‘I was Advised To Start Drinking As Military Officer”- Brigadier General Now Church Worker Says

Brigadier General Yakubu Musa, who retired from the Nigerian Army after 29 years of service, has described the Military as the “best job” for any Nigerian due to the discipline and loyalty it instills in officers.

The retired military officer who spoke to THE WHISTLER after his church, the Anglican Church Wusasa, Zaria, recently ordained him a Reverend, expressed joy that his faith remained with him all through his time in the military.

He said drinking alcohol was common among his colleagues when he joined as an officer, but he was able to resist the influence of friends and colleagues because of his unwavering faith in Christ.

Speaking on why he wants to serve God after serving his country as a military man, he said: “In 1979, before I joined the Nigerian army, I was a student at Bazza Teacher’s College, Adamawa. We went for a crusade in GSS Hong, still in Adamawa State where Reverend Mesa from Ghana preached, and that day I gave my life to Christ.

“It was a day I can never explain the amount of joy I felt, but that was the joy of salvation that came into me. That one kept me, even though the military job was so challenging.

“There was a time when someone told me that since I’m a military man, I should start drinking beer and live like other military men. But I said no, with Christ in me, I will do this military job properly in a normal way till I finish.”

The Reverend said he has been preaching the gospel since he was a teenager and did so while in military service.

“When I was young, I preached, even in the army too I preached and had preached during church services. Yet I was determined that that is not the end. I thank God for allowing me to be ordained so that my preaching doesn’t end with my retirement, but even when I die so that I don’t go to him empty-handed,” he said.

Speaking further on how he got ordained, the General explained that when he was leaving the army, the Dean of Anglican Communion of Wusasa, the Bishop of Wusasa Diocese in Zaria, informed him that he was going to be ordained.

He said although that came to him as good news, he initially resisted it because he wanted to first go to the school of theology to study.

He said he was finally ordained on 14th of November 2022 and was honoured by the number of top church leaders who attended his thanksgiving.

“About 15 pasters and five Bishops came. Who am I to have this category of people? So, if I look at it all, I feel overwhelmed, it humbles me because it is the grace of God, not what I think I have achieved.

“I have left the Nigerian army and retired honourably, but I have not retired from work. There’s no day for a man that knows God. We have to go outside and preach the gospel to people that have not realised the truth.

“So that is my intention, my determination, and ambition, until when old age prevents me from going, otherwise I will never retire from preaching the word of God with people.”

According to the retired General, anyone who joins the military job has gotten the best job ever.

He said: “Joining the Nigerian Army, to me I will advise, is the best thing that will ever happen to individuals today.

“Years back, some of those that passed from the Nigerian Military School (NMS) were not those that will make it to the university, they will go to NDA. But because of the lack of jobs generally in the Nigerian economy today, to be honest, when you join the Nigerian Army you’ve gotten the best job.”

The Reverend pastor further explained the reason why he likes the Nigerian Army.

“I like the Nigerian army for its honesty. There is loyalty, there is a kind of dedication to service. It has a positive attitude.

“For instance, you will get your papers that will come from Lagos to Abuja in one day, and it goes back with a very good result, unlike the civil service sometimes when you have to tip somebody before he works on your file. The Nigerian army is up and doing all the time,” he said.