“And we must test your loyalty!”

“Usuman, bring them out!”

The officer shouted and waved his hand at a rangy soldier with intense bloodshot eyes. Throughout their training, Mawu had never seen him smile or loosen up, even after ingesting large amounts of drugs.
Usuman brought out some villagers and lined them up in front of the new recruits. Mawu recognised one of them — an old man — and, judging by the surprised expression on his face, the old man did too. He wondered where they were found. So many had run away and some went into hiding. Most of the villagers assumed their family members were dead.

The commanding officer didn’t miss the brief look of recognition between the old man and Mawu. He stepped forward grabbed the old man and shoved him in front of Mawu and said,

“You Soja, shoot!”

If Mawu spared the old man’s life he was automatically forfeiting his. The Boko Haram soldiers would not hesitate to kill him right there. They certainly didn’t need soldiers like him and they would happily make an example of him. The recruits had been warned about being weaklings at the nightly preaching. They were told not to fear anything or anyone, not even death, in or out of the battlefield. Their reward would be waiting for them in heaven when they died.

“I said shoot him!” the officer shouted at him again when he noticed Mawu’s hesitation.

Mawu looked at the old man and shakily raised the gun in aim. The past flashed before his eyes. This man supported his family when his father fell ill years ago. The old man shared his farm produce between their two families when his father’s crops didn’t do well. Mawu remembered how the old man checked up on his father every day unfailingly. The old man would always bring one herbal concoction or the other for his father to drink. When his father eventually got better, their friendship became stronger and they became inseparable. Mawu’s father was grateful and the whole family felt indebted to the old man. He told them the only way he could repay his friend was by joining their two families in marriage. So Mawu’s sister was betrothed to one of the old man’s sons. But they had another bond, the old man was Ladan’s father.

Everyone looked at Mawu who shook visibly, sweat running from his forehead into his eyes, making him blink profusely. His cheap khaki shirt already drenched. Mawu couldn’t bring himself to shoot. The commanding officer walked towards Mawu, gnashing his teeth, trying to control his seething anger. He had high hopes for Mawu and had praised him in their circles; he even bragged to the other recruits about Mawu’s quickness to learn and show of promise throughout the training.

Usuman’s eyes deadly cool as usual watched intently at what was transpiring, only a twitch at his temple betrayed his emotions. He was ready to kill Mawu the instant the Commanding officer ordered it. One flick of his finger and Mawu would be dead.

The officer had come up behind Mawu without him noticing, his mind was still swimming in a variety of emotions.