Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (1933-2011)

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/nov/27/national-27-11-2011-001.html
The last patriot
By Valentine Obienyem
Sunday, November 27, 2011

• Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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YESTERDAY, November 26, 2011, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the number one Igbo citizen and a Nigerian patriot said goodbye to this world after a protracted illness. I was privileged to accompany Gov. Obi (his 9th visit) to see him in London on the 25th of November, on our way to Nigeria from France, where he accompanied the president to the meeting of Honorary Investors Council of Nigeria’s meeting. Our plane hardly touched ground at 5:30 am when the Governor received a text message from Ojukwu’s son that the father had passed on.

He was momentarily lost as he kept shouting Oh noo ad infinitum. He immediately made some calls, including to Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca who is in London. He called his wife, Margaret who was in France with us, but had to stop in London to immediately go and stay with Bianca and make sure everything was in order. Mrs Margaret Peter-Obi had tried in vain to persuade her husband to spend the night in London, but the Governor said that he had so many things to do in Anambra that he could not afford one minute of rest.

Turning to me, he told me to call his travel agent for the next available flight to London for himself, myself and Emeka, Ojukwu’s son. The agent got back with the news that British Airways was fully booked. Thereafter, we went to fetch the son in town and raced back to the airport for the next flight to Lagos to catch the Virgin flight to London. Since only two economy class were available, I could not make it; Gov. Obi and Emeka did.
While we were in London, Gov. Obi had audience with the President. After the meeting, he told me how nice our president is, his concern for the good of the country and how he showed deep-rooted concern for Ojukwu. The issue arose because Obi discussed with him the possibility of naming the dual carriage road from Head bridge after Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

He had written to him on that but Mr. President was of the opinion, and rightly too, that it would be after the rehabilitation of the road, which is on-going now. Even while the President spoke to our people in France, he said that his SSA in Diaspora (Bianca) would have been in the meeting but for special permission granted her to appropriately look after her husband. As all this took place, nobody knew that death was hovering over him.
But why this unusual reactions to Ojukwu’s death? The reason is simple, he was a great man. Shall we sample him?
By the standard of today, his father, Sir Louis Odumegwu was a Billionaire. With his wealth, he reared the little but charming Emeka with all the affection that parents lavish upon their children in ever y age. He was determined to give him the best education. Consistent with Sir Louis’ vow, the child, Emeka, was almost crushed with education. The first school he attended was St. Patrick’s Primary School, Idumagbo, Lagos.

There, during break hours, he relished sham battles in which, time and again, he and his friends were nearly killed. Because of this, only few pupils could dare play with him. Later, he attended Church Missionary Grammar School (CMS) and King’s College, both in Lagos.
While in King’s College, his father had already discovered that his child, Emeka, was intellectually precocious and keen, well endowed with good judgment and restless with ambition. How best could a man develop his potentialities? In those days, as it is today, it helped to attend good schools. King’s College was in fact, one of the best secondary schools in Nigeria. Since education was still developing in the country, Sir Odumegwu wanted for his son a country where education has reached advanced stages, for effective intellectual insemination. It is a fact of history that when one grows among advanced people, he is more likely to imbibe their civilization with great ease. After discussing the idea of a British education with some of his enlightened Nigerian friends, they settled for Epsom on the understanding that at thirteen he would transfer to Eton, Britain’s most exclusive public school.

As planned, Emeka, 12, was admitted into Epsom College, in the county of Surrey.
His English education began in earnest. Epsom thenceforth became a formative ordeal for him in a strange environment. The college inspired the talented Emeka with a great love for history. He came to know and admire English civilization. Like any child with his disposition, he equally learnt a great deal of the virtues and vices that go with growing up..
Emeka later gained admission to Lincoln College, University of Oxford in 1952. Oxford, as expected, was full of the frolic of students, the odour of learning and the excitement of independent thought. There, his father was anxious that Emeka should study Law saying, “I think there is the material of a good lawyer and legal director of my business in him.”11 This was in line with the prevalent disposition among Nigerians, where, till today, fond parents always want their children to read Law which they regard as an open sesame to wealth and high social status.

The insistence of the father that Emeka studied Law was the first serious conflict between father and son. In filial compromise Emeka took up the studying of Law; but as a student of Law, the prospect of studying modern History and observing the lives of heroes held a secret fascination for him. At a stage, having studied Law for a year, he burnt his law books, forgot Jurisprudence and followed History as if under a spell.
In 1955 he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree. Back to Nigeria, he soon returned to Oxford to receive his Master of Arts degree. With all these, and while in the flower of his maturity, he inwardly felt satisfied that he was now well armed with the weapon of education. His desire to contribute to the development of his country could now begin. Silently, he resolved to begin in earnest.

On his return and excited and happy with his son, Sir Odumegwu took Emeka to a lavishly furnished office complex, and handed him the keys. On getting home that day, Emeka had a vision or something close to that; he was offered a choice of life of ease, pleasure, plenty and vice, or one of hardship, danger, glory and virtue. He followed wise counsel and chose the more difficult but virtuous life. Thereafter, he rejected the cosy path cut for him by his father, gave him back the keys and decided to cut his own path.
This crave for individualism made him join the Eastern Nigerian Public Service as an Administrative Officer. Sir Louis was not pleased at all that his son took what he considered the ridiculous job of an administrator. Exhausting all persuasion, the father upbraided the son for trying to make his family a public jest. Rather than budge, the son showed ever less interest in the father’s business, ever more in administration.

The dust generated by Emeka’s administrative work had hardly settled down when, in search of an organization that would escape his father’s influence, he generated another controversy that threatened to separate him from his father for good. He joined the Army! This was in 1957, when the Nigerian Army was merely a part of an all-embracing British West African army called the Royal West African Frontier Forces (RWAFF). These forces included the armies of Nigeria, Gold Coast (now Ghana), Sierra-Leone and Gambia.

Thinking the task of bringing his son to his “senses” had gone beyond him, Sir Odumegwu enlisted the help of his friends; Zik and others were contacted. Zik called Emeka and advised that if he were Emeka, he would accept his father’s offer and avoid the hazard of joining a brutal force. Emeka remarked that he would do so if he were Zik. Being Emeka, he maintained that his father’s offer would make him perpetually delineated as Ojukwu.
After the drama of being forced to enter the force as a recruit, the new Cadet went to Teshie in Ghana, thenceforth to Officer Cadet School at Eaton Hall in England,. He later attended Infantry School at Warminster and Small Arms School at Hythe and Joint Services Staff College (JSSC) at Latimer.

In Nigeria, Ojukwu served with the First Battalion, Kano, before his appointment as an instructor, Royal West African Frontier Forces Training School, Teshie, Ghana, 1958-60. Ojukwu returned to fatherland in 1961 and served as staff officer in the ‘A’ Branch of the new Nigerian Army Headquarters in the Defence Ministry building in Lagos. He had no problems carrying out his assigned duties. Six months as a Captain, Ojukwu was promoted to a Major. Because of the respect Emeka’s father had for the rank of a Major, he broke the silence with his son and celebrated his promotion with him. Father and son drank a bottle of champagne between them as a gesture of re-union. Very soon he was transferred to Kaduna as a Staff Officer with the First Brigade. While there, like his contemporaries, he served with the United Nations Peace Keeping Forces in Congo in 1962. Between 1964 – 66, Ojukwu was the commander of Fifth Battalion, Kano. The period of his command can be described without tongue-in-cheek, as the most gruesome time in the history of Nigeria. While he was in the Fifth Battalion, the first attempted coup took place. He did not, like most commanders, abdicate his command. He opposed the coup and was later appointed the governor of the Eastern Region.
His tenure as governor portrayed him as a master in the art of governance, and an eloquent public speaker. None who heard him speak could forget the cadence of his speeches, his mellifluous tones, the eloquence of his words, the geniality of his spirit, the charm of his courtesy, the vivacity of his wit, the poetic sensitivity of his mind. Both in his prepared and impromptu speeches, he made use of all the faculties he had, natural or acquired, such that he far surpassed in force and strength all the orations of his contemporaries. He has the rare capacity for dramatic poses. Clenched fist, jutting jaw and theatrical action, were part of his fiery speeches.

The regime of General Ironsi, which Ojukwu was part of, tried to save Nigeria within the limits of their vision and creed. With the death of Ironsi, an organized pogrom was carried out. An eyewitness told how orders were given to some Northern soldiers to kill all Easterners. The terrified soldiers at first refused to obey the command. They were however induced to kill a few. The heat of the murder inflamed them and it passed into massacre. This spread to the barracks and Igbo quarters with fluid readiness. Ojukwu and other concerned Igbos raised horrified protests, even as soldiers of Northern region congratulated one another.
Igbos then came to the belief that the security of the Easterners was in their own hands. The courage of their leader, Ojukwu, gave dignity and splendour to their survival cause. Thousands of onlookers must have been disturbed as millions of Igbos left the North in a prolonged and melancholy exodus.

This was the genesis of the civil war crisis. As the crisis deepened, Ojukwu’s resistance grew, but Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon wanted to retain him in the army. In an attempt to placate him, the prospect of being the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters was dangled before him with enticing conditions. However, Ojukwu, who would not support indiscipline, spurned the dangled carrot. Were he different, he says: “I would not have chosen to resist Gowon instead of the easy way of acquiescence chosen by my colleagues.”
As one of the means of seeking peace, the actors in that conflict needed a meeting.
Ojukwu knew that his security and that of the Easterners was not guaranteed. Likewise neither Gowon nor Lt. Colonel Hassan Katsina was prepared to go to the East. A compromise would have been Benin City, the capital of the Mid-Western region, but for the presence of Northern soldiers, it was unacceptable to Ojukwu. In sum then, a meeting could only be held in a neutral territory that would be willing to host such. Finally, the meeting was held at Aburi, Ghana, under the auspices of General Ankrah. The two warriors and their lieutenants, as expected, flew off to Ghana well armed with the problems of the country as if to a decisive battle.

The Aburi meeting was held on the 4th and 5th of January 1967, at Peduase Lodge, a luxurious hilltop retreat built by late President Kwameh Nkrumah. The serenity of the place could bring wandering souls back to their senses. It was an ideal place for sober reflection.
At Aburi, for the first time in Nigerian history the problems of the country were faced honestly and honest solutions sought. From that bitter moment, Ojukwu the Administrator receded into history, and Ojukwu the General, aged 33, turned his soul to war. He went to war not because he liked war, but because he had no option. The problems he faced seemed to have defied a peaceful solution. After the war, he went to exile where he stayed for 12 years.
With the end of the war, Ojukwu was granted political asylum by the Late President of Ivory Coast, Houphuet Boigny. Thus, from 11 January, 1970, Ojukwu’s exile started. He needed a secluded place that would be conducive to sober reflections and contemplation. He needed to be away from the prying and prancing eyes of many that sought to see that powerful man of Biafra. He needed a place that would be inaccessible to assassins. The search for a good place finally ended at Yamoussoukoro, which also houses the Ivorian Summer Palace. Its imposing Catholic basilica now enhances the pride of the city. Later, when tension reduced, he moved to the capital, Abidjan.

After his pardon by the then President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Ojukwu came home on board a chartered Boeing 727 Nigeria Airways Flight WT 700. Soon after the plane touched down on Nigerian soil, the welcome song rent the air. Work at the airport was almost paralysed, as all airport officials who got wind of his arrival abandoned their posts for hours to catch a glimpse of Ojukwu, the returning hero. There was hardly anybody in the country that had not the curiosity to come and see the formidable and indefatigable freedom fighter. There was what seemed like mass movement of Easterners, Westerners and Northerners to the airport. The airport was partly destroyed.
Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (1933-2011)
His last interview
How I want to be remembered –Ojukwu
By ALVAN EWUZIE[alvanatsun@yahoo.com]
Sunday, November 27, 2011

• Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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The following is the last interview Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu ever granted to any newspaper. Excerpts…
It may be difficult to determine which of these two Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu loves most: Ndigbo or his wife Bianca? If you speak with Ojukwu, you immediately come away with the impression of a man married, as it were, to both. However, with age taking its toll on the Igbo icon [he is in his late 70s], Bianca, his ageless wife, is like the guardian angel attending to his needs. That was why she stayed home on the appointed day for an interview with Daily Sun. She stood by her husband all through the interview to ensure that “he did not say anything volatile” and that he was “frugal” with his answers.

Ojukwu would naturally detest any bid to “cage” him. At a point he got angry and called off the interaction. Ironically, it took Bianca’s intervention to get him back on the “hot seat”. He then fielded questions within the ground rules, namely: that you do not drill him for more than an hour, and that you do not insist on all your questions being answered.
Age may have slowed him, but not his articulation and unflinching consistency over his beliefs.
Forty years after, Ikemba still believes he was right to have declared a war in defence of the Igbo people, but would flatly refuse to talk about the war. He believes that Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida has a ‘sense of humour’ and ‘may have something to offer’ should he decide to return to the seat of power at the Presidency. The interview is vintage Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Your Excellency, why did you choose to pursue a career in the military?
I must confess you caught me pants down there, completely off guard. But I thought everybody knows why I went into the Army. I joined the Army to serve the nation. I also joined the Army because I liked the military. I also joined to prove a point to myself, the point being that, as many people said and thought, at that time, that I was not [speaking in Igbo] Onye aba aba nna [meaning a jolly good fellow spoilt by wealth]. I wanted to make that point to myself first and then to others. I needed to show that whatever needed to be done in my country, I would do my own part. I joined the Nigerian Army and I am proud to say that I continued to serve to the rank of General. I don’t know how many of us can boast of that. I am very proud of that. I have been seen in action in the barracks. I have been seen in war. That’s it.

Muammar Gaddafi had on two occasions in one month called for the splitting of Nigeria. The Senate president described him as a mad man. What’s your take?
No, I would not go as far as calling him a mad man. He is a leader of his people and I respect that fact. If you look through my entire career, you would find that even with a country as close to us as Ghana, at no point have I suggested what type of government they should have, because it is not my business. Having said that, it is clear that whatever Gaddafi thinks, he has every right to his thoughts, but as a political leader, he should note that he has no right to decide for Nigeria what Nigeria should do. So, I say to him, my friend Gaddafi, please shut up.

Forty years after the civil war, would you say the circumstances that led you to draw a line of defence for your people have abated?
I hesitate to answer that question, because I don’t like to be boxed into a corner. Quite a lot of the issues have been raised over the years. But whether they have abated, I would say yes, to a certain extent. However, that we are today still talking about the safety of our citizens is really sad. What are our leaders doing and why is our society so fragile? By now Nigeria should have grown beyond all these sectarian crisis and insecurity, which now makes people scared of travelling to or going to live in some parts of the country. I feel we should have gone far beyond that. But, more than anything, I want to make this very clear, namely: that it is for this kind of things that we have leaders. I call upon the leaders to guarantee the safety of our people. I hope I have made myself clear. Let me add here that I also speak as a General.

The Anambra State election has come and gone. One of the remarkable things about that election is that you stuck out your neck and your reputation for Governor Peter Obi. What did you see in him?
Every one is already talking about the outcome of that election. I was very proud of the campaign and I am still very proud that I made a call and despite all the rough things people say about Ndigbo, it appears very clearly that Ndigbo listened to what I said. And by that they obviously accepted me as their leader. They acted in accordance with my wishes. I am very proud of this. You are Igbo and you know how difficult it is to get Ndigbo together to accept one person. I am proud that I told them this was my last wish and they responded. But then, don’t laugh at the next thing I am about to say, but I am hoping that Ndigbo will still be available to do other ‘last wishes’ that I would have [general laughter], you understand?
I do, sir.
Yes, because I am still very much around and I will ask for more last wishes [more laughter].
You have not talked about Peter Obi.
Oh yes, Peter Obi. To start with, I like his modesty. No doubt about that. He is one leader who does not come here to see me as though he was attacking a fortress. He is very modest. Whenever we have to talk, he comes as Peter. He does not bring half a brigade as entourage as others would do. You notice also that whenever he talks he keeps to the point and does not elongate matters unnecessarily. I like Peter and I hope I would be more useful to him in his career. The truth, however, and Peter can claim this more than everyone else, is that while I can say that I have helped him in his career, he can also stand up and say he has also helped me in my own career. You can see there is some mutuality in our interaction. But having said all these, my advice for him is that he should try to be more of a politician than a businessman.

The country has waited 40 years to read your war memoirs and it has not come. Will it ever come?
Yes, it will come. From time to time I tell myself that I am just starting. Again, it is this question of the last wish. I say it is the last wish, but somehow the Almighty says no it cannot be the last wish yet. War memoirs you call it, well, it will come out in the course of my own memoirs. When you say war memoirs, I tell you straight away that I do not want to be remembered necessarily as a soldier. I want to be remembered as a patriot. I will write and I will explain whatever needs to be explained about the war time. I will do that because I want the truth to be available.

What time would that be?
[Long pause, then his wife Bianca says] He had only just started. So, it would be difficult to say when that would be. [Another long pause, then Ojukwu says] What I find amusing is that I am being asked to determine when what I have described as my final act would be. I have already said to you that there will be many other final acts and I pray to God that it would be so. But one thing I would tell you is that I made a promise to my wife, and you know how much I love her, I promised her that I would not leave her without my own testament.

So, it is sure to come?
Yes. It is coming.

What’s your comment on Goodluck Jonathan’s emergence as Acting President, and do you think he should run for the 2011 election?
Has there been any problem over his emergence? As far as I am concerned, he is a Nigerian citizen, and the most prominent one at that, for now. If he wants to continue, then he should run for election next year. It is not a North and South thing, and I noted that he is a Nigerian and he is free to run and should run if he wants to continue to be in charge of the country. From that point of view, yes, he can run for as long as the Constitution of Nigeria permits him.

The papers reported that you are backing Iwu’s reappointment and that you have endorsed his return as INEC boss, is it true?
Absolute nonsense! Why should I back him? He did a good job and I am proud that I stood up to say yes, you have done well. I will do that for any Nigerian who has done well, not only because he is an Igbo son who is producing for Nigeria a good result, which the whole world applauds. Iwu did a good job in Nigeria and Anambra, as far as I am concerned. People making comments about good elections are not just talking about Anambra; for a long time people have wondered whether we are capable of conducting elections. We have shown that we are capable of conducting elections and producing results the whole world will look at and acknowledge. We have successfully had a civilian to civilian hand-over. That is certainly a plus.

Should he be reappointed?
Oh, come off it. I am not his employer. The question of his reappointment is between himself and his employer, why should I dabble into his job? People said when he visited the other day that he asked for and got my support. No such thing happened. Let me use this opportunity to put it clearly that he came to visit me on his way to Abia where he had a job to conclude. At no time during the interaction on his visit did he seek my support, nor did I give to him the said support for elongating his tenure in INEC or for seeking another mandate. As I said in the opening of my response, that is a matter between him and his employer, which in this case, is the Federal Government. I was not even consulted when he was appointed, so how can I now be instrumental to his reappointment?

Why were you unable to win election into the Senate in 1983 even when the Igbo nation stood still on your return from exile in 1982, what happened?
It may be that the people did not want me. But there are records of what happened. And I don’t go beyond that actually because I felt that whatever happened to me then was a temporary set back. I want you to always remember that most leaders are not really idols where they come from. Anything could have gone wrong. One thing I have suffered in this sense is the fact that Ndigbo would seem not just happy that I am there, but they would like to claim every inch of my skin as theirs and they would like to control every bit of my blood, too. It is natural.

In fact, instead of just rejoicing that I am useful to them, they seem to have cast themselves in a tug of war with Nigeria, whether Nigeria has a greater pull on me or they. You will always find that even in Nnewi I am at once their most popular son, yet I know that Nnewi people feel they have been cheated by the rest of Nigeria that did not father me, and are coming out now to claim a lot of me. These petty conflicts you can find anywhere. But let me put it very clearly, I have said this before and I will continue to say it: I came into politics for the Igbo cause. I came in to do what I can to rescue Ndigbo. I shall continue to do so and my focus remains that entity called Igbo. That’s all about that.
If you have the opportunity to present yourself for the Presidency, would you do that?
[Long pause, then Bianca says] No.

You won’t allow him?
Binca: No.

Ojukwu: you heard her.
Yes.
That’s my answer.

You said in the past that you will not condemn MASSOB, neither would you support them, but right now their leader, Uwazurike, is being held…
[Cuts in] Most unjustly. Uwazurike, like anybody else, must have made mistakes, though I have not seen any yet, but why should he be detained for three months? What is worse is that even in court his accusers do not bring him forward to answer to the charges against him. I don’t want to be a scare-monger, but really, to be honest with you, I am not sure he is still alive. It is a terrible thing for an Igbo man to disappear like that before our very eyes. No, the Igbo race certainly has it as a bad mark against the Federal Government that locked him up for three months. We demand, I will demand on their behalf that we be told in clear terms where Uwazurike is.

Where is he, why does he not attend court when he is under the care of the Federal Government in prison and in circumstances where the government want him to answer to charges preferred against him? Where is he? I have asked this question and I say to the Federal Government that I shall continue to ask; find my brother Uwazurike, tell me where he is. If what you say about him is right, I would feel better if he were permitted to come out and answer to your charges. It’s only fair. Keeping him away is culturally an abomination.

How can a man just disappear and we cannot give him the rightful honours he deserves as a human being under our culture? Secondly, if you think as a government that he has committed certain offences, I now ask the government, has his wife committed the same offence? Why must his relations be punished? Bring him out. Tell us where he is, and above all, give the courts the opportunity of pronouncing him guilty or not. I hope I have made myself clear. Ralph Uwazurike cannot just disappear into thin air. Each time they come to court to say they have adjourned for one reason or the other, yet the man is in custody of the government that is adjourning. That is not right. It is this sort of thing that makes me often wonder whether it is not part of the suffering of Ndigbo, because I can’t see any other tribe or any other group being handled in this off-hand manner. If he has done wrong, let him go to court. Try him and let us hear the verdict.

Yes. But, it is for these kinds of things that Gaddafi called for the country to be split if certain people are going to be treated like second class citizens in their own country, isn’t it?
If I had said what Gaddafi said, I would stand by it. But I did not. And we have not reached a stage where we can now hire Gaddafi to come and be our advocate. He has his own problems. Please, Gaddafi, don’t mix your problems with ours and if you feel you have to talk, come and talk to me. I am the leader of Ndigbo. The name Gaddafi does not appear in our lexicography.

Biafrans refined oil during the war and thus had fuel they used. Forty years after Nigeria is importing fuel. How does that make you feel?
It makes me feel awful and there are many things that make me feel awful. I don’t expect every problem to be solved at the same time, but there are many things we could do better than we are doing now. These things were done, but the people who did them should come out and be counted. I have become notorious for waving the ethnic flag, but I am always proud of the opportunity because what I am after is equity for all citizens of the block I serve.
In 1966 when Nigeria experienced the first military intervention, did you think the circumstances at that time warranted a coup?

You will be surprised. As junior officers in the Army, practically every thing that happened got us thinking of the possibility of a coup de tat. So, when you ask do I think that circumstances warranted the coup, my answer is yes. As an Army officer, I thought Nigeria needed a shake-up at that time.

Do you think you were right to have declared a war in defence of Ndigbo in 1967, was it the right thing to do at that time?
Of course, I was right. Even now, I still believe I was right and I will even go further to say that if I am found exactly the same situation again, I would wish that I have the courage to be as right as I was then. Are you with me?
I am with you, sir. But some people did not think you were right even at that time and I understand that they advised you to use diplomacy rather than war. I wouldn’t know whether looking back you would say they were correct?
There is no situation you wouldn’t have some supporting and others not supporting. They have their right to support or not to support. But I should warn you that if you think you are leading me into a situation where I would review the war, I think it is better for you to recognise that before you stands a brick wall.

Why wouldn’t you want to talk about it?
[Flares up, eyes popping] Because I don’t want to.

Ok. Let’s go back to the beginning. You were said to be a pampered child. How true?
[Turns to Bianca] Darling, was I a pampered child?
Bianca: Well, I always tell you when you throw tantrums that we need to go and wake up your mother from the dead so she can come and take better care of you, because she may have spoilt you. Yes, you are a pampered child.
Ojukwu: My wife thinks I was pampered.

Was it true that as a child you lacked nothing as a young growing boy?
That’s how I saw it, but others might have seen it differently. But I certainly had everything that was necessary. I went to the best of schools, CMS Grammar School, Kings College, Lincoln College, Oxford, and so on. Yes, my father did the best he could to bring me up and I always say, and it doesn’t take anything off me at all, that the product which he finally got justified his efforts.

People generally say Ojukwu is a stubborn person. How do you see yourself?
I hope I remain stubborn. If this is stubbornness, yes. But the important thing is to get things right. If you look around in Nigeria, we tend to sweep things so much under the carpet only to come back and start picking them bit by bit. If the verdict is that I am stubborn, then I draw comfort from the fact that Winston Churchill was stubborn, Napoleon was stubborn. I draw consolation that today Mandela is stubborn. All around me the names that keep coming up are those of very stubborn people. If I am stubborn, then there is just one point I want to make about stubbornness, and it is this: I believe I am stubborn for the right reasons.

Your fellow soldiers, Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, IBB, have all had opportunities of leading this country at one time or the other. Now, some of them want to offer themselves again for the same position. People have said that soldiers are not really good administrators, should they be allowed to come back?

I don’t join the group that would casually say that soldiers are not good administrators, because I know that in the Army you are trained to administer. I know that in the Army you find great administrators who lead men to make the highest sacrifice known to this world. Soldiers are very good administrators. In fact, you cannot be a good soldier if are not a good administrator, because I know that in the Army you are trained to administer. I know that in the Army you find great administrators. It is only in the Army you would take a man and administer all his needs until his death. That is true administration.

Obasanjo ruled for eight years…
Did he?

Yes. He was there for two terms. Could you assess his tenure?
[Long pause] you are asking for trouble, but I would not succumb. Let other people decide whether he did well?

Why would you not want to talk about Obasanjo’s regime?
[Voice rising] Because he is too much of a colleague of mine, I do not want to get into this personal conflict.
No sir, it is not personal.

[Flares up] I am talking about Obasanjo, who you want me to talk about.
Yes, but we are talking about his regime, not his person.
Well, his regime and himself are the same, and I ask you to shut up.

Muhammadu Buhari wants to return as Head of State, do you agree?
Does he?
Yes.
Well, he has not told me. When I see him next time I shall ask him.

There is also IBB who ruled for eight years and now wants to return to office. What do you think?
I don’t know that he wants to come back. But Babangida happens to be the one I know a little bit about. If for nothing else, I like his sense of humour and I believe that a man endowed with such openness might have something to offer.

You think if he wants to come back he is welcome?
Oh yes, why not? In fact, anybody who wants to have a shot at the Presidency is welcome, provided they go the right way. Don’t come back to office through the wrong way such as a coup de’tat, then I will tell you that you are cheating. But if you are going to go through the elections, campaigns, and get people to vote for you and they say you are the man, then that’s okay by me.

After eight years, IBB and others who had had a shot before can come back if they wish?
I would even go further to say that if 16 years were possible, provided the man is healthy and his senses are still intact and his coordination still alright then, he should offer himself for the job, and if the people want him, so be it.

What are your general views on the recent ministerial nominees by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan?
Generally speaking, my attitude to the names is that there is too much recycling going on and I believe it is not a good thing to recycle people over and over again. Most of the problems that persist in Nigeria derive from this tendency to recycle. There are many people in Nigeria and my advice is that the authorities should look deeper and look round. They will find the men and women who can do the job.

What do you hope to see in next year’s elections?
We know the constitution. People should go through it and make sure they present themselves the best way. What do I hope to see? I have indicated, for example, that if INEC does what it did in Anambra recently then I look forward to their taking charge again. But if they cannot, then the leadership should move aside. They have done their bit. That’s the way I see it. I would like to see a transparent election. Now, don’t go and slay me on the pages of your newspaper, but I would also want to see an Igbo man emerging winner of that election.

Do you think that the Igbo are ready to take the Presidency?
Why not?

If they are going to take it, which party would provide the platform?
I must congratulate you for being persistent. Mark you, I did not say stubborn. What I say is let them have their chance. That’s all. I am certain they would be up to the task provided nobody puts obstacles on their way.

Will your party, which at the moment is not doing too well, work hard enough to be that coveted platform?
If they do not work hard enough, it would not be for my lack of trying. I will keep pushing that they work hard enough and produce what I expect.

People believe the party Ojukwu leads should have been the leading party in the South East. But that has not happened, why?
Is that what people think? Then, I say Amen.

But that has not happened, why?
Let’s wait till 2011 then.

My life with Ojukwu –Bianca
By Alvan Ewuzie
Sunday, November 27, 2011

• Bianca and Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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She was without any iota of doubt, the closest person to Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. In April 2010 Bianca, Ojukwu’s wife of over two decades spoke about her relationship with the national icon. Excerpts:

How long have you been married to Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu?
We have been into a relationship since 1989 but we got married formally on November 12, 1994. We have been together for over 20 years, because we had been living together since 1989.

How old were you and how old was he at the time?
Well, I was 22 and he was in his mid 50s
People considered you too young for him at that time. How did you feel then?
It’s not your conventional relationship. Looking back now, I certainly realise that I was very young at that time but it didn’t seem to matter , because we had so much in common and we had good communication. The gap was not there in our day-to-day interactions. People thought the relationship was bizarre , because of the age difference but it’s only now when I look back, now that I have children of my own that I realised that it was rather unusual.

You were so much in love at the time that you didn’t notice any disparity in your ages?
I don’t know whether I would classify it as being in love. I just knew that the difference tended to melt away when compared to the common grounds that we had. We had a similar background and we had so much to talk about. We had common interests and we just did a lot of things together. We went to see plays at the theatre, we went on vacations and there was just no disparity in our interaction. I didn’t feel it at the time.

How come you’re feeling it now?
No, I don’t feel it now, because we have gotten used to each other having been together for so long. I always told him I am like the furniture in your house. We are too used to each other. I can complete his sentences and he can complete mine. Really I think at the end of the day that’s what is imperative in every relationship. You must be able to communicate. He understood me fully and he appreciated that mine has been a life of dedication to him. I know the travails he has been through and I appreciate that a man such as him needs somebody to step in and play the role of a wife, sister and mother simultaneously and give him peace of mind in his day to day life.

Would you say therefore that you were psychologically prepared to be Ojukwu’s wife?
I come from a political family. If that’s being psychologically prepared well I am not the one to say so. But I think I had to shoulder a lot of responsibilities beyond what somebody of my age would reasonably be expected to go through. I had to learn in the process. I think I have done well because it requires diplomacy and the fact that sometimes you have to get out of your skin to mediate in conflicts that will generally arise around a man of his stature. It’s been quite challenging but I thank God that I have been able to navigate the terrain.

Has it ever occurred to you that people never gave this marriage a chance, yet it has lasted this long. How does that make you feel?
I feel blessed. I have known friends in more conventional marriages, who break up, remarry and break up again in this space of time and I am still here. I thank God for his grace because nobody gave this thing a chance of survival. In all honesty I was really young at that time and I did believe that I could handle it. Now when I look back I wonder how I did it. That was not a situation your average 22-year-old could handle. Normally the disparity ought to make the interests different. But the truth is that I didn’t miss those things the average 22-year old would want, like going to parties, clubs and the like. Those were not my interests.

Though people have always said that I am very old fashioned and I didn’t have those things that propel people of my age. I wanted a stable marriage. I wanted to live with a man that I have things in common with and a man that I could spend the rest of my life with. Having said that, the truth is that it requires a lot of sacrifice, commitment and hard work to be able to make it work.

Was it that you had to grow up to him or he had to come down to you? How was the mix?
No question about that, I had to grow up to him. I had to learn to interact with people who were a lot older than I was. Generally from the time I was 22 people who were coming to our various homes were people of his age. They were his friends and by extension they have become my friends too. I give God the glory. He had some of the most dedicated, committed and loyal friends to his cause. I feel privileged to have met these people. I consider them as family. So I had to grow up to his life.

You were not scared by that calibre of people?
Don’t forget that I am the daughter of a former governor. My father was the governor of old Anambra state, now consisting of Enugu and parts of Ebonyi. So I was certainly not intimidated because we had such regular high calibre people visiting us. Presidents, ex presidents, Ambassadors, governors were frequent visitors. I was not intimidated in the least. It was just a progression. Just that the same calibre of people were now visiting in another house. The routine was basically the same, just a little bit accentuated.

Let’s talk about Ojukwu. What kind of a man was he?
I think you are in a better position to do that. Having spent the better part of two hours with him today I think you are probably in a better position to do that. As you can see he is a very complex man, very complex. He can be like a volcano about to erupt this minute and the next he is like a kitten. His persona switches so rapidly that it is really quite hard to pin him down, to paint a complete picture of him. There would always be that mystery. He is kind, caring, and as you have witnessed, a very stubborn man. A lot of the time, he gets impatient and most people find that rather intimidating. But he can be very meek. One just has to find that meeting ground of interacting with him. Once you can do that then you are on safe ground. But he can be quite difficult to decode.

Obviously he loved you and said it to anyone who cared to listen. What did he do differently to you that also gives you the impression that he really loved you?
I think it’s the absolute trust that he has in me, the faith. I think everyman is looking for a replacement for his mother. That’s one thing I have learnt. In life, every man looks for that woman who would not just be his wife but his mother, whose paramount objective is to ensure that he can be the best man he is meant to be. I wouldn’t say that he loves me in an irrational way. Perhaps in me he has been able to find that combination of wife and mother. The mother element is very important, because it’s only your mother that you would trust so absolutely to be able to deliver the best judgments and to be able to pull you back when they think you are doing something wrong. It’s just to have absolute trust in your judgment and go to bed with both eyes closed.

A lot of people don’t have that in their families. A lot of men find that their wives tend to be quite demanding and impatient and the men then reflect that in their attitude. But I think a woman cannot get the best out of any man by nagging him or making him feel bad and less of a man. But if you let him be a man then you get the best out of him. That’s what has helped this marriage to stay the way it is today.

You are a lawyer but you seem to be averse to politics even when you grew in a political home so to say…
Well, I have seen quite a lot in my life with Ikemba and I have seen that you need to develop very tough skin to go into politics. Unfortunately, that’s something I am yet to develop. Until Nigeria offers an opportunity for one to be a decent politician without having to sell their soul I will continue to be averse to politics. I have hope that we will get to that stage soon because the Nigerian people are no longer willing to just sit back and watch and accept whatever is rammed down their throat. The recent election in Anambra is a pointer to that.

I understand that one or two political offers had come your way. You don’t want them or you just prefer being Ikemba’s wife?
Being Ikemba’s wife is a job on its own. These are issues that are being constantly discussed. Right now my prerogative is my husband and my family. I have a very young family. I don’t want a situation that would have my attention divided. I would like to help determine the path that my children would take. I would like to be instrumental to raising and shaping their lives. I am not saying that I cannot do that and serve the people at the same time. These were offers that were made even before the elections but I just didn’t feel that the time was ripe.

You relationship with Ikemba is the longest he has had with any woman. Does that make you feel special?
(Long laughter) It must be one of two things: its either that I am made of a sponge-like material that can absorb or that I am made of a shell-like object, like a turtle’s back and I have found a way of making things work. Sometimes you are lucky in life. You just come across somebody that God says this is the person that you will stay with for the rest of your life and you just have to work at maintaining that relationship. He is working and I am working too and we both appreciate the fact that we need each other and that we both need to be as committed as we can for the relationship to work. That’s what we are doing, building on it everyday. That’s just the key. It does not make me feel special. It’s not like being in Las Vegas everyday. But the high points are always more than the low points. I think if you can get 70 percent you have done very well.

How do you relate with his other grown up children, and perhaps the other living wives?
(Laughs) I like the way you put, living wives. The fact is that at the time I met him he was a bachelor. He was not living or married to anybody at that time and that’s probably why we were able to go through a Roman Catholic wedding. We had our wedding in a Roman catholic church and that would have been impossible if he were designated a married man. Otherwise he would have been a bigamist. I am just making the point that I met him as a bachelor. Of course he had been in a lot of other relationships but I have not had the opportunity of interacting with those people that he had had relationships with in the past.

What about his children?
Oh yes. You know he has three children that are older than I am. We get on quite well. Most of the children don’t live here. They live abroad. My marriage to their father is not anything new because they live in societies where such things are not abnormal as such. They know their limits. We hold family meetings and things like that. Some times issues come up that we don’t all agree upon. At such times Ikemba steps in and sorts things out. That’s normal but generally we get on well. So far it’s been quite cordial and when they come on vacation they stay here and I am glad to tell you that they all have their rooms here. I have tried to make sure that we are one united family.

What I deduce from the foregoing is that you are Ojukwu’s only legitimate wife.
That’s correct. If there is anybody else who can present a wedding picture, a marriage certificate in the church then I am willing to defer to that person. However, we live in Africa and the church format is not the only acceptable mode. There is the traditional mode. In my own case I did not start with the traditional marriage because my parents were initially opposed to the marriage. I only went through the traditional marriage after the birth of my children. My children were present at the event. Any woman who has been married in the traditional mode is also an acceptable wife. The only time both modes come into conflict is when there is a legal contention. That’s why I am making it clear that he went through both processes with me.

You mean you are not aware of any other women who went through those processes with him.
I am not aware of anybody that went through a church wedding with him. You know the Roman Catholic Church is very strict in that respect. If they had any such information they would not have done the wedding. No Catholic priest would wed you if he considers you a bigamist. They wed you strictly on the basis that you are a single man.

