By Zakariyya Aliyu Gwaram: Friend and a Narrator
Writes From Karofin Madaki, Bauchi,Bauchi State.
Some men are not born into ease; they are forged. Like steel tempered in fire, their character is shaped by harsh beginnings, rough terrains, and relentless trials. LCpl Uzaifa Usman is one such man a soldier whose life reads like a long military advance from hostile ground to strategic victory.
Uzaifa and I share more than memories; we share a battlefield of childhood called “Karofin Madaki”. A place often described as a ghetto, notorious for social vices, drugs, thuggery, and the deadly culture of “Sara-Suka” machete-wielding gangs that turned youth energy into street warfare. Growing up there meant learning survival early. Many were swallowed by the trenches; only a few found the discipline to climb out. Uzaifa did with courage, resilience, and uncommon focus.
Fondly called “Mai Jeji” the bush controller, the knower of the wild he earned the name not by myth but by practice. From a young age, he showed deep interest in herbs and traditional medicine, always eager to heal, to cure, to help. He walked the forests like a scout on reconnaissance, learning nature’s secrets, later joining hunting expeditions, mastering patience, endurance, and survival traits that would one day translate seamlessly into soldiering.
Like many determined youths, his journey was not a straight parade-ground march. He worked as a mobile phone repairer, tested the waters of business, and hustled honorably for survival. Each job was a drill, each struggle a rehearsal. Fate, however, had already marked him for uniformed service.
Our paths crossed again at Special School, Toro one of Bauchi State’s finest citadels of learning, renowned for producing doctors, engineers, lawyers, and professionals of national and global repute. It was there that discipline met ambition, and dreams took clearer shape.
When Uzaifa eventually answered the call to arms, he did so fully not as a hesitant recruit, but as a man long prepared by life’s boot camp.
As a soldier of the Nigerian Army, his operational footprint speaks volumes:
1.He served in the field as Section 2IC at the 19th Infantry Battalion Rear, Ondo State, learning command responsibility from the ground up.
2.He was later attached to Headquarters Sector 1, Operation Delta Safe, serving as a Gunner, deployed to Opuama Flow Station and the Anti-Bunkering Special Patrol Team, standing guard over Nigeria’s critical assets.
3.He sharpened his administrative and professional edge at the Nigerian Army School of Finance and Administration (NASFA), Yaba, completing the Clerks’ General Duties Course.
4.Upon completion, he was deployed as a Staff Officer to the Commanding Officer, 90 Amphibious Battalion, where he currently serves diligently as the “Company Clerk” a position demanding precision, trust, and integrity
5.Ever eager to expand capacity, he attended the Indigenous Languages Course at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja, emerging as the First Phase Overall Best Student: a clear testament to excellence beyond the battlefield.
6.He further qualified in the Company Amphibious Operations Course 41/25, adding tactical versatility to his military arsenal.
Today, as LCpl Uzaifa Usman receives recognition and awards for his service, this tribute is not merely a celebration of rank, but of journey from the backstreets of Karofin Madaki to the disciplined corridors of the Nigerian Army; from a boy navigating social minefields to a soldier securing national interest.
His life reminds us that greatness is not about where you start, but how firmly you march forward. He did not retreat before adversity; he advanced. He did not surrender to the chaos of his environment; he imposed order on his destiny.
LCpl Uzaifa Usman is proof that even from the toughest terrain, gallant soldiers can rise.
May his boots never falter, his courage never dim, and his service continue to bring honor to his family, his community, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Stand firm, soldier. The nation salutes you.🇳🇬🪖