYou say so, but you don\u2019t look so, sir\u201d Nduka replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just need a long bed rest, for about 3 days, I should be fine\u201d General Osuji replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure the President wouldn\u2019t mind granting you that, especially with your efforts in the terror task force\u201d Nduka added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think its quite insensitive for the vice president to be looking for vacation while the country is battling terror, all around\u201d General Osuji said, rolling his executive chair away from the table, closing his eyes as leaned as far back as the backrest of the chair could go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe country will still be here in the next 3 days, sir whether you\u2019re here or not\u201d Nduka said, trying to talk the retired general into taking a day off.<\/p>\n
General Osuji not buying Nduka\u2019s plea \u201cI\u2019m getting too old for this. Who knows the country might not be here to govern in three days\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are we with the explosion in Lagos?\u201d The General continued, waking up from his pity party.<\/p>\n
\u201cSir, we don\u2019t have anything concrete yet, we\u2019re still waiting for the JTF to update us on the progress of their investigations\u201d Nduka said, crossing his legs over each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe country has been witnessing these terror attempts for a while now, but in the west, it has been silent, I don\u2019t think this was done in isolation\u201d General Osuji told Nduka.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel they\u2019re trying to make a statement, for all we know. These attacks are co-ordinated attempts at something that I don\u2019t know yet.\u201d He continued<\/p>\n
\u201cSir, have you informed the President & Minister of Defense about these thoughts\u201d? Nduka inquired.<\/p>\n
The General laughed, \u201cThe Vice Presidents office is a ceremonial one, no one wants to listen to what I have to say, the President and his defence minister are all over this\u201d. He explained to his special assistant. Nduka swiftly texted his source in the president\u2019s office asking for his schedule for today.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I remember very well, a friend of mine has a theory called the Big Sieve, where like a sieve, you filter out all what you don\u2019t want. The military execution will be to start taking control of little pockets of the country here and there with superior military force.\u201d Nduka listened with rapt attention.<\/p>\n
Nduka\u2019s phone began to vibrate on the Vice President\u2019s table, it was a text from his source in the president\u2019s office. \u201cIt read, free all day, just a 4pm meeting with Lt. Gen Babakura\u201d.<\/p>\n
He read the text aloud to the Vice President, pleading with him to share his thoughts with the President. The Vice President remained quiet.<\/p>\n
Slowly, he asked \u201cWhy would the President need to talk to Babakura?\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, to help with this terror situation around the country. He is a very formidable grassroots person, no one can deny that\u201d Nduka tried to explain why he felt Babakura was in Aso Rock.<\/p>\n
\u201cBabakura can\u2019t be trusted, that bronze walking stick wielding bald headed bastard can\u2019t be trusted.\u201d General Osuji said to Nduka.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is very funny sir, he just needs his help with negotiating with these terror group, that\u2019s all. Moreover, you served with him, he retired with merits.\u201d Nduka said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNduka, you don\u2019t know him like I do, we served together during the civil war. He can\u2019t be trusted, he isn\u2019t the hero you think he is, he was supposed to be court marshalled but because of how high placed he was, we couldn\u2019t\u201d General explained<\/p>\n
\u201cCourt marshalled?\u201d Nduka asked \u201cWhy would he be court marshalled\u201d Nduka continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was caught selling national secrets to foreigners in the early 90s. The other country sold him out.\u201d General Osuji said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is treason, he should have been killed\u201d Nduka said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t do that, it will have leaked and might have sent the wrong signals to people that the military is broken in its ranks. We dint want the crazy media frenzy especially because of the negative nature of it\u201d General Osuji.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president has to be very careful\u201d General told Nduka, as he got ready for go for his lunch with his son-in-law.<\/p>\n
Nnamdi was still confused about how all of this was still possible, the task they asked of him, he had completed and why was he still here. He had a few ideas of how to break out and re-gain his freedom but he just couldn\u2019t, they had his wife and kids under strict surveillance.<\/p>\n
He heard the door opening from the other side, 3 guys walked into the room, 2 of them pointing a handgun at him, the last guy stood in the middle, with a cloth and a rope.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cWe have your next assignment and it involves you travelling.\u201d He moved a step forward towards Nnamdi.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if this is your last assignment but before we proceed, I will like to say, please don\u2019t try anything funny. We have your family under constant surveillance; we check in every 15 minutes, if they don\u2019t hear from us, your family gets it. So, please for the sake of your family, no James Bond shit, okay? \u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, please stand up against the wall\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Nnamdi obeyed like a soldier would do to a superior officer, they put the hood over his face and handcuffed his hands. They dragged him outside, unzipped his trousers and told him \u201cPee now, it\u2019s gonna be a long journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was hurled into a military type vehicle used for conveying criminals, reinforced \u00a0vehicle, a super black maria. His captors were all dressed as soldiers.<\/p>\n
They began their journey to Maiduguri!<\/p>\n
The President and the Minister of Defence were in a closed door meeting, deciding on the next step of action with all the terror attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to lock down all these states where the terror acts are rampant, that\u2019s the only way we can be sure of clamping down on all of this, a complete lockdown, curfew everywhere.\u201d The minister said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I agree with your point, I think shutting down 7 states is a bit excessive, we can\u2019t tell people we\u2019re a booming economy with high returns on investments if some part of the country is completely shut down.\u201d The President argued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShutting them down is our best option right now, we need to stop the bombs from going off completely, sir\u201d the Minister said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the bombs to stop going off but not at the detriments of Nigerians and their lives, isn\u2019t there a more discreet way of doing this?\u201d The President asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. President, we\u2019re doing this discreetly, that\u2019s why we\u2019re doing just 7 states, to fully cut off this cancer, we need to lock down about 12 states, sir\u2026even Lagos\u201d The Minister argued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will never give the approval for that to happen, you can\u2019t lock down the economic capital of Nigeria because of terror, we would rather flood the streets with casually dressed security special forces\u201d The President reacted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have the manpower for that, sir\u201d The minister responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease, send the relevant documents to back this up to my office, so I can sign it and we can move on.\u201d The President said.<\/p>\n
