And when 14 Brigade of three battalions was worsted in the fierce Bane battles and repelled to the starting fishing post on the third day of assault, Adekunle told a visibly shaken Lt-Col. Pius Eromobor (brigade commander) that he would prefer he and his troops perished than retreat to Opobo. Eromobor remobilised and begun a winning streak that soon saw the troops joining others in Port Harcourt few weeks after. 3MCDO soldiers in the battlefield preferred to die on active service than come face-to-face with their GOC. While the enemy bullet could miss its target, Adekunle’s would be point-blank and lethal. Such was the myth and reality surrounding Adekunle – boisterous – but of whom Alabi-Isama said: ‘his bark was worse than his bite.’

General Olusegun Obasanjo remains the primary beneficiary of Adekunle’s battle-winning streak. Obasanjo stayed behind and had ample opportunity to play safe in stupendous high treason manoeuvres that ousted General Yakubu Gowon (a sin Adekunle never dreamt of but was rumoured to be committing) and even the democratically elected administration of Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Shagari. He served in Gowon’s administration and formed two federal cabinets, thus reaping bountiful financial rewards that have ranked him among the richest leaders in the world.

Other military brass, who stayed long in the corridors of power, became stupendously rich too. They are currently straddling the politico-economic landscape in scores. These are found in oil business in the Niger Delta and sit pretty well on the boards of blue-chip companies after cornering juicy shares or employed civilian fronts in many other areas. That was not the case with Adekunle, whose record of integrity as top Army commander was impeccable, a man whom the corrupting elements would think twice, and deeply too, before approaching for underhand dealings. He was a man who would not beg or cringe for political or economic favour, who did not sacrifice expediency for a mess of pottage.

Adekunle was a man of action who did not mind whose ox was gored when it came to national assignments. Gowon assigned him to clear the mess called seaport congestion, where inefficiency was supreme and official lethargy an art, an assignment that could have earned others millions in an era when thousands could sway a refracted horse, even move mountains. Adekunle did the job with the precision of a sleepwalker. There was no allegation of favouritism or bribery. Only Adekunle could have accomplished such Herculean task in those hazy days. He was on the port job when he was booted out of the Army. Why?

Adekunle was not unaware of the root cause of his exit from the Army. “He attributed his problems during and after the war to his rivals in the army. In various interviews, he said there was always a rumour of coup linked to him until the army authority felt the concern to do something about it,” said a reliable source.

The last we heard about the condition of Adekunle was through Alabi-Isama, a loyal associate, who said his former boss was truly low in finances, apart from his failing health.

The man was born in 1936 in Kaduna to an Ogbomoso – now in Oyo State – father by a Buchama lady. He enlisted into the Army in 1958 and was compulsorily retired in 1974. Whatever tears being shed today for Benjamin Adekunle, apart from those of his immediate family and truly loyal associates, are insincere and at best crocodile’s.