Is he still the romantic man you met in 1989?
Oh my. I think romance runs in his veins. He will never change. I am the one who is not romantic. I am very practical. But he is very poetic. By virtue of his education and interactions in life, Ojukwu was raised as an aristocrat, so he tends to focus more on the classics, the arts, literature and so on. When you look at him in that light you find that he cannot but be romantic. In every thing he does it comes through. It’s part of his everyday life. Even now when he is not as strong as he used to be, he would still come to open doors for me to get into the car. He would ensure I am served a drink before him and things like that. He is a typical gentle man. Without a doubt if Ikemba is nothing else he is a perfect gentleman.

Why did you say you won’t allow him present himself again for an elective post?
I think he has done his bit. There comes a time in every man’s life when you just need to find the nearest beach, find a deck chair, sit by the ocean and reflect. I think he is at that stage in his life. He has done nothing but live and breathe the Igbo course. Sometimes he would hear of some injustice somewhere and he would stay awake all night trying to find how it can be redressed. I remember the situation of the Apo six. He would wake up at night and say to me, what’s happening, have these people been found, what are you gleaning from the media? Anytime an Igboman suffers any form of injustice it makes his blood boil, even in situations when he feels helpless. At such times I simply pray to God that he does not have a blood condition because you see him so agitated.

At such times I also tell him to stop knocking his head against the brick wall. I think he has sacrificed everything including his family. There are things he ought to have done but didn’t have the time to do because of his struggles. Now I think that whatever time he has left should be used for his family, to nurture the family and let other people carry on from where he left off.

You are the closest person to him who can tell me this: will people ever get to read his memoirs?
Like you and everybody else I also keep my fingers crossed. But I can tell you that he has been writing but slowly though. Sometimes he wakes up, remembers an incident and then writes. One thing I know is that he is not writing the account in sequence, he puts down incidents as he remembers. At the moment there is a group currently showing very strong interest in getting him to complete and publish the memoirs. But I do not know how soon that will be. And it is something that we all really need to see, to know what really happened or more importantly how his mind was working at the time, his fears, anxieties and aspirations, what he wanted to achieve and why he took some of the decisions he took. A lot of people still do not have a real grasp of those things and we need to get into the innermost recesses of his mind to know them.

But is he really working on it?
Yes, I know for a fact that he is working on it but at a snail speed.

You still look trim and fit, how do you manage to keep this fit?
Do you know what it takes to run this house, run my NGO, run my law chambers? There are so many things I am doing that sometimes I don’t even have time for lunch.

Ikemba: The man and his struggles
By Alvan Ewuzie
Sunday, November 27, 2011

• Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, leader of the secessionist state of Biafra, is seen at Nigerian-Biafran peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where the Emperor Haile Selassie is chairman of the committee, Aug. 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Brian Calvert).

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When Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu made a request from the Igbo nation over Governor Peter Obi, the great icon was probably being prophetic. Raising Peter Obi’s hands at a rally in Onitsha , prior to the February 6, 2010 gubernatorial elections in the state, Ojukwu told the crowd that they should return the governor for a second tenure.

‘This is my last wish’ Ikemba said. Anambra people granted him that wish and it has turned out his last. His involvement with All Progressive Grand Alliance[APGA], the party on whose pedestal Peter Obi has stood to govern Anambra for over five years, is Dim Ojukwu’s last but peculiar involvement in Nigerian politics.

But that would be starting Ojukwu’s story from the tail. His story began way back in Zungeru, in Northern Nigeria where he was born on November 4, 1933 to Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu who was just moving through the process of a prosperous but unremarkable business man to the owner of the nation’s largest road haulage empire and a multi millionaire,

Ojukwu’s mother was estranged to his father shortly after he was born, leaving him without the tenderness of a mother. It would seem, however, that that absence proved a challenge to his wealthy father, which he now made up with giving his son the best education and general comfort money could buy.
At the age of ten in 1944 Emeka became the youngest to be enrolled in King’s College Lagos, the first of his many records. But by 1946 the senior Ojukwu decided that his son should ideally be educated in England and after consultations, settled for Epson College in Surrey.

Emeka’s first battle was in the family. His enormously wealthy father wanted him to study law on his admission to Oxford university but Emeka was fascinated with Modern History. He studied law for one year and followed his heart. At barely 22 in 1955 he emerged with Master’s degree from the prestigious college. More battles followed. Rather than join his father to run his sprawling business empire, he opted for the civil service and wished to serve in northern Nigeria but for the rule at the time which made graduates to serve in their region of origin. That was how Chukwuemeka took his rare academic accomplishments to a rustic rural town called Udi in Enugu to assisit the District Officer at the time.

In Udi Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu became aware of a rather curious fact; that he was an Englishman in black skin. He spoke English like the Englishman, spoke fluent Yoruba and smattering Hausa and could hardly speak his native Igbo. That was it. He literally threw himself deep into the village, mixing so freely with the natives that he was nothing near the ‘been to’ he was said to be.
His affinity with the local people has thus commenced. This deep interaction took him through Udi to Umuahia and Aba ,his two later postings between 1955 and 1957.

When he was posted to Calabar Ojukwu junior engaged in yet another battle with his father. Acting on the superstition that Calabar women had something about them that attracted and ‘confused’ young men, more so a dashing young Oxford trained man, Ojukwu senior pulled the strings. It took just a phone call to his friend Lord Macpherson who was Governor-General for Emeka’s posting to be reversed within an hour. Emeka was virtually frustrated. It became evident that the more he wanted to be his own man the more his father’s image loomed large.

A lot of people have given reasons why the highly educated Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu opted to join the Army in 1957 but few have hit on the real reason. Emeka wanted an organization where his father’s enormous influence would be minimal or non-existent. But for his determination he would have been frustrated out when in spite of his Master’s degree his father pressed buttons to make him begin as a recruit in fervent anticipation that his son would feel demeaned and thus storm out. He was wrong. If being a recruit was what it took to be true to himself Emeka was ready to stick it out.

That was how this good-looking, highly educated young man made history as the first graduate to join the Nigeria Army. But his father was so furious he banished Emeka from his house. Father and son never spoke to each other for three years. He was willing and ready to hang in there as a recruit until the authorities saw that in spite of orders from above, no one could break his will and now decided to place Emeka where he rightly belonged. He became a cadet officer and was promptly dispatched to Eton Hall England for further military training. On his return he was sent to a military school in Ghana to teach infantry tactics, among his students was one second Lieutenant Murtala Mohammed. That was in 1958.

Two years later as the British flag was lowered and that of an independent Nigeria hoisted, Ojukwu was asked home from Ghana to the military headquaters in Lagos. He arrived in Christmas of 1960 and was promoted rapidly through Captain to Major. In his usual drama, sir Louis arrived with bottles of champagne to the Military headquarters to celebrate the promotion with his son. They were reconciled, perhaps never to quarrel again.

At 29 and a Liuetenant Colonel Ojukwu scored yet another first. He took over as the Quarter Master General, the first Nigerian ever to be in that position. Until he got there the Army got its equipment from Britain until Ojukwu observed that they were being given obsolete equipment discarded by the British Army. Since the decision was under his purview he began to source and buy equipment from wherever he found good ones. He saw them in Italy. West Germany and the United states. Thus it became an irony of fate that when he led Biafra, it was most of the equipment he had purchased that were deployed to mow down his own Army. It was Ojukwu who got the Germans to build the ammunition factory in Kaduna, still existing till today.

In the midst of his duties Lt. Colonel chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu got married to Njideka Onyekwelu in 1964. She hailed from Awka in Anambra state and by March 1965 she bore him a son named Chukwuemeka like his father.
Ever so foresighted and consequent upon political skirmishes in the Western Parliarment at the time, Ojukwu called a meeting of Nigerian officers in lagos to resolve a matter to which people never averted their minds. It was a question he put to them: in the event of any problem who should the Army obey given that there was a President and a Prime minister? The officers agreed that such a question was beyond them, resolving to raise the matter 00.with the Chief of Army staff who was British. But Lt Colonel Gowon went ahead to tell the chief that Ojukwu had organized a meeting with ‘political’ motives. It was General Welby Everrad who commended Ojukwu for raisng the matter. The Army boss got the Attorney-General at the time to resolve it on the side of the Prime Minister who was an elected person against the President who was appointed.

That incident marked the strain ln the relationship between both officers which was to grow wider with time.
It was the monumental incident of January 15, 1966 that changed the course of Ojukwu’s career. In Kano his official quarters was unusually hot , a source of great discomfort for his wife and kid. He solicited the help of Emir of Kano, a long standing friend, to get an apartment in town to provide comfort for his family. It was to this private home that he retired after work at the barracks everyday. The foregoing was the twist in fate that saved his life. The coup plotters had dispatched two of their members including an igbo officer to kill Ojukwu in the wake of that coup. They found his house empty, yet he showed up the next morning to command the parade even as his fellow General Officers Commanding had been sent to the great beyond, fuelling speculations that Ojukwu had pre knowledge of the coup and had thus escaped. But such speculations fall flat on the face of reason and even logic. It is inconceivable that rather than escape, a man with pre-knowledge of his impending death, as it were, would come back to meet with his would be assassins. The real truth, although contentious for understandable reasons, was that he actually helped quell the coup. The details may serve no useful purpose here, as the country has moved beyond those incidents. It would be one controversy now following Ikemba to his grave.

Ojukwu encouraged Kaduna Nzeogwu to surrender to the authorities when the January 15 coup was foiled in spite of its partial success. When General Aguiyi Ironsi got back in power he asked Ojukwu to proceed to Enugu and take charge of Eastern Nigeria. He did and moved fast to douse the growing tension in the polity. But he was probably too optimistic to know that things had already fallen apart. The countercoup occurred and Ironsi was killed and Yakubu Gowon took over amid mass killing of Igbos residing in the north. By September 1966 the flame of killings had become wild fire. Igbos were being massacred all over northern Nigeria. Streams of easterners began to flee the north in terror, leaving behind most of their possessions.

The foregoing was to bring the other part of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. He would not sit idly as chief security officer of Eastern Nieria and watch his people slaugterd in droves. He needed to do something. What he did became the ultimate seccession of Eastern Nigeria leading to the most gruesome violence Nigeria ever knew. An event for which the man would forever be etched in history. For now the era has come for an icon.
How Ojukwu died in London
ON NOVEMBER 27, 2011 • IN HEADLINES
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/11/how-ojukwu-died-in-london/
By Our Reporters
22 days after his 78th birthday, former Biafran leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu succumbed to the cold hands of death.
The family said in a statement that their patriarch died of stroke in the Royal Berkshire Hospital, United Kingdom, in the early hours of yesterday.
The National Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the platform on which Ojukwu sought to become president in 2003 and 2007, and which Board of Trustees (BoT) he headed, Chief Victor Umeh, said the former warlord, passed on at about 2.30 a.m. yesterday.
Ojukwu had been flown to the London hospital almost one year ago, precisely December 23, 2010, after he suffered what doctors called “massive stroke” and went unconscious.
He was initially treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, before the trip abroad in an air ambulance.

Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu
Tributes poured in, in torrents, yesterday, as the death of the man who led the Igbo on a secessionist bid in the name of Biafra between 1966 and 1970 spread across the country.
President Goodluck Jonathan said the memory of the late Ojukwu would live forever, given the “uncommon qualitative leadership he gave to his people”.
General Yakubu Gowon, who was Head of State during the civil war, said Ojukwu, after Biafra, joined to move Nigeria forward.
The governor of his home state, Anambra, Mr. Peter Obi, in a statement, entitled, `Our father is gone’, said the Igbo and the nation have lost a treasure.
The family statement, announcing the man fondly called `Ikemba Nnewi’, his traditional title, was signed by his son, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Entitled, “We thank God for Ikemba Ojukwu’s productive life on earth: Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is dead”, the statement read: “After a protracted and brave fight against stroke, the People’s General, Ikemba Nnewi, Dikedioranma Ndigbo, Odenigbo Ngwo, Ezeigbo Gburugburu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu died in the early hours of today (yesterday) in London.
“We thank all those that showed concern in our period of difficulties, starting from the President of the country, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR. We thank, in a special way, the Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi who went above and beyond the call of duty to look after him. Besides paying the hospital bills, he visited London on a monthly basis to see him. He was there yesterday and only came back this morning to receive the news, whereupon he entered the next available flight back to London. He even had to fly Economy Class since other classes were fully booked. We thank him for the sacrifices.
“We thank all Nigerians for their solidarity, especially those that continued to pray for him. May you continue to pray for the repose of his soul. Further details shall be made available”.
He was born on November 4, 1933 in Zungeru in today’s Niger State.
When Igbo leaders converged at the GRA, Enugu residence of Ojukwu on November 4, 2011 to mark his 78th birthday in his absence, little did they know that the funeral of Eze Igbo Gburugburu was coming so soon.
But what appeared to be a premonition of his death was made during the well-attended ceremony organized by the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, when it was announced that the Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Valerian Okeke, would leave for London to pray for Ojukwu and anoint him.
Although several speakers, including the clergy, prayed fervently for his quick recovery and early return to his fatherland, the mood of the people that graced the occasion conveyed the impression that the ex-warlord may not return alive.
The National Chairman of Ojukwu’s All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, told the audience that the Catholic Archbishop would depart for London to pray for Ojukwu as other prominent members of the clergy including bishops from some orthodox churches had done since Ojukwu was flown to London on December 23, 2010 aboard a German Air Ambulance hired by Anambra State government.
Okeke actually traveled to London in the second week of November and anointed Ojukwu, prayed for him and returned to Nigeria, last week, but details of his trip to the hospital could not be ascertained. Sunday Vanguard learnt that when the former Biafran leader’s condition deteriorated, last weekend, Governor Peter Obi left for London to see him. He was said to be on his way back to Nigeria when he heard of Ojukwu’s death, yesterday morning, and returned to London where he joined the wife of the former warlord, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, and others who had taken care of him in the hospital since the last one year.
Ojukwu was hit by what medical experts described as “massive stroke” on December 1, 2010. He was attended to by a team of medical experts who battled to resuscitate him at home before he was moved to the ICU of the UNTH, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu.
From the time Ojukwu was attacked by stroke, up till the time he was moved to London, he was said to be under “generous support” by his wife, Bianca, the APGA and the governor of Anambra State “From the time he was attacked by stroke till the present day he has been under generous support by his wife, Bianca Ojukwu, the APGA and His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, Governor of Anambra State. When he first took ill on December 1, he was immediately looked after by two Professors of Medicine here in Enugu namely Professor Vincent Ike, a Consultant Cardiologists and Professor Augustine Nwabueze, a British-trained Consultant Neuro physician,”APGA National Chairman, Umeh, said while reacting to the allegation that Ojukwu had been abandoned by his associates on account of his ill-health. “Under their close watch, Dim Ojukwu was managed with excellent medical knowledge within the first two weeks and when he slipped into coma on December 19, 2010 he was immediately moved to the UNTH Enugu where he was taken in by the Intensive Care Unit of the Teaching Hospital.
“Before he slipped into coma efforts were initiated and intensified to fly him abroad. We had to go through the process of getting visa and arranging Air Ambulance to evacuate him from Nigeria. When the situation was deteriorating, efforts were intensified in all these directions and successfully on December 23, Dim Ojukwu was flown to London by a German Air Ambulance that came directly from France to Enugu to take him. He was accompanied on that trip under very critical condition by his dear wife, Bianca Ojukwu and his Chief of Staff, Prince Bob Onyema. Two of them with the Ambulance Team left Enugu airport for London under very critical condition.
“In London, he was immediately admitted at the London Clinic where he was moved into the Intensive Care Unit, ICU. From December 2010 to March 2011, Ojukwu remained in the ICU of London Clinic. It was by the mercy of God that he went through that process and recovered consciousness and came out of ICU. There is no gainsaying that all the people he met at the ICU, I mean co-patients including those that came in after him all died except him to the Glory of God.
“When he recovered sufficiently at the London Clinic, he was moved to Wellington Hospital still in London where he stayed between March and May this year. There his recovery was intensely facilitated. When he improved substantially, he was again moved to Lydenhill Therapeutic Centre in Twyford which is very famous in the world for physiotherapy. All these three hospitals mentioned enjoy excellent facilities with very brilliant doctors and other professionals.
“At the Lynenhill centre, he had chest infection due to cough and he was quickly moved to Berkshire hospital that was nearby the Therapeutic Centre and he has since been there under excellent care and he is responding to treatment. All his medical bills from December 23 when he was moved to London and around these various hospitals, had been promptly paid by the Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi till date.”
Umeh also explained that while in London, Bianca remained with Ojukwu except on the occasional times she visited Nigeria to see her children and take care of the few house needs before going back to London. He said: “Since Ojukwu’s movement to London I as the National Chairman of APGA and my wife have visited him in February and also visited him after the election in May where I went to brief him on the outcome of the elections. The governor of Anambra State had also visited him. When I was in London, our new Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha came on May 13 with his wife and I took them to the hospital where they saw Ojukwu.
“Other notable members of our party have also visited Ojukwu in London since then. The acting Nigerian High Commissioner to London, His Excellency, Ambassador Dozie Nwanna who hails from Awka, since Ojukwu’s arrival in London on December 23, became part of the daily routine for monitoring his health, first as the Nigerian High Commissioner to London and two, as an Igbo man including his wife.”
The APGA chief further said: “Former Health Minister, Dr. Tim Menakaya, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and so many other Igbos had visited Ojukwu in London, adding that at the London Clinic and Wellington hospital “Ojukwu is known as a General and excellent and qualified professionals took special interest in him and they said they have never had such a patient in their history going by the way people had been coming to see him, that he must be a famous man.”
How Ojukwu left for UK in air ambulance
AT the Intensive Care Unit of UNTH, medical experts declared that Ojukwu had a cerebra-vascular accident otherwise called stroke. The hospital only tried to sustain him for few days and in the process prepared him for the critical journey to London.
On December 23, Ojukwu began his last journey to London, the United Kingdom aboard the German Air Ambulance. He was evacuated from the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu at 1.52 pm to United Kingdom by Flight Ambulance International of Germany hired by Anambra State government. The flight was said to be the first international aircraft to move from the airport which was granted an international status by the Jonathan-led Federal Government mid last year.
Being an international flight, four officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service were at the Enugu airport to stamp Ojukwu’s international passport, that of his wife, Bianca and his Chief of Staff, Prince Jonathan Bob Onyema, who accompanied him on the medical trip.
There was a mild drama at the UNTH while Ojukwu was being taken to the Enugu airport when his aides and family members at the hospital cordoned off the ICU to prevent journalists from taking pictures as he was being evacuated.
His movement into the Enugu State Emergency Management Response Team ambulance at 10.55 a.m. that fateful day was handled with caution as medical experts warned that the life supporting machine could stop functioning if mishandled. The former Biafran leader was brought to the airport at 11.40 am accompanied by Governor Obi, APGA chieftains and his family members among others.
He was driven to the Air Force Wing of the airport where the air ambulance was stationed. The Enugu Air Force Commander, Air Commodore Jacob Gbamwuan, had given approval for the use of the Air Force Wing as a mark of respect for the then ailing General.
The slow but steady journey from UNTH located at Ituku-Ozalla to the airport at Emene, Enugu was described as very smooth but the journey, which normally takes about 10 to 15 minutes, lasted for about 45 minutes as the ambulance driver drove with strict caution.
On arrival at the airport, Ojukwu was driven close to the side of the air Ambulance which had touched down at 10.45 am and headed straight to the Air Force Wing of the airport. The crew members immediately evacuated him into the white aircraft marked D-CSIX.
The air ambulance itself, according to an aviation expert, was an Intensive Care Unit with sophisticated medical facilities that could sustain a patient airborne for several hours like a normal ICU of a first class hospital.
The Ikemba’s aides confirmed on December 24, 2010 that Ojukwu arrived the London Hospital without hitches and was accorded first class treatment by medical experts there until he gave up the ghost in the early hours of yesterday.
78th birthday
When Ojukwu was celebrated by his associates at his 78th birthday in Enugu on November 4, 2011, the gathering was a carnival of sort. Igbo leaders who addressed the gathering, poured glorious tributes on him. Those in the gathering for his recovery believing that a miracle could happen for Ikemba to return alive.
Bianca, who returned from London a day before the event, was present and she stood firmly to collect the numerous tributes showered upon her spouse. Former Biafran officers, politicians, clergy men from different denominations and members of the Chief Ralph Uwazurike-led Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) attended the occasion en-masse.
Although Uwazurike said Ojukwu’s birthday celebration would continue even after his death, the manner in which the Ikemba was revered at that event gave the impression that he was indeed loved by Igbos and could be rightly described as an icon that would ever be remembered by all Igbo.
Gowon: After Biafra, he joined in moving Nigeria forward
Gowon, yesterday, described the demise of Ojukwu as a rude shock. According to him, the late Ikemba Nnewi was a reliable friend. “The passing away of this man of excellence is shocking. Whether we like it or not, Ojukwu will be remembered as a man who tried to have a country of his own but when he couldn’t succeed returned and joined in moving Nigeria forward. He tried to become president but unfortunately he couldn’t make it,” Gowon said in a tribute.
“Really it is sad he is gone. I wish his soul reposed in the Lord and pray that God will give his family and entire Nigerians the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss”, the Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria during the Ojukwu-led Igbo secession between 1967 – 70 said.
Former Minister of Communications, General Tajudeen Olanrewaju and foremost traditional ruler, Igwe Alex Nwokedi, in their reactions, described Ojukwu as a leader with a difference.
Ojukwu’s love for Ndigbo will live forever—Jonathan
Jonathan, in his own tribute, expressed sadness and a deep feeling of great national loss news of the passing away of Ojukwu.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said the memory of the late ex-warlord would live forever, given, essentially, the uncommon qualitative leadership he gave to his people.
The statement said Jonathan joined Chief Ojukwu’s family, the government and people of his home state, Anambra, the entire Igbo people of Nigeria and his friends, associates and followers across the country in mourning him.
According to the statement, the president urged them to be comforted by the knowledge that the deceased Biafran warlord lived a most fulfilled life, and has, in passing on, left behind a record of very notable contributions to the evolution of modern Nigeria which will assure his place in the history of the country.
“President Jonathan believes that late Chief Ojukwu’s immense love for his people, justice, equity and fairness which forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian civil war, as well as his commitment to reconciliation and the full reintegration of his people into a united and progressive Nigeria in the aftermath of the war, will ensure that he is remembered forever as one of the great personalities of his time who stood out easily as a brave, courageous, fearless, erudite and charismatic leader”, the statement said .
Jonathan called on Ojukwu’s family, his associates and followers to make his rites of passage a celebration of his most worthy and memorable life spent in the service of his people and the nation.
Ojukwu’s death, a reminder of Nigeria’s unfinished business – Tinubu
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) national leader and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said Ojukwu’s death marked the passage of one of the movers of Nigerian history in the 20th century. But he added that Ojukwu’s death should remind everyone of Nigeria’s unfinished federal business and the urgency to fix the problem, once and for all.
“Ojukwu’s death once again reminds all of us of the unfinished business of Nigerian federalism. If only for his memory, and to ensure that Nigeria never has to suffer again any crisis like the civil war, we must all rise as a people to fix Nigeria’s special challenges. That is why Nigeria must, as a matter of urgency convoke a sovereign national conference, where all these issues would be resolved”, the ACN leader said.
He said that federal-related tensions still persisted, 31 years after the civil war (1967-1970), just proved the depth of the feeling of marginalisation and perceived unfairness by critical stakeholders in the Nigerian union. The former governor said though Ojukwu was a controversial figure, he made his mark during the era of the titans of Nigerian politics and governance.
“Ojukwu, the Ikemba and Eze Igbo Gburugburu, meant many things to many people. But his greatness was that he stood his own such that, even with the constellation of stars of his age and time, he still made his mark – and profoundly so. You might love Ojukwu and you might hate him. But you could never be indifferent about him nor could you ignore him,” Tinubu said.
He said the late Biafrian war leader was a revolutionary, almost from the womb.
A chapter has closed – Ogbulafor
A former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, who described him as a very close friend of his late father, Eze J.J. Ogbulafor, stressed that Ojukwu was a very great man who meant well for the people of Igbo, adding that with his death, a chapter of history has closed.
Ikemba’s death a rude shock- Nwodo
Another former national chairman of the PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, described Ojukwu’s death as a rude shock. Nwodo, a former governor of Enugu State, said, “Here unfortunately is the end of an era. An era when men were men, who leaved and fought for what they believed in and were ready to pay the supreme sacrifice for their believe. Ikemba was a leader made in this mould”. The former PDP boss also noted that Ojukwu was blessed with great erudition and communication skills that assisted him greatly in prosecuting the Nigeria Biafra war, adding that the legendary ingenious Biafra Technology can be ascribed to his leadership.
Ojukwu was the issue — Senate
THE Senate said Ojukwu was the issue in Nigeria’s evolutionary process.
In a statement by the chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia Central, the Senate noted that the upper chambers and indeed Nigeria as a nation will surely miss him.
According to him, “Dim Ojukwu was a visionary leader whose passion for a Nigeria where every federating unit would be proud of belonging to was unparalleled. He saw tomorrow and his action and passion for a truly united Nigeria shaped our socio-political environment of today.”

Ojukwu – A Hero Is Gone
On November 27, 2011 • In Special Report
By Ikeddy ISIGUZO, Chairman Editorial Board
IN BRIEF
“There are reports of Ojukwu’s brief imprisonment at 11, when he slapped a white British colonial teacher who humiliated a Nigerian woman at King’s College in Lagos, where Ojukwu was a student”. This is just a breezy run through Ojukwu’s life.
I MAKE no apologies about what I consider the place of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Ikemba Nnewi, Dikedioranma, Eze Igbo Gburugburu in world history. Now that he is gone, I can share it without any of fears of being accused of currying Ojukwu’s favour.
At 33, he was the Head of State of Biafra, General of the Peoples Army, leading a war that saved the lives of millions of Ndigbo, who fled to the East, as Nigerians unleashed an unprecedented pogrom at them. The circumstances of the war may be garnished with controversy, but there have been no doubts about the facts that Ndigbo were massacred in the North, chased out of their holdings in nearby Port Harcourt, and made unsafe in most other parts of Nigeria.
Ojukwu, son of the wealthy and influential Sir Louis Philippe Odumegwu Ojukwu, a co-founder and pioneer President of the Lagos Stock Exchange (forbear of the Nigeria Stock Exchange), was one of the richest Africans of his time. Did the Stock Exchange say anything about Ojukwu when it turned 50 recently?

Ojukwu - A Hero Is Gone
The younger Ojukwu was hero to others. There are reports of his brief imprisonment at 11, when he slapped a white British colonial teacher who humiliated a Nigerian woman at King’s College in Lagos, where Ojukwu was a student. On completion of his education in Oxford, he worked briefly in the civil service before joining the army in 1957.
Whatever anyone may say about Ojukwu’s service in the army, he resisted the extension of the 1966 coup to Kano, where he was in charge of the 5th Battalion. Ojukwu supported the forces loyal to the Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Ironsi, the first military Head of State appointed Ojukwu one of the four regional Military Governors in January 1966. By 29 May, more Ndigbo were slaughtered in the North, the survivors fled to the East, putting lots of pressure on everything. Northern army officers in a counter coup two months later, killed Ironsi and chose Col Yakubu Gowon over Brigadier A. O. Ogundipe as Head of State.
Ojukwu resisted the appointment on two counts – nobody had given an account of what happened to Ironsi, hierarchy should be followed in replacing Ironsi. Ogundipe, Ojukwu argued, was the most senior officer and should be the Head of State. He refused to recognise Gowon’s leadership.
Several peace talks, the most important being the Aburi Declaration in January 1967 failed. Aburi proposed confederation, and more powers for the regions; terms acceptable to the East, Nigeria turned them down. Those promoting sovereign national conference should read the Aburi documents; Nigeria lost it then.
Ojukwu declared a sovereign state of Biafra on 30 May 1967. “Having mandated me to proclaim on your behalf, and in your name, that Eastern Nigeria be a sovereign independent Republic, now, therefore I, Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters, shall, henceforth, be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of The Republic of Biafra,” he said in the landmark speech.
By 6 July 1967, Gowon attacked Biafra. The war lasted 30 months. The East braved international gang up, starvation, blockade, surviving mostly on propaganda machinery that Nigeria could not match.
Ojukwu was my Head of State. My life was in his hands in my young years. He egged us on during the war. The mention of his name, the death of his half brother Tom Briggs in action in Omoba, minutes from Umuokegwu, my village, the military presence around us, were enough reasons to make my young war efforts.
After school under palm plantations, we gladly picked scrap metals, used batteries as contributions to the making of the dreaded ogbunigwe, Biafra’s locally produced arsenal. We fetched water for the soldiers. We lustfully sang Land of The Rising Sun (the Biafran anthem) without a clue what it was, except that our teachers told us it was an important song that made Ojukwu and our soldiers happy.
When young people from our villages were conscripted into the army and they died, we mourned them lightly. Our tears, if they run for too long, we reasoned, would please the enemy. We trusted Ojukwu to know what was best, in hunger and anger at the way, the rest of world treated Biafra.
Young as he was, Ojukwu managed an impossible situation; overcoming restrictions to get arms to defend Biafra, find medical help abroad (Gabon in particular) for child who went down with vitamin deficiencies. Kwashiorkor, seen these days as television images in Ethiopia and Somalia, was a reality in Biafra. We refused to surrender.
Ojukwu’s stirring speeches helped. Okoko Ndem (from today’s Akwa Ibom, he died in 2003 and received a heroic burial from Ndigbo) rendered these matters in emotion-filled Igbo on Radio Biafra, a mobile station, with its transmission run from equipment mounted on a jeep. We lived on Ojukwu’s words.
I cannot forget the injunction with which Okoko Ndem concluded the broadcasts. “Anyone surrounded by enemies must be vigilant. Biafrans you cannot afford to sleep.” We were so vigilant that when Aba fell (the euphemism for the vandals, as Radio Biafra called Nigerian troops, over running it), we lived for almost two years only 18 kilometres from the actions. We hung our lives on the fables of Ojukwu being in Aba, confronting the enemy. One of my uncles, Lawrence, died in action in Ngwa High School; it was part of the war. Another vibrant young Mike Onwueyi died in Ikot Ekpene, he was an only son of aged parents, we buried him proudly with full honours. Another of my uncles had a bullet wound in his biceps in 1968, 24 years after, the shrapnel that had lodged there dropped off harmlessly.
Every family has its war stories, somewhere Ojukwu is in it. Patrick, a beloved village never returned. We postponed mourning after tales that he went on exile with Ojukwu. On 9 January 1970, Ojukwu handed over to Chief of General Staff Major-General Philip Effiong, and left for exile in Côte d’Ivoire, where President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Biafra’s worthy ally since 14 May 1968, granted him political asylum. His opponents had a field day accusing him of cowardice, though some of them had advised this line of action to avoid annihilation of Ndigbo at the end of the war.
President Shehu Aliyu Usman Shagari granted Ojukwu an official pardon in 1982. His forays into politics remained unsuccessful, the first in 1983 suffering from a conspiracy by his own party members, who feared that his popularity might unsettle power calculations.
Where are his war memoirs? He kept promising to write one. “I do not misplace the need for memoirs… so I will not say I will not write any memoirs. In any case, how do you live out the boredom of old age if you are not writing memoirs?
Oh, I have been writing for the past twenty years. And anybody who knows me well will tell you that I am a wild note taker. Today, I do not see as clearly as I used to, but I assure you that when I leave you, I will sit down with my staff, and note a few things deriving from this conversation, enriched by my contact with you. Yes, I’ll do that,” he told Professor Nnaemeka Ikpeze and Nduka Otiono who interviewed him six years ago for the Chinua Achebe series Vanguard published.
Nigerians will have to live without those memoirs. If published, they will add to the blaze of controversies Ojukwu evoked and hopefully more understanding of what happened in Biafra which Because I was Involved, his 1987 book, did not cover.
We have lost a strong voice in the sustenance of debates that engender a sense of the possibilities of freedom. We have lost a major piece in the Nigerian puzzle. No denigration of Dikedioranma, a patriot, will diminish his role in Nigeria. Those who doubt his involvement live in denial and keep the realities of the Nigerian situation at bay.


Odumegwu-Ojukwu Passes
27 Nov 2011
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Amuma na Egbeigwe edelu juuuu; Udo eji akpu Agu agbabie; Odenigbo Ngwo anabago; Ikemba Nnewi a gaba goo; Dikedioranmma nweru ka osi noru kitaa, Ezeigbo Gburugburu , ewooooo! Obu inaba ka anyi mezie gini? Onye ga na-ekwuru anyi? Onye ga abamba ka Agu ma oburu na ana emegbu anyi? Ewoooooooo! Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, ewoooooo!
– Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State
Translation:
Lightning and thunder have been silenced; the rope used for dragging the lion has snapped; the Odenigbo of Ngwo has retired to bed; the hero loved by all is ill at ease, the overall King of the Igbo ewooo! If you retire to bed, what shall we do? Who will roar like the lion when we are oppressed? Ewoooooooo! Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, ewoooooo!
President, Gowon, Buhari, Nigerians Mourn Ikemba
By Our Correspondents
A star in Nigeria’s political firmament dimmed yesterday as Dim Chukwuemeka O dumegwu-Ojukwu lost his battle for survival after being hospitalised a year ago for age-related illness. He was 78.
His widow, Bianca, told THISDAY in a telephone interview that the Ikemba Nnewi died at the Bupa Kensington Nursing Home, London at about 2.30 am local time.
Expectedly, his death has opened a floodgate of tributes, with President Goodluck Jonathan describing him as one of the greatest contributors to the evolution of modern Nigeria and one whose love for justice, equity and fairness made him lead the Igbo into the civil war.
Others who eulogised the late Biafran warlord were Senate President David Mark; his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; his Rivers State counterpart and Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Chibuike Amaechi; and the Northern Governors’ Forum, headed by Niger State’s Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu.
Others were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, who unleashed the federal might against the Biafran secession bid, championed by the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
A statement by the family yesterday signed by one of his sons, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, said the late Ikemba died after “a protracted and brave fight against stroke.”
“The people’s General, Ikemba Nnewi, Dikedioranma Ndigbo, Odenigbo Ngwo, Ezeigbo Gburugburu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, died in the early hours of today (yesterday) in London,” it added.
The family thanked all those that stood by it during Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s illness, especially Jonathan and Obi whom it said “went above and beyond the call of duty to look after him.
“Besides paying the hospital bills, he visited London on a monthly basis to see him. He was there yesterday and only came back this morning to receive the news, whereupon he entered the next available flight back to London.”
At his Government Reserved Area residence in Enugu, the compound was calm as only the security men on duty were seen milling around the area.
One of the people in the residence who gave his name as Nicholas said they had not been formally communicated on the demise of Odumegwu- Ojukwu, noting that his wife was still in London.
Prior to being flown to London, Odumegwu-Ojukwu was on admission at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, after suffering from a stroke.
He was rushed to the hospital on December 19, 2010 and flown abroad in a German air ambulance five days later.
Jonathan, in a statement titled ‘Ojukwu's Place in Nigerian History is Assured’, lamented his death as a “great national loss.”
The president, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, condoled with the people of his home state, Anambra, his family and followers.
He urged them to use the mourning period to ensure that they give him a peaceful rite of passage befitting his greatness.
“President Jonathan believes that the late Chief Ojukwu’s immense love for his people, justice, equity and fairness which forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian civil war, as well as his commitment to reconciliation and the full reintegration of his people into a united and progressive Nigeria in the aftermath of the war, will ensure that he is remembered forever as one of the great personalities of his time who stood out easily as a brave, courageous, fearless, erudite and charismatic leader,” the statement added.
Obi, in an elegiac statement, bemoaned the loss of Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s for the Igbo and Nigeria.
The governor, in his statement titled ‘Our father is Gone’, said: “Amuma na Egbeigwe edelu juuuu; Udo eji akpu Agu agbabie; Odenigbo Ngwo anabago; Ikemba Nnewi a gaba goo; Dikedioranmma nweru ka osi noru kitaa, Ezeigbo Gburugburu , enwooooo! Obu inaba ka anyi mezie gini? Onye ga na-ekwuru anyi? Onye ga abamba ka Agu ma oburu na ana emegbu anyi? Enwoooooooo! Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, enwoooooo! (Lightning and thunder have been silenced; the rope used for dragging the lion has snapped; the Odenigbo of Ngwo has retired to bed; the hero loved by all is ill at ease, the overall king of the Igbo ewooo! If you retire to bed, what shall we do? Who will roar like the lion when we are oppressed? Ewoooooooo! Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, ewoooooo!)
“In the traditional Igbo society, the death of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu would be ordinarily announced by the famous Ikoro drum, reserved for outstanding people in the society once in a century.
“This is what I have just done in the foregoing. We hereby, in consultation with the immediate family of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, announce his death which occurred in the early hours of today (yesterday), November 26, 2011.
“With Ojukwu’s death, the entire Igbo race, at home and in the Diaspora as well as Nigerians have lost a treasure. He was one of the most forthright personalities Nigeria has ever had. He believed in a Nigeria where justice and equity should reign and devoted his life to their pursuit of that ideal as if he was under a spell.
“While alive, Ezeigbo Gburugburu was such a subject of history that it makes little sense to start contemplating how history will remember him.
“He is worthy of Caesar’s own summary of his victory in Pontus (former Asia Minor), Veni, vedi, vici, (I came, I saw, I conquered). Ojukwu came, saw and conquered, leaving for us vital lessons in patriotism and nationalism.
“With his death, part of every Igbo man has also died. We shall continue to remember him in our prayers as we work out further details in consultation with his family and other stakeholders.”
Gowon, who was Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s lead antagonist on the federal side in the civil war, said his passing was shocking. He told THISDAY in Kaduna that he had long reconciled with the former Biafran leader.
Recalling his days with the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Gowon said they started together as senior military officers in the army, adding: “At one time, we were staff officers at Army Headquarters. A time came when it was difficult for him to reconcile what had happened to his people; one was really sorry for what had happened, but because of that he wanted to break away from the country.
“One felt otherwise and that brought about a break in the relationship for a while but it ended in a way that the people were able to reconcile and to live together to build a better country that made it difficult for him at that time to wish to break away from it.
“He became presidential candidate, not once, not twice, I understand probably about three times and that is Nigeria for you.
“Yes, we disagreed to such an extent but we were able to reconcile and agree again to be able to move forward. So we will miss him dearly and I wish him safe repose in the Lord. I am sure he would like Nigeria to be a better place for all Nigerians in the future.
“We had been friends, colleagues then temporarily, we disagreed and we said some uncomplimentary things about one another, but for the cause we both believed in more strongly, in the end we were able to reconcile.
“He looked for me when he was in the UK sometime in the late 70s and I was able to go and meet him even in his hotel. If you think we hated each other and we were such enemies, you are wrong.
“One of the great moments was when I visited him in his home sometime in April last year when we went for Nigeria Praise at the end of which I went to visit him. “I met his wife, Bianca, and some of the children and we sat down and chatted; that was total reconciliation.
“He went out and called himself a Biafran, but he came back as a Nigerian and also went into politics and sought to become president. If he had been elected, it would have been really something.
“There were great moments we had, every moment that we have had together in good times and bad times, it’s been great.”
The Senate described the late Biafran warlord as “the issue in Nigeria's evolutionary process” while Mark said Odumegwu-Ojukwu was “a dogged fighter who fought till the end to liberate the oppressed.”
Ekweremadu also said his death was “most excruciating and a grievous loss to the nation and Africa as a whole.”
Mark in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbodiyan, described the late Igbo leader as “a hero’s hero”, adding that “as a dogged fighter, Ojukwu fought till the end to liberate the oppressed.”
He said the deceased stood for justice, equality before the law, fairness and freedom to all citizens, adding: “No matter how much you loved or hated him, Ojukwu was a man who loved his people and was ever prepared to lay down his life for them to have a better life.
“He remains a legend. He was one of the very early fine military officers the nation had. He contributed to the evolution of modern day Nigeria. The nation has lost one of her best.”
Ekweremadu said the story of Ikemba Nnewi was like an interesting folktale which every well-meaning Nigerian would have naturally wished never ended.
He said, “A mighty Iroko has fallen and a big masquerade has touched the ground,” adding that “Ojukwu was a legend, intellectual, patriot, and a great statesman who contributed immensely to the development of the nation.”
Senate spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, in a condolence message, said the Senate and indeed the entire nation would surely miss the late Igbo leader.
He said the deceased “saw tomorrow and his action and passion for a truly united Nigeria shaped our socio-political environment of today."
On his part, Amaechi expressed sadness over the death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The governor, in a statement by his spokesman, David Iyofor, described the deceased as an iconic national figure, a man full of courage whose contributions to the nation in spite of the civil war cannot be over-emphasised.
“Ojukwu had strong leadership skills; he was a fighter with the heart of the people, and his opinions kept the nation on its feet. In politics, he was a key player and would definitely be missed by many,” Amaechi said.
The Northern Governors’ Forum, in a statement by Aliyu, said Nigerians had lost a courageous man who would be missed for his immeasurable contributions to national development.
“Like most of our Igbo brothers and sisters who were born in Zungeru (former capital of Northern Nigeria), Ojukwu excelled in his sojourn on this side of the divide. He did well as a soldier and as a politician,” the statement said.
Aliyu said Odumegwu-Ojukwu would be remembered for playing a prominent role in the 1995 constitutional conference which gave birth to the current geopolitical structure.
Buhari also described the death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a painful loss to the country. Buhari, who spoke through his spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin, said Odumegwu-Ojukwu would be greatly missed for his fight for justice and credibility of the electoral process.
“It is a painful exit for a great man who has lived a great life. Ojukwu was an icon who had been involved in the fight for a credible electoral process in the country.
“At some point, he and Buhari had collaborated in the struggle to ensure justice and fairness in the electoral process.
“It is sad that the country is still involved in the battle to enthrone a free and fair electoral process at the time he died,” he said.
Atiku, on his part, said Nigeria has suffered a colossal loss at a time of strenuous efforts for unity and reconciliation.
The former vice president in a condolence message in Abuja by his media office, recalled that Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s role as a key actor in Nigeria’s political development cannot be easily forgotten.
According to him, the deceased was a tremendously respected and influential politician whose endorsement was frequently needed by others to build their political careers.
He said history had cast the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu into a role and he played that part to the best of his ability.
“Because of his tremendous influence on the hearts and minds of the people, the late Ojukwu was an icon in every sense of the word. Even if you disagreed with the Ikemba, you could not ignore his father-figure stature and colossal influence,” he added.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, of which Odumegwu-Ojukwu was the chairman of its Board of Trustees before his death, thanked God for “this rare gift of a human being who lived an uncommon life of selfless service to humanity.”
APGA, in a statement titled: “Our leader has gone back to the Lord,” by its national chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, said the deceased would be greater in death as he would remain a reference point for the coming generation.
The national vice chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (South-east), Chief Olisa Metuh, said Ojukwu was “our symbol, our identity and our undisputed leader. For our struggle, he gave his life. He will continue to live in the hearts of every true Igbo man for generations to come.”
Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State expressed shock and sorrow over the death of the former Biafran leader.
The governor in a statement by his chief press secretary, Chukwudi Achife, said Odumegwu-Ojukwu was a foremost nationalist and activist whose contributions to the political and constitutional development of the country would not be forgotten.
He described him as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, segregation and oppression against any group of people in the country, adding that his efforts had helped to lay the foundation for national integration and equality and unity.

