My name is John Martins and I was born to be a soldier.

It was all I had wanted to do from the first James Bond movie I saw on TV as an 8 year-old.

I love guns too. I love the uniform, the boots, the gear… I love the honour and respect that comes with being a soldier. I love that people fear us. I love the mystique. I love the life!

I was born on January 20, 1986 in Lagos. But my parents are from Adamawa.

Many people think I am Yoruba, because I speak the language fluently. I was raised in Yaba, Lagos.

I left the University of Lagos in my 200 level, studying Mechanical Engineering just so I could follow my childhood dream of becoming a professional soldier.

I joined the Nigerian Defence Academy where I studied Computer Science.

My friends call me “Jigga” or “The Eagle”.

Jigga because I never let a social night go to waste. I party hard!

I am The Eagle… because I am the best shot in my battalion. My eagle eyes have earned me several awards and accolades, and I am a 3-time champion of the Commander’s Shooting Contest.

I won’t dwell too much on my past and childhood and all that now. The story of my life will unveil itself in these short notes I will be writing weekly (hopefully). These notes will be a sort of diary about my current life, my life in the Nigerian army. I will try and send these short notes to my blogger friends weekly, even though I doubt if I can be consistent. The network out here is a ‘female dog’.

This story of mine is also the story of many others like me out here. From those of us currently serving in the heart of Borno to those abroad serving in foreign missions.

This story is not fiction. So, be prepared for some harsh truths and scary drama… and some boredom too. The life of a soldier could be boring at times. 90% of the time, a soldier is just waiting… Waiting on some action. That could be boring…and scary.

Also, sometimes I may ramble. Do pardon me. Loneliness and long cold nights can make one act funny. You hold so many thoughts to yourself with no one to share, and you finally get a platform to share and you can’t help but talk and talk and can’t stop talking.

Therapy. That is what these notes are for me.

So, bear with me.

I will try not to bore you.

I count myself lucky to be having a platform to share and express myself. To share my story and put a face/personality to the uniform that many of my countrymen see on TV.

Many Nigerians have hated this uniform for so long, and I can’t blame them. The army has made many errors, and it is hard to earn forgiveness. Many opinion-shapers in Nigeria today still blame the military for the country’s woes. However, the present-day politicians (many of whom are ex-military) are giving the military regimes a run for their money in terms of ineptitude, and failure to develop the nation.

Well, I am not going to defend the army, neither am I going to blame the generals either.

This is not a political blog and I am not partisan.

I am here to put a face to the ‘unknown soldier’ dying everyday for the peace of this country.

We are not mere uniforms. We are sons, daughters, brothers, fathers, husbands, lovers and nephews of somebody out there. Maybe even you.

We are real and not mere statistics.

I am not my gun. I am not my ‘khaki’. I am John Martins, Captain in the Nigerian Army, and I am proud of who I am.

This is not an entertainment blog, although I must warn you that my stories may look fictional every now and then. You wouldn’t believe what goes on in the battles that a 21st century soldier has to fight these days.

I am here to share that story.

Hopefully, I will have your attention.

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Today, we managed to take back Bama town from the Boko Haram insurgents. They have become very powerful now, much more than they were when they attacked Chibok and took those girls away. Ansure, a terror group operating with AQIM is now heavily involved. This their new-found mission of “Caliphate” expansion is driven by these bloodthirsty monsters who came from the regions around Mali.

I once trained members of  Malian army special forces in anti-insurgent strategies, so I know these groups well. They are well equipped, well trained, and crazy enough to face a bullet for their sick beliefs.

Please pray for us.

I have to go now. So much to say, but I have to go and lead my men out for the nightly patrol we conduct around the edges of Sambisa.

• This is an adaptation of real stories of Nigerian soldiers *

Femi Falodu blogs at http://mythoughonlots.blogspot.co.uk and this story was initially published here