What I learned

KOLAWOLE WROTE

You wouldn't mind my erroneous usage of words, I'm not that perfect in the art of pen as I am with guns.

She walked towards us, she was feeling jittery. Something seems not so well...a barbed wire was the only thing separating us from her.

I took a long aim at her head.

She was instructed to "halt" but she keeps coming. I shifted my focus away from my lens and called on Ibrahim to move closer to this intruder. This girl shouldn't be more than 11 years of age; we are indeed in a dicey situation.

There's something unusual in the way she dressed, her gown looks way bigger, her niqab looks dirty.

We tried to calm her. She looks mean for her age. She kept a determined face.

She seems not ready to take a step back. I pointed the muzzle of my weapon at her. The magic worked. She retraced a bit, it was retracting that I observed the rough edges underneath her gown. Still maintaining an eye contact, I sent for one of our EODs while praying that this girl doesn't get daring. I was a bit careful too, because a shot at her from that proximity won't be good for me.

When the EOD arrived, he held the girl's hand and tore her gown from behind. I wasn't wrong.

She had a base 3 home made explosive laced on her.

I bit my lips while praying for a perfect defusion.

While profiling this girl, she claimed that she was handed over the bomb vest for an initial fee of #500 and asked to come back for the balance of another #500.

Naively, she still had the #500 tucked somewhere in her niqab, expecting to pull the fuse and go back for the balance.

I shook my head while taking down her details.

Right around here, we see the cracked, bitter and unbelievable side of the war. That side that would want you to question the sanity of people affected by war.

Why would she even undertake such mission...

See, don't pray for war. It breeds poverty. Excess of it. It makes you want to catch a fire for survival.

Weeks ago, a woman abandoned her 3 months old baby while running away from the insurgents. The baby was later rescued and handed over to health workers. The woman was no where to be seen.

There's nothing delightful about war jare.. It only brings haunting memories.