A Rebel with Many Causes
He was many things to many people. He elicited as much passion as he did subdued bitterness from the variegated groups that make up Nigeria. Yemi Ajayi and Roland Ogbonnaya
capture the life and times of Ikemba Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, one of the last icons of Nigerian history, who passed on in a London hospital early yesterday at the age of 78
Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, former Chief of General Staff, the de facto vice president during the military regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, could not have put it better. Describing what Ikemba Nnewi, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, meant to the nation while reacting to the news of his death, the retired naval chief said, “He was a dogged fighter; somebody who would doggedly pursue a cause he believed in.” That doggedness of purpose was a trait that ran through his life; from cradle to his grave.
For a man born of a privileged background that had his life cut out for him and could have spent his life lapping up the luxury arising from his birth, Odumegwu-Ojukwu, born on November 4, 1933 at Zungeru, Niger State, chose early in life to chart a different path for himself. His father, Sir Louis Phillippe Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was one of Nigeria’s richest men of his time. Sir Louis, a businessman from Nnewi in the present day Anambra State, was a transporter who made him wealth from the boom in the transport sector occasioned by the Second World.
Charting His Path
The rebellious streak in the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who first went to school in Lagos, showed early in his life. The young Emeka, barely 11 years old, made headlines when he fought a colonial teacher at his school, King's College, Lagos, for degrading a black woman. His action earned him a stint in prison from the colonial authorities. This action must have been one of the reasons that made his father ship him off to Britain at the age of 13 to continue his education at Epsom College, in Surrey. He capped his education with a Masters degree in history at Lincoln College, Oxford University.
On his return to Nigeria in 1956, to his father’s chagrin, he decided to pursue a career outside the family business. His first job was as an administrative officer in the Eastern Nigeria civil service. He was posted to Udi. Almost one year after joining the civil service, he quit to join the military, making him one of the few graduate Nigerians to join the force. The move was to push him into national and global limelight when years later, he launched the first and only secessionist bid in Nigeria.
In his book Because I am Involved, he wrote about his enlistment in the military: “My enlistment into the Nigeria Army, to say the least, startled everybody in Nigeria who heard of it. I went to Zaria and enlisted. I did that mainly because I didn't want any interference from the well-meaning influence of my father. I joined the Army, signed up, but I wasn't to be spared the embarrassment because it didn't take a week before my father was aware of it. And he did everything possible to stop the enlistment.
“That is why, despite my educational background, I was not enlisted as an officer cadet. The general idea was that it was agreed between the Governor-General and my father that the best way actually was to let me go into the army, and I would see for myself what the army truly was. I don't think that they took into full consideration the level of stubbornness I must have acquired from my father as well, because I remember that the question always came to Zaria from Lagos, ‘How is he getting on?’”
With his aristocratic background and education, it did not take him long to rise up ranks. Of the 250 persons in the officer cadre, 15 were Nigerians, with Britons making up the balance. However, in the lower officer cadre, of the 6,400 people, 336 were British. The late Odumegwu-Ojukwu, whose army number was N/29, was resourceful.
He was one of the early participants in the United Nations’ peacekeeping force, under whose auspices he was sent to the Congo, under the command of Major General Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, an officer who was later to become Nigeria’s first military head of state. Shortly after his return from the peace mission, the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1964 and moved to Kano as commander of the 5th Battalion of the Nigerian Army.
Making of the Civil War

Two years after his arrival in Kano, the budding army officer was to be caught in the vortex of politics that had seeped into the military, especially with the exit of the colonial officers on the heels of Nigeria’s emergence as a flag nation after its independence in 1960, and it became a republic status three years after. There was growing dissatisfaction in the nation over the conduct of politicians in their struggle for power. The crisis reached a head with the upheaval in the Action Group that was the ruling party in the Western Region, now comprising the six states in the south-west as well as Edo and Delta states.
This precipitated the first military coup in Nigeria on January 15, 1966, and which was organised by five majors, led by Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. The coup claimed the lives of one of the parties in the power struggle in the Western Region, Chief Samuel Akintola, who was the premier, Nigeria’s prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and northern premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, among others. The coup was, however, a flop. But Odumegwu-Ojukwu, rallied officers and men under his command to support the forces loyal to the head of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Major-General Aguiyi-Ironisi, who assumed power as head of state.
A few days after he took over the reins of power, Aguiyi-Ironisi named officers to head the nation’s four regions. Odumegwu-Ojukwu became military governor of the Eastern Region while Hassan Usman Katsina was his counterpart in the Northern Region; Francis Adekunle Fajuyi, Western Region and David Akpode Ejoor was governor of the Mid-western Region.
Counter Coup

Barely four months after the failed coup, there was unrest in the north over the killing of two of its political leaders, Bello and Balewa. People from the southern region became targets of attacks by northerners. Hundreds were killed and many buildings belonging to the south-easterners were destroyed. There was hardly any family in the zone that did not lose a member. As the body bags rose, there was growing angst in the south-east. The mood was retaliatory. However, Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who had become a colonel, strived to calm his people. Based on assurances from his counterpart in the north that steps were being taken to end the pogrom and that the safety of those who had not fled the region was guaranteed, he dissuaded his people from embarking on retaliatory attacks. But things worsened.
On 29 July 1966, the north executed its own counter coup. A group of officers from the area, including Murtala Ramat Rufai Muhammed, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma and Martin Adamu, led northern soldiers in a mutiny. They killed Aguiyi-Ironsi who was on a state visit to Ibadan, the capital of the Western Region along with his host, Fajuyi. Then to accentuate the ethnic colouration of the coup, the masterminds, after two days of talks with Aguiyi-Ironsi’s deputy, Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe, rejected him as the late head of state’s successor in defiance of military command. Rather, they made Yakubu Gowon, a colonel, the new head of state. Ogundipe, who was senior to Gowon, was sent to London as Nigeria’s High Commissioner.

Secession

In South-eastern Nigeria, the restiveness arising from the pogrom was yet to abate. Various efforts to douse the tensions failed. As part of the efforts to restore peace in Nigeria, Ghana organised a forum for the leaders from the various regions in the country to meet to talk peace. The Aburi Peace Conference which held in January 1967, did not succeed as the parties did not keep the Aburi agreements. On May 30, 1967, Odumegwu-Ojukwu seceded South-eastern Nigeria from the rest of the country and proclaimed the area a sovereign state with the name: Republic of Biafra.
“Having mandated me to proclaim on your behalf, and in your name, that Eastern Nigeria be a sovereign independent republic, now, therefore, I, Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters, shall, henceforth, be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of The Republic of Biafra.” The south-easterners could not have chosen a better man to lead their cause.
When on July 6, 1967 Gowon declared war and attacked Biafra, the south-east, led by Odumegwu-Ojukwu refused to recant. He got support from some foreign nations. After 30 months of civil war in which Gowon, with support from Britain, Nigeria’s colonial master, used every weapon, including food blockades, which led to massive hunger in the south-east, to humble the Biafrans, their commander knew that his infant republic would not survive.
On January 9, 1970, Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who had transformed to a general in the Biafran army, handed over to his deputy, Major General Philip Effiong, and fled to Côte d'Ivoire. There, Ivoirian President Felix Houphouet-Boigny granted him political asylum.

Life after Biafra

Odumegwu-Ojukwu spent 13 years in exile before President Shehu Usman Shagari, during the Second Republic, granted him official pardon. With his pardon, he returned to Nigeria in 1982, to a heroic welcome. No sooner had he returned to Nigeria than he joined politics. Odumegwu-Ojukwu became a member of the ruling National Party of Nigeria, lending credence to the rumour that his pardon had political undertones. Nigeria was on the cusp of another general elections and the race was expected to be keen. Given his charisma among his people, his membership of NPN was expected to garner more votes for the party in the south-east.
His foray into politics during the Second Republic was short lived. He lost his bid for the senatorial ticket of the party. About a year after his return, the Second Republic ended following a coup that produced Major General Muhammadu Buhari as head of state. Odumegwu-Ojukwu was among politicians detained and subsequently jailed by the Buhari junta.
Freedom, however, came for him about two years later when General Ibrahim Babangida, in a palace coup in 1985, overthrew Buhari and reviewed his prison term and charges.
His short romance with NPN kindled his interest in politics. He was part of the 1995 Constitutional Conference that was supposed to midwife the Fourth Republic. He remained an unabashed Igbo irredentist, replying his critics that he was first an Igbo before being a Nigerian.
After the return of democracy in 1999, Odumegwu-Ojukwu became the leader of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, a party whose sphere of influence remains within his former Biafran enclave, the south-east.
His obstinate nature also manifested in his romance with former beauty queen, Bianca Onoh, daughter of Second Republic governor of the old Anambra State, Chief C. C. Onoh. Despite opposition from his father-in-law, Odumegwu-Ojukwu refused to change his mind about the beauty queen. Both went ahead to get married despite opposition from Onoh. It took years for the former governor to come around to accept Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a son in-law.

Final Journey

When prominent Igbo leaders converged on Enugu on November 4, to celebrate Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s 78th birthday anniversary, little did they know that they were engaging in a last dance for the Igbo leader, who was then in a London hospital. They never had any premonition that Ezeigbo Gburugburu, as he was fondly called, was spending his last month on earth. Three months earlier, he had been rumoured dead. It took assurances from one of his sons, Okigbo to dispel the death rumour. “It is not true that my father died,” Okigbo who lives in London said. Like another prominent Igbo leaders and Nigeria’s first president, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Odumegwu-Ojukwu read his obituary alive.
However, the man who had fought many battles and survived, including that of the heart, early yesterday lost the greatest battle of all after he was flown to London on December 23, 2010, when his health took a turn for the worse.
Ojukwu’s Politics: From NPN to APGA

Omololu Ogunmade writes on the political life of Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu
Following the January 15, 1966 coup led by Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu, which ended the First Republic, General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, who emerged as the head of state, appointed Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as the first military governor of the Eastern Region on January 17, 1966. However, on July 29, 1966, some northern military officers, including Majors Murtala Muhammed, Theophilus Danjuma and Martin Adamu, led a mutiny which was termed a “counter-coup” during which the head of state, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, who was on an official visit to the Western Region and the military governor, Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, were killed in Ibadan
After the demise of Aguiyi-Ironsi, Odumegwu-Ojukwu insisted that the most senior military officer, Brigadier B.A. Ogundipe, should take over the leadership of the nation so that the culture of military hierarchy could be preserved. But Ogundipe was easily convinced to step aside and was posted to the Nigerian High Commission in London while Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon became the head of state.
But Odumegwu-Ojukwu was unhappy with this perceived show of indiscipline in the army. On May 30, 1967, Odumegwu-Ojukwu, following the coup and the orgy of killings in the north in which south-easterners were the targets, declared Biafra a sovereign state, triggering a three-year civil war to keep Nigeria one. With defeat imminent, Odumegwu-Ojukwu left Biafra on January 9, 1970. He ended up in Côte d'Ivoire, where President Felix Houphouet-Boigny granted him political asylum.
After 13 years of political asylum, President Shehu Shagari granted Odumegwu-Ojukwu a state pardon. This offered him the opportunity to return to Nigeria in 1982. Upon his return, the people of his native, Nnewi gave him a chieftaincy title, Ikemba, meaning “Power of the People”, while the entire Igbo nation offered to call him Dikedioramma, meaning “Beloved Hero”. Before the 1983 general elections, Odumegwu-Ojukwu joined the ruling National Party of Nigeria and vied for its senatorial ticket. But he lost the election to a relatively unknown commissioner, Dr. Edwin Onwudiwe.

Following the return of democracy in 1999, Odumegwu-Ojukwu joined the All Peoples Party before he later quit to form the All Progressives Grand Alliance along with some other Igbo leaders ahead of the 2003 general elections. He became the presidential candidate of the party at the election but lost to the then incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Before he was flown out of the country because of his illness, he was an influential politician in the south-east. APGA, the ruling party in Anambra State today, became the party of choice because of his influence. For instance, at the heat of electioneering towards the 2010 governorship election in the state, Odumegwu-Ojukwu accompanied the incumbent governor, Peter Obi, to his campaign, pleading with the electorate to vote for Obi even if it would be the last respect they could accord him (Ojukwu). The plea paid off as Obi whose re-election was threatened at the time emerged winner of the February 6, 2010 election.
The Care Home Where He Died

From Simon Kolawole in London
Last Friday, Dim Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was moved from the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading – the British hospital where he was admitted on December 24, 2010 – to The Bupa Kensington Nursing Home, London, where he died in the early hours of Saturday.

Located in a quiet residential area in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the grand Victorian terrace offers care to the elderly who are in the “departure lounge”.
According to Bupa which operates over 300 of such homes in the UK, the facility “offers nursing dementia care and care for young physically disabled people as well as convalescence, palliative, Parkinson's disease care and respite.”
The care offers wheelchair accessible gardens to the rear of the home, and boasts a sensory garden, herb garden, water features, and shaded gazebo area.
All rooms are en suite, and have a smoke detector, telephone point, remote controlled television, 24-hour call system and thermostatic radiators, according to Bupa.
One of its major specialities is “palliative” – that is, active, compassionate care of the chronically and terminally ill, directed towards improving the quality of life.
Ojukwu was moved from The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust last Friday after the hospital had given him his “final treatment”, according to THISDAY sources.
The hospital, according to its website, has over 4,800 staff; 607 acute, 44 paediatrics and 57 maternity post natal beds; 204 day beds and spaces; and an annual budget of £290 million.
Before his transfer to Bupa, Odumegwu-Ojukwu had been at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading for some months. The hospital is one of the largest general hospital foundation trusts in the country.
When rumours made the rounds that Odumegwu-Ojukwu had died last August, the hospital, aware of Ojukwu’s stature who it addressed as “General”, issued a statement.
The Public Relations Manager, Mr. Joe Wise, wrote: “We have been requested by the family of General Odumegwu-Ojukwu to clarify newspaper reports regarding his stay as a patient at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
“The Royal Berkshire Hospital is one of the largest acute hospitals and is nationally and internationally renowned for its high standards of care, using the very latest treatments and clinical equipment available.
“General Odumegwu-Ojukwu was admitted as an emergency patient from the Lynden Hill Clinic. He was suffering from a chest infection for which he received treatment. His condition is stable.
“Contrary to reports published in a number of newspapers: The General has NOT suffered any further strokes; he is NOT on a life support machine and has not been on one at any time while a patient in the Royal Berkshire Hospital; the General’s treatment is being funded privately.
“Any further media enquiries should be directed to the Public Relations Department, but further statements will only be issued at the request of the General’s family.”
Yesterday, the Royal Berkshire, which is about 66 kilometres away from London, refused to comment on Ojukwu’s death, as a spokesman said on the phone that “the matter was now in the hands of the family.”
Ojukwu: 1933-2011
The Ahiara Declaration
Monday, November 28, 2011

• Ojukwu
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The principles of the Biafran Revolution
-By Emeka Ojukwu (General of the Peoples Army)
Today we begin a series on ‘The Ahiara Declaration’. The philosophy formulated and delivered by the late ‘General’ Emeka Ojukwu on the second anniversary of the Nigerian/Biafran strife in 1968

INTRODUCTION
PROUD AND COURAGEOUS BIAFRANS, FELLOW COUNTRY MEN AND WOMEN

I salute you. Today, as I look back over our two years as a sovereign and independent nation, I am overwhelmed with the feeling of pride and satisfaction in our performance and achievement as a people. Our indomitable will, our courage, our endurance of the severest privations, our resourcefulness and inventiveness in the face of tremendous odds and dangers, have become proverbial in a world so bereft of heroism, and have become a source of frustration to Nigeria and her foreign masters.

For this and for the many miracles of our time, let us give thanks to Almighty God. I congratulate all Biafrans at home and abroad. I thank you all the part you have played and have continued to play in this struggle, for your devotion to the high ideals and principles on which this Republic was founded.
I thank you for your absolute commitment to the cause for which our youth are making daily, the supreme sacrifice, and a cause for which we all have been dispossessed, blockaded, bombarded, starved and massacred. I salute you for your tenacity of purpose and amazing steadfastness under siege.

I salute the memory of the many patriots who have laid down their lives in defence of our Fatherland. I salute the memory of all Biafrans - men, women and children - who died victims of the Nigerian crime of genocide. We shall never forget them. Please God, their sacrifice shall not be in vain. For the dead on the other side of this conflict, may their souls rest in peace. To our friends and well-wishers, to the growing band of men and women around the world who have, in spite of the vile propaganda mounted against us, identified themselves with the justice of our cause, in particular to our courageous friends, officers and staff of the Relief Agencies and humanitarian organisations, pilots who daily offer themselves in sacrifice that our people might be saved; to Governments, in particular Tanzania, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Zambia and Haiti. I give my warmest thanks and those of our entire people.
THE STRUGGLE
Fellow country men and women, for nearly two years we have been engaged in a war which threatens our people with total destruction. Our enemy has been unrelenting in his fury and has fought our defenceless people with a vast array of military hardware of a sophistication unknown to Africa. For two years we have withstood his assaults with nothing other than our stout hearts and bare hands.

We have frustrated his diabolical intentions and have beaten his wicked mentors in their calculations and innovations. Shamelessly, our enemy has moved from deadline to deadline, seeking excuses justifying his failures to an ever credulous world. Today, I am happy and proud to report that, all the odds notwithstanding, the enemy, at great cost in lives and equipment, is nowhere near to his avowed objective.

In the Onitsha sector of the war, our gallant forces have kept the enemy confined in the town which they entered 15 months ago. Despite the fact that this sector has great strategic attraction for the vandal hordes, being a gate-way, as it is, to the now famous jungle strip of Biafra, and the scene of the bloodiest encounters of this war, it is significant that the enemy has made no gains throughout this long period.

In the Awka sector of the war, the story remains the same. The enemy is confined only to the highway between Enugu and Onitsha, not venturing north or south of that road. In the Okigwe sector, from where the enemy made the thrust that brought him into Umuahia, the situation remains unchanged, with our troops making the entire enemy route from Okigwe to Umuahia no joy ride. In Umuahia town itself, fighting has continued in the township.

In the Ikot Ekpene, Azumini and Aba sectors of the war, the vandals, whilst maintaining their positions in Ikot Ekpene and Aba with our troops surrounding them, have continued to suffer heavy casualties in their attempt to hold firmly on to Azumini. We now come to the Owerri/Port Harcourt sector. After the clearing of Owerri township and our rapid move towards Port Harcourt, our gallant forces are holding positions in Eleele town, in the outskirts of Igirita and forward of Omoku.

Across the Niger, the successes of our troops have been maintained despite numerous enemy counter-attacks. Our Navy has continued to support all operations along the Niger with good results. Our guerrillas have continued their magnificent work of harassing the enemy and giving him no respite on our soil. I salute them all.

In the air, the Biafran Air Force has made a most dramatic re-entry into the war, and in a brilliant series of raids has all but paralyzed the Nigerian Air Force. In four days’ operations, eleven operational planes of the enemy were put of action, three control towers in Port Harcourt, Enugu and Benin were set ablaze, the Airport building in Enugu, and the numerous gun positions were knocked out.

The refinery in Port Harcourt was set on fire. And, more recently, three days ago, the Ughelli Power Station was put out of action. The brilliance of this performance, the precision of the strike, the genius of target selection, have left Nigeria in a daze and her friends bewildered. Another way of looking at this is that in four days of operation, the Biafran Air Force has destroyed more military targets than what the Nigerian Air Force has been able to do for two years. •
To be continued

Obasanjo recalls war talks with Ojukwu
From IJEOMA ONUORAH, Nnewi
Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Obasanjo
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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is sad at the death of Ikemba Nnewi Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. “It is with deep sadness that I received the news of the demise of my friend and colleague.

“He and I were subalterns in the army at Nigeria’s independence in 1960. “In a way, his death marks the end of an era in Nigeria.
Obasanjo also reminisced over discussions he had with Ojukwu before the latter’s demise.

Speaking from London, Obasanjo recalled particularly that at several times, he discussed the possibility of an expression of remorse from Ojukwu “on the Nigerian civil war which in itself was a culmination of actions and reactions’’.

“I condole with his family and pray for the repose of his soul.’’
Odumegwu Ojukwu died in a London hospital last Saturday at the age of 78. He was born on Nov. 4, 1933 in Zungeru, Niger State. Ojukwu served in the Nigerian Army alongside Obasanjo until the civil war of 1967 to 1970 put them on different sides of the divide.

In his struggle to preserve the independence of the then Eastern Region where he was military governor, Ojukwu declared a sovereign Republic of Biafra also in a secessionist bid to carve the then Eastern Region as a separate entity from Nigeria.

In the declaration and during his public address to the people of Biafra, he said: “Having mandated me to proclaim on your behalf, and in your name, that Eastern Nigeria be a sovereign independent republic, now, therefore I, Lt.-Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters, shall, henceforth, be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of The Republic of Biafra.’’

On July 6, 1967, the then military Head of State, Col. Yakubu Gowon declared war and attacked Biafra in a bid to stop Ojukwu’s secessionist attempt.
The war, which ensued lasted for 30 months as the Nigerian side insisted that the country would not be polarised.
The war ended on January 15, 1970, after the then Lt.-Col. Phillip Effiong, leading the Biafran side, surrendered to Obasanjo.
Before the surrender, Ojukwu had gone on exile in Cote d’Ivoire.
How Ojukwu and I first met, by Gen Adeyinka Adebayo
From IJEOMA ONUORAH, Nnewi
Tuesday, November 29, 2011


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Reacting to Ojukwu’s death, former governor of the old Western State, Major-Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo (rtd) has recalled the first time he met with the late Ikemba Nnewi. In a statement issued yesterday, Gen. Adebayo said: “ I met Chief Ojukwu for the first at a cocktail party held in honour of the Acting Governor-General Sir Ralph Grey who was the official Deputy Governor General of the Federation who represented Sir James Robertson, the Governor General at an official occasion in Umuahia. Robertson was away in England for an official occasion at Umuahia when he was in England for an official duty in late 1957.

I was the first Nigerian Aide de Camp (ADC) to the Governor General. Chief Ojukwu was Assistant District Officer then in Umuahia, Eastern Region. I had a long discussion with Chief Emeka Ojukwu at the party about the Nigerian Army and I advised him to come and join the Army as cadet. He started his cadet training along with others from Nigeria and Ghana in Teshie and Cadet School at Eaton Hall in England.

He later attended the School of Infantry, Warminister and Small Arms School, Hythe, and finally, Joint Services Staff College (JSSC), England. He served in various units in Nigeria and also as an instructor at the Royal West Africa Frontier Force Training School, Teshie, Ghana.

He was a good and hardworking officer who rose rapidly to the rank of Lt. Col in 1964. He worked as Quarter Master-General (QMG) in the Army headquarters while Lt. Col Yakubu Gowon was also Adjutant-General (AG) and I was the first Chief of Staff (CSO) with the rank of full Colonel in the Nigerian Army headquarters under the command of the last British General Officer Commanding (GOC), Sir Welby Evarald.
Lt. Col Odumegwu-Ojukwu served in many units. He was later on posted to command the 5th Battalion in Kano in Northern Nigeria under Brigadier Ademulegun who was also commanding the 1st Brigade, Nigerian Army with headquarters in Kaduna.
When the military coup of January, 1966 took place, he was appointed the Military Governor of Eastern Region with headquarters in Enugu.

When the last British General Officer Commanding was about to go Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi was appointed to take over from him being the most senior Nigerian Army officer and I continued to be the Chief of Staff, Army Headquarters until November, 1965 when I handed over to Colonel Kur Mohammed and I went on course at the Imperial Defence College in England. Few weeks after I left the first coup took place and all the most senior Nigerian Army officers were killed, but General Aguiyi-Ironsi was lucky to be alive and was made the Head of State.

Political tension mounted and the second coup took place on July 29, 1966 when Ironsi was visiting Western Region and he was killed with Lt. Col Adekunle Fajuyi, his host in Ibadan.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I came home on consultation with the Head of State but could not see him and the coup plotters did not know that I was in town.
The second coup of July 1966 weighed heavily on the Easterners and unfortunately Emeka proclaimed himself The Head of State and Commander-In-Chief of the Republic of Biafra. The declaration led to the Civil War in the country which lasted for the three years, he said.
The Ahiara Declaration
On Monday November 28, we began serializing the Ahiara Declaration, the principles of the Biafran revolution by late Dim Chukwuemeka-Odumegwu Ojukwu. Today we continue with the third part.
By The Sun Publishing
Wednesday, November 30 , 2011


Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Self-Determination
The right to self-determination was good for the Greeks in 1822, for the Belgians in 1830, and for the Central and Eastern Europeans and the Irish at the end of the First World War. Yet it is not good for Biafrans because we are black. When blacks claim that right, they are warned against dangers trumped up by the imperialists-“fragmentation” and “Balkanization”, as if the trouble with the Balkans is the result of the application of the principle of self-determination.

Were the Balkans a healthier place before they emerged from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire? Those who sustained the Ottoman Empire considered it a European necessity, for its Eastern European provinces stood as a buffer between two ambitious and mutually antagonistic empires - the Russian and the Austrian.

For the peace and repose of Europe, it therefore became a major concern of European statesmen to preserve the integrity of that empire. But when it was discovered that Ottoman rule was not only corrupt, oppressive and unprogressive, but also stubbornly irreformable, the happiness and well-being of its white populations came to be considered paramount. So by 1918 the integrity of that ancient and sprawling empire had been sacrificed to the well-being of the Eastern Europeans. Fellow Biafrans, that was in the white world.

But what do we find here in Negro Africa? The Federation of Nigeria is today as corrupt, as unprogressive and as oppressive and irreformable as the Ottoman Empire was in Eastern Europe over a century ago. And in contrast, the Nigerian Federation in the form it was constituted by the British cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered an African necessity. Yet we are being forced to sacrifice our very existence as a people to the integrity of that ramshackle creation that has no justification either in history or in the freely expressed wishes of the people. What other reason for this can there be than the fact that we are black?

In 1966, 50,000 Biafrans - men, women and children - were massacred in cold blood in Nigeria. Since July 6, 1967, hundreds of Biafrans have been killed daily by shelling, bombing, strafing and starvation advised, organised and supervised by Anglo-Saxon Britain. None of these atrocities has raised enough stir in many European capitals. But on the few occasions when a single white man died in Africa, even where he was a convicted bandit like the notorious case in the Congo, all the diplomatic chanceries of the world have been astir.; the whole world has been shaken to its very foundations by the din of protest against the alleged atrocity and by the clamour for vengeance. This was the case when the Nigerian vandals turned their British-supplied rifles on white Red Cross workers in Okigwe. Recently this has been the case with the reported disappearance of some white oil technicians in the Republic of Benin. But when we are massacred in thousands, nobody cares, because we are black.

Fellow countrymen and women, the fact is that in spite of their open protestations to the contrary, the white peoples of the world are still far from accepting that what is good for them can also be good for blacks. The day they make this basic concession that day will the non-Anglo-Saxon nations tell Britain to her face that she is guilty of genocide against us; that day will they call a halt to this monstrous war.

Because the black man is considered inferior and servile to the white, he must accept his political, social and economic system and ideologies ready made from Europe, America or the Soviet Union. Within the confines of his nation he must accept a federation or confederation or unitary government if federation or confederation or unitary government suits the interests of his white masters; he must accept inept and unimaginative leadership because the contrary would hurt the interests of the master race; he must accept economic exploitation by alien commercial firms and companies because the whites benefit from it. Beyond the confines of his state, he must accept regional and continental organisations which provide a front for the manipulation of the imperialist powers; organisations which are therefore unable to respond to African problems in a truly African manner. For Africans to show a true independence is to ask for anathemization and total liquidation.
Arab-Muslim Expansionism
The Biafran struggle is, on another plane, a resistance to the Arab-Muslim expansionism which has menaced and ravaged the African continent for twelve centuries. As early as the first quarter of the seventh century, the Arabs, a people from the Near-East, evolved Islam not just as a religion but as a cover for their insatiable territorial ambitions. By the tenth century they had overrun and occupied, among other places, Egypt and North Africa. Had they stopped there, we would not today be faced with the wicked and unholy collusion we are fighting against. On the contrary, they cast their hungry and envious eyes across the Sahara on to the land of the Negroes.

Our Biafran ancestors remained immune from the Islamic contagion. From the middle years of the last century Christianity was established in our land. In this way we came to be a predominantly Christian people. We came to stand out as a non-Muslim island in a raging Islamic sea. Throughout the period of the ill-fated Nigerian experiment, the Muslims hoped to infiltrate Biafra by peaceful means and quiet propaganda, but failed. Then the late Ahmadu Bello, the Sarduana of Sokoto tried, by political and economic blackmail and terrorism, to convert Biafrans settled in Northern Nigeria to Islam. His hope was that these Biafrans on dispersion would then carry Islam to Biafra, and by so doing give the religion political control of the area. The crises which agitated the so-called independent Nigeria from 1962 gave these aggressive proselytisers the chance to try converting us by force.

It is now evident why the fanatic Arab-Muslim states like Algeria, Egypt and the Sudan have come out openly and massively to support and aid Nigeria in her present war of genocide against us. These states see militant Arabism as a powerful instrument for attaining power in the world.

Biafra is one of the few African states untainted by Islam. Therefore, to militant Arabism, Biafra is a stumbling block to their plan for controlling the whole continent. This control is fast becoming manifest in the Organisation of African Unity. On the question of the Middle East, the Sudanese crisis, in the war between Nigeria and Biafra, militant Arabism has succeeded in imposing its point of view through blackmail and bluster. It has threatened African leaders and governments with inciting their Muslim minorities to rebellion if the governments adopted an independent line on these questions. In this way an O.A.U that has not felt itself able to discuss the genocide in the Sudan and Biafra, an O.A.U. that has again and again advertised its ineptitude as a peace-maker, has rushed into open condemnation of Israel over the Middle East dispute. Indeed in recent times, by its performance, the O.A.U. might well be an Organisation of Arab Unity.
Africa Exploited
Our struggle, in an even more fundamental sense, is the culmination of the confrontation between Negro nationalism and white imperialism. It is a movement designed to ensure the realization of man’s full stature in Africa.
Ever since the 15th century, the European world has treated the African continent as a field for exploitation. Their policies in Africa have for so long been determined to a very great extent by their greed for economic gain. For over three and half centuries, it suited them to transport and transplant millions of the flower of our manhood for the purpose of exploiting the Americas and the West Indies. They did so with no uneasiness of conscience. They justified this trade in men by reference to biblical passages violently torn out of context.

When it became no longer profitable to them to continue with the depopulation and uncontrolled spoilation of Negro Africa, their need of the moment became to exploit the natural resources of the continent, using Negro labour. In response to this need they evolved their informal empire in the 19th century under which they controlled and exploited Negro Africa through their missionaries and monopolist mercantile companies. As time went on they discarded the empire of informal sway as unsatisfactory and established the direct empire as the most effective means of exploiting our homeland. It was at this stage that with cynical imperturbability they carved up the African continent, and boxed up the native populations in artificial states designed purely to minister to white economic interests.
This brutal and unprecedented rape of a whole continent was a violent challenge to Negro self-respect.

Not surprisingly, within half a century the theory and practice of empire ran into stiff opposition from Negro nationalism. In the face of the movement for Negro freedom the white imperialists changed tactics. They decided to install puppet African administrations to create the illusion of political independence, while retaining the control of the economy. And this they quickly did between 1957 and 1965. The direct empire was transformed into an indirect empire, that regime of fraud and exploitation which African nationalists aptly describe as Neo-Colonialism.

Nigeria was a classic example of a neo-colonialist state, and what is left of it, still is. The militant nationalism of the late forties and early fifties had caught the British imperialists unawares. They hurried to accommodate it by installing the ignorant, decadent and feudalistic Hausa-Fulani oligarchy in power. For the British, the credentials of the Hausa-Fulani were that not having emerged from the Middle Ages they knew nothing about the modern state and the powerful forces that now rule men’s minds. Owing their position to the British, they were servile and submissive. The result was that while Nigerians lived in the illusion of independence, they were still in fact being ruled from Number 10 Downing Street. The British still enjoyed a stranglehold on their economy.

