Nigeria's Major-General Bamalli Bids Farewell
By Marian Samu

The outgoing Commander of the Nigerian Contingent in UNAMSIL, Major-General Nuhu Bamalli, has taken formal leave of His Excellency the President, Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, at his Hill Station office in Freetown.

While bidding President Kabbah farewell Major-General Bamalli said he was leaving Sierra Leone with mixed feelings as he was leaving his Sierra Leonean brothers and sisters he had been working with and living with over the last eighteen months of his service in the Nigerian Contingent with UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone.

Major-General Bamalli stated that although he was leaving with a heavy heart, he was particularly happy that he wa going back to his country feeling confident that Sierra Leone has achieved peace, and that the country has now moved from peace-keeping to peace-building. He said that even though he was aware of the constraints, he still had hopes that all will be well.

He congratulated President Kabbah for his tremendous strides in ensuring that peace was attained in Sierra Leone. He said President Kabbah has taken a giant leap, which has distinguished him in the West African sub-region and in the African region as a whole.

Major-General Bamalli thanked the Deputy Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defense Staff and other colleagues in the Sierra Leone Army for the immense hospitality accorded him during his term of service in Sierra Leone. This hospitality, he said, has continued to strengthen the excellent relationship not only between them as individuals, but also between Nigeria and Sierra Leone. He thanked every one for having confidence in the Nigerian soldiers, adding that as long as UNAMSIL's mandate stood in Sierra Leone, NIBATT 19 will continue to be ever ready.

He personally thanked President Kabbah for being a father to him while he was in Sierra Leone and assured him that he shared his vision and aspirations of making Sierra Leone a great and prosperous nation.

While as Sector-West Commander and later Commander of the whole of the northern region, Major General Bamalli said he had the opportunity of attending several meetings and took part in several military exercises from which he had learnt so many lessons. He said lessons derived from these exercises will always remain invaluable to him.

He reassured the President that he will for ever be ready to serve this nation any time he is called upon to do so.

President Kabbah expressed how difficult it was to say farewell to people of the caliber of Major-General Bamalli.The President said he was highly impressed with Major-General Bamalli from the very first time he met him, and that those first impressions were confirmed several months later when General Abdul Salaam Abu Bakarr spoke highly about him.

The President congratulated Major-General Nuhu Bamalli on his promotion and new assignment.
Nigeria and Sierra Leone, President Kabbah said, have had cultural and family ties spanning over centuries. This, he said, was manifested in the robust manner in which Nigeria came to our assistance during the war.

President Kabbah remembered General Abacha and all he did for Sierra Leone when situations were really bad. He said Nigeria was the first country to intervene in the manner they did and later followed by Guinea, Ghana and others under ECOMOG.

President Kabbah also remembered Major General Maxwell Kobe who sacrificed his life to deliver our country..In appreciation of the contribution of the late General Sani Abacha and the late Major General Maxwell Kobe some streets in Freetown and elsewhre in the country have been named after them.

He also lauded the stout efforts of President Obasanjo in keeping the good relationship going especially when the upkeep of Nigerian soldiers in Sierra Leone became an issue and the efforts he personally put in in getting the late Foday Sankoh to see reason for a peaceful settlement through discussion and dialogue.

President Kabbah sent one message to the Nigerian people, and that was for them to know that he and the people of Sierra Leone highly appreciate what they did for Sierra Leone in its most trying times.

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