\u201dI want us to try something different but we will have further discussions when I\u2019m done with my next meeting\u201d The President continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes sir\u201d. The Minister said.<\/p>\n
The intercom buzzed, the president picked up and said \u201cSend him in\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat will be all, Mr. Minister\u201d The President said discharging him.<\/p>\n
As the minister was about leaving, he saw Babakura walking along slowly, they exchanged pleasantries but he was very skeptical with what business the President had with Babakura, people in the military know of his mis-adventure, could it be that no one has told the president about this. The Minister asked himself one thousand and one questions as he took his exit from Aso Rock.<\/p>\n
Babakura\u2019s countenance after seeing his old friend, the new defence minister moved from pleasant to vengeance, the same people who sold him out years earlier and lied that it was the foreigners. As soon as his hands grabbed the door knob, his appearance changed from vengeance to borrowed happiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood Evening, Mr. President\u201d Babakura said<\/p>\n
The President stood up from the chair, stretched forth his hand for a firm handshake with Babakura.<\/p>\n
The President moved to the lounge couch in his office, Babakura took his seat opposite the president with the gold trimmed coffee table in between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will overcome this terrible period, Mr. President.\u201d Babakura said. \u201cIt\u2019s moments like this that carves your name into the fabric of our nation, you\u2019re already one of our nations heroes\u201d Babakura kissing the president\u2019s proverbial ass.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Baba. The victory is for all Nigerians everywhere.\u201d The President said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, what\u2019s the update on the dialogue with these people\u201d. The President asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re making progress, Mr. President. I have been able to locate some of their leaders and their requests are really absurd, sir.\u201d Babakura said with the countenance revealing sadness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are their conditions, Baba\u201d The President inquired.<\/p>\n
\u201cit\u2019s not something we can do, we\u2019re literally giving them more ammunitions to fight us.\u201d Baba hinted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m losing patience with you, Babakura. Tell me what they want.\u201d The President seemed unpleased with Babakura\u2019s dilly dallying.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want us to release Hassan Bakko immediately before proceeding with the rest of their demands\u201d Babakura said<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest of their demands?\u201d The President said \u201cThere is no way we can release Hassan, no one would support that. He made an attempt on my life openly\u201d The President continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why I didn\u2019t want to say it, it\u2019s quite impossible\u201d Babakura said<\/p>\n
\u201cHe should have been executed, he\u2019s on death row. That\u2019s like giving him a loaded gun and standing in front of him\u201d The President said.<\/p>\n
\u201dWe can think of something else, the attack in Lagos was very cruel. That can\u2019t be our only option, Mr. President\u201d Babakura said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHassan is a very dangerous man, his release will spell doom for this administration, we don\u2019t even know what he has against us that drives him to this cliff of insanity.\u201d The President asked<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one knows, sir. It\u2019s quite the transformation, he was never radical, he was a very good young man\u201d Babakura said<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were his superior officer; you should be able to offer us some insight into this madness?\u201d The President asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. President, that was a long time ago, I wish I could read his criminally insane mind but I can\u2019t\u201d Babakura said<\/p>\n
\u201cI will consult with my advisers and see what we can do but they will not like this\u201d The President said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one will like this, but as a messenger, I must deliver the message. We also need to hurry, sir. Who else knows what they have planned\u201d Babakura said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Babakura, your country owes you a debt of gratitude, maybe an MFR when all this is over.\u201d Mr. President said<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is too kind of you, Mr. President, my regards to madam and the kids\u201d Babakura said as he took his leave.<\/p>\n
Hassan, my boy! Don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re coming home soon, very very soon, we will lead this country into the promised Land. He said to himself as he walked through the properly lit walkway. His phone beeped, a message,<\/p>\n
It read \u201dAt Maiduguri, Phase 3 is about to kick off\u201d. He replied \u201dPlease proceed\u201d; he put the phone back into his babariga pocket.<\/p>\n
Nnamdi was bundled out of the vehicle, rushed into a room with everything neatly arranged, with weapons and instructions. His mission here was simple, use the sniper rifle to assassinate the Borno state Governor, one of Babakura\u2019s boys that snitched on him, he thought they would kill him but he thought wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
General Osuji sat at his desk, going through a bunch of documents while his special assistant stood in front of him, awaiting his approval, so he could send to the appropriate office for immediate action. \u201cAre you okay, sir?\u201d His special assistant on Media, Nduka Obi asked. \u201cI\u2026I\u2019m fine\u201d He stuttered through his reply. \u201cYou […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[789],"tags":[3999,2288,2457,2651,2657,178,1855,1246,2654,1545,2655,2652,874,2341,2656,2653,1544],"class_list":["post-4286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-17-awosika-season-2","tag-17-awosika","tag-african-web-stories","tag-assasination","tag-babakura","tag-bomb-blast","tag-deolu-bubble","tag-deolu-oniranu","tag-entertainment","tag-general-osuji","tag-maiduguri","tag-master-mind","tag-presidency","tag-season-2","tag-short-stories","tag-terror","tag-vice-president","tag-war"],"yoast_head":"\n