The crises which rocked Nigeria from the morrow of “independence” were brought about by the efforts of progressive nationalists to achieve true independence for themselves and for posterity. For their part in this effort, Biafrans were stigmatised and singled out for extermination. In imperialist thinking, only phoney independence is good for blacks. The sponsorship of Nigeria by white imperialism has not been disinterested.

They are only concerned with the preservation of that corrupt and rickety structure of Nigeria in a perpetual state of powerlessness to check foreign exploitation. I am certain that if tomorrow I should promise that Biafra is going to be a servile and sycophantic state, these self-appointed upholders of the territorial integrity of African states will sing a different tune. No...I shall not oblige them. Biafra will not betray the black man. No matter the odds, we will fight with all our might until black men everywhere can, with pride, point to this Republic, standing dignified and defiant, as an example of African nationalism triumphant over its many and age-old enemies.

Fellow countrymen and women, we have seen in proper perspective the diabolical roles which the British Government and the foreign companies have played and are playing in our war with Nigeria. We now see why in spite of Britain’s tottering economy Harold Wilson’s Government insists on financing Nigeria’s futile war against us. We see why the Shell-BP led the Nigerian hordes into Bonny, pays Biafran oil royalties to Nigeria, and provided the Nigerian Army with all the help it needed for its attack on Port Harcourt. We see why the West African Conference Lines readily and meekly co-operate with Gowon in the imposition of total blockade against us. We see why the oil and trading companies in Nigeria still finance this war and why they risk the life and limb of their staff in the war zones.


Ojukwu: 1933-2011
The Ahiara Declaration
From Our reporter
Thursday, December 01, 2011

•Late Ojukwu
Photo: THE SUN PUBLISHING
More Stories on This Section

On Monday November 28, we began serializing the Ahiara Declaration, the principles of the Biafran revolution by late Dim Chukwuemeka-Odumegwu Ojukwu. Today we continue with the third part.

Self-Determination
The right to self-determination was good for the Greeks in 1822, for the Belgians in 1830, and for the Central and Eastern Europeans and the Irish at the end of the First World War. Yet it is not good for Biafrans because we are black. When blacks claim that right, they are warned against dangers trumped up by the imperialists-“fragmentation” and “Balkanization”, as if the trouble with the Balkans is the result of the application of the principle of self-determination.

Were the Balkans a healthier place before they emerged from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire? Those who sustained the Ottoman Empire considered it a European necessity, for its Eastern European provinces stood as a buffer between two ambitious and mutually antagonistic empires - the Russian and the Austrian. For the peace and repose of Europe, it therefore became a major concern of European statesmen to preserve the integrity of that empire. But when it was discovered that Ottoman rule was not only corrupt, oppressive and unprogressive, but also stubbornly irreformable, the happiness and well-being of its white populations came to be considered paramount. So by 1918 the integrity of that ancient and sprawling empire had been sacrificed to the well-being of the Eastern Europeans. Fellow Biafrans, that was in the white world.

But what do we find here in Negro Africa? The Federation of Nigeria is today as corrupt, as unprogressive and as oppressive and irreformable as the Ottoman Empire was in Eastern Europe over a century ago. And in contrast, the Nigerian Federation in the form it was constituted by the British cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered an African necessity. Yet we are being forced to sacrifice our very existence as a people to the integrity of that ramshackle creation that has no justification either in history or in the freely expressed wishes of the people. What other reason for this can there be than the fact that we are black?

In 1966, 50,000 Biafrans - men, women and children - were massacred in cold blood in Nigeria. Since July 6, 1967, hundreds of Biafrans have been killed daily by shelling, bombing, strafing and starvation advised, organised and supervised by Anglo-Saxon Britain. None of these atrocities has raised enough stir in many European capitals. But on the few occasions when a single white man died in Africa, even where he was a convicted bandit like the notorious case in the Congo, all the diplomatic chanceries of the world have been astir.; the whole world has been shaken to its very foundations by the din of protest against the alleged atrocity and by the clamour for vengeance. This was the case when the Nigerian vandals turned their British-supplied rifles on white Red Cross workers in Okigwe. Recently this has been the case with the reported disappearance of some white oil technicians in the Republic of Benin. But when we are massacred in thousands, nobody cares, because we are black.

Fellow countrymen and women, the fact is that in spite of their open protestations to the contrary, the white peoples of the world are still far from accepting that what is good for them can also be good for blacks. The day they make this basic concession that day will the non-Anglo-Saxon nations tell Britain to her face that she is guilty of genocide against us; that day will they call a halt to this monstrous war.
Because the black man is considered inferior and servile to the white, he must accept his political, social and economic system and ideologies ready made from Europe, America or the Soviet Union. Within the confines of his nation he must accept a federation or confederation or unitary government if federation or confederation or unitary government suits the interests of his white masters; he must accept inept and unimaginative leadership because the contrary would hurt the interests of the master race; he must accept economic exploitation by alien commercial firms and companies because the whites benefit from it.

Beyond the confines of his state, he must accept regional and continental organisations which provide a front for the manipulation of the imperialist powers; organisations which are therefore unable to respond to African problems in a truly African manner. For Africans to show a true independence is to ask for anathemization and total liquidation.
Arab-Muslim Expansionism
The Biafran struggle is, on another plane, a resistance to the Arab-Muslim expansionism which has menaced and ravaged the African continent for twelve centuries. As early as the first quarter of the seventh century, the Arabs, a people from the Near-East, evolved Islam not just as a religion but as a cover for their insatiable territorial ambitions. By the tenth century they had overrun and occupied, among other places, Egypt and North Africa. Had they stopped there, we would not today be faced with the wicked and unholy collusion we are fighting against. On the contrary, they cast their hungry and envious eyes across the Sahara on to the land of the Negroes.

Our Biafran ancestors remained immune from the Islamic contagion. From the middle years of the last century Christianity was established in our land. In this way we came to be a predominantly Christian people. We came to stand out as a non-Muslim island in a raging Islamic sea. Throughout the period of the ill-fated Nigerian experiment, the Muslims hoped to infiltrate Biafra by peaceful means and quiet propaganda, but failed. Then the late Ahmadu Bello, the Sarduana of Sokoto tried, by political and economic blackmail and terrorism, to convert Biafrans settled in Northern Nigeria to Islam. His hope was that these Biafrans on dispersion would then carry Islam to Biafra, and by so doing give the religion political control of the area. The crises which agitated the so-called independent Nigeria from 1962 gave these aggressive proselytisers the chance to try converting us by force.

It is now evident why the fanatic Arab-Muslim states like Algeria, Egypt and the Sudan have come out openly and massively to support and aid Nigeria in her present war of genocide against us. These states see militant Arabism as a powerful instrument for attaining power in the world.

Biafra is one of the few African states untainted by Islam. Therefore, to militant Arabism, Biafra is a stumbling block to their plan for controlling the whole continent. This control is fast becoming manifest in the Organisation of African Unity. On the question of the Middle East, the Sudanese crisis, in the war between Nigeria and Biafra, militant Arabism has succeeded in imposing its point of view through blackmail and bluster.

It has threatened African leaders and governments with inciting their Muslim minorities to rebellion if the governments adopted an independent line on these questions. In this way an O.A.U that has not felt itself able to discuss the genocide in the Sudan and Biafra, an O.A.U. that has again and again advertised its ineptitude as a peace-maker, has rushed into open condemnation of Israel over the Middle East dispute. Indeed in recent times, by its performance, the O.A.U. might well be an Organisation of Arab Unity.
Africa Exploited
Our struggle, in an even more fundamental sense, is the culmination of the confrontation between Negro nationalism and white imperialism. It is a movement designed to ensure the realization of man’s full stature in Africa.
Ever since the 15th century, the European world has treated the African continent as a field for exploitation. Their policies in Africa have for so long been determined to a very great extent by their greed for economic gain. For over three and half centuries, it suited them to transport and transplant millions of the flower of our manhood for the purpose of exploiting the Americas and the West Indies. They did so with no uneasiness of conscience. They justified this trade in men by reference to biblical passages violently torn out of context.

When it became no longer profitable to them to continue with the depopulation and uncontrolled spoilation of Negro Africa, their need of the moment became to exploit the natural resources of the continent, using Negro labour. In response to this need they evolved their informal empire in the 19th century under which they controlled and exploited Negro Africa through their missionaries and monopolist mercantile companies. As time went on they discarded the empire of informal sway as unsatisfactory and established the direct empire as the most effective means of exploiting our homeland. It was at this stage that with cynical imperturbability they carved up the African continent, and boxed up the native populations in artificial states designed purely to minister to white economic interests.

This brutal and unprecedented rape of a whole continent was a violent challenge to Negro self-respect. Not surprisingly, within half a century the theory and practice of empire ran into stiff opposition from Negro nationalism. In the face of the movement for Negro freedom the white imperialists changed tactics. They decided to install puppet African administrations to create the illusion of political independence, while retaining the control of the economy. And this they quickly did between 1957 and 1965. The direct empire was transformed into an indirect empire, that regime of fraud and exploitation which African nationalists aptly describe as Neo-Colonialism.

•To be continued

Biafran war Commanders on Ojukwu: He was a brilliant officer –Col Conrad Nwawo (Rtd.)
By Our reporter
Thursday, December 01 , 2011

•Nwawo
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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One of Nigeria’s leading military officers, before he transferred to the defunct Biafran Armed Forces, Col Conrad Nwawo (Rtd.) has expressed deep grief and pain on the passage o Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu.

In a formal reaction yesterday, Nwawo who was one of the prime military officers in the Biafran Army during the fratricidal conflict expressed regrets that he was unable to see his General before his death; much as he yearned for that. He reflected on the war days where he served as a General in the Peoples Army exhaling the deep respects the late Ojukwu had for him.
Nwawo spoke of their meeting when he served at the 4th Area Command in Benin City and the late Ojukwu’s interest in him, describing him as a “brilliant officer.”

Below is the full text of his reaction.
“The death of Chukwuemeka Ojukwu came to me as a shock. I only knew that he had problems with his sight. And I wished to see him then but I didn’t know that he had been ill.

Chukwuemeka Ojukwu had great respect for me throughout the Biafran war and I knew that. He showed me a great measure of respect. And he was always saying it that he had great hope in my capability which was understandable. He knew that I was there with my whole being. And there was no question about that. He always said it.
Recalling his swift movement from the Nigerian Army into the Biafran side, he said “It was at the 4th Area Command in Benin City and Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was very keen to have me in particular. And you know, it was a question of loyalty.

He was a brilliant officer. Nigeria will surely miss him.”
Ojukwu: The philosophy that defined his politics
Fresh from exile in 1982, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) signifying the beginning of his politics. NDUBUISI ORJI writes on the philosophy that informed his political trajectory.
Thursday, December 01 , 2011

•Late Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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When Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu joined partisan politics in 1982, not a few were bewildered. Even more confounding was his choice of political party. Late Ojukwu after 12 years in the Ivory Coast had joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). His decision to pitch his tent with the NPN raised several questions.

The major question was why NPN of all parties. The reason for this was not far fetched. Prior to his exile in early 1970, the Igbo leader had led the Igbo nation in a war to secede from Nigeria. The general expectation that he would have joined the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) led by the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. The NPP was seen largely as an Igbo party, more so when NPP controlled the two eastern states of Anambra and Imo at that point. While the NPN on the other hand was perceived as a Northern party.
Many had insinuated at that point that Ojukwu’s membership of the NPN may have been part of the deal he reached with the government of Shehu Shagari, which granted him a state pardon thereby making his return to the country possible.

Even the government of Shagari was shocked that he joined politics. According to the Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi , Director General of the Nigerian Security Organization at that time said the Ikemba involvement in partisan politics was not part of the understanding reached with the government before his return.
Commenting on the events of those days, Shinkafi told a national daily “I do not know about (Alex) Ekwueme, but it was certainly not President Shagari’s wish. He didn’t want Ojukwu to get involved in party politics, even in NPN.” But then Ojukwu disappointed them all and embraced partisan politics.
In joining politics, he was motivated by the same factor that influenced him into joining the civil service as an assistant district officer . That is service to the people. It was that burning desire that also drove him into confronting the Federal Government led by General Yakubu Gowon.

Ojukwu’s involvement with the NPN changed the tempor of the politics of Eastern Nigeria. He declared for the Onitasha Senatorial seat on the platform of the NPN. The NPP government in the old Anambra State under the watch of Chief Jim Nwobodo was already giving Vice President Alex Ekwueme tough time. To effectively checkmate the NPP, which already had a militia group , he formed the Ikemba Front. The Ikemba Front came to be more than a match for the NPP militia group. Shinkafi explained that “Even before Ojukwu returned, Ekwueme and Governor Jim Nwobodo were having a running battle in the area. NPP already had a militia. Ojukwu only reacted by forming his own militia. Several times I went to the East and urged Nwobodo to respect the office of the vice president. However, in responding to NPP and forming his own militia, Ojukwu went beyond expectation.”
At the end of the 1983 senatorial, Ojukwu host to the less popular NPP candidate In 1983, he contested the Onitsha senatorial poll, but lost to a relatively little known Anambra State commissioner in then Governor Jim Nwobodo’s cabinet, Dr. Edwin Onwudiwe. But the NPN won the governorship of the state. Some political historians have said that NPN deliberately sacrificed Ojukwu because they could not fathom how to handle Ojukwu if he ended in the senate of the Second Republic.

Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, who was then the Presidential Liaison Officer to the National Assembly, said “The basic aim of persuading him to join the NPN was to reintegrate the Igbo to the mainstream national politics after the civil war. Then, the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) was the ruling party in the South-east states of Imo and Anambra and we believed that Ojukwu should no longer play regional politics. We met and went to him and convinced him to join the NPN, at least for the sake of the Igbos and it eventually paid off when the NPN won Anambra governorship election with Onoh as the governor.” For the Igbo leader “I joined NPN to bring the Igbos into the main stream of Nigeria’s politics since I was the one that pulled them out in the first place,” Ojukwu was quoted severally to have replied when asked why he joined the NPN upon returning from Ivory Coast.

The failed senatorial adventure was not Ojukwu’s first romance with politics.
During the 1978 election, the late Biafran leader had nursed the idea of contesting for the Nnewi Federal Constituency on the platform of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP.) He was nominated in absentia. According to the Ikemba in his book. Because I am Involved , “ I was convinced that such a momentous change (1978 transition programme), such an event must not take place without my being an issue. I made contacts with my compatriots individually and as party member , finally it was the GNPP, under Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim that settled upon my candidature. The campaign began in earnest. I was nominated in absentia”. He said he was motivated by Nkwame Nkrumah and Kenyatta who had moved into power from prison. However, the dream was stillbirth as the military authority reacted negatively to the idea of his participation in the transition programmes, thereby forcing Waziri and others to deny him.

Not loog after the 1983 election, the military struck. The General Muhammadu Buhari’s regime that toppled the civil administration clamped Ojukwu and other politicians of that era into prison. . He was detained for 10 months.
Forging ahead
Having put his hand in the plough, there was no going back for the Igbo leader politically. In the third republic , he joined the National Republican Convention, NRC, and aspired to contest the presidency. He said the surest way to show that the civil war had ended and the Igbo fully integrated into the affairs of the nation was to allow the Igbo become president.
However, General Ibrahim Babangida promptly disqualified him from running for president alongside other “old breed” politicians. During the General Sani Abacha regime, he was one of those elected to the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) of 1994 to 1995.

At the inception of the fourth republic, Ojukwu first joined the All Peoples Party (APP, now All Nigeria Peoples Party) in the Fourth Republic. Together with Dr. Olusola Saraki, Chief Tom Ikimi, the late Lamidi Adedibu, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu, the late Chief Sam Mbakwe, all political soul mates who could change Nigeria along defined lines. Their efforts at building a strong national party failed when the APP lost at the 1999 polls, as many of them left for the ruling party. But Ojukwu soldiered on. He later founded the Peoples Democratic Congress which was not registered as a political party.

Then in 2002 with Chief Chekwas Okorie, the former military governor formed the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). It was in APGA that he came close to realizing his dream of offering service to the people. Though the two attempts he made at governing the country on the platform of the party was not successful, the party won governorship elections in Anambra and Imo State in the last general election.
He was the party’s presidential candidate platform in the 2003 presidential poll. He fought the polls against President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Buhari and other contenders and came third. He repeated the quest in 2007 and came sixth. However he did not participate in the last election though to ill health.

Ojukwu no doubt had an eventful political career. But his main regret would be that he never lived to see an Igbo man elected as Nigerian president. Because that for him would mean the full integration of Ndigbo into Nigerian polity after the 30 moths bitter civil war, he led to give the Igbos a better deal in Nigeria.
ADC: Ojukwu Never Slept Any Night during the Civil War
01 Dec 2011

Chukwuemeka Ojukwu
By Christopher Isiguzo
Determined to ensure that he never got caught unawares by the “enemy forces” the late Chukwuemeka Ojukwu never slept on any night throughout the 30-month civil war, his then Aide de Camp (ADC), now Bishop Obi Onubuogu, has said.
Onubuogu, who spoke with THISDAY Wednesday at the Enugu residence of the late Ikemba of Nnewi, said Ojukwu prosecuted the war with all commitment and determination as he monitored all the units under his control.
Similarly, Ojukwu’s personal aide from 1982 when he returned from exile till the time he died, Chief Azuka Okwuosa, told THISDAY that one major thing Ojukwu could not achieve till the time he died was to foster unity among the various ethnic groupings.
He said Ojukwu had wanted to make Nigeria a nation and not just a country as currently constituted.
Onubuogu, who is now the Bishop of the Rock Family Church and President of the Christian Fellowship of Nigeria, Enugu Chapter, said he worked under Ojukwu from 1967 when he was drafted to work as his ADC on the rank of Superintendent of Police till the period he went on exile to Cote d’Ivoire.
According to him, the period afforded him the opportunity to get firm knowledge of the man called Ojukwu, noting that Igbos had missed a leader by his death.
“Most people who talk about Ojukwu did not really have the opportunity of getting to know him better. I worked under him as his ADC. I was there with him throughout the civil war. This is a man who never slept during the war. Maybe he did that for two of three hours a day. He was there all the time. He was in constant touch with his men on the field; making sure that things were done properly.
“There’s virtually nothing that happened during the period that he didn’t know about. He was determined to get justice for the people of the Eastern region. He laid his life down for our people, but unfortunately, many people did not get to know more about him. He never went to war for personal aggrandisement. At all times during the war, he was concerned about his people,” he noted.
“I was his ADC from the time the then Biafran government relocated from the capital then, Enugu to the hinterland. We were together until the end of the civil war. I was with him even in exile till a point when I became homesick and needed to return. So, I’m in the best stead to talk about the man Ojukwu both as a warrior or better put a Head of State and as a man that went on exile. I was with him throughout the period.
“This is a man that was ready to give his all in the interest of his people. This is man that laid down his life for his people. I get amused when I heard somebody talking about asking Ojukwu to apologise as a result of the civil war. That’s an unfortunate one. A man to apologise for fighting for his people?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, has announced that for security reasons the body of the late Ikemba will remain in the United Kingdom until January next year when all burial plans would have been completed.
Also, Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca, and other family members are expected back in the country from London where they have been since last weekend when he died.
Umeh, who returned from London Wednesday, told newsmen after signing the condolence register at Ojukwu’s GRA residence in Enugu that the corpse of the elder statesman, which had already been deposited in a London mortuary, would remain there until necessary arrangements for his interment were concluded, adding that the decision was for security reasons.

Anyim, Governors, Others Mourn
27 Nov 2011

Late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu

By Our Reporters
The death of Ikemba Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Saturday in a London hospital, after a protracted illness, has elicited reactions from notable Nigerians.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, described the death as a great loss to the Igbos and Nigeria.
Anyim, in a statement, said the deceased was a patriot who contributed to the development of Ndigbo and Nigeria.
He said he was praying and looking forward to receiving the good news that he had recovered fully and would soon return home only to hear the news of his death.

National Security Adviser, Gen Owoye A. Aziza, said Odumegwu-Ojukwu left an indelible mark on the political and social turf of Nigeria and would be missed by all.

Bayelsa State governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, said Odumegwu-Ojukwu was a great Nigerian who devoted his life to the fight against injustice and promotion of equality among Nigerians.

Former national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo and his brother, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, who was a former Minister of Information, said with the death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu, an era has ended.
They said no leader in Igbo land has championed their cause like Odumegwu-Ojukwu did.

Similarly, Senator Chris Anyanwu described him as an embodiment of the valour and honour and heroism of the people in the days of yore.

Abia State governor, Theodore Orji and his colleague in Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, condoled with the family over the death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

According to Orji, the decease came, saw and he conquered. The governor declared that Ojukwu would forever be celebrated even in death.
Okorocha said the death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu was not just a loss to Ndigbo but to Nigeria and Africa.
Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, said with the death, “Nigeria, especially Ndigbo, have lost an undeniably illustrious son. Whatever differing views there are on our national experience since independence, it is unarguable that Emeka Ojukwu has an assured place in the history of Nigeria,” he said.

Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe(rtd) said although Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s death was a shocking news, he was better off now, having gone to rest with the Lord.
“He was a dogged fighter; somebody who would doggedly pursue a cause he believed in not minding whose ox is gored. We would also remember him for the role he played in the civil war,” he said.

Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said Odumegwu-Ojukwu would be remembered as a leader who never shied away from making his stand known on any issue, especially those that have directly affect the interest of his people.

Fayemi’s counterpart in Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, in his condolence message regretted that the community of patriots was diminishing at this time. He said Odumegwu-Ojukwu represented the undiluted essence of the Igbo nation and the trinity of its character. He expressed regret that he died at a time when his contributions were needed in the nation.
...As Ohanaeze, Akunyili Lament Death
More notable Nigerians and groups yesterday mourned the death of All Progressive Grand Alliance bigwig, Ikemba Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

President General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Amb. Ralph Uwechue, said the passing away in London of Odumegwu-Ojukwu was like the passing of an age in the chequered history of the Igbo nation.

“As a leader, he has left the most significant stamp in courageous defence of the Igbo cause. He would be greatly missed by his family, the entire Igbo nation, our great country, Nigeria and the peoples of the African continent. May God Almighty, the Great ruler of all things-grant his soul the eternal peace that he richly deserves” Uwaechue said in a statement.

Also, former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, described the death as a great national loss. Oyinlola noted that the fact that Odumegwu-Ojukwu was born with a silver spoon never prevented him from pursuing a career in the military which transformed him into a man of history.

In his reaction, Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, noted that the bravery displayed by the great Ikemba during the Nigerian civil war helped the country to address certain fundamental national issues which united all the ethnic groups in the country, many years after the incident.

“The vacuum which Ojukwu’s death has created, will be difficult to fill because he was a great man, who had a dream for a great nation where there will be justice, equity and fairness,” he said.

APGA senatorial candidate in Anambra State and former Minister of Information, Prof. Dora Akunyili, said she was shocked by the news of the Ikemba’s death as she had been praying that he would recover from his illness to a heroic welcome.

“Ojukwu was one of my staunchest supporters in my quest to represent Anambra Central in the Senate on the platform of APGA. For that, I would forever remain grateful to him. Of course, I was one of Ojukwu’s biggest fans. I have lost not only a big brother but also a mentor and an inspirator. The legend may be gone physically but he lives on. His place in history is guaranteed, his name already written in gold by means of his very principled life and monumental achievements,” she added in a statement.
House Members Want Ojukwu Immortalised
The House of Representatives on Saturday described the death of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a colossal and irreplaceable loss to Nigeria and urged the Federal Government to immortalise him.

Also, the House Deputy Speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and other members of the South-east Caucus bemoaned his death.
Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Zakari Mohammed, said Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s death had left a great vacuum in the nation’s quest for transformational leadership.

Ihedioha described the late soldier and politician as a fearless mobiliser, highly intelligent and resourceful personality who loomed larger than life wherever he found himself.

“Love him or hate him, his landmark contributions in making Nigeria what she is today cannot be dimmed by his passage to the great beyond,” he stated.

Leader of the South-east Caucus, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, said the death represented the end of an era in the history of Nigeria.
Ozomgbachi said Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s actions in the service of his people had a far-reaching impact on the historical development of Nigeria.

A member of the sixth parliamentary session, House of Representatives, Hon. Mayor Eze, described Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a great man whose actions had prevented more devastating wars in Nigeria.

Leader of the Anambra Parliamentary Caucus, in the House of Representatives, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, said with Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s death, the country had lost one of its finest men. Ekwunife, who is also the leader of the All Progressive Grand Alliance in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, described him as “the finest of Igbo extraction, a rare gem, a selfless and patriotic Nigerian” whose nationalistic principles would remain unequalled.”

Minority Leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (ACN/Lagos), expressed sadness over the death, describing the deceased as “a gallant soldier whose name will always be conspicuous in the history of Nigeria.”

Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon Dakuku Peterside, said Ojukwu was a great patriot who provided leadership for his people at a very critical stage in Nigeria's history.

He described him as a courageous man and an intellectual committed to a better Nigeria. Peterside said that Ojukwu would be greatly missed not only by the Igbo but by all who believe in a better society.

However, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra said the only way Nigerians and Igbo could immortalise Odumegwu -Ojukwu was to support the actualisation of a sovereign state of Biafra.

MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, said his death has left a big vacuum in Igboland.
Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Dioceses, Most Rev. Anthony Obinna, Imo State chairmen of the All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Peoples Democratic Party, Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe and Eze Duruiheoma respectively, also spoke in the same vein.
The leaders of the ANPP and PDP said the deceased would be remembered as a committed patriot who fought for the recognition of Ndigbo in Nigeria.

Also, president, Christian Association of Nigeria , Ayo Oritsejafor, said Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s death was a huge loss to Nigeria.
Former Governor of Edo State, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor , said Odumegwu-Ojukwu would be remembered for his bravery, charisma and doggedness in the struggle for the emancipation of his people.
He said he was never afraid to speak his mind on national issues throughout his life time.
...Fashola, Tinubu Also React
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, condoled with Nigerians, especially the Igbo, on the passing away of Ikemba of Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

Fashola who expressed his condolences in an interview with newsmen at the Lagos House, Marina said: “Though, we knew his health has been poor, one still expected a miracle from somebody whose image was as large as who he was as the Ikemba of Nnewi.”

Tinubu said the death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu marked the passage of one of the movers of Nigerian history in the 20th century.
But he added that the death should remind everyone of Nigeria’s unfinished federal business and the urgency to fix the problem, once and for all.
Immortalize Ojukwu, Senate tells FG
ON DECEMBER 2, 2011 • IN NEWS
By Henry Umoru
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/immortalize-ojukwu-senate-tells-fg/
ABUJA—THE Sen ate, yesterday, called on the Federal Government to immortalize the late Dim Odimegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, by naming a prominent establishment after him, just as it paid glowing tributes to him.
Also, yesterday, the Senate resolved to send a delegation to commiserate with his family, the people and government of Anambra State, even as it observed a minute silence in his honour.
Resolutions of the Senate came after a motion by Senator Andy Uba, PDP, Anambra South, along side fifty other senators. In the motion, Uba who noted that late Ojukwu was a source of pride for those who had the opportunity to experience him and stood tall against elements of injustice, segregation and oppression, said, “his efforts helped to lay the foundation for national integration, equality and equity, championing Nigeria as one indivisible unit true to the words in our National Anthem.
“Ojukwu seceded south eastern Nigeria from the rest of the country and proclaimed the area a sovereign state with the name Republic of Biafra, on January 9, 1970 and moved to Cote d’Ivoire where he was granted political asylum. As an astute politician he joined the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, and was a member of the 1995 Constitutional Conference that midwife the fourth Republic.”
Nationalist with revolutionary idea
Meanwhile, Senate President David Mark, who described late Ojukwu as a great Nigerian, stressed that at the time he joined the Army, “it was only great patriots that could join and they are very few. When you have a nationalist with radical and revolutionary idea then Nigerians should see his positive side rather that the other side. You cannot mention Ojukwu without the mention of Gowon, Adebayo and Hassan Katsina. People who worked with him learnt a lot from him and some of the disagreement was based on his principle. History would be kind to him.”
Senate President Mark who urged Nigerians to push behind them the pains and agony that came with the Civil War, stressed that those principles and ideals late Ojukwu stood for were yet to be addressed four decades after.
Mark said: “He was a radical and revolutionary leader. At any time in the history of a nation, there must be someone like Ojukwu. People should see the positive sides of Ojukwu. Though we cannot forget the agony and pains that came with the war but we should leave such to history. The history of Nigeria remains incomplete without the mention of Ojukwu’s name.
“Let me say with all sense of responsibility, that someone like Uche Chukwumerije learnt a lot from the man’s style of leadership. The important thing is that as a leader, Ojukwu showed that he was focused, courageous, brave and he loved his people and carried them along with him.

Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu and Bianca at APGA presidential rally at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.
There is a lot to learn from Ojukwu’s style of leadership. The history of this country will be totally incomplete without bringing Ojukwu’s name in a very conspicuous manner. I agree with Senator Uche Chukwumerije that the old Eastern region must come together as one to give Ojukwu a befitting burial.”
The Senate President who appreciated the high skilled technology showed during the civil war, was, however, amazed at the accelerated infrastructural and technological advancement of the old Biafran people, adding that it is a pace Nigeria as a nation still finds difficult to keep. He said: “What bothers me and keeps me gazing all the time is that Ojukwu as a leader of Biafra was able to lead Biafra at that time through a major development in technology. They were able to build their own refineries but Nigeria today has not been able to do any of these. Ojukwu and his people were determined and focused and were capable of taking a nation to greater heights.”
Earlier in his contribution, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, PDP, Abia North, who recalled called the traumatic experience of the mid-sixties, the coups and counter coups, genocide, massacres and ethnic cleansing, said: “He lived in Nigeria in an era, when Nigeria was peopled by Nigerians. But with time in the mid sixties, traumatic event took place in Nigeria: coups and counter coups, waves of genocidal massacres and ethnic cleansing. And after the long night of violence and military rule, we found out that Nigeria has changed; that Nigeria is now peopled by non Nigerians and that its territories are now peopled by tribes and ethnic nationalities.
“Our foundational structures are being suspected and what caused the metamorphosis, not just of Nigeria but also the subject of discussion today is simply the neocolonial path to independence, which lays emphasis on coercive use of state power as a means of managing social grievances. This character manifested itself then and it is still manifesting itself today: from genocidal massacres of the Igbos to the Udi massacres, to Katsina-Ala massacres to even what is happening in Borno today.”
Uche who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, said that Ojukwu should be given a posthumous award of GCON and the eastern states should give him a state burial.
Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi, who noted that Ojukwu was born with silver spoon, but decided on his own to associate with the less privileged, said: “He came back from Cote d’Ivoire, he informed that he would fight again but for the unity of Nigeria. He died a nationalist and as an Igbo leader.”
For Senator Smart Adeyemi, PDP, KogiWest, Ojukwu was a courageous and intelligent person with strong strength of character. He said: “When we were young in the village anytime we heard about Ojukwu we thought he was a spirit because of his courage and intelligence. He was destined to sacrifice for the greatness of the country.”
Also in her contribution, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, PDP, Abia North, who described Ojukwu as fearless and courageous man that was prepared to give his life for the Igbo people, said she admired Ojukwu’s belief in Nigeria as an indivisible entity devoid of injustice and oppression. He added: “One thing I have learnt from the existence of Ojukwu was that he was one who believed in something and pursued it to a logical end. He had a will to bring around his people to believe in his vision. This is missing in today’s leadership. People express displeasure in the way resources and equity of this nation are used.
“He had believed that if the entire nation or leaders could not remember that this country has east, west and north and south and that resources should not be centred in a particular zone, so many years after, Nigerians are suffering from injustice, inequality and oppression. Ojukwu’s death calls for sober reflection.”
Senator Bukola Saraki, PDP, Kwara Central, said: “I stand to celebrate the man Ojukwu and his virtues. Right from his early age, he showed much wisdom. As he moved on in his life, he stood for what he believed. We should all borrow a leaf from him; stand firm for what we believe is right and go ahead to pursue it.”
Fears and pains
Senator Joshua Lidani, PDP, Gombe South, the earlier memory of Ojukwu was that of a hideous man but according to him, history has changed all that, adding: “My memory of the late Ojukwu was that he personified anything that had to do for the Civil War and all the fears and pains that we had as children during the was.The mental picture we had about him was hideous looking man but after the end of the war, we began to know better and understand the circumstances that led to the war and began to see Igbos as brothers.
Other contributors were Senators Ganiyu Solomon, Abdul Ningi, Hope Uzodinma and Chris Ngige.
For Senator Solomon, Ojukwu took up the responsibility as a leader of his region at the time it was most necessary, adding, “It was the only option at the time, not many will agree but we have different opinions. He was a great man.”
For Senator Chris Ngige, ACN, Anambra Central: “The Ikemba was a great man. He had a vision espoused, suggesting that he came before his time. He should be given a GCFR honour before his burial so that it is meaningful.”

Ojukwu lost 2 ex- wives in 1yr
ON DECEMBER 2, 2011 • IN SPECIAL REPORT
BY UDUMA KALU
As news broke of the death of the Biafra leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, not many people knew that his first wife is dead or that his second wife, Stella died earlier last year.
Ojukwu actually lost his second wife, Stella Onyeador, who died in her sleep with no traces of any major illness last year. Ojukwu who attend the burial ceremony which took place at the deceased’s Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos due to ill health but he sent his brother to represent him. He was devastated about the loss of his wife Stella which was also reflected in the speech given by the brother on his behalf.
And just a year after her death, Ojukwu was hit by another blow of the death of his first wife, Mrs. Njideka Ojukwu, who died April last year after a brief illness at her residence in Onitsha, Anambra State at the age of 77.
Indeed, for decades, the labours of women during the Biafran war have not been showcased or documented. But the death of the ex Biafran Leader Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu has thrown up the place of such women which included Mrs Akanu Ibiam and Prof. rs Chukwuemeka Ike.
In a tribute to Mrs Njideka Ojukwu and mother to the former Anambra State Commissioner for Special Duties and Transport, Mr. Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (Jr.), by Phillip Effiong jr, son of Ojukwu’s second in command, Gen Phillip Effiong, posted to various Nigerian listservs, the role of the women in the civil war struggle has come up.
Njideka was born on December 25, 1933. She was from Nawfia, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State. She was the second child of the late Mr. C. T. Onyekwelu and the late Mrs. Malinda Nnuaku Onyekwelu.
Her first son said young Njideka epitomized hard work and kindness, character traits that manifested prominently in shaping her as an adult. But even as a school pupil, she took care of some of her siblings with love, dedication and great affection and kindness.
She got married to her first husband Brodie Mends, in 1955 and gave birth to her first and only daughter, Iruaku, in 1956. At 19, she met and got married to Ojukwu in 1962 and had to move from Lagos to Kano in 1965 where her husband was staying. The marriage was celebrated at Apapa, Lagos with reception at Sir Odumegwu’s Ikoyi residence.
Effiong in his tribute entitled, Mrs Njikeda Ojukwu(1933-2010) One of Biafra’s Unsung “Sheroes”, said, “Mrs. Njideka Ojukwu (Aunty Njideka), was the wife of late General C. Odumegwu-Ojukwu who stood by him throughout the entire civil war. She died last year (March 2010). How many of us were aware of this? How many pro-Biafrans and Biafran organizations celebrated her life and death on any significant level? Try to find images and reports about her Online. There is little or nothing. But who was she and have we failed to give her the recognition and accolades she rightly deserves? For those of us who flaunt ourselves as champions of the Biafran cause, have we been hypocritical in our disregard for the achievements of our Biafran “Sheroes”? I think so and in this regard I am also guilty.
“When the male “heroes” of Biafra were confused, scared and distraught, who gave them the emotional support, strength and encouragement that they needed badly? (And, yes, as human beings there were times they were scared to death.) It was their wives.
When they were in hiding and absent from the home for weeks at a time, who sustained and held the families together? It was their wives and sometimes their mothers too. Who cooked and took food to the warfront? It was these wives and mothers, the unsung heroines of Biafra. On the average, Biafran males from ages 13 and up were in one way or the other involved in combat.
This meant that the various directorates, refugee camps, hospitals and homes were heavily dependent on the managerial and sacrificial efforts of women. Is it not true that these institutions and facilities were immeasurably crucial to Biafra’s survival? So, why would someone like Aunty Njideka pass on and hardly receive any acknowledgement?
“After the war when the men lost their military means of livelihood, who sustained (or helped to sustain) the families through any and every form of business?
My own mother sold moi-moi, soft drinks and beer from our home, and also sewed clothes in our front veranda in Enugu. Would the men want to engage in such “petty” though quick and practical money-making businesses?
Mbadinuju, Iheanacho, Agbakoba speak on Ojukwu
By CHINELO OBOGO
Friday December 02, 2011

• Late Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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The demise of the Ikemba of Nnewi Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu will no doubt leave a vaccum Former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, in a telephone interview with Daily Sun said that Ojukwu’s death will definitely leave a void but believes that another leader will emerge to take his place.

“Firstly I want to point out that I am glad that no one has had any negative thing to say about Ojukwu and that goes to show that he was very forthright and full of integrity. The volume of accolades that have poured for him were unprecedented. If he was a bad person, no one would have had anything good to say about him. If you want to know how great and how good a man is, it is after his death. He had a larger than life image and he was very concerned about the welfare of the Igbos.

In terms of the leadership of the Igbos, Ojukwu had a lot going for him and that was why he naturally was a strong voice in the South East. First his father, Chief Louis Ojukwu was one of the wealthiest Nigerians during his time and he had the opportunity of having a very prestigious upbringing. Secondly, he led the Igbos to secede, which led to the civil war and since then, he has been regarded as the voice of the Igbo race.

