Soldier-horse Sgt. Akawala marries in Kaduna

In a well attended ceremony that showed the lighter side of the military profession, a soldier horse with the 1 Mechanised Div in Kaduna and serving as the unit’s mascot got married to a civilian mare after paying a dowry of N20, 000 in Kaduna. 

It was a celebration galore at the headquarters of the One Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna recently when Sergeant Dan Fari Akawala, a horse that is serving as the mascot of the division took a wife in a grand style.

Sergeant Akawala was enlisted into the Nigerian Army in March 2012 with Army number (2011/66/8363) to replace Sergeant Farin Doki who died in March 2011 after serving the Nigerian Army for over 10 years.

Weekly Trust gathered that the wedding which was held inside the headquarters of the Division was attended by all the who-is-who in the Division. The General Officer Commanding (GOC) , Major General Garba A. Wahab chaired the occasion. All the six tents used for the wedding were filled to the brim, as all those who matter in the Division attended the wedding ceremony either to celebrate with a ‘colleague’ or witness history in the making.

The wedding was a colourful one, and drew more crowd than the burial of the late Sergeant Farin Doki. It would be recalled that when Sergeant Farin Doki died, a three-day morning period was declared by the authority of the Division and it was climaxed with a special burial ceremony.

At the wedding, Weekly Trust gathered that after prayers were offered by both the Chief Imam and Reverend of the Division, the Assistant Director Army Public Relations of the Division, Colonel Sani K. Usman, announced that the gathering was for the wedding of Sergeant Akawala, the mascot of the Division. The announcement, our correspondent gathered, confirmed the fact that the event was truly the wedding of a horse. Before the announcement, many people in attendance, especially civilians doubted the fact that the event was organised for the horse.

Minutes after the announcement, the head of finance of the division, a colonel brought out N20, 000 in an envelope. It was handed over to the RSM of the Division, Warrant Officer Aminu Mayo as the dowry of the bride.

Immediately after the payment of dowry, which signaled the solemnization of the wedding, drinks and snacks were distributed to all in attendance, just as a military band performed. Our correspondent learnt that 20 crates of soft drinks were purchased for the wedding.

A source at the Division told Weekly Trust that the money used for the wedding was taken from Sergeant Akawala’s monthly allowance. The bride, Yelwa, will not be entitiled to any allowance because she has not been enlisted into the army and therefore remains a civilian. She will however enjoy her husband’s allowance as his companion. Hours, after the celebration, the event became the talk of the town.

Justifying the need for the wedding, the spokesperson of the Division, Colonel Sani K. Usman, said the wedding was organised in commensurate with the status of Sergeant Akawala in the Army. He said the wedding was organised last year.

“We are very considerate, because we realized Sergeant Akawala needs care beyond the normal feeding, bathing of the horse, as well as other veterinary care. Akawala is a sergeant by rank; that means he is entitled to all the rights and privileges of a sergeant in the Nigerian Army based on the duties the horse performs. So we realized there is need for him to have a companion and that was why we decided to get him a female horse. And of course, we have to legalize the marriage of Akawala. Here in the Division, whatever we do, we take cognizance of the law, hence the wedding ceremony,” he said.

When asked about how horses are recruited into the Nigerian Army, he says; “They are enlisted through either of the means, donations by well meaning Nigerians or senior military officers. At times, even the unit goes about purchasing one once, it meets the basic qualities associated with such mascot.”

On how the horses are trained, he said, “the role a horse plays may not necessarily be the same role a human being plays, but what we do normally is to look at what and what the role someone is expected to play. So you bring in your specialists in that aspect. For instance, we have expert on horse, and they advise us accordingly.”

According to him, the promotions of the horses are based on year of service. “The promotion is based on the number of years of service that he has been in the inventory of the Division. It keeps on developing and of course sometime they play decisive roles.

For instance, you will see the roles you are used to and if you behave abnormally, you will start to find out whether it is sick or not. And beyond that, if you probe further it could be that it is warning you about certain things that will come into play,” he added.

Commenting on the condition of service of the horses, he said, “when a horse is brought, though it is an animal, it has some rights and privileges to enjoy. We are humans, mark you, so we cater for the needs of such animals.”

He said “they (horses) receive a form of allowance for their upkeep. It is through such allowances and payment that we are able to buy food, medicare and other things for them. I am telling you that they enjoy same privileges of a senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) okay; a senior NCO is a kind of responsible person even in the hierarchy of the military establishment. So even among the non-commissioned there are juniors and seniors. The junior NCO starts from corporal downwards, the senior starts from the sergeant upwards. So the mascot must very responsible to have reached the rank of a sergeant in the Nigerian Army,” he added.

Asked whether a junior rank salutes Sergeant Akawala as the tradition in the Army, he said they all respect Sergeant Akawala because it is the mascot of the Division.

“It is not a question of senior or junior, it is a thing that you respect and hold it with high respect and pride. So, it is not a question of saluting or not. Anybody serving in One Division identifies himself or herself with such horse. So, automatically it is not issue of saluting or not, because I know where you are heading to. You want to show that we are so programmed that we even salute animals. We have that sense of belonging, that this is something that is associated with the One Division family, because here we work like a team and like a family from the General Officer Commanding to the last man that you see at the checkpoints,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that Sergeant Akawala is the mascot of the One Division of the Nigerian Army. Mascots like Sergeant Akawala in the military tradition are objects, animals or persons chosen as a symbol of a regiment. It is maintained mostly for ceremonial purposes as the mascot for its unit and the Army Headquarters must approve the enlistment of such mascots in any regiment.

The custodian of Sergeant Akawala, Warrant Officer Aminu Mayo told Weekly Trust that two other rank army personnel are attached to Akawala.

“They run shift and during which they see to the needs of Akawala. A veterinary doctor is also attached to him to see to the mascot’s medical needs,” he added.

It would be recalled that when late Sergeant Farin Doki died, his brief history was read at his funeral. The then General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major-General Joseph Shoboiki, described Sergeant Doki as “very loyal to the service of the Division. Every morning, when I inspect the Quarter Guard, I usually pet it and you will see sign of a horse that has been in the service for the past 10 years. Any parade we conduct, he is always there. So, for him to just die after a three-day illness is a loss, really.” 

Source: Daily Trust