I wish I am not doing this. I honestly wish this is not true.
Since the day I got the news of this gruesome act, I sleep and wake up hoping someone would tell me it’s a horrible nightmare.
Unfortunately, this is a sad reality that we must all pick the courage to live with.
Brigadier General Dzarma Kennedy Zirkushu died in active service to his fatherland.
He was killed in an ambush by Boko Haram/Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists along Chibok road, in Borno State.
Three other soldiers also died in the incident. Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters had earlier attacked Askira Uba Local Government Area with about 12 gun-trucks, burning houses, shops and a school, forcing some residents to flee.
Late Gen Zirkushu, Commander, 28 Task Force of “Operation Hadin Kai” based in Chibok and the soldiers died while rushing to provide reinforcement in a counteroffensive against the terrorists.
It has remained one death too many in a needless war.
For us in Adamawa State, it was a dark Saturday and one of the most awful in Nigeria’s campaign against the terrorists.
A substantial part of Zirkushu’s command is the Northern part of Adamawa.
The command is responsible for the relative peace we now enjoy in the Local Governments of Madagali and Michika.
The Command has not only provided the right protection and security for the communities but reinforced resilience in our people living in that part of the State.
This indeed is a major setback in the counterinsurgency campaign.
In Zirkushu’s death, we have lost a son and a patriot; a highly decorated soldier and an outstanding Commander whose onslaught against the dreaded insurgents has rekindled the hopes of our communities and rebuilt the broken lives of our People.
Since the ill-fated event, I took out time to talk to all that were close to the General.
The testimonies of his colleagues and the soldiers he commanded only confirm the monumental magnitude of this loss.
He was a thorough professional, cool-headed and brave. A wonderful officer tough on the outside and sensitive on the inside.
Always on hand to render assistance and care for his soldiers. He demonstrated pride in everything he did with courage and devotion to duty.
From the family and close associates, being a soldier was his life. It was what he ever wanted to do. It was what he gallantly died doing. He died to protect the life we live.
Gen Zirkushu was a son every parent would be lucky to have; a kind of person parents would want their daughters to meet. He was a father every child would be happy to have and a dependable friend everyone would die to meet.
– Governor Ahmadu Fintiri
Gen Zirkushu was a son every parent would be lucky to have; a kind of person parents would want their daughters to meet.
He was a father every child would be happy to have and a dependable friend everyone would die to meet.
He was indeed a man of faith who exhibited courage and God’s love.
On behalf of the Government and the Good People of Adamawa State, I commiserate with the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, for losing a field Commander.
I commiserate with the Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Farouk Yahaya, for losing an officer and a fine one at that.
I commiserate with Adamawa State for losing a shining star who symbolizes the stoic and Spartan spirit of Adamawa people.
I commiserate with the family, especially the wife and children for losing a husband and a father. It shall be well.
I was reading through the Daily Trust Newspaper of 23rd November 2021 and can’t agree less with the position of the Editorial that the Nigerian State needs to do more to immortalize the late General, a hands-on Commander who led from the frontlines, not the rear, by having a Battalion or facility named after him.
On the minimum, it isn’t asking for too much, if he is given a posthumous promotion as a mark of honour.
This indeed is a sure way to make us feel appreciated as relatives of the late General and boost the morale of officers and men who are on the field prosecuting a war that is still raging.
As a mark of respect for an illustrious son and a patriot, I have directed the National flag to fly at half-mast across the State, for the next three days in honour of Brigadier General Dzarma Kennedy Zirkushu and all the officers and men who lost their lives in a similar course.
To leave an enduring landmark for an honour done to this illustrious son of Adamawa State, I am also naming a popular Street in the State Capital after him. On this note, the former Lagos Street, off Army Barracks Road, Yola, is hereby renamed Brig Gen DK Zirkushu Street.
As a child of a soldier who grew up in the barracks, I have a first-hand knowledge of the kind of trauma the immediate family, especially the wife and the children pass through at the sudden loss of a benefactor.
Now more than any other time, the families need our collective prayers and support to navigate this trying moment.
As a measure of this support, I am giving the family of Brigadier General Zirkushu the sum of N10m and another N17m to the families of the other three Soldiers who died with him to be rationed into N4m for the family of the Major, N3m for the family of the Lieutenant and N2m for each of the families of the other men as a token.
One thing we owe Brigadier General Zirkushu and all the officers and men who lost their lives in this needless war against the insurgency is a victory over their killers.
We owe them a total triumph over the enemies of the Nigerian State. We must ensure their total defeat and a complete return of our people to their normal lives and ancestral abodes.
This is the wish of Brigadier General Zirkushu and all the soldiers that died in this Course. This is what they lived and died for.
May the collective souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.
Farewell General. Farewell my brother. Farewell Gentleman.
Fintiri, Adamawa State Governor, delivered this address during the internment of late Brig Gen Dzarma Zirkushu and others in Yola