So it is only natural for him to be regarded as the leader of the South east especially when it comes to political issues. Before his unfortunate demise, he had always championed the cause of the Igbos. He was very particular about equality for the South East region in terms of the number of states that we had and he kept canvassing for an additional state to be created for the South East region.
In terms of the leadership of the Igbos, I do not believe that the Igbos have no king as is believed. Even though it is very difficult for a people to speak with one voice as there may be dissenting voices, when we have a strong leader I believe we can speak as one.

Before you called me, I was in a meeting and one of our leaders told me that he had attended a meeting of some South South leaders and what they told him was that some Igbos had come to them and told them that the South East is not yet ready to produce a president. I was very saddened and disappointed that some of our own people can behave that way. That is what we are talking about. In a people, there will always be those who will speak with dissenting voices. I do not belive that even the South West and the North speak with one voice because it will be very difficult and the East is no different.

However our prayer is that God will raise a David for the South East that will be a rallying point for Ndigbo because for now, Ojukwu’s demise has created a huge vacuum politically. We need a selfless leader who will not be out for selfish interests. I also urge Igbos to as much as possible be unified in thoughts because that is the only way we can actually make an impact.” Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, a former minister for interior told Daily Sun in a telephone interview that he is of the belief that a leader will emerge for the South East after Ojukwu’s death who will be a rallying point for the South East.

His words, “Ojukwu’s death is very painful and it has left a huge void in the political life of the Igbos. He was like the rallying point for Ndigbo. Anytime he said a thing, it is regarded as if the generality of the Igbos have spoken. He naturally assumed this position when he led the Igbos to fight the civil war and that was why he was regarded as leader. In terms of who takes over the leadership of the Igbos, I strongly believe that a leader will emerge. I am not of the opinion that the Igbos have no leader or king. When a strong voice that is devoid of selfish interests emerges, people will naturally align with him. For now, I can’t tell if we have one but I am certain that when things have settled down, a leader will emerge.

Former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) had in an earlier interview told Daily Sun that the South east has very few leaders who can stand up for the interests of Ndigbo. He however stated that in the younger generation, he admired the politics of former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu whom he described as a fearless person considering his fight against former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to him, “In this generation, besides Ojukwu, Kalu is someone who I admire because he is fearless. He is young and can be boisterous but he was able to stand alone during his time against Obasanjo when other governors were running for cover. If we had more of his type in the South East, I think there would be a lot of improvement. We need leaders that will look the government in the face and say this is what we want for the Igbos.

Ojukwu: 1933-2011
The Ahiara Declaration
By Our reporter
Friday December 02, 2011

• Late Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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On Monday November 28, we began serializing the Ahiara Declaration, the principles of the Biafran revolution by late Dim Chukwuemeka-Odumegwu Ojukwu. Today we continue with the fourth part.

Nigeria was a classic example of a neo-colonialist state, and what is left of it, still is. The militant nationalism of the late forties and early fifties had caught the British imperialists unawares. They hurried to accommodate it by installing the ignorant, decadent and feudalistic Hausa-Fulani oligarchy in power.

For the British, the credentials of the Hausa-Fulani were that not having emerged from the Middle Ages they knew nothing about the modern state and the powerful forces that now rule men’s minds. Owing their position to the British, they were servile and submissive. The result was that while Nigerians lived in the illusion of independence, they were still in fact being ruled from Number 10 Downing Street. The British still enjoyed a stranglehold on their economy.

The crises which rocked Nigeria from the morrow of “independence” were brought about by the efforts of progressive nationalists to achieve true independence for themselves and for posterity. For their part in this effort, Biafrans were stigmatised and singled out for extermination. In imperialist thinking, only phoney independence is good for blacks. The sponsorship of Nigeria by white imperialism has not been disinterested.

They are only concerned with the preservation of that corrupt and rickety structure of Nigeria in a perpetual state of powerlessness to check foreign exploitation. I am certain that if tomorrow I should promise that Biafra is going to be a servile and sycophantic state, these self-appointed upholders of the territorial integrity of African states will sing a different tune. No...I shall not oblige them. Biafra will not betray the black man. No matter the odds, we will fight with all our might until black men everywhere can, with pride, point to this Republic, standing dignified and defiant, as an example of African nationalism triumphant over its many and age-old enemies.

Fellow countrymen and women, we have seen in proper perspective the diabolical roles which the British Government and the foreign companies have played and are playing in our war with Nigeria. We now see why in spite of Britain’s tottering economy Harold Wilson’s Government insists on financing Nigeria’s futile war against us. We see why the Shell-BP led the Nigerian hordes into Bonny, pays Biafran oil royalties to Nigeria, and provided the Nigerian Army with all the help it needed for its attack on Port Harcourt. We see why the West African Conference Lines readily and meekly co-operate with Gowon in the imposition of total blockade against us. We see why the oil and trading companies in Nigeria still finance this war and why they risk the life and limb of their staff in the war zones.
Russian Imperialism
And now, Bolshevik Russia. Russia is a late arrival in the race for world empire. Since the end of the Second World War she has fought hard to gain a foothold in Africa recognising, like the other imperialist powers before her, the strategic importance of Africa in the quest for world domination. She first tried to enter into alliance with African nationalism. Later finding that African nationalism has been thwarted, at least temporarily, by the collusion between imperialism and the decadent forces in African society, Russia quickly changed her strategy and identified herself with those very conservative forces which she had earlier denounced. Here she met with quick success.

In North Africa and Egypt, Russian influence has taken firm root and is growing. With her success in Egypt and Algeria, Russia developed even keener appetite for more territory in Africa, particularly the areas occupied by the Negroes. Her early efforts in the Congo and Ghana proved still-born. The Nigeria-Biafra conflict offered an opportunity for anther beach-head in Africa.

It is not Russia’s intention to make Nigeria a better place for Nigerias or indeed any other part of Africa a better place for Africans. Her interest is strategic. In her challenge to the United States and the Western World, she needs vantage points in Africa. With her entrenched position in Northern Nigeria, the Central Sudan of the historians and geographers, Russia is in a position to co-ordinate her strategy for West and North Africa. We are all familiar with the ancient and historic cultural, linguistic and religious links between North Africa and the Central Sudan. We know that the Hausa language is a lingua franca for over two-thirds of this area. We know how far afield a wandering Imam preacing Islam and Bolshevism can go.

When Russia gives the Nigerians Illyushin jets to bomb us, the MiGs to strafe and rocket us and AK-47 rifles to mow us down, we should see all this in proper light that Russia, like other imperialist powers, has no regard for the Negro. To her, what is important is to gain a vantage point in Negro-land from which to challenge American and Western European world power and influence. The Arabs also in this find further attraction in that it gives to them a back-door entry eventually into Israel. In this jungle game for world domination and black man’s life, let alone his well-being, counts for nothing.

Fellow Biafrans, these are the evil and titanic forces with which we are engaged in a life and death struggle. These are the obstacles to the Negro’s efforts to realise himself. These are the forces which the Biafran Revolution must sweep aside to succeed.
Anglo-Saxon Genocide
If the white race has sinned against the world, the Anglo-Saxon branch of that race has been, and still is, the worst sinner of all. The Anglo-Saxon British committed genocide against the American Indians. They committed genocide against the Caribbs. They committed genocide against the Australian Blackfellows. They committed genocide against the native Tasmanians and the Maoris of New Zealand. During the era of the slave trade, they topped the list and led the genocidal attempt against the Negro race as a whole. Today, they are engaged in committing genocide against us. The unprejudiced observer is forced in consternation to wonder whether genocide is not a way of life of the Anglo-Saxon British. Luckily, all white people are not like the Anglo-Saxon British.
Negro Renaissance
Luckily too, all African states not like Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan, sworn enemies of the Negro, willing tools of white racism, white economic imperialism and Arab-Muslim expansionism. We salute the shining and enduring examples of Negro renascence throughout the world. To Tanzania, to Gabon, to the Ivory Coast, to Zambia and Haiti, we wish more success in their soldiering for all that is right, just and honourable.

We do not claim that the Biafran Revolution is the first attempt in history by the Negro to assert his identity, to claim his right and proper place as a human being on a basis of equality with the white and yellow races. We are aware of the Negro’s past and present efforts to prove his ability at home and abroad. We are familiar with his achievements in prehistory; we are familiar with his achievements in exploring and taming the African and American continents; we are familiar with his achievements in political organisations; we are familiar with this contributions to the world store of art and culture. The Negro’s white oppressors are not unaware of all these.

But in spite of their awareness they are not prepared to admit that the Negro is an man and a brother. This is why we in Biafra are convinced that the Negro can never come to his own until he is able to build modern states (whether national or multi-national) based on a compelling African ideology, enjoying real rather than sham independence, able to give scope to the full development of the human spirit in the arts and sciences, able to engage in dialogue with the white states on a basis of transparent equality and able to introduce a new dimension into international statecraft.
In the world context, this is Biafra - the plight of the black struggling to be man.

From this derives our deep conviction that the Biafran Revolution is not just a movement of Igbo, Ibibio, Ijaw and Ogoja. It is a movement of true and patriotic Africans. It is African nationalism conscious of itself and fully aware of the powers with which it is contending. From this derives our belief that history and humanity are on our side, and that the Biafran Revolution is indestructible and eternal. From here derives the support we enjoy from the brave and proud peoples of Tanzania, Gabon, the Ivory Coast, Zambia and Haiti who share these ideals and visions with us and who are already engaged in realising them.

We have indeed come a long way. We were once Nigerians, today we are Biafrans. We are Biafrans because on 30th May, 1967, we finally said no to the evils and injustices in which Nigeria was steeped. Nigeria was made up of peoples and groups with very little in common. As everyone knows, Biafrans were in the fore-front among those who tried to make Nigeria a nation. It is ironic that some ill-informed and mischievous people today will accuse us of breaking up a united African country. Only those who do not know the facts or deliberately ignore them can hold such an opinion. We know the facts because we were there and the things that happened, happened to us.
What Ojukwu told me before, during and after the war —Sam Aluko
By DURO ADESEKO
Saturday December 03, 2011

•Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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This interview is the most intimate account of the thoughts and actions of Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu before, during and after the Nigerian civil war. The account is coming from Professor Sam Aluko, the respected Nigerian economist, who has revealed that he was the most trusted friend Ojukwu had. That friendship started immediately the Ikemba Nnewi assumed the governorship position of the Eastern Region. Since then and through the period of the war, Ojukwu’s exile in Cote d’Ivoire and his return to Nigeria, that friendship had sustained.

More profoundly, in that relationship, was the trust and the confidentiality with which Ojukwu dealt with the economist. It was such that, for every major decision Ojukwu made, he must first test-run it on Prof. Aluko. It was Aluko that he first told of his plans to pull the East out of Nigeria. Ojukwu would have attacked and wiped out a whole village in the Benue area, to teach Nigeria a lesson during the pogrom in Northern Nigeria in 1966, but Prof. Aluko stopped him.

Aluko also said he forced Ojukwu to agree on a conference as well as suggested and perfected the Aburi meeting that produced the famous Aburi Accord.
When the war overwhelmed Ojukwu, Aluko said, he contemplated either to stay put or wait for the Federal Government troops to capture him or to “abdicate.” Again, it was Prof. Aluko who advised him to take the latter option and go to Cote d’Ivoire, instead of some other places.
Excerpts:

How close were you to the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu?
I will say that I was very close to him till his death. Immediately, he became governor of the former Eastern Region, when I was a senior lecturer in Economics in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, he called me the third day he became governor. He said he wanted to come and see me in my university. I never met him before. How can the military governor come and see me? I said no. I told him I would come and see him, instead. I told the person he sent that he should tell the governor that I was the one who should come and see him and not him coming to see me. That was on January 20, 1966. So, when I said I was going to see him, my wife said she would go with me. She said we didn’t know the man and therefore she wanted to be present at the meeting. She reasoned that we couldn’t predict a soldier who just came. When we got to the military governor’s house, Ojukwu said: ‘Madam, I know you would come because you thought that I will do something to your husband.’ He said he had never met me before, but those in the military had been reading so much about me and they venerated me. According to him, that was why he wanted to see me. He said he wanted me to help him to run the government of the Eastern Region.

We discussed and he asked what role I would like to play and I said I would remain in the university because I didn’t want to leave. I promised to do whatever I could do to help him. The first cabinet that he formed, we both sat down and looked at the names of those from the Eastern Region to be cabinet members. He did not know them because he was not living in the Eastern Region. He was outside, in Kaduna and in Lagos. He spoke Yoruba better than I. So, we were speaking in Yoruba most of the time. That’s how the relationship began and we became very close. It was through him that I knew Adekunle Fajuyi, the governor of the Western Region. We continued until after the counter-coup in July. I was very sad. They killed many Igbo. Many who were not killed had cuts in the head and other parts of the body. He called me and said what could he do? What was going on in his mind was to go to a place in Benue and sack a village there. He wanted to kill as many people as possible. I said no. I said as a Christian, Christianity doesn’t allow for vengeance. As a Christian, I said he should not do that.
Was that when the killings in the North started?
Yes. That was the period the pogrom started. I said he should get in touch with the Head of State, but he said no because it was wrong for Yakubu Gowon to be Head of State because there was Ogundipe, who was a Brigadier and the most senior military officer at the time. He said when the coup happened in January, the most senior officer became the Head of State. So, he argued that when the counter-coup happened, the most senior should also become the Head of State. But the northerners will not take that at that time. Ogundipe himself did not want it because he said there were few Yoruba in the army. He said he will just be there without support and they would kill him. So, they made him High Commissioner in London. When the pogrom continued and the people were coming to the East from the North, Ojukwu said he was afraid that the easterners coming back might attack those who are non-easterners in the East. He then made a statement on the radio that all those who were non-easterners should leave the East.

At the time, there was rumour that Professor Babatunde Fafunwa was killed because he was from the West. But Fafunwa was in Benin Republic attending a conference. Ojukwu said the rumour was a sign of what was to happen. He said they would be attacking the northerners and the westerners and claim easterners did. So, he will ask everybody to go. I went to see him in Enugu and I said: “well, Your Excellency, I will have to go back to the West.” He said no, emphasising that when he talked of westerners, it did not apply to me because I was one of them. Non-easterners in the East were scared. Fafunwa and I were the most senior in the place. Fafunwa was not around and I said: “I will have to take them to the West to make sure that they were safe.” He said it was OK and that he will give me soldiers to make sure that all the students and staff were safe. He said when I got to Benin, I should hand them over to the governor in Benin to take them to the West and I should return to my job in Nsukka.
What of your protection?
He said I needed not worry because I was one of them. Really, I was being integrated in the East because, at that time, Obafemi Awolowo was in the Calabar prison and I was the only one allowed to see him. Ojukwu used to give me protection to go and see him. So, I was enjoying myself. When I got to Benin, I did not return to the East. I got the people to Ibadan and then called him to say: “Your Excellency, I am here and I am no longer coming back to the East.” He said: “Doctor, don’t call me Your Excellency, call me Emeka. You are older than I and I adore you. Just call me Emeka and I will call you Sam.” I was talking to him every night from Ibadan.

When the problem was brewing, General Adeyinka Adebayo was then the governor of the Western Region. He called me and said he understood that the easterners were planning a counter-coup and I would have to go to Enugu to see Ojukwu. He said that he had been trying to get him without success. I said I had his secret telephone number and I gave it to General Adebayo. But Ojukwu did not pick the phone from anybody. So, Adebayo asked the late Professor B. A. Oyenuga and I to go and see him. So, we went to Enugu and I delivered the letter. He told Professor Oyenuga that if he had not come with me, he would not have discussed with anybody. The only person he trusted was Dr. Aluko. I was not a Professor at that time. When we finished in the evening, we went to our hotel. Ojukwu came to me in my hotel room and said: “Doctor, I want to talk to you confidentially.” And he said: “Our plan in the East is that we are no longer safe in Nigeria. We want to secede.”
What date was this?
That was January 1967. I said: “Emeka, I don’t think you should think of secession. I said it was the Igbo that were killed in the North and not all easterners.” I said “from my living in the East and going round the East, I know that the Igbo were not very popular in the Rivers area and the Calabar area. I told him that if he declared secession, he would be fighting two wars. I told him he would be fighting internal war against people with him, who didn’t want to be ruled by the Igbo and he would be fighting Nigeria who didn’t want him to succeed. I told him not I didn’t think he could win the war. I think that made a great impression on him. He said: “Doctor, your analysis is perfect.” He said, “after all, why should I secede? “He said: “All my father’s property are in Lagos. I was brought up in Lagos. I came to the East on posting as a military governor. I have discovered that ruling the Igbo is like ruling a pack of wild horses. They are very difficult to rule. I will rather want to be away from here to another place. It is very difficult to persuade the Igbo against their will.”

I told him he didn’t have to persuade them against their will, just be loyal to them. I went back to Adebayo. We had a reconciliation meeting. Awolowo, Onyia and myself were sent to meet Ojukwu in Enugu. Ojukwu insisted that if I did not come, he would not receive them. So, we went together. We discussed.
When was this?
That was March 1967. Awolowo was very frank with him. He told him: “Look, governor, you cannot secede. You cannot go alone. Just as you fear the North, the West also fears the North. The soldiers in the North are occupying the West. So, we have the same common interest. But don’t let us secede. Let us do whatever we can do together to unite and confront the North so that we can have a settlement on how we want to run this country.” Awolowo said, if the East left the federation, the Yoruba would have to leave the federation. That’s what some misconstrued to say that Awolowo assured Ojukwu that if he seceded, the Yoruba would join. What he meant was that the thing that makes Igbo leave the federation would also make the Yoruba leave the federation, but that he didn’t want to leave the federation. According to Awolowo, we want to enjoy and rule this federation because nobody has the monopoly to rule this federation; so, let us be in constant touch; let us unite and don’t do anything rash. When we left, I went to Nsukka and Ojukwu called me and said I should come back. I went back to him that evening.
Where was Awolowo?
He was in Enugu, at the Hotel Presidential. But I went to see my friends in Nsukka.
What of protection for you and Awolowo?
I didn’t need protection in the East, but Awolowo was protected. He was just released from prison. So, he didn’t need much protection. Ojukwu came in the evening to my hotel room and said he did not want to be very frank with us because he didn’t know Awolowo and Onyia. But he knew me. He said what he wanted is to make Rivers, Benue and Niger the boundary between the North and the South. He wanted a confederacy of the country so that the South will be Southern Nigeria versus Northern Nigeria and if Northern Nigeria wanted to go away, let them go away. I said: “look, I don’t think we should do that. I don’t think it would work. I have told you that the West has not suffered the way the East has suffered. How your people are angry is not the way and manner our people are angry. So, if you declare unilateral secession, you won’t get the whole West to follow you.” He said I had said so before and would not do it. So, I came back to the West and reported to Gowon what we discussed in Enugu.
You told Gowon all that Ojukwu told you confidentially?
Yes. I told Ojukwu I would brief Gowon. He liked Gowon and the only thing he had against Gowon was that he ought not to be Head of State. He said it was usurpation. I said but Gowon was already Head of State. That is how I became an intermediary between Gowon and Ojukwu. Gowon told me that he had been trying to get Ojukwu but he would not take the telephone. I said he had three secret telephones. There was one in Enugu, one in Onitsha and one in Nnewi, which he gave to me. At that time, it was the ground phone that was available. I gave them to Gowon.
On the night before he was to declare secession, Adebayo called me that despite the assurances by Ojukwu, he learnt that he was going to declare secession tomorrow. I said I spoke to him last night and he did not tell me that he was going to declare secession. So, I called him and said: “Emeka, I have just learnt from the Head of State that you want to declare secession tomorrow.” He said, yes, that the people met and said if he wanted to continue to be military governor, he should either declare secession or quit. He said that to quit meant death. I said, “but you are a leader and a leader is not supposed to follow? People are supposed to follow the leader. Try and dissuade them from declaration. Let us see if we can do a number of things.”

Anyway, he declared secession. Much later he said, “Sam, I have declared. I am sorry. We will continue to talk.” I said: “Look, this declaration is only declaration. The war has not started. We can still talk. If you want confederation, we can still talk. I said Canada has a confederal system.” We ended at that. So I told Gowon that Ojukwu was willing to talk if he could have a place to talk. Gowon said if Ojukwu would come to Lagos. I said Ojukwu would not come to Lagos. He said what of Benin? I said Ojukwu would not come to Benin. I said he regarded those as part of the enemy territory. That was how we settled for Aburi, in Ghana.
Who suggested Aburi?
I suggested Aburi to Ojukwu. He was first thinking of East Africa, like Tanzania. I said it was too far. I told him that if he was away Gowon was away in this turbulent time, they could plan coup against Gowon in Nigeria and plan coup against him in Biafra. I told him he should go to a place where he can go in the morning and come back in the evening. That was how we settled for Aburi. He also thought of Liberia. But I said Liberia was a bit far. At the Aburi meeting, you know Ojukwu is highly educated; so he prepared very well. Gowon went there with the hope that he was going to discuss with an old friend soldier and agree, like the Yoruba way of settling disputes, that, nobody is guilty, let us go on as we are doing.
He did not go with the Awolowos and Permanent Secretaries?
No. He went with a few people. And so, Ojukwu outwitted them there and got all he wanted as a confederal system.
Who went with him?
He went with soldiers. He went with officers of the army. So, when they returned and published the agreement, Ojukwu was very happy. It was published by Nigeria. But top civil servants, like Allison Ayida and others said this was disintegration of Nigeria. They said there was nothing left for Ojukwu to sever within one day. It was less than a confederation. It was virtually creating two countries. That was how Gowon developed cold feet to implement the Aburi agreement.
You did not go to Aburi?
No. I didn’t. Immediately he came from Aburi, he called me and said: “The agreement was fantastic. When we implement it, you will have to come back to your job in Nsukka.” He called me from Port Harcourt because he was then in Port Harcourt. When the Aburi agreement could not be implemented, he said Biafra Republic is indissoluble. No power in Africa can dissolve it. But I was going almost every month to Enugu, Nnewi or Onitsha to see him. What worried me, as I told him, was that whenever I was going from Onitsha to Enugu or Onitsha to Nnewi, soldiers who are eastern soldiers would say: “Doctor, please tell Governor we don’t want to fight. We have suffered enough. We don’t want to fight.” So, I will always tell him: “Emeka, the people you say no power in Africa can stop, are not willing to fight. They are not with you 100 per cent. This is what they tell me.” He said he knew but there was no going back and that he had secured the confidence of the French, British, the Americans and some African countries. I said: “Don’t rely on Western powers. They are talking to you now because you are controlling the oil. Immediately there is war and they take the oil from you, they will desert you. It is because the oil is in the East and you are military governor in the East. But with what I see, immediately those in Rivers and Cross Rivers desert you and they link with the Federal Government and the Federal Government take those places from you, Britain, America and France will leave you,” which is what they did.

What I like about Gowon was that throughout the period, he was always in touch with me and I was always in touch with him. But the soldiers were always coming to my house in Ife, saying that I was a saboteur and that I was linking with rebels and that I was the ambassador of Ojukwu in the West. They would come and search my house that I had arms and so on and so forth. They did that until Gowon told them not to worry me again. They didn’t know I was in touch with Gowon. Every night, I will call Ojukwu and he will call me even when he was in the bunker. I once asked where he was calling? He said he was calling from the bunker in Aba. I reminded him that he said he was in Enugu and he said Enugu meant hill and anywhere he was hill. When the war started and the Nigerian soldiers started getting upper hand, he still believed he could win.
What was he saying when Nigeria had upper hand?
He believed after some time, they would collapse because he was also winning some skirmishes. He killed some soldiers in Awka. He killed some in Asaba. So, he was winning some small, small wars too. But I was a bit against him that there was no way he could win. About the end of 1968, I called him and said, “look, Emeka, try to make approach when Dr. Azikiwe defected.”
Why did Azikiwe leave him?
Ojukwu did not like Azikiwe.
Why?
Two masters cannot be in a boat. Azikiwe was so dominant in Nigeria and he was living in the East and Ojukwu was the military governor of the East. So, obviously, he would be looking over his shoulder because of Azikiwe. He might think he was more important than him (Azikiwe) as the military governor. It’s understandable. In fact, he told me once that he had a lot of people watching Azikiwe. Finally, Azikiwe defected and came back to Nigeria. I said; “Emeka, I told you there is no way you can win this war.” I said use Azikiwe as intermediary between Gowon and yourself and let us settle this matter. That was at the end of 1968. We were talking in Yoruba. We always talked in Yoruba. We continued talking like that until the eve of his departure to Ivory Coast. After sometimes, he believed there were a lot of saboteurs in the East, who were no longer willing to fight. The French, British, Americans and even the Russians did not support him.
Didn’t they support him from the beginning?
They supported him, to start with, when he was in control of the oil. Immediately the oil was taken away by the Nigerian government, they reneged.
What of Rivers and Cross Rivers?
They didn’t support him from the word go, because they knew that in an East dominated by the Igbo, they will always be subject to Igbo domination. We are a bit lucky in Yoruba land that there are not many ethnic groups. We are all Yoruba. But in the East, they fear the Igbo more than the Hausas. That is why they always vote for the Hausas. So, about two days before his departure, he called me and said: “Look, the game is up.” I asked him what he would do. He said he was thinking of two things: either to be captured by the Nigerian army or he would abdicate. I said: “From what I know, if you are captured by the Nigerian Army, there is no way they will not prosecute you for treason. He who runs away leaves to fight another day.” I said, “I will advise you to abdicate. He said where would he go? Tanzania recognised him, Ivory Coast recognised him. Haiti recognised him. He said he would go to Benin Republic. I said no because there were too many Yoruba in Benin Republic; they would hand him over to the Nigerian government. The French were playing hide-and-seek, but I felt it is safer. I asked him to go to a French territory, where there are many Igbo, like Cameroon or Ivory Coast. He said he would rather go to Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast had already recognised Biafra. So, he got in touch with their president, who sent a plane to him. It was Ivory Coast presidential plane that carried Ojukwu to Ivory Coast.

When he was in Ivory Coast, we were communicating with each other until he came back. When he came back, we resumed our friendship till his death. When my young son senator was getting married in Lagos, we didn’t invite him and he came. I visited him several times in his Ikoyi residence, near the UNDP office. I have not visited him since he went back to Enugu..
When did he tell you his health was failing?
He didn’t tell me that his health was failing. I read it in the newspaper that his health was failing. I did not visit him in the last three years. I sent Christmas card to him and he sent Christmas card to me. After sometime, when the land phone was not working, I did not have his mobile phone until one day he saw my son in Enugu and gave him his two mobile phones and I was talking to him. When Shehu Shagari pardoned him, I thought it was great statesmanship on the part of Shagari. But when he came and joined NPN, I was very angry with him.
Are you saying he didn’t tell you before he joined the party?
No. I said: “Emeka, how can you go and join a reactionary party like NPN?” He said they gave him pardon and that was the understanding he had with them that whatever he could do he would do to assist government. I said: “You were Head of State before, I don’t think NPN will want you to get very far in the place. The day they say an easterner should be President, many will say it must be Ojukwu. I don’t think these people would want you to be president.” They put him up for Senate and defeated him. It was NPN that defeated him. Can you imagine that Ojukwu was defeated for the Senate? So, I said: “Emeka, I told you.” It was NPP, Azikiwe’s party, that defeated him and that was the only seat that NPN lost in the East. We shared a lot of things together and he was very loyal to me and I was very loyal to him. If not, he would not tell me his secret movements, his secret numbers and talking to me every time, even when he was in Ivory Coast.
Did he tell you when he married Bianca?
No. He didn’t invite me because he knew I wouldn’t come.
Why?
What was wrong with the first wife? He knew I would question that. When I saw him, I said: “Emeka, how many women will go in your life?” He said: “Sam, I am a soldier. You told me once that Adebayo said he was a soldier and he owns this country only one bullet. So, when he wakes up and find himself there, he will enjoy himself that day as if it is the last day. That is how soldiers behave.” He said I should not query him, that he loved women. I never met Bianca. But I know C. C. Onoh, her father, very well. I used to stay by in Ugoh to see the father, even before he became governor. So, I know the father. I know Onoh.
When did you stop communicating with Ojukwu?
We were talking and he didn’t say he was ill and he didn’t show any sign of illness. I think it was a stroke. You know stroke comes suddenly. I don’t think it was a gradual deterioration. When you see what he has gone through during the civil war, it’s not easy. It takes tolls on people.
How did he maintain himself in Ivory Coast?
He was maintained by the president. He had no money at all. He didn’t take a single penny out of the East. He was also doing some lecturing and so on and so forth.
How true is it that Ojukwu spent part of his father’s wealth to finance the war?
Of course, he sold everything belonging to his father in the East. He wanted to sell those in Lagos, but he didn’t get people to buy. The East had no money at that time because they could not even exploit the oil. They tried. They built refineries and did a lot of things on their own. But it was not enough to finance the war. Of course, he was getting help from Caritas, that’s Catholic International or Catholic aide. In fact, when I went to the World Council of Churches in 1968 in Sweden, I was discussing with Dr. Akanu Ibiam who came and I said look, there is no way East can succeed. He was also assisted by France. France gave him some money. Ivory Coast gave some money. Tanzania couldn’t give because they didn’t have money and they were not too sure the way the war was going. Immediately the war wasn’t going the way they thought, they developed cold feet. Ojukwu tried. I praise the Igbo for holding Nigeria for 30 months.



OJUKWU
At 11, he assaulted a white British colonial teacher for humiliating a black woman at King’s College
By The Sun Publishing
Saturday December 03, 2011

•Ojukwu
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Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was a Nigerian military officer and politician. He served as the military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria in 1966, the leader of the breakaway Republic of Biafra from 1967 to 1970 and a leading Nigerian politician from 1983 to 2011, when he died, aged 78.

Ojukwu came into national prominence upon his appointment as military governor in 1966 and his actions thereafter. A military coup against the civilian Nigerian Federal Government in January 1966 and a counter coup in July 1966 by different military factions, perceived to be ethnic coups, resulted in pogroms in Northern Nigeria in which Igbo were predominantly killed.

Ojukwu, who was not an active participant in either coup, was appointed the military governor of Nigeria’s Eastern Region in January 1966 by General Thomas Aguiyi Ironsi. He led talks to seek an end to the hostilities by seeking peace with the then Nigerian military leadership, headed by General Yakubu Gowon (Nigeria’s head of state following the July 1966 counter coup). The military leadership met in Aburi Ghana (the Aburi Accord), but the agreement reached there was not implemented to all parties’ satisfaction upon their return to Nigeria.

The failure to reach a suitable agreement, the decision of the Nigerian military leadership to establish new states in the Eastern Region and the continued pogrom in Northern Nigeria led Ojukwu to announce a breakaway of the Eastern Region under the new name Biafra Republic in 1967. These events sparked the Nigerian Civil War. Ojukwu led the Biafran forces and on the defeat of Biafra in January 1970, and after he had delegated instructions to Philip Effiong, he went into exile for 13 years, returning to Nigeria following a pardon.
Early life and education
Ojukwu was born on November 4, 1933 at Zungeru in northern Nigeria to Sir Louis Odumegwu-Ojukwu, a businessman from Nnewi in south-eastern Nigeria. Sir Louis was in the transport business; he took advantage of the business boom during the Second World War to become one of the richest men in Nigeria. He began his educational career in Lagos, southwestern Nigeria.

In 1944, he was briefly imprisoned for assaulting a white British colonial teacher who was humiliating a black woman at King’s College in Lagos, an event, which generated widespread coverage in local newspapers. At 13, his father sent him overseas to study in the UK, first at Epsom College and later at Lincoln College, Oxford University, where he earned a master’s degree in history. He returned to colonial Nigeria in 1956.

Early career
He joined the civil service in Eastern Nigeria as an Administrative Officer at Udi, in present-day Enugu State. In 1957, within months of working with the colonial civil service, he left and joined the military as one of the first and few university graduates to join the army: O. Olutoye (1956); C. Odumegwu-Ojukwu (1957), E. A. Ifeajuna and C. O. Rotimi (1960), and A. Ademoyega (1962).

Ojukwu’s background and education guaranteed his promotion to higher ranks. At that time, the Nigerian Military Forces had 250 officers and only 15 were Nigerians. There were 6,400 other ranks, of which 336 were British. After serving in the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in the Congo, under Major General Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, Ojukwu was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1964 and posted to Kano, where he was in charge of the 5th Battalion of the Nigerian Army.
1966 coups and events leading to
Nigeria-Biafra civil war
Lieutenant-Colonel Ojukwu was in Kano, northern Nigeria, when Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu on January 15, 1966 executed and announced the bloody military coup in Kaduna, also in northern Nigeria. It is to Ojukwu’s credit that the coup lost much steam in the North, where it had succeeded. Lt. Col. Odumegwu-Ojukwu supported the forces loyal to the Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi. Major Nzeogwu was in control of Kaduna, but the coup had failed in other parts of the country.
Aguiyi-Ironsi took over the leadership of the country and thus became the first military head of state. On Monday, 17 January 1966, he appointed military governors for the four regions. Lt. Col. Odumegwu-Ojukwu was appointed Military Governor of Eastern Region. Others were: Lt.-Cols Hassan Usman Katsina (North), Francis Adekunle Fajuyi (West), and David Akpode Ejoor (Mid West). These men formed the Supreme Military Council with Brigadier B.A.O Ogundipe, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, Chief of Staff Army HQ, Commodore J. E. A. Wey, Head of Nigerian Navy, Lt. Col. George T. Kurubo, Head of Air Force.

By May 29, 1966, there was a pogrom in northern Nigeria during which Nigerians of South eastern Nigeria origin were targeted and killed. This presented problems for Odumegwu Ojukwu. He did everything in his power to prevent reprisals and even encouraged people to return, as assurances for their safety had been given by his supposed colleagues up North and out West. On July 29,1966, a group of officers, including Majors Murtala Ramat Rufai Muhammed, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, and Martin Adamu, led the majority Northern soldiers in a mutiny that was later tagged “counter-coup.” The Supreme Commander General Aguiyi-Ironsi and his host Colonel Fajuyi were abducted and killed in Ibadan. Ojukwu insisted that the military hierarchy must be preserved; in which case, Brigadier Ogundipe should take over leadership, not Colonel Gowon. However, the leaders of the counter-coup insisted that Colonel Gowon be made head of state.
Leader of Biafra
In January 1967, the Nigerian military leadership went to Aburi, Ghana for a peace conference hosted by General Joseph Ankrah. The implementation of the agreements reached at Aburi fell apart upon the leadership’s return to Nigeria and on May 30, 1967, as a result of this, Colonel Odumegwu-Ojukwu declared Eastern Nigeria a sovereign state to be known as BIAFRA: “Having mandated me to proclaim on your behalf, and in your name, that Eastern Nigeria be a sovereign independent Republic, now, therefore I, Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters, shall, henceforth, be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of The Republic of Biafra.” (No Place To Hide Crises And Conflicts Inside Biafra, Benard Odogwu, 1985).
On July 6 1967, Gowon declared war and attacked Biafra. For 30 months, the war raged on. Now General Odumegwu-Ojukwu knew that the odds against the new republic were overwhelming. Most European states recognised the illegitimacy of the Nigerian military rule and banned all future supplies of arms, but the UK government substantially increased its supplies, even sending British Army and Royal Air Force advisors.

After three years of non-stop fighting and starvation, a hole did appear in the Biafran front lines and this was exploited by the Nigerian military. As it became obvious that all was lost, Ojukwu was convinced to leave the country to avoid his certain assassination. On January 9, 1970, General Odumegwu-Ojukwu handed over power to his second in command, Chief of General Staff, Major-General Philip Effiong, and left for Cote d’Ivoire, where President Felix Houphöet-Biogny – who had recognised Biafra on May 14, 1968 — granted him political asylum.
After Biafra
After 13 years in exile, the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Shehu Aliyu Usman Shagari granted an official pardon to Odumegwu-Ojukwu and opened the road for a triumphant return in 1982. The people of Nnewi gave him the now very famous chieftaincy title of Ikemba (Strength of the people), while the entire Igbo nation took to calling him Dikedioramma (“beloved hero of the masses”). His foray into politics was disappointing to many, who wanted him to stay above the fray.

The ruling party, NPN, rigged him out of the Senate seat, which was purportedly lost to a relatively little known state commissioner in then Governor Jim Nwobodo’s cabinet called, Dr. Edwin Onwudiwe. The Second Republic was truncated on December 31, 1983 by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, supported by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and Brigadier Sani Abacha. The junta proceeded to arrest and to keep Ojukwu in Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, Lagos, alongside most prominent politicians of that era. Without ever charged with any crimes, he was unconditionally released from detention on October 1, 1984, alongside 249 other politicians of that era.

