Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja was not your everyday kind of Service Chief who stayed in the comfort of his office, dishing out orders and mapping out battle strategies.

The difference was that this three star general was ever ready to rush into the jungle or highway, primed for combat.

It was shocking that such a strong man who dared bombs and bullets, was struck down by failing health at a time he worked hard to stem terrorism in the country.

Having served across the six geo-political zones, Lagbaja knew the terrain so well. A good general must not stay aloof from his troops.

The late Chief of Army Staff did that. He led them from the front and was willing to receive the first bullets if only to lift the spirit of the men behind him. And that style worked like magic. Lagbaja wanted the best for the Nigeria Army.

A good soldier, with the best of ammunition available may not be in the right frame of mind if the home front was in disarray.

The late Army Chief encouraged officers and men to pay as much attention to their family as duty permitted. His Aide de Camp, Maj. G. U. Bukar recalled the day Lagbaja drove to the airport to pick up his family instead of involving his official vehicle and the routine convoy.

What it meant was that the children saw their father for what he was, a dotting normal dad and not a very senior army officer. At home, Mrs Mariya Lagbaja did not have an absentee husband.

At the slightest free opportunity, the breadwinner sat down with the kids and helped with homework, especially mathematics.

He also led in early morning prayers before leaving for work. Lagbaja was highly religious and did not allow his background to affect his relationship with God.

Many would be surprised that a Taoreed would be part of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. He was one of the first to arrive for service and danced his heart out during Thanksgiving.

As General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division of the Nigeria Army, Lagbaja’s presence at the West Africa Social Services (WASA) was felt. He mingled freely with families of his officers and men.

On one particular occasion, the boss listened as rapper Zoro entertained the crowd with background stories of Abakpa Nike, Enugu the base of the military formation.

His Aide de Camp, Maj G U Bukar, recalled the day Lagbaja drove to the airport to pick up his family instead of involving his official vehicle and the routine convoy

Many guests felt uncomfortable when the military band began to render one of the tracks of Afro beat star, Lagbaja. The GOC sat quietly, enjoying it all.

When the lyrics were petering out, the band echoed ‘Lagbaja something for you’. There was time for work and time to play. In the midst of entertainment, there was work.

Lagbaja’s ADC gave a detailed account of how they abandoned a funeral they were attending to move to the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway when a report came that criminals were tormenting commuters plying the route.

For a man who made life difficult for bandits and terrorists, commanded a Special Forces Battalion in Makurdi, managed a Mechanised Brigade in Ikeja and an Infantry Brigade in Uyo before commanding 1 Division, Kaduna after a tour of duty in Kaduna, and no terrain was alien to him. Lagbaja was part of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).

He also attended the United States War College. All these counted when President Bola Tinubu, who had followed the general’s progression from Lagos, went in search of a new Chief of Army Staff on his assumption of office on May 29, 2023.

And in choosing Lagbaja on June 19, 2023, Tinubu made sure all Service Chiefs were course mates. Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla and Air Chief, Hassan Abubakar belong to the 39th Regular Course (RC) of the Nigerian Defence Academy.

Chief of Defence Staff, Chris Musa was a year ahead at the NDA. In death, Tinubu has maintained the balance. Acting Army Chief, Olufemi Oluyede, like Lagbaja, was commissioned on September 19, 1992.

Both generals were born in the same year, 1968 and hail from the same SouthWest Geo Political Zone. Lagbaja would be the first service chief to die outside an aircraft. Chief of Army Staff, Joe Akahan, died when the Air Force helicopter flying him to Gboko exploded in the air in August 1967.

It was during the Civil War and one of the pilots, Capt. George Ozieh, from Ogwashi Ukwu, had people fighting for Biafra. On October 19, 1969, Air Chief Shittu Alao’s light plane crashed in Uzebba.

On May 21, 2021, Army Chief Ibrahim Attahiru died in Kaduna when the military plane carrying him crashed as it attempted to land. Even in Biafra, Chief of Air Staff, Chude Sokei, died at Afor Igwe Market, Ogidi from shrapnel wounds on March 15, 1968.

It is to the eternal credit of Lagbaja that he tried to heal the wounds of the Asaba Genocide, by allowing the Head of the Nigeria Army Heritage and Future Centre, John Sokoya to visit the new Asagba of Asaba, Prof. Epiphany Azinge.

Federal troops, led by Ibrahim Taiwo, wiped out many families there in 1967. Gen. Lagbaja’s passing leaves a very big void that will be very hard to fill.

Please follow and like us: