Although he wears a low-cut, the unmistakable grey hair on Capt. Aguibou Niankiado's head is not only the result of old age.
As one of the longest serving soldiers of the West African Peace Keeping Force better known by its acronym, ECOMOG, in Liberia, Niangadu, 55, has had his hopes raised, then dashed as thousands of troops are rotated by their contributing countries since he arrived Monrovia in 1991 as part of a 10-member Malian contingent in the Liberia peace effort.
ECOMOG was first sent to Monrovia in August 1990, to help stop a civil war which started as a rebellion in December 1984 by the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by now President-elect, Charles Taylor against the government of President Samuel Doe.
Among the estimated 150,000 casuaLties of the seven-year War, was Doe. assassinated by one of the factions in 1990 and more than 500 ECOMOG soldiers whom the current force commander, Maj.Gen Victor Malu, said were lost in combat. These do not include soldiers who died in accidents or from natural causes.
Niangado said for the ECOMOG soldier, the Liberian peace keeping operation had involved some stress.
You sometimes feel separated from your family back in your country and some things happen that affect the soldier's moral , the ECOMOG headquarter's personal staff officer told PANA in Monrovia.
Niangado, a teacher for 19 years before joining the army in 1979, and a father of three, said each time the disarmament process in Liberia stalled, the moral of ECOMOG soldiers sagged.
The ECOMOG campaign had involved protracted and delicate negotiations often bogged down by the intransigence of the warring factions which acquired a reputation in breaking peace accords.
Unlike the Green Berets of the United Nation, the ECOMOG experience in Liberia is seen as unique in so many ways.
Apart from the initial skepticism that greeted its formation, the contributing countries are responsible for their individual continents.
This has meant huge human and material costs with Nigeria accounting for the largest contingent followed by Ghana. Mali raised its troops from 10 in 1990 to the present 635 soldiers under the command of Brig.Gen Cheick Diarra.
The strength of ECOMOG is currently put at 10,500 men and officers.
Niangado has seen it all. He was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain while serving in ECOMOG. Speaking after Liberia's July 19 elections acclaimed by international observers as peaceful, free ad fair, he said everyone should be happy that ECOMOG has succeeded in spite of the skepticism .
But the campaign has not been without pains. The chairman of Liberia's Independent Electoral Commission, Henry Andrews, in commending the Nigeria-led force while announcing the poll results Thursday in Monrovia, said the peace operation had involved sacrifices of blood, sweat and tears by the contributing countries.
Although songs have been written in praise of the West African peace initiative as Liberians thank God for ECOMOG .
Observers, however, believe that the greatest tribute to the gallant ECOMOG soldier that laid down his/her life will be an enduring peace in Liberia, Africa's first republic founded in 1847 by freed slaves from America.