After the ordeal in Buhari’s prisons, Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu continued to play major roles in the advancement of the Igbo nation in a democracy because, according to him: “As a committed democrat, every single day under an un-elected government hurts me. The citizens of this country are mature enough to make their own choices, just as they have the right to make their own mistakes.”
Death
On November 26, 2011, Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu died in the United Kingdom, aged 78.
– Courtesy: Wikipedia

Personal details
Born
November 4, 1933 (1933-11-04) in Zungeru, Nigeria
Died
November 26, 2011 (2011-11-26) (aged 78)
Nationality
Nigerian
Political party
National Party of Nigeria, APGA
Spouse(s)
Njideka Onyekwelu, Bianca Ojukwu
Children
Emeka (Jnr), Okigbo, Ebele
Alma mater
Lincoln College, Oxford University
Profession
Soldier, politician
Religion
Christian

THE MAKING OF ABURI ACCORD
• Official record of the minutes of the meeting of Nigeria’s military leaders held at Aburi, Ghana on January 4 & 5, 1967.
By DURO ADESEKO
Saturday December 03, 2011

•Ojukwu
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Those present were:
• Lt.-Col. Yakubu Gowon
• Colonel Robert Adebayo
• Lt.-Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu
• Lt.-Col. David Ejoor
• Lt.-Col. Hassan Katsina
• Commodore J.E.A. Wey
• Major Mobolaji Johnson
• Alhaji Kam Selem
• Mr. T. Omo-Bare
Secretaries:
• Mr. S.I.A. Akenzua, Permanent Under-Secretary, Federal Cabinet Office
• Mr. P.T. Odumosu, Secretary to the Military Government, West
• Mr. N.U. Akpan, Secretary to the Military Government, East
• Mr. D.P. Lawani, Under Secretary, Military Governor’s Office, Mid-West
• Alhaji Ali Akilu, Secretary to the Military Government, North
Opening
The Chairman of the Ghana National Liberation Council, Lt.-General J.A. Ankrah, declaring the meeting open, welcomed the visitors to Ghana and expressed delight that Ghana had been agreed upon by the Nigerian Military leaders as the venue for this crucial meeting. He considered the whole matter to be the domestic affair of Nigeria, and as such, he refrained from dwelling on any specific points. The General, however, expressed the belief that the Nigerian problems were not such that cannot be easily resolved through patience, understanding and mutual respect. Throughout history, he said, there has been no failure of military statesmen and the eyes of the whole world were on the Nigerian Army. He advised that soldiers are purely statesmen and not politicians and the Nigerian military leaders owe it as a responsibility to the 56 million people of Nigeria to successfully carry through their task of nation building. Concluding, the General urged the Nigerian leaders to bury their differences, forget the past and discuss their matter frankly but patiently.
Lt.-Col. Gowon invited the Nigerian leaders to say a joint thank you to their host, and all said thank you in unison in response to Lt.-General Ankrah’s address.
At this point the General vacated the conference table.
Importation of arms and resolution renouncing the use of force
Lt.-Col. Ojukwu spoke next. He said that the agenda was acceptable to him subject to the comments he had made on some of the items. Lt.-Col. Ojukwu said that no useful purpose would be served by using the meeting as a cover for arms build-up and accused the Federal Military Government of having engaged in large scale arms deals by sending Major Apolo to negotiate for arms abroad. He alleged that the Federal Military Government recently paid £1 million for some arms bought from Italy and now stored up in Kaduna.

Lt.-Col. Ojukwu was reminded by the Military Governor, North and other members that the East was indulging in an arms build-up and that the plane carrying arms, which recently crashed on the Cameroons border, was destined for Enugu. Lt.-Col. Ojukwu denied both allegations. Concluding his remarks on arms build-up, Lt.-Col. Ojukwu proposed that if the meeting was to make any progress, all the members must, at the outset, adopt a resolution to renounce the use of force in the settlement of Nigerian dispute.

Lt.-Col. Gowon explained that as a former Chief of Staff, Army, he was aware of the deficiency in the country’s arms and ammunition, which needed replacement. Since the Defence Industries Corporation could not produce these, the only choice was to order from overseas and order was accordingly placed to the tune of £3/4 million. He said to the best of his knowledge, the actual amount that had been paid out was only £80, 000. As to why these arms were sent up to the North, Lt.-Col. Gowon referred to lack of storage facilities in Lagos and reminded his military colleagues of the number of times arms and ammunition had been dumped in the sea. This was why, he said, it became necessary to use the better storage facilities in Kaduna. The arms and ammunition had not been distributed because they arrived only two weeks previously and have not yet been taken on charge.

After exhaustive discussion to which all members contributed and during which Lt.-Col. Ejoor pointed out that it would be necessary to determine what arms and ammunitions had arrived and what each unit of the Army had before any further distribution would take place, the Supreme Military Council unanimously adopted a declaration proposed by Lt.-Col. Ojukwu, that all members:
• renounce the use of force as a means of settling the Nigerian crisis;
• reaffirm their faith in discussions and negotiation as the only peaceful way of resolving the Nigerian crisis; and
• agree to exchange information on the quantity of arms and ammunition available in each unit of the Army in each Region and in the unallocated stores, and to share out such arms equitably to the various commands;
• agree that there should be no more importation of arms and ammunition until normalcy was restored.
The full text of the declaration was signed by all members:
The Supreme Military Council, having acknowledged the fact that the series of disturbances since January 15, 1966, have caused disunity in the Army resulting in lack of discipline and loss of public confidence, turned their attention to the question of how best the Army should be re-organised in order to restore that discipline and confidence. There was a lengthy discussion of the subject and when the arguments became involved members retired into secret session. On their return, they announced that agreement had been reached by them on the re-organisation, administration and control of the Army on the following lines:
• Army to be governed by the Supreme Military Council under a chairman to be known as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the Federal Military Government.
• Establishment of a Military Headquarters comprising equal representation from the regions and headed by a Chief of Staff.
• Creation of area commands corresponding to existing regions and under the charge of area commanders.
• Matters of policy, including appointments and promotion to top executive posts in the Armed Forces and the Police to be dealt with by the Supreme Military Council. • During the period of the military government, military governors will have control over area commands for internal security.
• Creation of a Lagos Garrison, including Ikeja Barracks.
In connection with the re-organisation of the army, the Council discussed the distribution of military personnel with particular reference to the present recruitment drive. The view was held that general recruitment throughout the country in the present situation would cause great imbalance in the distribution of soldiers. After a lengthy discussion of the subject, the Council agreed to set up a military committee, on which each region will be represented, to prepare statistics, which will show:
• Present strength of Nigerian Army;
• Deficiency in each sector of each unit;
• The size appropriate for the country and each Area Command;
• Additional requirements for the country and each Area Command. The committee is to meet and report to Council within two weeks from the date of receipt of instructions.
The Council agreed that pending completion of the exercise in paragraph 7 further recruitment of soldiers should cease.
In respect of item 3 (b) of the Agenda, implementation of the agreement reached on August 9, 1966, it was agreed, after a lengthy discussion, that it was necessary for the agreement reached on August 9 by the delegates of the Regional Governments to be fully implemented. In particular, it was accepted in principle that army personnel of Northern origin should return to the North from the West. It was, therefore, felt that a crash programme of recruitment and training, the details of which would be further examined after the Committee to look into the strength and distribution of army personnel had reported, would be necessary to constitute indigenous army personnel in the West to a majority there quickly.
Non-recognition by the East of Lt.-Col. Gowon as Supreme Commander
10. The question of the non-recognition by the East of Lt.-Col. Gowon as Supreme Commander and Head of the Federal Military Government was also exhaustively discussed. Lt.-Col. Ojukwu based his objection on the fact, inter alia, that no one can properly assume the position of Supreme Commander until the whereabouts of the former Supreme Commander, Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi, was known. He, therefore, asked that the country be informed of the whereabouts of the Major-General and added that in his view, it was impossible, in the present circumstances, for any one person to assume any effective central command of the Nigerian Army. Lt.-Col. Ejoor enunciated four principles to guide the meeting in formulating an answer to the question of who should be Supreme Commander. There were the:
a. Problem of effective leadership;
b. Crisis of confidence in the Army;
c. Disruption in the present chain of command;
d. Inability of any soldier to serve effectively in any unit anywhere in the country.
Lt.-Col. Gowon replied that he was quite prepared to make an announcement on the matter and regretted that a formal announcement had been delayed for so long but the delay was originally intended to allow time for tempers to cool down. He reminded his colleagues that they already had the information in confidence. After further discussion and following the insistence by Lt.-Col Ojukwu that Lt.-Col Gowon should inform members of what happened to the former Supreme Commander, members retired into secret session and subsequently returned to continue with the meeting after having reached an agreement among themselves.
11. At this point the meeting adjourned until Thursday, January 5, 1967.
The Power of the Federal Military Government vis-a-vis the regional governments.
12. When the meeting resumed on the January 5, it proceeded to consider the form of government best suited to Nigeria, in view of what the country has experienced in the past year (1966). Members agreed that the legislative and executive authority of the Federal Military Government should remain in the Supreme Military Council to which any decision affecting the whole country shall be referred for determination provided that where it is not possible for a meeting to be held the matter requiring determination must be referred to military governors for their comment and concurrence. Specifically, the Council agreed that appointments to senior ranks in the Police, Diplomatic and Consular Services as well as appointments to super-scale posts in the Federal Civil Service and the equivalent posts in Statutory Corporations must be approved by the Supreme Military Council. The regional members felt that all the decrees or provisions of decrees passed since January 15, 1966, and which detracted from the previous powers and positions of regional governments should be repealed if mutual confidence is to be restored. After this issue had been discussed at some length, the Council took the following decisions: The Council decided that:
i. on the reorganization of the army:
a. Army to be governed by the Supreme Military Council under a chairman to be known as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the Federal Military Government.
b. Establishment of a Military Headquarters comprising equal representation from the Regions and headed by a Chief of Staff.
c. Creation of Area Commands corresponding to existing regions and under the charge of Area Commanders.
d. Matters of policy, including appointments and promotion to top executive posts in the Armed Forces and the Police to be dealt with by the Supreme Military Council.
e. During the period of the Military Government, military governors will have control over area commands for internal security.
f. Creation of a Lagos Garrison, including Ikeja Barracks.
ii. on appointment to certain posts: The following appointments must be approved by Supreme Military Council:
a. Diplomatic and Consular posts.
b. Senior posts in the Armed Forces and the Police.
c. Super-scale Federal Civil Service and Federal Corporation posts.
iii. on the functioning of the Supreme Military Council: Any decision affecting the whole country must be determined by the Supreme Military Council. Where a meeting is not possible, such a matter must be referred to military governors for comment and concurrence.
iv. that all the Law Officers of the Federation should meet in Benin on January 14 and list out all the decrees and provisions of decrees concerned, so that they may be repealed not later than January 21 if possible;
v. that for at least the next six months, there should be purely a military government, having nothing to do whatever with politicians.
Soldiers involved in disturbances on January 15, 1966 and thereafter
13. Members expressed views about the future of those who have been detained in connection with all the disturbances since January 15, 1966, and agreed that the fate of soldiers in detention should be determined not later than end of January 1967.
Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference
14. The Council next considered the question of the resumption of the Ad Hoc Constitutional Committee and the acceptance of that Committee’s recommendations of September 1966. After some exchange of views, it was agreed that the Ad Hoc Committee should resume sitting as soon as practicable to begin from where they left off, and that the question of accepting the unanimous recommendations of September 1966 be considered at a later meeting of the Supreme Military Council.
The problems of displaced persons
15. The Council considered exhaustively the problems of displaced persons, with particular reference to their rehabilitation, employment and property. The view was expressed and generally accepted that the Federal Government ought to take the lead in establishing a National Body, which will be responsible for raising and making appeal for funds. Lt.-Col. Ojukwu made the point, which was accepted by Lt.-Col. Katsina, that in the present situation, the intermingling of easterners and northerners was not feasible. After each military governor had discussed these problems as they affected his area, the Council agreed:
a. On rehabilitation, that Finance Permanent Secretaries should resume their meeting within two weeks and submit recommendations and that each region should send three representatives to the meeting.
b. On employment and recovery of property, that civil servants and Corporation staff (including daily paid employees) who have not been absorbed should continue to be paid their full salaries until March 31, 1967 provided they have not got alternative employment, and that the military governors of the East, West and Mid-West should send representatives (Police Commissioners) to meet and discuss the problem of recovery of property left behind by displaced persons. Lt.-Col. Ejoor disclosed that the employment situation in his region was so acute that he had no alternative but to ask none Mid-Westerners working the private sector in his region to quit and make room for Mid-Westerners repatriated from elsewhere.

Lt.-Col. Ojukwu stated that he fully appreciated the problem faced by both the Military Governor, West, and the Military Governor, Mid-West, in this matter and that if in the last resort, either of them had to send the easterners concerned back to the East, he would understand, much as the action would further complicate the resettlement problem in the East. He assured the Council that his order that non-easterners should leave the Eastern Region would be kept under constant review with a view to its being lifted as soon as practicable.
16. On the question of future meeting of the Supreme Military Council, members agreed that future meetings will be held in Nigeria at a venue to be mutually agreed.
17. On the question of government information media, the Council agreed that all government information media should be restrained from making inflammatory statements and causing embarrassment to various governments in the federation.
18. There were other matters not on the agenda, which were also considered among which were the form of government for Nigeria (reported in paragraph 12 above) and the disruption of the country’s economy by the lack of movement of rail and road transport which the regional governors agreed to look into.
19. The meeting began and ended in a most cordial atmosphere and members unanimously issued a second and final Communiqué.
20. In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the Ghana National Liberation Council expressed his pleasure at the successful outcome of the meeting and commended the decisions taken to the Nigerian leaders for their implementation. Lt.-Col. Gowon on behalf of this colleagues thanked the Ghanaian leader for the excellent part he had played in helping to resolve the issues. The successful outcome of the meeting was then toasted with champagne and the Nigerians took leave of the Ghanaians.
21. The proceedings of the meeting were reported verbatim for each regional government and the Federal Government by their respective official reporters and tape-recorded versions were distributed to each government.
ON ABURI WE STAND — OJUKWU
Excerpts from Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s selected speeches
By DURO ADESEKO
Saturday December 03, 2011

•Ojukwu
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Anybody who was present at the Aburi meeting or has read the minutes, the communiqués, statements, and verbatim reports would be surprised that a person who calls himself a head of state could so deliberately mislead accredited representatives of foreign governments by saying that the implementation of each item of the conclusions required prior detailed examination by the administrative and professional experts in the various fields. The conclusions in Aburi were no proposals but decisions taken by the highest authority in the land.

What happened in fact was that specific matters, namely, the decrees and sections of decrees to be repealed, the mechanics of army reorganization, and the question of rehabilitation of refugees, were referred to experts. The meeting of the financial experts to consider the question of rehabilitation of displaced persons has not been held because the Ministry of Finance does not think that such a meeting would serve any useful purpose. The army experts met and reached agreements, but these were rejected.

Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon told the Heads of Missions that the agreement about returning the regions to the positions before January 17 also meant in effect that the Federal Government in Lagos would continue to carry on its functions as before. He failed to inform the world that the decisions taken at Aburi, the Federal Government meant no more than the Supreme Military Council. No one of course who knows the sort of advice Lieutenant-Colonel Gowon is receiving in Lagos would be surprised by this suppression and distortion of the truth.

The actual Aburi decisions read as follows:
Members agree that the legislative and executive authority of the Federal Military Government should remain in the Supreme Military Council, to which any decision affecting the whole country shall be referred for determination provided that where it is possible for a meeting to be held the matter requiring determination must be referred to military governors for their comment and concurrence.
Specifically, the council agreed that appointments to senior ranks in the police, diplomatic, and consular services as well as appointment to superscale posts in the federal civil service and the equivalent posts in the statutory corporation must be approved by the Supreme Military Council.

The regional members felt that all the decrees passed since January 15, 1966, and which detracted from previous powers and positions of regional governments, should be repealed if mutual confidence is to be restored.
It is difficult to understand the introduction of the word “veto” into the matter. The Aburi Agreement was that any decision, which affected the whole country must receive the concurrence of all the military governors because of their special responsibilities in their different area of authority and so to the country as a corporate whole.
On the reorganisation of the army, it is for Lieutenant-Colonel Gowon to explain to the world what he means by the “army continuing to be under one command,” when in the very next sentence of his statement he also speaks of an agreement to establish area commands corresponding with the existing regional boundaries. This contradiction in itself tells the truth, and one does not need to belabor the point.

The actual decision of the Supreme Military Council as recorded in the official minutes reads as follows:
The Council decides that:
(i) on reorganization of the army:
(a) Army to be governed by the Supreme Military Council under a chairman to be known Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the Federal Military Government.
(b) Establishment of a military headquarters comprising equal representation from the regions and headed by a Chief of Staff.
(c) Creation of area commands corresponding to existing regions and under the charge of area commander.
(d) Matters of policy, including appointments and promotions to top executive posts in the armed forces and the police, to be dealt with by the Supreme Military Council.
(e) During the period of the military government, military governors will have control over area commands for internal security.
(f) Creation of a Lagos garrison, including Ikeja barracks.
It is clear from the Aburi decisions that what was envisaged was a loosely knit army administered by a representative military headquarters under the charge of a Chief of Staff and commanded by the Supreme Military Council, not by Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon, as he claimed in his present statement to the diplomats.
According to the Aburi Agreements “the following appointments must be approved by the Supreme Military Council; (a) diplomatic and consular posts; (b) senior posts in the armed forces and the police; (c) superscale federal civil service and federal corporation posts.”
Everyone with even the most superficial acquaintance with the Nigerian civil service knows what those expressions mean and connote.

To confuse issue, Lieutenant-Colonel Gowon gave the impression that the main difference between him and me on this particular decision was that I insisted on canceling the appointments of existing civil servants. I can think of nothing more slanderous.

It is clear from Gowon’s statement in question that he is prepared to distort the verbatim reports of the Aburi meeting. To keep the public informed, the Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Service will be playing the tape records of the proceedings live at scheduled times.... Arrangement have been completed to transform those tape recordings to long-playing gramophone records ... We are also going ahead to print and publish the documents and records of Aburi meeting. We in the East are anxious to see that our difficulties are resolved by peaceful means and that Nigeria is preserved as a unit, but it is doubtful, and the world must judge whether Lieutenant-Colonel Gowon’s attitudes and other exhibitions of his insincerity are something which can lead to a return of normalcy and confidence in the country.
I must warn all Easterners once again to remain vigilant. The East will never be intimidated, nor will she acquiesce to any form of dictation. It is not our intention to play the aggressor. Nonetheless, it is not our intention to be slaughtered in our beds, We are ready to defend our homeland.

Fellow countrymen and women, on Aburi We Stand. There will be no compromise. God grant peace in our time.

Ojukwu is not dead – Nzeribe
By IKENNA EMEWU and IHEANACHO NWOSU, Abuja
Saturday December 03, 2011

Nzeribe
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Maverick politician, Senator Arthur Nzeribe, has listed many things he said Nigerians do not know about the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Giving your vantage position and your relationship with the late Ikemba Nnewi, what would you say has not been captured about him by those who have commented on his death?
For me, I can say that I still have not recovered from the shock that he is dead. It is a big shock. Emeka was a good friend of mine, among others. He was a great patriot, a nationalist and a typical Igbo man. There is no Nigerian of our era that can say he did not see the impact of Ojukwu’s political activities.

He was not just a politician; he was politics himself. By the time anyone reads a few of his books, he or she will know that we have lost someone we cannot replace. Some people have been asking who will replace him, who will replace him? But ask yourself who is that that will replace him? My answer to the question, regarding who will replace him, is who put him there? That machinery, that mystery that got him where he was will also throw up a successor.
Does the mystery you are talking about have anything to do with God?
It’s a mystery that goes with great men. The mystery that makes us not appreciate them in full until they are gone, like Emeka who is gone. It is now that the world is singing his praises.
What shapes that mystery?
It is the time they are born and what they do.
Many see Ojukwu as a radical and courageous man. Does this description fit into the personality of the man?
Was he really a radical? I don’t think so. I think the more appropriate word is that he was a pragmatist. I hate wanting to limit his influence to Igbo land. Ojukwu was a nationalist; his activities and role he played in all functions showed that he was a nationalist. Again, I come back to say that he was a mystery man. Unfortunately, he is gone.
Would you say the views of people about him showed that they have sufficient knowledge of the man?
No they have not; only Ojukwu could have captured who he was.
Did he do that before his death?
He did that; yes, he did that.
In what way?
Through the way he influenced our lives, our politics, our culture. He displayed who he was. In my opinion, he covered our history.
Some argued that Ojukwu’s influence in politics was exaggerated, that he never won an election. How do respond to this kind of expression?
You don’t have to win an election to be great. Ojukwu was politics himself; we are playing around him. You don’t have to win an election to be a great man.
What would you say caused his defeat in 1983 when he contested for Senate?
There was a package behind him. He didn’t lose the election. There is no genuine Nigerian politician that would tell you he lost that election. If he lost in 1983, why were they seeking him out in subsequent elections? There is no party that had not sought the hand of Ojukwu at one time or the other. I don’t think because he didn’t become senator his personality was in anyway diminished.
How best should the Igbo mourn Ojukwu?
They should honour him, emulate his politics and find out the true meaning of some of the things he said. He played a good politics; he showed true love to Ndigbo.
Why was it difficult for two of you to belong to the same political party?
This interview is supposed to be on Ikemba, not on Arthur Nzeribe. What I tell you is that he was truly a great man; let us not divert from the main issue. He lived a great life.
In death, what do you think Nigerians need to learn from him?
A lot. As I said, Ojukwu was more or less a life magician, nothing about Ikemba went out small, and nothing about him went out unnoticed. Ojukwu was one Igbo politician I encountered that was able to carry everybody along. You don’t find too many people wanting to confront him; you don’t find people complaining that he took their sons and daughters to war and lost them. As far as the Igboman was concerned, what Ojukwu said was right, where Ojukwu went was the road. No Igbo man has ever commanded that kind of respect and followership, except perhaps Zik.
Would you say Ojukwu realised his wishes for Ndigbo?
Ojukwu influenced awareness on the injustice in our political environment. He woke us from sleep. And helped to create unity among us.
Some years ago he did say that he will not die until the Igbo presidency project is realized. Is it not right to say that he died with some dreams unfulfilled?
It was a great dream. I know that the spirit of Ikemba will arise one day to actualise the aspiration. He did not lose the battle of fighting for the emergence of an Igbo man as president of Nigeria. One day his spirit shall arise and help in realising the dream.
By that you are saying that he is not dead yet?
No, he is not dead, his spirit lives. I never told you he was dead.
Why we gave Ojukwu Ikemba Nnewi title – Igwe Orizu
By IJEOMA ONUORAH, Nnewi
Saturday December 03, 2011

Orizu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Since last Saturday, when the news filtered into town that Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu has died in a London hospital, Nigeria and the Igbo nation have been thrown into mourning. However, in his hometown, Nnewi, in Anambra State, his kinsmen are still waiting for the Ojukwu family to communicate to them officially that he has passed on, in accordance with their tradition and custom.

This is more so, as the late Ojukwu was a titled man. He held the Ikemba Nnewi title, said to be the highest title in Nnewi.
What is this Ikemba Nnewi title? Who gave it to Ojukwu? His Royal Highness, Igwe K.O.N Orizu III, who spoke through the Place Secretary of Nnewi Kingdom, Prince Joseph Ikeotuonye, explained, in this interview, why he gave Ojukwu the title.
When was the title of Ikemba given to Ojukwu and why did you give it to him?
Well, I gave him the chieftaincy title after the war. I’m not so sure of the date now, but it was as a result of his courage and other battle performances in the Nigerian-Biafran conflict. The name, translated literarily in Igbo language, means the ‘tool that the Igbo use to fight,’ for the benefit of Nnewi, but for the benefit of the entity known as Biafra then. But there’s more to the title than mere words can describe.
Did your kingdom equally give the ‘Dim’ title to him?
Yes and no. It is not a title that exclusively belonged to him, unlike the Ikemba. The truth is that ‘Dim’ is an Ozo title that can be taken by anybody in Nnewi, once you qualify. There are many ‘Dims’ here and there. The title is personalised because he came from Umudim, the third quarter of Nnewi. So, he took ‘Dim to represent his ancestors. His forefathers were notable warriors in our town.

What was expected of him from that title?
As I said before, it was as a result of his bravery and courage that he was bestowed with such high honour. Now, since another war was not envisaged, there were no expectations, in terms of another war. Remember, the title was meant to recognise his past exploits. It was a feather in his cap.
Did he touch the lives of the people of the town with the title?
The fact that he took the Ikemba title and later got another from the whole Igbo nation, means that he influenced everybody’s life. It was in anticipation of that Eze Igbo Gburugburu, that he was given the Ikemba. Because people expected that he will do more, and he lived up to expectation, because, before he died, he constantly expressed his views in the Nigerian arena. As you can see, everywhere is awash with eulogies for him. That portends clearly that he lived up to expectations concerning the unity of the country, and also fought against the marginalisation of the Igboman, and was still in until he died. You can see the position of the South-Easterners that the Igboman has remained in the background, so to say, in most appointments in Nigeria.
Have the youths of Nnewi emulated anything from his prowess?
Yes, there was this ‘Ikemba Front’ that was in the vanguard of his political pursuits. It was a youth vanguard that came into being, when he came back from exile. It was the youth wing of the NPN, then. So, even at that, everybody there wanted to die with him, and they were ready to fight, but clearly, during those post-war days. Gradually, the enthusiasm and excitement waned and dwindled with time, but you can see the replica of this organisation in Imo and Abia states, who are more prominent in pronouncing their followership.
It seems that the Ikemba is not duly recognised in his hometown, because there hasn’t been any visible reaction from this town since his demise?
If I may borrow the saying that a prophet is not recognised in his own vicinity, but then, we are awaiting instructions from the state government, as to what they are planning with the party and the Federal Government, so that we can organise a befitting mourning period for him.
How do you see the seven-day mourning declared by the South-East governors?
It is befitting of a hero that he is. In fact, seven days may not be enough. We might look at a 14-day period, because he did a lot for the Igboman, no sacrifice can be too much for him, because he lived up to expectations. We will blaze the trail in giving him honour, Nnewi is known for that, but that can only come when the family informs us officially.
Senators goofed on Ojukwu –CRC president
From KENNY ASHAKA, Jos
Saturday December 03, 2011


Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Barely 24 hours after the Senate turned down calls for the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, to get a state burial, President of the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), a coalition of human rights and civil society groups in the 19 northern states, Comrade Shehu Sani, has condemned the decision.

After torrents of eulogies, Senate, Thursday, rejected a request from Chairman of the Education Committee, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, that Ojukwu be accorded state burial, a position the Deputy Majority Leader, Abdul Ningi, opposed, citing the case of the late Obafemi Awolowo as an example.

Reacting to this, Shehu, who spoke to Saturday Sun in a telephone interview, yesterday, accused the Senate of bad faith and hypocrisy, saying the rejection of a state burial for Ojukwu was regrettable and lamentable.
The CRC President said: “It’s an insult on the sensibilities of Nigerians and all advocates of peace, unity and national reconciliation for the Senate to deem Ojukwu unqualified for state burial.”

He asked the Senate to explain to Nigerians what qualifies a Nigerian to be a statesman and further queried: “must he be a former president or a member of the ruling party?”
According to Shehu, the rejection of the state burial only reinforces the fact that the condolences and encomiums showered on the late Ikemba by the Senate, in a Special Session for him recently, was nothing but hypocrisy and media opportunism.
He said: “The rejection of the state burial reveals the deep resentment and grudges most members of the political establishment hold against the late chief and clearly made nonsense of Gowon’s no victor no vanquish proclamation.
“If Gowon or any Nigerian president can qualify for a state burial, Chief Ojukwu should also. The Senate has bungled an historic opportunity to demonstrate to the people of the South East and, indeed, all Nigerians that Nigeria is one, united and indivisible nation.
“Telling the governors of the South East to bury Ojukwu is telling the people of the South East that their future lies in their past. Chief Ojukwu has led a war of secession but he is also a role model for peace and national reconciliation.”
Eyes of Biafra
By MIKE AWOYINFA (mikeawoyinfa@gmail.com) (08051271177 (SMS only))
Saturday, December 03, 2011

Photo: Sun News Publishing
You were the eyes of Biafra, eyes as beautiful as the sun rising in the morning, rising from the Orient. But today, you are gone, gone with the wind, gone to the grave, gone with the true leader of your race, who has just died. You were the eyes that have inspired in me so many poems, published, unpublished and about to be published.

You are my Biafra, dead, but still alive in my memory, in my songs, in my poems. You are the eyes of beauty that have seen so much in your short, but memorable existence. You are the eyes of enterprise. Eyes of hard work. Indefatigable. Restless. Unstoppable. Ever struggling. Ever running. Chasing the dream. Chasing the money. Chasing the rainbow. Chasing your vision to make it in this Nigeria, this vast land of opportunities, goading me on and telling me: “You must make it. You just have to make it.”

Your energy still amazes me. It inspires in me the spirit of hard work. Thank you! You are the spirit with eyes so creative and ingenious. Eyes that know where the money hides. Where opportunities are covered up, waiting for the adventurous. Eyes of enterprise. Eyes of trading. Eyes of business. Eyes of invention. Eyes of success where others are failing. Eyes that were envied. Eyes of persecution. Eyes of suffering in the hands of mobs rampaging and killing the men and women of your race.

Eyes reddened and stained by your own blood. Eyes that still make me fantasize wondering what would have been, if you were still alive, you my Biafra. Eyes filled with the determination to succeed at all costs, something typical with your race. Eyes of determination. Eyes of persistence. Eyes of perseverance. Eyes unstoppable. Eyes of Biafra, my Biafra.

Today, your leader is gone and the world is remembering him. And in remembering him, I am remembering you, my Biafra. For me, Biafra was more than an idea. Biafra was more than a kingdom lost, an Atlantis beneath the sea. Biafra was more than the grief of a lost battle. Biafra was more than a shipwreck. Biafra was you. Biafra was in your blood. Biafra was your sweet breath. Biafra was your song. Biafra was in your memory box. Biafra was your beat. Until the drums of Biafra stopped beating in you and you took your secrets down to the grave.

Today, your leader is gone, the leader of all oppressed people. The lion of Biafra is gone. The lion has stopped breathing. The lion has stopped roaring. The thunder in his eyes is gone but the memories still linger.
Oh, how can I forget those eyes? Eyes of the king who lost his kingdom but regained it in the hearts of his people. Eyes big and bulging. Eyes sometimes fearful. Eyes sometimes remorseful. Eyes of rage. Eyes of despair. Eyes of stubbornness. Eyes crying for injustice done to his people. Eyes seeking justice and a level playing field for his people. Eyes of compassion. Eyes of humour.

Eyes of love and romance that magnetised a beauty queen. A queen whose name Bianca rhymes poetically with Biafra. A Bianca who as well might be the Queen of the mythical Biafra. Eyes of Beauty and the Beast, combining to make a beautiful marital alchemy that produced twins in the hot furnace of love so unusual.
Eyes of a tiger that burnt bright in the bushy forest of his beards. Eyes of a man lionized from the cradle to the grave. Eyes of the leader who played Moses to his people in the Egypt of their fatherland.

Beloved members of Press Clips Pentecostal Church (PCPC). I know you are expecting an “Ojukwu Sermon,” just like you heard “Gaddafi Sermon” the other day. Let’s open our Bibles and turn to Matthew 6:22, where the word of God says: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body would be full of light.”
But if your eyes are bad, they corrupt your system physically and spiritually. “If your eye is bad, your whole body would be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness,” says the Lord.
Brethren, the eye is the leader of the body. The eye shows the way to go.

The eye illuminates. The eye forges the path ahead. The eye is the window of the heart and the mind. The eye works in conjunction with the mind to provide a mission and a vision. A man without a mission and vision is almost a dead man. A man without vision is an idle man. A man without vision is like a lunatic who just wanders. He is like “a man who goes to the bus stop without knowing where he is going,” says Pastor Danjuma Tafawa Balewa. A man without a vision is a man perished, a man doomed.

This morning, as you read this piece, the Lord will open your eyes and give you insights. If you don’t know your mission on earth, I pray that Jehovah will put you back on track. Like the blind Bartimaeus, you will regain your lost sight, your lost paradise—if you cry out to him in faith this glorious morning. Just like Apostle Paul prayed, I pray that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened for you to follow your destiny.

General Odumegwu Ojukwu was a man of vision with a mission. He knew his mission on earth and he followed his mission. His father wanted something else for him, but he walked his own walk. His father wanted him to read law, but he opted for history. And today, he is a man of history. You too will make history, in Jesus name.
Ojukwu is a Nigerian for all seasons and for all reasons. A Nigerian, who speaks Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and is at home everywhere in Nigeria. A Pan-Nigerian, Ojukwu would be the first to confess to you that his favourite food is amala and ewedu soup of the Yoruba. Among the Yoruba, oju means eyes. And oju ku translates as the “eyes are dead.”

In Ojukwu, indeed, the eyes, the ears and the mouth of the Igbo race are dead. The man who is the rallying point of all the Igbo is gone. The man who epitomises everything good and bad in the Igbo race is gone. The Igbo man is aggressive, domineering, hard working, intellectual, pecuniary, unstoppable, radical, and republican, always on the go. Ojukwu emblematises all these attributes. The true emblem of the Igboism is gone. Oju ku in Yoruba has another tonal meaning. It means the eyes are dead but still remains, it still lives.

If that be the case, it means that Ojukwu will rise again, a new Ojukwu coming in the spirit of Elisha who took over from Elijah. Who will step into Ojukwu’s big shoes and play Elisha to Ojukwu’s Elijah?
For sure, the battle will be fierce, pitching a lot of charlatans and pretenders to the throne with genuine contenders, people in whose heart the new face of Igbo leadership will bubble. But there would never be anyone like Ojukwu, the eye that will still illuminate and inspire the Igbo race, even from the grave
Ojukwu brought credibility to the Nigerian Army – Amb Ogbuewu
ON DECEMBER 3, 2011 • IN NEWS
A former Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Ambassador Frank. Nchita Ogbuewu has described the late Ikemba Nnewi and Leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a phenomenon and the first Nigerian who brought dignity to the Nigerian Army.
According to him, Ojukwu’s joining the Nigerian Army then as a University graduate disproved the notion and belief among the people that the army was a dumping ground for never-do-wells and the uneducated. He was the person who set the tone for other graduate officers to enlist into the force and elevated the standards of the Force.
Ambassador Ogbuewu lamented that the late Leader died at a time his wealth of experience would have been tapped by those in authority in solving myriads of problems bedeviling the nation as he was passionate about getting the best for Nigeria and her citizens. His objective criticism and analysis of issues will be missed by all.
‘He will ginger you to have confidence in yourself and capacity to turn the tides no matter any obstacles. He will tell you that an Igbo should not be afraid of anything so long as he is within the law and should always stand up for his rights’, Ambassador Ogbuewu quipped.
In London, Ojukwu was lonely, dumb – Igwe Nwokedi
ON DECEMBER 3, 2011 • IN SPECIAL REPORT
BY BASHIR ADEFAKA
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/in-london-ojukwu-was-lonely-dumb-igwe-nwokedi/
Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s death, last Saturday, has continued to generate comments from eminent Nigerians, especially those who were with him from the time of the Civil War till his death.
Igwe Alex Nwokedi, a veteran journalist and Igbo monarch who served in the war as head of counter intelligence under Ojukwu’s Republic of Biafra gives graphic details of Ojukwu’s health in London hospital.


Your Majesty was very close to the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu so much that you visited him at his London hospital before he died. What is your account of his life in London hospital?
When I visited London, I went to the hospital where he was admitted. His chief- of- staff was with him and I was told upon entering the ward that I should just hold his hand and speak; that he could hear but he could not talk. I held his hand and greeted him, “Gburugburu,” that is Igwe of Igbo Land. He was a very good Catholic. I told him that he had suffered for the Igbo and that our mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary would take very good care of him.
I spoke to him, encouraged him but to tell you the truth, I was not happy at all with his situation. There was a Philipino nurse taking care of him, and his daughter was also there with him. They were the only two people with him in that ward. I told the daughter that as she was taking care of her father, that our Lord would bless her and that her own children would pay her back by taking good care of her. Then, I left the hospital and since then, I have been saying Novena Mass for him so that our good Lord would take good care of him.
Also, during my visit to him in London, I was told how General Gowon used to call every day to ask after his health. That really touched me. I was the one who suggested to his General Practitioner, GP, Dr. Koyi Ugboma, who recommended him to specialists in London that they should put the ailing Ojukwu in a wheel chair and move him around because to lie in that position without being moved around could be very tormenting. I told him also that after taking him around and he became normal, that they should bring him back to Enugu where his people would be coming to visit him and that itself would make him fine because he was very lonesome.
How did your relationship with him start?
I knew Ojukwu in the early 60s through my late brother, the Igwe I took over from, Igwe Charles Nwokedi. He was a very good friend of Ojukwu. When I was with the Daily Times as a reporter. I was on leave sometime and I went to my brother in Aba. He and Ojukwu lived together when Ojukwu was the District Officer. Ojukwu came to the airport in Enugu to pick me in ‘calm and gear’ vehicle. That was what they called the car that time, and he drove me from Enugu to my brother’s house in Aba. And all along, we chatted very well. He was telling me about his days in King’s College and I was telling him too about my days in St. Gregory’s College. We were chatting that way until we got home.
Since then, we were meeting quite regularly in my brother’s place till the (civil) war started.
Was there anything about Ojukwu’s character then that suggested he could lead a war in the magnitude of Biafra Civil War?
Ojukwu was a very kind hearted man. With the war, he became the man of the century. He sacrificed a lot to take the Igbo out of slavery. His father was a very rich man and he had all the money of his father but still, he sacrificed everything he had and volunteered to wage the war, which was imposed on him.
You said the war was imposed on him. How?
That war was imposed him because he didn’t start it. He was not in the (first) coup. In fact, he was among those to be killed but he narrowly escaped, and after the coup, they went for Ahiara Declaration, which Vanguard is serializing. And you know what happened? After the Aburi Accord in Ghana and they all came back, the then ‘Super’ Permanent Secretaries went to convince the Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon and they reneged from what they all agreed on in Ghana.
Nobody would say that the killing of Igbos at that time was a good thing but Nigerians kept quiet. Ojukwu did not start the war. Nigerians started the war, they attacked us and we defended ourselves.
I must say that somebody like the then, Lt. Col. Theophilus Danjuma, being a very disciplined officer, made sure that he was fighting a war and not personality. But for the discipline he instilled in the One Division of the Nigerian Army that he commanded at that time, the war would have lingered on and probably Biafrans could have gone into guerrilla warfare.
Well, I don’t agree with him for his coup and I don’t agree with his remarks, which he wrote about General Aguiyi Ironsi. But when you talk about the Civil War, the truth there is that General Danjuma, who was then a lieutenant colonel, was a very disciplined commander and he disciplined his division very well, which played a role in how the war ended. We also have to thank General Gowon for his declaration of ‘no victor, no vanquished’.
Another person who is very important on how the war really ended was a deputy inspector-general of police then, Chief Theo Fagbola. As a matter of fact, Fagbola could be said to be the architect of the end of the Civil War in Nigeria.
Chief Awolowo has always been mentioned in this regard. How did Fagbola come into it?
I am coming to that. When the Owelle of Onitsha and former President, late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, was in the plane travelling to Liberia, Fagbola was in the plane. He delayed the flight and took Dr. Azikiwe to Dodan Barracks and that was the beginning of the end of the Civil War because it was as a result of that action that the Igbo became divided as to whether to surrender or continue with the war or not.
We all respected Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and for him to be seen in Dodan Barracks at that time talking with the Nigerian side caused the division of opinions among the Igbos and that was the end of the war, though General Obasanjo ended it physically and General Gowon sealed it up with his might and magnanimity.
I’m therefore using this medium to call on the government to give a post-humous award to the late DIG, Chief Theo Fagbola for his noble role in how the move for the end of the Civil War started. His taking Dr. Azikiwe to Dodan Barracks was the beginning of the dialogues and negotiations that eventually ended the war.
Igbo without Ojukwu
First and foremost, we the Igbo shall immortalize him. As a matter of fact, I’m calling on the Anambra State House of Assembly to pass a resolution that Anambra State should be called Biafra State to immortalize Ojukwu.
Does that not sound inciting considering the issue on ground regarding MASSOB?
We are not doing it with war again. It should be done constitutionally because Ojukwu was and he is still a great man in death as you can see. And as a matter of fact, for the seven days declared for mourning, I urge all traditional rulers not to wear beads; any Igbo man who is a traditional ruler should not wear beads as a sign of mourning our late great leader.
The chief mourner is the Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Peter Obi. You have linked his recent return of schools to missionaries as part of the signs that the Civil War has finally ended. Could you throw more light on this?
I don’t know about the political aspect of it but all I know is that our governor, Peter Obi, returned schools to their original owners and that, again, is a landmark of the end of the Civil War. By handing over those schools to the voluntary organizations who have the will to run them, he has virtually told the Igbos not only in Anambra State but elsewhere that the Civil War has ended.
How do I mean? Yes, because taking schools away in the first place from voluntary agencies was an attempt to destroy the educational power that was the pride of the Igbo and to tell you the fact, it was the reason the Igbo did not like Anthony Ukpabi Asika, the former governor of East Central State. He was the one who took over the schools. I think he said he was forced to do it because at that time,what they were talking about in the country was educational imbalance and the North was always talking of imbalance in education in Nigeria and taking schools away from the missions in the East at that time was a calculated attempt to destroy the pride of the Igbo which was the education.
When you look at it, while Hausas were talking about education imbalance, the Igbo, instead of complaining, didn’t but rather they strived to catch up with the Yoruba so much that today there are more lawyers, doctors and engineers in Igboland than they are in Yorubaland.
And this happened because, instead of shouting education imbalance, we started to build schools all over Igboland. At that time, there were only Christ the King College, Government College Umuahia and about two others. But when the missionaries came, they started building schools and so we had many schools all over the place.
I must say that as Igbo, we should be proud of ourselves. And when again they wanted to destroy us, Ojukwu resisted it and led us during the war that was imposed on us. We fought that war to defend ourselves. We did not start it.
We did not fight that war to break Nigeria. The Igbo were foremost in nationalist struggle in this country. Most Nigerians who went to jail were Igbo and some Northerners, of course, like Mallam Abdullahi and Tanbo Gawaba. We had Okoye, Abuna, Peter Osugo, many Igbo who went to jail fighting for this country. Does it then make sense to say the Igbo would want to destroy what they built? I’m asking you: do you think we should destroy what we built? The Igbo did not fight the war to break Nigeria but we fought the war to defend ourselves; we fought the war to defend our faith and knowledge.
There are people who were very close to Ojukwu and only they can talk about him, not the kind of talks that I have been hearing or reading by some people who don’t know him. There are people like Uche Chukwumerije, Dr. Benard Odogwu, who was the head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence under Ojukwu’s Biafra and under whom I served during the war as the head of counter intelligence. So those who know Ojukwu should speak. I will always remain proud of him and as far as I am concerned. Ojukwu will always remain a hero, who saved the Igbo from slavery.
Is it still a case that the Igbo will never forget Awolowo for the role he played in their loss of secession?
It was what he said that caused it. He said everything we had was just N20 and it was too hard on us but that will not stop me from recognizing him as a great man who, as Federal Commissioner for Finance, fought the war without borrowing money. The truth must be said.
I have very high regards for Papa Awolowo and I have a very, very high regard for General Yakubu Gowon; he has a big heart, he’s a brother and an uncle to the Igbo. Similarly, somebody like Danjuma must be acknowledged here as a great man. While the Third Marine Commando in the West was just busy killing people any how, Lt. Col. Danjuma instilled discipline in his own division and that helped a lot in stopping the war from escalating beyond what it was.





I was suspicious of Ojukwu when he joined the Army as an Oxford University graduate – Gen. Domkat Bali
http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news-update/28469-i-was-suspicious-of-ojukwu-when-he-joined-the-army-as-an-oxford-university-graduate-%E2%80%93-gen.-domkat-bali.html

By YUSUF AMINU-IDEGU 17 hours 46 minutes ago
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Bali
Former Joint Chief of Defence Staff and Minister of Defence under the Babangida administration, Gen. Domkat Bali, now Ponzhi Tarok, the Paramount Ruler of the Tarok nation, Plateau State, in this interview with YUSUF AMINU-IDEGU, speaks on the death of the Ikemba, Chief Emamka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Good morning your royal majesty?
Good morning, my boy.
How do you react to the death of the Ikemba, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu?
It is regrettable like all deaths. Ojukwu, whether you like him or not, he made an impact in this country. It was because of him substantially that we ended up having the civil war. So he was an important Nigerian who made historic impact in the life of this nation, especially in Ibo land. I had often told any man I met that as far as I’m concerned, the greatest black man from Africa was Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Ibo man. But most Ibo people said Ojukwu was the greatest, and so the Ibos gave Ojukwu, not Zik, all the honour. I asked them why they honour Ojukwu more than Zik; they say Zik served Nigerian nation but Ojukwu served the Ibo nation, that is their reason.
I was made to understand that you worked closely with Ojukwu in the Army, how will you describe him, what kind of a man is Ojukwu?
I knew him but not very closely. I was in the Artillery, he joined the Army in the Infantry. Yes, Ojukwu was a graduate of Oxford University, a very reputable university in the world. So, the question we were asking was, why did Ojukwu join the Army? Was it out of the passion for the job or for some ulterior motives? Such question arose then because as a graduate of the Oxford then, getting a juicy employment was not a problem. In fact, you can be employed anywhere; you have many good jobs to choose from.
But we wonder why he chose the Army. The Army then was a dumping ground for school drop outs and those who were not so intelligent, not for an Oxford graduate that Ojukwu was. So, that was my suspicion of him. That is, why did he join the Army at the time he did? Was it out of pure interest to be a soldier? That was my suspicion of him. I was suspicious of him from the beginning.
People described Ojukwu as a rebel, who was at the same time interested in the unity of the country?
Ojukwu was a rebel, no doubt. He was interested in breaking the country. How can you say such a person who moved to break the nation was interested in the unity of the country? The man fought to be independent of Nigeria; he never fought for the unity of the country. He came with the ambition to rule his own nation other than that of Nigeria.
Will Nigeria miss him?
Yes, very well; like I said, Ojukwu was a good man, an intelligent man, and overall, an ambitious man perhaps, but he was okay. Many people who knew Ojukwu will respect him for who he was, good or bad.
What condolence message do you have for Nigerians, Anambra State and his immediate family?
I join all Nigerians, both at home and abroad, to express my condolence to his immediate family, wife, children and grandchildren. Ojukwu is a loss to the entire nation, not just to Anambra State. He never served Anambra as a state; he served the nation in the Army and served the interest of the entire Ibo people. I condole Anambra because this is one prominent man from the state. The family will miss him, Anambra State will miss him. Nigeria as a nation will miss him because of his participation in the current political dispensation which began in 1999.
The house that tested Ojukwu’s fighting spirit
http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/28473-the-house-that-tested-ojukwu%E2%80%99s-fighting-spirit.html

By Ugochukwu EKE, Umuahia 17 hours 42 minutes ago
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Ojukwu
A visitor to Villaska Lodge, the Lagos home of the late Igbo leader, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, at No 29, Oyinkan Abayomi Street (formally Queen’s Drive), Ikoyi, is confronted with an unusual warning: beware of snakes!
But contrary to the warning at the entrance, there were no snakes in sight when our correspondent visited the house on Tuesday to see one of the valued possessions left behind by the ex-Biafran warlord.
‘You wan snakes?’ a guard asked our reporter when he sought to clarify the warning about the snakes.
‘No, I’m only curious about the warning,’ the reporter returned.
The guard replied: ‘We have snakes, we kill snakes just like they kill dogs. There is a section of the house where we rear snakes. It is not as if they crawl about the compound. But there is a particular place where they walk around in the grass’.
The environment was neat when the reporter visited the place. The mango and the almond trees provided a shade for the building. The lawn was lush green, while his domestic servants tendered the flowers and cleaned the surroundings.
Although the guard at the house said the place used to be the ‘Mecca’ of Igbo leaders who came to pay homage to the late Igbo leader, the house was devoid of such traffic of people on Tuesday.
According to the guard, some Igbo leaders in Lagos had come to sign the condolence register opened at the house in honour of the late Igbo leader.
Bequeathed to him by his wealthy father, Sir Louis Ojukwu, who died in 1966, the house became a bone of contention between the Lagos State Government and the ex-Biafran leader when he returned from exile in Cote D’Ivoire and made the place his abode even though the government had confiscated it and labelled it an abandoned property on account of the rebellion that Ojukwu led against the state.
On August 12, 1985, a Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Government wrote to Ojukwu and asked him to vacate the house or face eviction. Ojukwu headed for the Lagos High Court to challenge the action of the state government to eject him from his residence. He sought an interim injunction restraining the Military Governor of Lagos State, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General of Lagos State from ejecting him and members of his family from the house.
He swore to an affidavit that the house belonged to his father after whose death he became the owner of the property. He also deposed that during the period of the civil war between 1967 and 1970, the house was not occupied by anyone. He also claimed that for its pains in keeping the house while he was on exile, he had paid the Lagos State Government the sum of N90,000.
The trial judge, Justice Roseline Omotosho, granted the interim injunction on the grounds of Ojukwu’s ownership of the house and impending threat to evict him. But while the matter was pending in court, the state government deployed about 150 armed men to evict Ojukwu, and throw him into the streets.
But Ojukwu’s spirit was not dampened. He stayed in his vehicle in front of the house, defying rain and sunshine as he continued the legal battle up to the Supreme Court and eventually triumphed and reclaimed his property from the state government.
That, however, is not to say that the battles he fought over the house were restricted to the Lagos State government. Early this year, the house also became a bone of contention between him and his younger brother. Lotanna Ojukwu, the aggrieved younger brother, insisted that the house was not a personal property of the late Ikemba Nnewi but one left behind by their father as part of the assets of Ojukwu Transport Limited, their late father’s business outfit.
The controversy has since abated if the situation at the house last Tuesday was anything to go by. The Chief Security Officer of Villaska Lodge, Mr. Ikechukwu Umunnakwe, told our correspondent that all that was in the past. “There is nothing like somebody trying to take over the property. The property belongs to Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu,” he said.
Umunnakwe also disclosed that a lot of people had come to the house on condolence visits, particularly prominent Igbo indigenes. Appraising the late Igbo leader, he said he would serve him again if he had the opportunity.
He said: “I’ve been with him for 15 years. He treated me like his son. He never saw me as an employee. My relationship with him was good. I’ve read so many authors, so many books but Ikemba was a good teacher to me. If I am to come back to this world, I will prefer to be a servant to Ikemba.”
He said unlike many leaders of Ojukwu’s status who go about with security details, he was a man who cherished freedom and preferred to move about alone. Recalling a recent incident, he said: “During the celebration of his birthday at Alimosho Local Government by the Ndigbo in Lagos, I expected him as an elderly man and Ndigbo elder to just move quietly into the place that had been prepared for him. But he came down from the car, went into the crowd and started shaking hands with everybody. I was shocked that the man did not care that something could happen to him in the crowd. People were shouting Dim! Dim! He was very free with the crowd.”
He said until about four years ago, Ojukwu was always coming to the house. According to the chief security officer, “He was coming in regularly. I think it wasn’t long before he stopped coming. He was a man that would not sleep in a hotel. I found that in him. He preferred to sleep in his house.
“I would describe him as a saint sent by God for people to look up to and learn from him just like a philosopher. Being Dim’s servant does not take the energy and power I have. Rather, it gave me wisdom.”
Tribute to General Emeka Oduegwu-Ojukwu-1934-2011
04 Dec 2011

General Emeka Oduegwu-Ojukwu-1934-2011


The Diasporan Perspective : By Ekerete Udoh
I am officially in a state of mourning as I have to reflect on the lives of two important people who in many ways helped shape my career and influence me in profound and consequential manner. Exactly a year ago, I lost a dear friend- a confidant and a good woman in every material particular that anyone could aspire to know and have as a friend-Ms. Donna Tillman to cancer. I was getting ready to mark the first year of her sad death, when the news broke that another person whom I regard as a father and a mentor –General Emeka Odumegwu Ojukw-the Ikemba Nnewi, the erstwhile Head of State and Commander –in-Chief of the Armed forces of the now defunct state of Biafra- the one with the sonorous voice and whose diction and command of English was almost musical was dead. I had intended to devote this week’s column to harp again on the need for Nigerians who love this country and have a sense of pride and dignity about her essence to join hands and rescue us from daily international ridicule and embarrassment that Murtala Mohammed Airport represents. I will return to that topic next week.

General Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu loved me dearly and until I moved to the United States, I was officially a member of his household with unfettered access. I would pop in sometimes, without an appointment, and the security detail upon informing the Ikemba that I was at the gate, would not only asked that I be allowed in, but would come out of the living room, always in jeans, and walking barefoot, would usher me to the house. Most times, I would ask myself what I did to deserve such kind treatment by a man who was a true historic figure in the evolution of the Nigerian state. Whenever I listened to him speak in that soft voice, I would find it difficult to believe this was the same man who led an oppressed people, a people who had been subjected to pogrom and other genocidal tactics for almost thirty months without much of international support. He appeared so gentle-so collegial almost to a fault. Listening to him, his power of persuasion, his intimidating intellect and the force of his oratory, you would be left with no choice but to appreciate why the Biafran people followed him without question and invested their collective hopes for a safe and secure future in him.

My first encounter with General Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu happened in 1990 at the an event to mark the New Yam Festival in Umuahia-Abia State organized by Eze Everest Nmandi Ofoegbu- now the Chairman of Abia State Traditional Council. The event was attended by virtually who’s is who in the Nigerian state then. Several members of the then Armed Forces Ruling Council and I believe the then Chief of General Staff-late Admiral Aikhomu was in attendance alongside the immediate CGS-Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, several military governors then as well as captains of industry and pop culture personalities. The atmosphere was that of a carnival and I can vividly recall the MCs-the gregarious duo of ‘Chief Zebrudaya’ and ‘Gringory’ of the 70s Sit-com-New Masquerade announcing the arrival of Chief Ojukwu and the whole place erupted in an ovation that lasted over ten minutes.

Ojukwu’s appearance at the event also was significant in another angle: it signaled the first public appearance of the Ikemba with his then rumored girlfriend-the former “Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria” Bianca Onoh. Before the duo stepped out publicly, the Nigerian media was agog with all manner of stories about their relationship. This interest was triggered by Ojukwu’s devotion of a page in his book “Because I am Involved” to praise the then beauty queen, and singling her out as one who may provide Africa with its first ‘Miss World’ title. The inclusion of that chapter in an otherwise consequential book that dealt with more profound issues triggered a rash of speculations and rumors that would later dominate the Nigerian media-mainstream and pop culture for months. As the rumors swirled around and innuendoes and third rate sources inundated the pages of newspapers and magazines, the loving duo maintained a studious silence. They would not comment as to what was the true nature of their relationship, neither would they entertain interview requests from the media both local and international. That silence was however, to be broken and the New Yam Festival provided the opportunity for that to happen.

I had established a very good friendship with Bianca Onoh soon after I interviewed her for Climax magazine which I, alongside Moji Danisa had edited then in 1989. Bianca and I had remained very good friends after that interview. She had come to trust my editorial judgment and the spirit of true friendship developed between us. I was touched when she found time to mail me a card when she went to contest for Miss Universe and provided me exclusive tit bits on the pageant. There were no cell-phones then; neither did we have Facebook, Twitter or other social media of today, where you can in a minute contact anyone all over the world. For her to still find time and reach out to me was a very refreshing tendency and that only helped deepen our friendship.

As the Ikemba held Bianca’s hands while walking to the high table at the New Yam event, our eyes met, and she winked at me. Shortly after they had taken their seat, I walked up to General l Ojukwu, greeted him and after exchanging greetings with Bianca, asked her to convince the Ikemba to grant me an interview. Bianca looked at me with those large luminous eyes and said “Ekerete, I will do it for you-just for you” and whispered to the Ikemba who now turned to me and said “young man, I respect your courage. Meet me in Lagos on Monday and Bianca and I would grant you an interview.” Walking back to my seat, I was giddy with excitement and I quickly sent words to my publisher then-Dr. Ibe Kachikwu- now an Executive Director-Legal of Mobil Producing that I had landed the mother of all interviews.
The following Monday, I was led into the presence of General Ojukwu and his delectable girlfriend then-now his dear wife-Bianca and for over two hours, Bianca and Ojukwu gave me all the scoops I needed on their romance; how they met, their marital plans, the huge age difference that existed between them, the reaction of Bianca’s father-former old Anambra state Governor-the late C.C. Onoh to the relationship and above all why Biafra failed. It was a world exclusive and as we printed and reprinted copies of Hints magazine, due to the popularity of the story, my career reached the stratosphere. The interview was culled by several foreign newspapers and magazines and I can still recall the celebrations in our newsroom then, which paraded among others-Dr. Reuben Abati-now the Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Kayode Ajala-one of Nigerian’s most gifted writers, Chim Newton, Osita Aniemeka, Chidinama Awa Agwu etc. Hints magazine subsequently became the toast of the nation.

Since that interview, I was welcomed by the Ojukwu household and he was later to grant me two additional interviews that centered sorely on Biafra and why the effort fell short. Ojukwu was a man who genuinely loved his people. He was to reprise the word of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo- a good Igbo first before becoming a better Nigerian. He agonized over the lack of true federalism in Nigerian and was in many of our informal discussions, a strong advocate for the Sovereign National Conference where he believed the structural imbalance in the country would be addressed and resolved.

Even though he led the secessionist Biafran Republic, he loved being a Nigerian and I remember asking him if he thought the ideals of Biafra would someday be realized. He looked at me and in his characteristic way of talking almost as if he were whispering but would later become animated and raising the decibel of his voice, he said “I am a Nigerian but even at that, the issues that led us to war are still prevalent and must be resolved and I hope those in power would ensure that we would never have to fight our brothers and sisters again over issues that can be resolved at the conference table.”
Ojukwu bore no animosity toward those who had seized his father’s property and was grateful to the Igbo nation for all they had done for him- the love, the support and faith they reposed in him. When General Babagida eventually returned his late father’s property to him, he was very grateful to him and even at that, he didn’t spare IBB when he manipulated the transition to democracy program. In an interview I had with him for the defunct Quality magazine, he told Babangida in no uncertain terms that he was playing with the patience of Nigerians with his endless transition program. He was a very principled man.

Ojukwu loved his beautiful wife-Bianca, and had a special name for her. He called her “Madam.” He appreciated the love, the devotion, the care she had shown him and went above and beyond to replicate and return the love. I used to marvel at the breath and extent of their love and devotion to one another. It was a thing of beauty to watch how much they loved each other. As death takes away our dear Ikemba, here’s wishing his dear wife-the one and only “Madam” Bianca- my dear friend the fortitude to bear the loss. The people’s general lived a consequential life and as the New York Times of 11-26 2011 stated he “remained a hero in the eyes of many of his countrymen.” May his soul rest in peace.

Nigerian Diasporas Hail President Jonathan’s Pledge to grant Diasporas voting rights in 2015
The Nigerian Diaspora community is excited over the pronouncement of President Jonathan earlier this week in Paris, France that he would work to ensure that the Nigerian Diaspora community exercises one of the most basic constitutional imperatives of a citizen-the right to vote.

As readers of this column would recall, I wrote a piece a few weeks ago in which I lamented the exclusion of a large pool of educated, economically secure and skilled populace whose only challenge was that they resided in another country. I had made reference in the said piece to the Dominican Republic Diasporas, the Ghanaian, the Jewish-Americans and other countries where having residence abroad by its citizens is not considered an impediment for participation in the political process.

President Jonathan’s pledge is highly commendable and shows he is determined to provide a sense of inclusion to our Diasporan community. At Tropical Grill- a Nigerian upscale restaurant and lounge located on Rockaway Boulevard- a few minutes from JFK Airport, in Queens, New York, the general sentiments of hundreds of Nigerians who had gathered last Monday to watch the “The Monday Night Football” was one of praise for the president. According to Ayo- an attorney, “the president has shown leadership by this gesture. I think the Diasporan population will enrich the texture of discourse and platforms future candidates will run on and it can only be a win-win situation for us all.” Joy- an OBGYN also concurred” the notion of excluding us from voting for our preferred candidates to say the least was a wrong policy. We love our country dearly and wish for her nothing but a fulfillment of the dreams of our founding, and one way of doing so, is to ensure that we vote into office candidates who would not sacrifice the aspirations of our people. I commend the president for finally pledging to grant us this one wish-to ensure that our votes count.”
Ojukwu: 1933-2011
The Ahiara Declaration
By Our reporter
Monday, December 05, 2011

• Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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On Monday November 28, we began serializing the Ahiara Declaration, the principles of the Biafran revolution by late Dim Chukwuemeka-Odumegwu Ojukwu. Today we continue with the fifth part.

Nigerian Corruption
Nigeria was indeed a very wicked and corrupt country in spite of the glorious image given her in the European press. We know why Nigeria was given that image. It was her reward for serving the economic and political interests of her European masters. Nigeria is a stooge of Europe. Her independence was and is a lie. Even her Prime Minister was a Knight of the British Empire! But worse than her total subservience to foreign political and economic interests, Nigeria committed many crimes against her nationals which in the end made complete nonsense of her claim to unity.

Nigeria persecuted and slaughtered her minorities; Nigerian justice was a farce; her elections, her census, her politics - her everything - was corrupt. Qualification, merit and experience were discounted in public service. In one area of Nigeria, for instance, they preferred to turn a nurse who had worked for five years into a doctor rather then employ a qualified doctor from another part of Nigeria; barely literate clerks were made Permanent Secretaries; a university Vice-Chancellor was sacked because he belonged to the wrong tribe.

Bribery, corruption and nepotism were so widespread that people began to wonder openly whether any country in the world could compare with Nigeria in corruption and abuse of power. All the modern institutions - the Legislature, the Civil Service, the Army, the Police, the Judiciary, the Universities, the Trade Unions and the organs of mass information - were devalued and made the tools of corrupt political power. There was complete neglect and impoverishment of the people. Whatever prosperity there was, was deceptive. Unemployment was growing. Thousands of young school-leavers were drifting away from the villages which had nothing to offer them into towns with no employment openings.

There was despair in many hearts and the number of suicides was growing every day. The farmers were very hard-hit, their standard of living had fallen steeply. The soils were perishing from over-farming and lack of scientific husbandry. The towns like the soils were wastelands into which people put in too much exertion for too little reward. There were crime waves and people lived in fear of their lives. Business speculation, rack-renting, worship of money and sharp practices left a few extremely rich at the expense of the many, and these few flaunted their wealth before the many and talked about sharing the national cake.

Foreign interests did roaring business spreading consumer goods and wares among a people who had not developed a habit of thrift and who fell prey to lying advertisements. Inequality of the sexes was actively promoted in Nigeria. Rather than aspire to equality with men, women were encouraged to accept the status of inferiority and to become the mistresses of successful politicians and business executives, or they were married off at the age of fourteen as the fifteenth wives of the new rich.

That was the glorious Nigeria, the mythical Nigeria, celebrated in the European press.
Then worst of all came the genocide in which over 50,000 of our kith and kin were slaughtered in cold blood all over Nigeria, and nobody asked questions, nobody showed regret, nobody showed remorse. Thus, Nigeria had become a jungle with no safety, no justice and no hope for our people. We decided then to found a new place, a human habitation away from the Nigerian jungle. That was the origin of our Revolution.
Re-Discovering Independence
From the moment we assumed the illustrious name of the ancient kingdom of Biafra, we were re-discovering the original independence of a great African people. We accepted by this revolutionary act the glory, as well as the sacrifice of true independence and freedom. We knew that we had challenged the many forces and interests which had conspired to keep Africa and the Black Race in subjection forever. We knew they were going to be ruthless and implacable in defence of their age-old imposition on us and exploitation of our people. But we were prepared and remain prepared to pay any price for our freedom and dignity.

And in this we were not mistaken. Five weeks after we had proclaimed our independence Nigeria, goaded by her foreign masters, declared war on us. For two years now we have fought a difficult war in defence of our Fatherland. From the beginning we have never been in doubt about our ultimate victory. But, seeing the odds ranged against us, the world did not believe that we had any chance of success whatever the merit of our case. Perhaps our determination and persistence are making the world think again.

Biafra today is no longer a lost cause. For us, Biafra’s eventual triumph has never been in doubt: Biafra has always been the shining light at the end of our dark tunnel. In the two years of our grim struggle, we have learned important lessons about ourselves, about our society and about the world. In some ways this struggle has been a journey in self-discovery and self-realisation.

Our Revolution is a historic opportunity given to us to establish a just society; to revive the dignity of our people at home and the dignity of the Black-man in the world. We realise that in order to achieve those ends we must remove those weaknesses in our institutions and organisations and those disabilities in foreign relations which have tended to degrade this dignity. This means that we must reject Nigerianism in all its guises.

The People
Fellow countrymen, are we going to say no to Nigerianism and then let a few unpatriotic people among us soil our Revolution with the stain of Nigeria? Are we going to watch the very disease which caused the demise of Nigeria take root in our new Biafra? Are we prepared to embark on another revolution perhaps more bloody to put right the inevitable disaster? I ask you, my countrymen, can we afford another spell of strife when this one is over to correct social inequalities in our Fatherland? I say NO. A thousand times no.

The ordinary Biafran says no. When I speak of the ordinary Biafran I speak of the People. The Biafran Revolution is the People’s Revolution. Who are the People? you ask. The farmer, the trader, the clerk, the business man, the housewife, the student, the civil servant, the soldier, you and I are the people. Is there anyone here who is not of the people? Is there anyone here afraid of the People - anyone suspicious of the People? Is there anyone despising the People? Such a man has no place in our Revolution. If he is a leader, he has no right to leadership because all power, all sovereignty, belongs to the People. In Biafra the People are supreme; the People are master; the leader is servant. You see, you make a mistake when you greet me with shouts of “Power, Power”. I am not power - you are. My name is Emeka. I am your servant, that is all.
Shaking off Nigerianism
Fellow countrymen, we pride ourselves on our honesty. Let us admit to ourselves that when we left Nigeria, some of us did not shake off every particle of Nigerianism. We say that Nigerians are corrupt and take bribes, but here in our country we have among us some members of the Police and the Judiciary who are corrupt and who “eat” bribe. We accuse Nigerians of inordinate love of money, ostentatious living and irresponsibility, but here, even while we are engaged in a war of national survival, even while the very life of our nation hangs in the balance, we see some public servants who throw huge parties to entertain their friends; who kill cows to christen their babies. We have members of the Armed Forces who carry on “attack” trade instead of fighting the enemy.
•To be continued

Ojukwu: He electrified the stage
ON DECEMBER 6, 2011 • IN PINI JASON
By Pini Jason
A GREATER part of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s life was full of drama and the man himself filled and electrified his stage in a way only he could. Born into one of the wealthiest families at that time, with onomatopoeic names that evoked awe, he brought panache to whatever he did.
He, it was, who brought our attention to graduates in the Army and removed its starchiness. He made the trademark feathers on his peak cap look like it was specially designed for him.
He walked with his arms folded behind him as if he was born that way. When we first heard him speak, he seduced us with his Queens English delivered with enchanting oratory and seductive sonority. When he stood up to Yakubu (he called him Jack) Gowon, the nation held its breath. When he dragged the Supreme Military Council to Aburi Ghana, another enchanting scene was added to the drama.
When he said “no force in Black Africa can defeat Biafra” and that he would litter the shores of Biafra with the debris of Nigeria “Navy of fishing trawlers”, the drama was getting to its crescendo. It was from him we heard of “shore batteries”. When the going was getting tough in Biafra, he raised the morale of the fighting forces by promising that “every grass in Biafra will fight”. When he left for exile, it was “in search of peace”.
And when he returned from exile he took chieftaincy titles with onomatopoeic effect more resounding than the military rank stripped off him by Nigeria: Ikemba Nnewi; Dikedioranma; Dim; Ezeigbo Gburugburu! He excavated a clichéd ordinary statement: The best President we never had, penned it to Awolowo’s condolence, and an all time profound statement was born! Ojukwu, indeed was drama and charisma personified!
Frenetic and effusive elegies
It is not surprising that his death has generated frenetic and effusive elegies. The immediate post-independence crises and the civil war, for me, IS NOT history gleaned from literature.
It is current affairs which I still live through. I read in a newspaper that some people were opposed to giving Ojukwu state burial because, according to them, he tried to break Nigeria. Such people are simply living the illusion that makes Nigeria walk backwards while we pretend that it is “moving forward” or that it can “move forward”. Nigeria is still broken up not by Ojukwu or because of him but by Nigeria’s persistent and consistent pursuit of injustice, obsessive corruption and promiscuous national indiscipline.
In his beautiful article: “We Loved Him, We Hated Him”, in Thisday Tuesday 29 November 2011, my brother Simon Kolawole, SK, wrote that “we went to war in 1967 because our leaders were too young, too immature to manage the crises that followed the failed coup of 1966”.
Well, well, what I have always reminded Nigerian youths is that some of those who gave this country incredible leadership did so when, in our estimation today, they would have been considered “too young, too immature”. Check the ages of Zik, Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello, Tony Enahoro, Mbonu Ojike, Bode Thomas, Dennis Osadebe, Alvan Ikoku, Aminu Kano, Ernest Ikoli, Herbert Macauley, etc, when they played leading roles in the independence of this country. Compare that with the performance of Nigerians of similar age today.
More important than being “too young, too immature” is that at that time, there were enough elders to guide the young men away from the impending doom. And some of them did.
Nigerians went to war because others who were in a position to advise the actors or raise their voices against injustice, simply exploited the moment, the vacuum and vacancies created by the exit of Easterners to promote personal and group interest. Some of the elements who became the new boys on the power block, have since come full circle to fight the same injustice Ojukwu stood up against, even nudging the nation to extreme ethnicity!
Nothing has changed because politicians have found those fissures in our national life as first class ticket to power. Let us not forget that before the war, Nigeria operated largely on merit.
As Ojukwu once said long before the advocates of “resource control”, the war “is a struggle for freedom and equality among Nigerians. It will end whenever Nigeria is able to accept the equality of all Nigerians to share in the control of and running of the affairs of this country”.
As usual, many commentators, especially his opponents during the crises that led to the civil war, wore blinkers or deliberately put a veil of deceit on themselves and their listeners by insisting that Ojukwu went to war because of an inordinate ambition for a Republic of his own. Such a spin discounts the duplicity of the time: the pogrom, and that it was Nigeria that attacked Biafra when it fired the first shot at Gakem on July 6, 1967.
Biafrans fought back because their tormentors invaded their homeland. They fought back to defend themselves in a territory where they felt safe from inhuman treatment. They fought back because their values and beliefs were wantonly desecrated.
It is therefore wrong to even say that Ndigbo went to war because they were not getting their fair share from Nigeria. The truth is that until Ojukwu asked all Easterners to return to the East, they were very competitive in a meritorious Nigeria and did well for themselves provoking the emotive talk of “Igbo domination”. The war was simply to resist callous massacre of unarmed Eastern Nigerians by fellow Nigerians!
Be that as it may, it is a measure Ojukwu’s prowess and the ingenuity of his people that he ran a Republic on the run; being sacked from capital to capital and yet being able to establish his government in a new capital within 24 hours; refining petrol and diesel in every backyard; distilling red wine; manufacturing household consumables and above all, fabricating armoured cars, gunboats, rockets and Africa’s first weapon of mass destruction, the Ogbunigwe.
Again, choosing to live in denial, Nigeria turned its back on the essence of Biafra, renamed the Bight of Biafra as Bight of Benin in a classic ostrich inanity, dismissed Biafran inventions as “crude” instead of building and improving on them, took over the Products Development Agency, PRODA, created by Ukpabi Asika from the Biafran Research and Production, RAP, and injected it with the Federal virus and killed it! Today Nigeria cannot refine its own petroleum needs. Nigeria is an importer of everything imaginable (including toothpicks) with waiver! You can now see that it is Nigeria that lost the civil war, not Biafra!
If you ask yourself why a “defeated” people still romanticize the war and lionize Ojukwu, the answer is that Biafrans don’t feel defeated because the war was more about values held dear than mere territory. Biafran territory is in the exploits of the Biafran Airforce and Army at Abagana/ Nkpo Junction, the inventions and survival ingenuity which still live in the hearts of Biafrans.
But I must warn that in recent times, the Igbo have started a process of losing the war as all those values we held dear are being desecrated. Today money rules, giving rise to vices like kidnapping and ritual killings. These are unBiafran!
OJUKWU
The making of Aburi accord
•Official record of the minutes of the meeting of Nigeria’s military leaders held at Aburi, Ghana on January 4 & 5, 1967.
Saturday December 10, 2011

•Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Opening
The Chairman of the Ghana National Liberation Council, Lt.-General J.A. Ankrah, declaring the meeting open, welcomed the visitors to Ghana and expressed delight that Ghana had been agreed upon by the Nigerian Military leaders as the venue for this crucial meeting. He considered the whole matter to be the domestic affair of Nigeria, and as such, he refrained from dwelling on any specific points. The General, however, expressed the belief that the Nigerian problems were not such that cannot be easily resolved through patience, understanding and mutual respect. Throughout history, he said, there has been no failure of military statesmen and the eyes of the whole world were on the Nigerian Army.

He advised that soldiers are purely statesmen and not politicians and the Nigerian military leaders owe it as a responsibility to the 56 million people of Nigeria to successfully carry through their task of nation building. Concluding, the General urged the Nigerian leaders to bury their differences, forget the past and discuss their matter frankly but patiently.
Lt.-Col. Gowon invited the Nigerian leaders to say a joint thank you to their host, and all said thank you in unison in response to Lt.-General Ankrah’s address.
At this point the General vacated the conference table.

Importation of arms and resolution renouncing the use of force
Lt.-Col. Ojukwu spoke next. He said that the agenda was acceptable to him subject to the comments he had made on some of the items. Lt.-Col. Ojukwu said that no useful purpose would be served by using the meeting as a cover for arms build-up and accused the Federal Military Government of having engaged in large scale arms deals by sending Major Apolo to negotiate for arms abroad. He alleged that the Federal Military Government recently paid £1 million for some arms bought from Italy and now stored up in Kaduna.

Lt.-Col. Ojukwu was reminded by the Military Governor, North and other members that the East was indulging in an arms build-up and that the plane carrying arms, which recently crashed on the Cameroons border, was destined for Enugu. Lt.-Col. Ojukwu denied both allegations. Concluding his remarks on arms build-up, Lt.-Col. Ojukwu proposed that if the meeting was to make any progress, all the members must, at the outset, adopt a resolution to renounce the use of force in the settlement of Nigerian dispute.

Lt.-Col. Gowon explained that as a former Chief of Staff, Army, he was aware of the deficiency in the country’s arms and ammunition, which needed replacement. Since the Defence Industries Corporation could not produce these, the only choice was to order from overseas and order was accordingly placed to the tune of £3/4 million. He said to the best of his knowledge, the actual amount that had been paid out was only £80, 000. As to why these arms were sent up to the North, Lt.-Col. Gowon referred to lack of storage facilities in Lagos and reminded his military colleagues of the number of times arms and ammunition had been dumped in the sea. This was why, he said, it became necessary to use the better storage facilities in Kaduna. The arms and ammunition had not been distributed because they arrived only two weeks previously and have not yet been taken on charge.

After exhaustive discussion to which all members contributed and during which Lt.-Col. Ejoor pointed out that it would be necessary to determine what arms and ammunitions had arrived and what each unit of the Army had before any further distribution would take place, the Supreme Military Council unanimously adopted a declaration proposed by Lt.-Col. Ojukwu, that all members:
• renounce the use of force as a means of settling the Nigerian crisis;
• reaffirm their faith in discussions and negotiation as the only peaceful way of resolving the Nigerian crisis; and
• agree to exchange information on the quantity of arms and ammunition available in each unit of the Army in each Region and in the unallocated stores, and to share out such arms equitably to the various commands;
• agree that there should be no more importation of arms and ammunition until normalcy was restored.
The full text of the declaration was signed by all members:
The Supreme Military Council, having acknowledged the fact that the series of disturbances since January 15, 1966, have caused disunity in the Army resulting in lack of discipline and loss of public confidence, turned their attention to the question of how best the Army should be re-organised in order to restore that discipline and confidence. There was a lengthy discussion of the subject and when the arguments became involved members retired into secret session. On their return, they announced that agreement had been reached by them on the re-organisation, administration and control of the Army on the following lines:
• Army to be governed by the Supreme Military Council under a chairman to be known as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the Federal Military Government.
• Establishment of a Military Headquarters comprising equal representation from the regions and headed by a Chief of Staff.
• Creation of area commands corresponding to existing regions and under the charge of area commanders.
• Matters of policy, including appointments and promotion to top executive posts in the Armed Forces and the Police to be dealt with by the Supreme Military Council.
• During the period of the military government, military governors will have control over area commands for internal security.
• Creation of a Lagos Garrison, including Ikeja Barracks.
In connection with the re-organisation of the army, the Council discussed the distribution of military personnel with particular reference to the present recruitment drive. The view was held that general recruitment throughout the country in the present situation would cause great imbalance in the distribution of soldiers. After a lengthy discussion of the subject, the Council agreed to set up a military committee, on which each region will be represented, to prepare statistics, which will show:
• Present strength of Nigerian Army;
• Deficiency in each sector of each unit;
• The size appropriate for the country and each Area Command;
• Additional requirements for the country and each Area Command. The committee is to meet and report to Council within two weeks from the date of receipt of instructions.
The Council agreed that pending completion of the exercise in paragraph 7 further recruitment of soldiers should cease.
In respect of item 3 (b) of the Agenda, implementation of the agreement reached on August 9, 1966, it was agreed, after a lengthy discussion, that it was necessary for the agreement reached on August 9 by the delegates of the Regional Governments to be fully implemented. In particular, it was accepted in principle that army personnel of Northern origin should return to the North from the West. It was, therefore, felt that a crash programme of recruitment and training, the details of which would be further examined after the Committee to look into the strength and distribution of army personnel had reported, would be necessary to constitute indigenous army personnel in the West to a majority there quickly.
Non-recognition by the East of Lt.-Col. Gowon as Supreme Commander
10. The question of the non-recognition by the East of Lt.-Col. Gowon as Supreme Commander and Head of the Federal Military Government was also exhaustively discussed. Lt.-Col. Ojukwu based his objection on the fact, inter alia, that no one can properly assume the position of Supreme Commander until the whereabouts of the former Supreme Commander, Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi, was known. He, therefore, asked that the country be informed of the whereabouts of the Major-General and added that in his view, it was impossible, in the present circumstances, for any one person to assume any effective central command of the Nigerian Army. Lt.-Col. Ejoor enunciated four principles to guide the meeting in formulating an answer to the question of who should be Supreme Commander. There were the:
a. Problem of effective leadership;
b. Crisis of confidence in the Army;
c. Disruption in the present chain of command;
d. Inability of any soldier to serve effectively in any unit anywhere in the country.
Lt.-Col. Gowon replied that he was quite prepared to make an announcement on the matter and regretted that a formal announcement had been delayed for so long but the delay was originally intended to allow time for tempers to cool down. He reminded his colleagues that they already had the information in confidence. After further discussion and following the insistence by Lt.-Col Ojukwu that Lt.-Col Gowon should inform members of what happened to the former Supreme Commander, members retired into secret session and subsequently returned to continue with the meeting after having reached an agreement among themselves.
11. At this point the meeting adjourned until Thursday, January 5, 1967.
The Power of the Federal Military Government vis-a-vis the regional governments
12. When the meeting resumed on the January 5, it proceeded to consider the form of government best suited to Nigeria, in view of what the country has experienced in the past year (1966). Members agreed that the legislative and executive authority of the Federal Military Government should remain in the Supreme Military Council to which any decision affecting the whole country shall be referred for determination provided that where it is not possible for a meeting to be held the matter requiring determination must be referred to military governors for their comment and concurrence. Specifically, the Council agreed that appointments to senior ranks in the Police, Diplomatic and Consular Services as well as appointments to super-scale posts in the Federal Civil Service and the equivalent posts in Statutory Corporations must be approved by the Supreme Military Council. The regional members felt that all the decrees or provisions of decrees passed since January 15, 1966, and which detracted from the previous powers and positions of regional governments should be repealed if mutual confidence is to be restored. After this issue had been discussed at some length, the Council took the following decisions: The Council decided that:
i. on the reorganization of the army:
a. Army to be governed by the Supreme Military Council under a chairman to be known as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the Federal Military Government.
b. Establishment of a Military Headquarters comprising equal representation from the Regions and headed by a Chief of Staff.
c. Creation of Area Commands corresponding to existing regions and under the charge of Area Commanders.
d. Matters of policy, including appointments and promotion to top executive posts in the Armed Forces and the Police to be dealt with by the Supreme Military Council.
e. During the period of the Military Government, military governors will have control over area commands for internal security.
f. Creation of a Lagos Garrison, including Ikeja Barracks.
ii. on appointment to certain posts: The following appointments must be approved by Supreme Military Council:
a. Diplomatic and Consular posts.
b. Senior posts in the Armed Forces and the Police.
c. Super-scale Federal Civil Service and Federal Corporation posts.
iii. on the functioning of the Supreme Military Council: Any decision affecting the whole country must be determined by the Supreme Military Council. Where a meeting is not possible, such a matter must be referred to military governors for comment and concurrence.
iv. that all the Law Officers of the Federation should meet in Benin on January 14 and list out all the decrees and provisions of decrees concerned, so that they may be repealed not later than January 21 if possible;
v. that for at least the next six months, there should be purely a military government, having nothing to do whatever with politicians.
Soldiers involved in disturbances on January 15, 1966 and thereafter
13. Members expressed views about the future of those who have been detained in connection with all the disturbances since January 15, 1966, and agreed that the fate of soldiers in detention should be determined not later than end of January 1967.
Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference
14. The Council next considered the question of the resumption of the Ad Hoc Constitutional Committee and the acceptance of that Committee’s recommendations of September 1966. After some exchange of views, it was agreed that the Ad Hoc Committee should resume sitting as soon as practicable to begin from where they left off, and that the question of accepting the unanimous recommendations of September 1966 be considered at a later meeting of the Supreme Military Council.
The problems of displaced persons
15. The Council considered exhaustively the problems of displaced persons, with particular reference to their rehabilitation, employment and property. The view was expressed and generally accepted that the Federal Government ought to take the lead in establishing a National Body, which will be responsible for raising and making appeal for funds. Lt.-Col. Ojukwu made the point, which was accepted by Lt.-Col. Katsina, that in the present situation, the intermingling of easterners and northerners was not feasible. After each military governor had discussed these problems as they affected his area, the Council agreed:
a. On rehabilitation, that Finance Permanent Secretaries should resume their meeting within two weeks and submit recommendations and that each region should send three representatives to the meeting.
b. On employment and recovery of property, that civil servants and Corporation staff (including daily paid employees) who have not been absorbed should continue to be paid their full salaries until March 31, 1967 provided they have not got alternative employment, and that the military governors of the East, West and Mid-West should send representatives (Police Commissioners) to meet and discuss the problem of recovery of property left behind by displaced persons. Lt.-Col. Ejoor disclosed that the employment situation in his region was so acute that he had no alternative but to ask none Mid-Westerners working the private sector in his region to quit and make room for Mid-Westerners repatriated from elsewhere.

Lt.-Col. Ojukwu stated that he fully appreciated the problem faced by both the Military Governor, West, and the Military Governor, Mid-West, in this matter and that if in the last resort, either of them had to send the easterners concerned back to the East, he would understand, much as the action would further complicate the resettlement problem in the East. He assured the Council that his order that non-easterners should leave the Eastern Region would be kept under constant review with a view to its being lifted as soon as practicable.
16. On the question of future meeting of the Supreme Military Council, members agreed that future meetings will be held in Nigeria at a venue to be mutually agreed.
17. On the question of government information media, the Council agreed that all government information media should be restrained from making inflammatory statements and causing embarrassment to various governments in the federation.
18. There were other matters not on the agenda, which were also considered among which were the form of government for Nigeria (reported in paragraph 12 above) and the disruption of the country’s economy by the lack of movement of rail and road transport which the regional governors agreed to look into.
19. The meeting began and ended in a most cordial atmosphere and members unanimously issued a second and final Communiqué.
20. In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the Ghana National Liberation Council expressed his pleasure at the successful outcome of the meeting and commended the decisions taken to the Nigerian leaders for their implementation. Lt.-Col. Gowon on behalf of this colleagues thanked the Ghanaian leader for the excellent part he had played in helping to resolve the issues. The successful outcome of the meeting was then toasted with champagne and the Nigerians took leave of the Ghanaians.
21. The proceedings of the meeting were reported verbatim for each regional government and the Federal Government by their respective official reporters and tape-recorded versions were distributed to each government.

FINAL ABURI COMMUNIQUE

The Supreme Military Council of Nigeria resumed its meeting in Ghana on the 5th of January and continued and concluded discussion of the remaining subjects on the Agenda. The Council reached agreement on all the items.
On the powers and functions of the Federal Military Government, the Council reaffirmed its belief in the workability of the existing institutions subject to necessary safeguards.
Other matters on which agreements were reached included the following:
• Re-organization, administration and control of the Army
• Appointments and promotions to the senior ranks in the Armed Forces, the Police, Diplomatic and Consular Services as well as appointments to super-scale posts in the Federal Civil Service and the equivalent posts in the Federal Statutory Corporations.
On the question of displaced persons, the Supreme Military Council agreed to set up a committee to look into the problems of rehabilitation and recovery of property. In this connection, the Military Governor of the East assured the Council that the order that non-Easterners should leave the Eastern Region would be reviewed with a view to its being lifted as soon as practicable. Agreement was also reached that the staff and employees of governments and statutory corporations who have had to leave their posts as a result of recent disturbances in the country should continue to be paid their full salaries up to the end of March 31, 1967, provided they have not found alternative employment.
The Council agreed that the Ad Hoc Committee on the constitutional future of the country should be resumed as soon as practicable and that the unanimous recommendations of the committee in September 1966, will be considered by the Supreme Military Council at a later meeting.
The Council unanimously agreed that future meetings of the Council should be held in Nigeria at a venue to be announced later.
The entire members of the Supreme Military Council express profound regret for the bloodshed, which has engulfed the country in the past year and avow to do all in their power to ensure there is no recurrence of the unhappy situation.
The members of the Supreme Military Council place on record their profound appreciation and gratitude for the constructive initiative and assistance rendered by the Chairman of the National Liberation Council, the Government and people of Ghana.
Statement by the Supreme Council on the Reorganization of the Army, and the Approval of Senior Appointments, and its Declaration on the use of force
I. The Supreme Military Council now meeting in Ghana has agreed on the following reorganization of the Army:
• The Army is to be governed by the Supreme Military Council the Chairman of which will be known as Commander-in-Chief and Head of the Federal Military Government.
• There will be a Military Headquarters on which the Regions will be equally represented and which will be headed by a Chief of Staff.
• In each Region there shall be an Area Command under the charge of an Area Commander and corresponding with the existing Regions.
• All matters of policy, including appointments and promotions of persons in executive posts in the Armed Forces and Police shall be dealt with by the Supreme Military Council.
• During the period of the Military Government, Military Governors will have control over their Area Commands in matters of internal security.
The following appointments must be approved by the Supreme Military
Council:
• Diplomatic and Consular posts.
• Senior posts in the Armed Forces and the Police.
• Super-scale Federal Civil Service and Federal Corporation posts.
• Any decision affecting the whole country must be determined by the Supreme Military Council. Where a meeting is not possible such a matter must be referred to Military Governors for comment and concurrence.
II. We the members of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria meeting at Accra on 4th day of January, 1967, hereby solemnly and unequivocally: DECLARE that we renounce the use of force as a means of settling the present crisis in Nigeria, and hold ourselves in honor bound by this declaration. REAFFIRM our faith in discussions and negotiation as the only peaceful way of resolving the Nigerian crisis. AGREE to exchange information on the quantity of arms and ammunition in each unit of the Army in each Region, and also on the quantity of new arms and ammunition in stock.
(Signatures of the nine leaders).
OJUKWU
Pressure of war made Ikemba to smoke – Ogugua, member, defunct Biafran Consultative Assembly
By VINCENT UKPONG KALU
Saturday December 10, 2011

•Ogugua
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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During the days of Biafra, His Royal Majesty, Eze Desmond Ogugua, Eziudo, Ezinifite Mbaise, Imo State, was a member of failed republic’s Biafra Consultative Assembly, which the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu constituted.

In an interview with Saturday Sun, the octogenarian, who was Ojukwu’s close friend before the war, revealed some facts that people have not known about Ojukwu. He revealed that Ojukwu was Assistant District Officer (ADO) of Bende Division (Abia State) and worked under Mr. Tweet, who was the District Officer (DO).

Eze Ogugua, who holds two national honours, OFR and MON, also revealed that Ojukwu wasn’t a smoker but the pressure of the war forced him into smoking.
How did you come into contact with Emeka Ojukwu?
First, I must say that the news of demise of Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was the greatest shock I have ever had in my life. Having said that, let me answer your question. I came into contact with Emeka Ojukwu when I went with Jonathan Nwosu, popularly known as Sopuluchukwu, to see Chief Philips Odumegwu Ojukwu, Emeka Ojukwu’s father, at his house, 15, Alexandra Street, Ikoyi, Lagos. We were there to brief him over the meeting we had with the Archbishop of Onitsha, Charles Ohiri at that time. While we were there, a sports car drove in and it was Emeka Ojukwu, who came to inform his father that he had joined the administration and deployed to Bende Division as Assistant District Officer (ADO). The father received the news with mixed feelings and introduced me to him, as a man from Umuahia and Jonathan Nwosu from Nnewi.

Emeka said: ‘You are the first Umuahia man I’m meeting and I hope to know you more when I get to Umuahia.’ At that time, Umuahia was under Bende Division. Two weeks after, I made enquiries about him. I was told that he had been posted to Bende but would live in Umuahia. Like in other cities of Nigeria, the European quarter or GRA was a no-go area for the blacks. I learnt Emeka Ojukwu was the first black man to live in the GRA, Umuahia.
From there, we became friends. Surprisingly, Ojukwu was assigned to N. N. Ndu, who was administrative secretary, Bende Division, in charge of local administration, while Ojukwu was assigned to work and develop local administration. Oba Akenzua, the Oba of Benin, was also at Umuahia. Both of them were then ADO. Later Ojukwu was transferred from Bende to Udi and it was at Udi that he left administrative division for the army.
When this happened, everybody expressed surprise because army wasn’t popular and seemed as a place for those who were not well educated. It was seen as occupation for those who could kill at any time and so not much academic qualification was attached to the army. People thought he had mental problem – as an Oxford University graduate with master’s degree descending so low to join the army.

Our friendship continued and when I became manager of Golden Guinea Breweries, Umuahia, I visited him in Kano, when I was on tour of Northern Nigeria and he was in charge of 5th Battalion. He was surprised and received me with great joy.

This relationship continued until the military took over the government in 1966 and he became the military governor of Eastern Region, with the capital in Enugu.
Since you were close to him, what role did you play during the war?
When the war started, I was elected a member of Biafra Consultative Assembly whom Ojukwu reported the progress of the war and sought advice. I was not directly in contact with him, as I was not a military man, but he shared his heart with me, which meant he acknowledged me. While in the brewery, an enquiry was set up based on allegation of wrongdoing. He appointed A.B.C. Anyaegbunam as the chairman of the enquiry. While this was going on, we received information from N. U. Akpan, who was his secretary, to convene the constitute assembly. Ojukwu briefed us on what was happening; the efforts he made to stop the war, including, Aburi accord and other issues. He emphatically told us that the war was going to bring hardship, which is not a good thing to do and advised that every Nigerian should make effort to stop the war.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo came to Eastern Nigeria to negotiate. We went and receive him, but whatever they discussed wasn’t open. On July 26,1967, at constitutent assembly, we deliberated the war activities, including Aburi accord. He told us that he got information that General Yakubu Gowon wanted to create 12 states and asked us to advise him on what to do, as he had made efforts to get Gowon to stop the state creation to see if peace could be achieved. The chairman of consultative assembly was Sir Alvan Ikoku, who made effort to speak to Gowon while we were on session but all his efforts proved abortive.

On July 27, the information came to us that Gowon had created 12 states and we felt he had slighted us and we commandeered Ojukwu to declare sovereignty for the former Eastern Nigeria, called Biafra. It was declared at 6.45pm. There were tears of joy when the flag of Nigeria was lowered and Biafran flag hoisted. The war continued.
What manner of man was Ojukwu during the war?
Ojukwu was accommodating and he was not a warmonger, as represented in some quarters. He wanted peace and didn’t like the way many Nigerians lost their lives. He was very simple and humble, despite his qualification and family background. While the report of enquiry at the Golden Guinea was yet to be released, one day I got a message from the provincial secretary of Umuahia Province, Lawrence Egbu, that Ojukwu wanted me at Nsukka. I left for Nsukka. I got there and he said: ‘Desmond, I received the report of the enquiry I set up about Golden Guinea yesterday and you were exonerated of all the allegations made against you. In the report, Anyaegbulam said, Desmond Ogugua’s presence in the brewery is an asset and didn’t find you and Irukwumere of any wrongdoing.’

Ojukwu said this made him to call me and that was in the presence of David Ogunewe, Commander of 1 Battalion, Enugu, Brigadier Imo from Ohafia, C.C Mojekwu, Douglass Krubo, Bob Ogbuagu, Patrick Nwakaobi, Wikiri and many others. He said there and then: ‘I have set up a directorate to take over civilian job that was done by the military and that A. K. Hart is the director of Fuel Directorate and you have to work with him as the chief operating office of the fuel directorate and you have to leave the brewery for this new assignment.’

He never gave us directives on how to run the directorate. Hart carried out this job very efficiently and we started getting crude oil from wells and refining fuel that sustained the Biafra during the war. It was a very good experience. Unfortunately, the war ended the way it did. The war brought civilization that Nigeria has today. Nigeria was in the dark then, when compared to what it was in 1966 and what it is now. It’s only a good leader that could have done what Ojukwu did. He is the number one Nigerian and not Igbo General.
It was at St Peters, Akokwa that a member of the Biafra Consultative Assembly, B.C. Nwankwo, moved a motion to promote Ojukwu to General and I seconded the motion. Not long, Ahiara Declaration came and people rejoiced, as a new African nation had been given birth to.

Ojukwu has done much for the Igbo and Nigeria and it would take time to get his replacement. During the build-up to the present political dispensation, when prominent Igbo gathered to deliberate on the way forward, Ojukwu advised us not put our eggs in one basket by belonging to a political party. We advised that we should spread out. I was very much active in the whole arrangement. Chekwas Okorie said he was going to form his own political party called APGA. I supported him and asked who was going to be his leader. He said, it was going to be Ojukwu. APGA today is the brainchild of Okorie. He promoted Ojukwu and I took picture with them. Ojukwu was equally the brain behind the peace made between Umuleri and Aguleri.
During the war, we understand that there was sabotage. What happened?
Only outsiders could say that Ifeajuna and co were framed up, but those of us inside knew that they actually did what they were tried for. It was not an allegation. Proper investigations were carried out and they were found guilty. Biafran soldiers had gone very far to take over Lagos and the zeal was very great. It was Ifeajuna and the other boy from the West who ordered the withdrawal of the troop that was approaching Lagos. He was the commander and the soldiers would obey whatever order he issued them. If he had allowed the Biafran troop to match on to Lagos, probably the story would have been different today.

Not only Ifeajuna, many of them were in the racket and they paid the supreme sacrifice and that was the beginning of sabotage we had during the war.
Would you say Ojukwu knew the magnitude of the war he was going to fight?
He knew the magnitude of what he was going to face when he told us that the task was going to be very heavy. He told us to advise him because the task might mean one losing his best friends, relations and going days without food. He told us everything, but the people wanted a change. So, he knew the magnitude. If he didn’t, he couldn’t have asked us to advise him. He was a simple man and never had any secret on how to save Nigeria.
What were his last challenges he before he took off to Cote d’Ivoire?
Somewhere in Ogberu, Orlu was where we had the last Biafra Consultative Assembly and we invited the second-in-command to Ojukwu, Effiong, to hand over to Nigeria. The document that was signed was ‘Handover’ and not Surrender. Biafra didn’t surrender but hand over to Nigeria through the then Colonel Olusegun Obasnajo. Biafra never surrendered but handed over and that was why the Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, declared “No victor, no vanquished.” The document was signed on January 14, 1970 and the handover proper was the next day.
Mid way into the war, was there any time Ojukwu regretted his actions?
I never saw him regretting what he did. If he had, many people would have written about that. From the tributes, people have commented that he didn’t regret his action.
If he didn’t regret, why did he run away?
He didn’t run away. If he didn’t leave at that time, more innocent people could have been killed. If he had been killed, a vacuum could have been created. When the people knew that their leader was alive, their temper was calmed down. If he had been killed, probably, the war would not have ended, as guerilla warfare could have been introduced. His being alive stopped it.
Was he ever afraid for Nigeria or Biafra?
He didn’t. What caused the war was failure of agreement reached in Aburi, Ghana. God knows what He did. Probably, if the agreement were obeyed, what would have been left of Nigeria would be in the dark.
Could it be that the reason for the agitation for resurrection of Biafra by MASSOB was because Biafra didn’t surrender but handed over to Nigeria?
An attempt is not an offence. Today, do you stop any book entitled, Biafra from being sold in the market? If people thought that their venture didn’t materialise. What offence did they commit?
How was it working with Ojukwu?
It was like working with very experienced man. He was not over ambitious. He was full of experience, energy and respect. He was from noble background, but went to a profession that was not so much envied.
There is the talk in the street that Ojukwu prosecuted the war with his father’s money. If so, where was the Biafran money?
I didn’t know about fighting the war with his father’s money. I was not in the finance department to know where the money was coming from. However, there were resources in Biafra. Biafra still had their money then – Biafran currency. They were still importing and exporting and recognised by five countries.
What does Ojukwu’s absence portend for the Igbo?
Ojukwu, by tribe, was an Igbo, but he thought of Nigeria first. I remember during the Constitutional Conference, under the late General Sani Abacha, Ojukwu organised a forum where Nigerians were informed of development in the conference from his Apo Village, Abuja. We were meeting every Monday to review what was going on in the constitutional conference. He was also part of the brains behind the six regional structures recommended at the conference.
What was Ojukwu’s love life like?
He loved everything that was good. He was sociable, irrespective of the fact that his face frightened. If you look at his face you would think he was not approachable. He was very much approachable, very lovely and accommodating.
We understand that Ojukwu smoked at a time. Do you know why?
Before the war, he was not smoking. It was during the war that I saw him smoking. From the time we knew each other I never saw him with a stick of cigarettes until the wartime. There was no doubt the pressure of the war was much. I lived at Okpara Avenue beside the Ojukwu Bunker.
Who were the brains behind the bunker?
We had eminent engineers; we had people who built refineries at various locations. It was the ingenuity of the people who worked in Biafra directorate that brought NCO that was later changed to NNPC you have today.
What transpired when Chief Awolowo visited Ojukwu?
He welcomed what we were doing and said that we were following a good cause and that if his suggestion was not accepted the West would follow up, which he didn’t do. The visit was at Enugu.
It is said that the Igbo of Delta and Rivers never supported Biafra?
It is not true. Check some of the soldiers that did exploit during the war; they were from Delta. A.K. Hart, in charge of petroleum directorate, is from Bonny, River State and so many others.
OJUKWU
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/dec/10/national-10-12-2011-017.html
He loved beautiful women and cars – Cousin, Udemefuna
By IJEOMA ONUORAH, Nnewi
Saturday December 10, 2011

•Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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The family of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu may have common traits that have trailed the family from history. They are known warriors and also given to polygamy.

According to Chief Anthony Nnadozie Udemefuna Ojukwu, 73-year-old Ikemba Nnewi’s first cousin, there’s a tradition of multiple wives in the family, which he said have produced acknowledged warriors and warlords.
In this interview, held at the Ojukwu family compound, Udemefuna, shared his boyhood experiences in the house of Ojukwu’s father, where he and the Ikemba grew up as little boys.
Could you tell us about your growing up with Ojukwu?
I grew up in the house of Sir Louis Philip Ojukwu, starting from when I was eight years old. Even though we were boys then, Emeka was older than me with five years, and then he was about 13. When I got to Lagos, in 1947, he was already in class three in Kings College, Lagos. That was when he left for Eton College, London and Oxford University. As far as our family is concerned, we two were the ones closer in age.
What type of child was Ojukwu?
When he was in school, his father, popularly known as LP, wanted him to read law, but he chose to read Public Administration and History. When he came back, he became the first Nigerian District Officer. His father told me this when I was living with him in the house. Also, when he went into the army, he did that on his own. He never sought the consent of his father. He did it himself and presented us with his fait accompli. It was a bit sensational then, because he already was a graduate of Oxford University, and a D. O. when he joined the army as a recruit, shunning the officers’ cadre.
What would you say about Ojukwu’s wives?
Ojukwu married four wives in all, but he was married to each of them one at a time. He married early. You know he was a young rich and handsome man, with a lot of prospects.
Could you tell of about his wives?
His first wife was Elizabeth Okoli from ‘Nnukwu Awka’ (in Awka town) in Anambra State. She was a senior Nursing Sister, by profession. They got married between 1956 and 1958. Her father was the first Nigerian Post-Master General we had in Nigeria. He wedded her in court when he was a D.O., and they lived slightly at Udi, slightly at Enugu and largely at Aba. After some time, the fortunes of the marriage dwindled, maybe because she did not have a baby; so they divorced. I was in class two or three in secondary school then. The marriage lasted for about two or three years, but I cannot pin down the real cause of the divorce. Elizabeth later married one Dr. Onuorah, whom she had children with.

Emeka’s second wife was Njideka, daughter of the once famous C.T. Onyekwelu from Nawfia, Anambra State. She had earlier been married to one Dr. Menz, maybe of Sierra-Leonean origins. His mother, Elina-Nwamama, was very popular then in Onitsha. Njideka had a set of twins for Dr Menz, a boy and a girl, before they quarrelled and separated. I wouldn’t say if they divorced formally, but they discontinued the co-habitation. So, Emeka married her in 1964 and she had Emeka Jnr, Mimi and Okigbo for him. They had a traditional and statutory marriage in court.
They had what we call ordinance wedding then and the reception was in our house, Eastern House in Lagos. He was married to her when he was the 5th Battalion Commander till he was appointed the governor of Eastern Region and during the war, before they moved to Cote d’Ivoire. It was there, maybe because of domestic of political interplay, that she moved out to London.

Emeka now became engaged to Stella Onyeador from Arochukwu in Abia State, who was Njideka’s chief bridesmaid during her wedding and my classmate in the university at Enugu Campus of University of Nigeria. She’s a lawyer by profession and moved to Cote d’Ivoire to join Emeka where he lived. She later came back to Nigeria with him in 1982. He asked us to perform the traditional rites at her father’s compound. If they did court marriage over there, I wouldn’t know. I will only tell you the things that I can swear for in court. They later quarrelled and even went to court because they were fighting for the custody of a girl-child they adopted while in Cote d’Ivoire. Emeka was eventually awarded custody and ownership of the baby because the court said that under French law, a woman is not eligible to adopt babies, which was the case then in Cote d’Ivoire. They eventually separated. She died last year.

When Stella left the picture, Bianca came, in 1989. But when Bianca was hustling with other girls to enter, Stella was still with Emeka. She was then in stiff completion with former Governor Sam Mbakwe’s daughter, one Barrister Onwuelo’s daughter from Nnewi here and another beautiful girl, who I can’t recollect her name. They were four at the time and mostly had pedigree. They were all graduates of law. Eventually, Bianca won with beauty and brains too. They had a wedding in the Catholic Church, though you know that there’s no way you can wed in the church without a certificate from the court. She was the only one he wedded in both cases. She has a set of twins for Emeka, and another boy too.
We understand that Ojukwu loved beautiful things. Are you aware of this?
You can never know the attraction of a beautiful woman to a handsome man, like Emeka and vice versa. It is a woman that knows her reasons for marring a man. Look at Bianca. What she wanted in a man might be very different from what Njideka or Stella wanted. But what I want to assure you is that these four women were alike. They were all beautiful women. Emeka loved beautiful things and beautiful cars. He was a man of courage and handsome, which was an irresistible combination.
What would you say about his civil war actions? Where would you say he inherited this courage?
You know that Ezeubom, our great-grand father, was a warlord of Nnewi. He was the second warrior of Umudim Quarter of Nnewi; there are just two in the quarter those days and of the same blood. He married many wives then, as a symbol of his strength and as a farmer too. He had four sons, of which Ojukwu-Ezeokigbo was one of them. Ojukwu-Ezeokigbo, our grandfather, married 32 wives, of which 24 survived him, while eight died before him. Out of these 24, 16 were big women, while eight were just damsels, either growing into maturity or just getting into puberty. They were mostly placed in the kitchens of the big ones to learn how to become mothers.

Then, Sir Loius-Phillip, his father, married five wives. The difference between LP and Emeka, his son is that while he lived together with his wives, with the exception of the first who was divorced from him and that was the one he inherited from the dad, the rest lived with him till his death. Emeka lived with his own wives one at a time. He never had cumulative four wives, unlike his dad. I can tell you that out of the five sons of Ojukwu-Ezeokigbo, none married less than three wives, including my own father. Even the first son married as nearly as Ezeokigbo, his dad.
But these days, we just move along with one wife. Emeka married one at a time because that was his own idiosyncrasy. His siblings married one wife each. Now, education has changed a lot of things; it’s more difficult to keep pace with one wife, let alone two.
OJUKWU
‘How Shagari granted Ojukwu amnesty’
The late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s former media aide, Mr. Kanayo Esinulo, today concludes his account of life with Ikemba Nnewi
Saturday December 17, 2011

•Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Gowon’s pardon
By 1981, particularly after President Shehu Shagari granted amnesty to General Yakubu Gowon, Emeka, who was fond of calling Gowon ‘Jack,’ felt that their ‘two cases’ could have been considered in tandem, but because the people of Plateau made a strong case for Gowon, while ‘the East’ was not able to present a united front on his case, it would appear to Shagari that Gowon’s case was a more pressing national issue. He then suggested that we pursue a new initiative by making the necessary contacts with those within the listening range of President Shagari and others outside of this orbit. The primary targets were Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Dr. Ibrahim Tahir and Chief Victor Masi.

Okadigbo was to be the arrowhead, since he was the Political Adviser to the President. Tahir, then Chairman of the Board of Nigerian Telecommunications, was chosen because of his influence and political pre-eminence within northern political circles. Masi was an important Minister of Works in the Shagari administration and a brilliant Army Captain with the Biafran Army Engineers. General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu gave these as his reasons for preferring that we worked with these eminent Nigerians.
The meeting with Tahir and Obiano
In part two of this narrative that appeared last week, I traced the initial involvement of Okadigbo in the project of Emeka’s homecoming, and how I took him and Obiozo to Bingerville to meet and discuss with the General. Soon after we returned to Nigeria, we tracked Dr. Tahir at Ikoyi Hotel, where he was temporarily accommodated. He was very warm and polite to us and Okadigbo had tutored Vincent Obiano and I how to present the case to Tahir. As he chain-smoked, he listened us out and made promises he so dutifully fulfilled. We then moved to Victor Masi’s official residence in Ikoyi. He was waiting for us. Obiano had contacted him, for they knew themselves at the University of Nigeria in the early sixties. Here, again, the reception was warm and friendly. Before we knew it, Emeka called Chief Ike Onunaku, a top management staff of the United Africa Company (UAC) (I mean the UAC under Chief Ernest Shonekan), who was a part of us and who hosted so many of our meetings in those difficult days, to say he was getting feelers on how effective the team had become. By this time, Emeka had asked Colonel Joe Achuzia to join us and to handle the security component of the project. We continued to meet regularly at Onunaku’s Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi residence – Bless his soul.

Ojukwu met Shinkafi in London
One early Saturday morning, Onunaku sent his driver to bring me to Ikoyi. ‘What about’? I asked the driver. He wouldn’t know beyond the instruction to get to my Ikeja residence and “get Kanayo here before two o’clock.” When I arrived, I was told that the General wanted to give me a new brief by 3pm, and since I didn’t have a telephone at home, Onunaku’s place at Ikoyi was the best option. At exactly three o’clock, the call came through and Emeka said he had just returned to Abidjan from London, where he had “fruitful and rewarding discussions” with the Director-General of the Nigeria Security Organization (NSO), Alhaji Shinkafi. I was to constitute a strong media team to start working on softening the ground for his journey home. His meeting in London with Shinkafi had increased his optimism that his days in exile were, indeed, coming to an end, he said. He sounded slightly excited, and I was happy and so was Chief Onunaku.
The media campaign
Two days later, I traveled to Enugu on a Nigeria Airways flight, in the company of Vincent Obiano. We were in Enugu to ask for the support of a good friend and colleague, Obinwa Nnaji, who was then Editor of Sunday Satellite of the Satellite Newspaper Group in Enugu. We confided in him and told him precisely how the General wanted the media aspect of the project handled from the East. After getting his advice, support and firm commitment, Vincent and I came back to Lagos. The following day, I drove to Iwaya Road Yaba, Lagos to brief and request the support and sympathy of veteran journalist and editor, Gbolabo Ogunsawo, the former editor of Sunday Times. Emeka knew him by reputation and specifically advised me to reach out to him. In his days as the editor, the weekly was reputed to be the highest circulating newspaper in Africa, south of Sahara. And from exile, he was a loyal reader of Sunday Times.
We secured Gbalabo’s sympathy and through him the understanding of the Unity Party of Nigeria, as well as access to as many editors in the Lagos/Ibadan media axis as possible. Obinwa Nnaji also inherited the duty of getting his editor colleagues in the South East to step up the media campaign. Before we all knew it, Ojukwu’s return to Nigeria had developed into a huge national discussion and conversation. Indomitable Tai Solarin added his voice in an article that was published in both the Nigerian Tribune and the Daily Sketch.

The debate was now widening and going in the direction we had planned. And Emeka was letting us know that he was following developments closely but warned: “You must not relent until Shagari pronounces the magic word ‘Emeka, Come Home.’” Dr. Chuba Okadigbo was doing just fine in the political turf. He called me one day to say that the media tempo must not go down at all. Gbolabo, Obinwa and I were taking care of the media angle. Colonel Achuzia (now a chief in his native Asaba and its Ochiagha) was making progress with security arrangements. Everything was going good. Everybody was cooperating and the end of Emeka’s days in exile was nearing its terminal stage.

Shagari’s declaration
In a terse statement issued by the presidency, Shehu Shagari allowed Emeka to come home and a huge volley of joy and jubilation were unleashed. Preparations for his trip home began in earnest. Individuals and groups that were afraid to mention Emeka Ojukwu’s name in public since January 1970 began to come out of their holes, like termites. I remember one fellow who refused to touch the letter from Ojukwu to him in 1972, and even warned Emeka Enejere and I never to mention that we ever saw or came to his office located in central Lagos, was busy granting elaborate press interviews soon after the amnesty announcement. He was hailing the General as “my infinite hero,” who is on his way back home. Such is life.
At the end of it all, however, many genuine Igbo groups made contacts with us and began to donate time and buses that would convey people to Lagos and back.
The Cote d’Ivoire angle
Many Ivorians, too, voluntarily donated huge sums for the printing of thousands of T-shirts. Emma Ackah, an Ivorian presidency staff, was in-charge of that. Emeka had instructed what should be written on the shirts – simple Igbo words, ‘ONYEIJE NNO.’ What happened at the airport the day he arrived Nigeria is now history. The day his body arrives Nigeria will record yet another history.

It is on this note that I say, with tears in my eyes, to my General, mentor, adviser and ogam: sleep well and good night – Chukwu nabata mkpuru obi gi. Ka emesia!
OJUKWU
Ojukwu never repeated his instructions – Orderly
From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
Saturday December 17, 2011

•Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Sixty-five-year-old Elder Chief Godwin Okeke-Ejim was the Police Orderly to the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu for three years when he was Head of State of Biafra till the day he left the shores of Nigeria to Ivory Coast (now Cote d’Ivoire).

In this exclusive interview with Saturday Sun at his Enugu residence, Elder Ejim confessed that he felt terribly bad on hearing the news of the death of his former boss, saying, “My father died, my mother died I did not shed tears, but when Ojukwu died, I shed tears.

Elder Ejim, who hails from Ugbawka in Nkanu East Local of Enugu State, was 25 when he started working with Ojukwu. The orderly revealed some intimate aspects of Ojukwu including the fact that the late Ikemba never repeated his instructions.
He also graphically related a day Ojukwu had a brush with death.
Excerpts:
Posting to Ojukwu
I served as a police officer and retired in 1978. I came to serve Ojukwu in 1967 till the last day he departed to Ivory Coast in 1970 as his personal and police orderly. I was so close in a way that he trusted me so much. We were seven of us slated. We didn’t know why we were called, because in the police force, we had a routine called Daily Order. We go there every evening to pick or know where you may go or about anything at all that might concern you. In the course of that day, we read the Daily Order; we were seven short-listed sergeants and it said we had to prepare for special duties tomorrow morning and to report to Commissioner of Police’s office by 8 o’clock. The Commissioner of Police of the Eastern Region then was P. I. Okeke, now late. When we assembled, seven of us that day, around 10 o’clock, the Commissioner of Police arrived and addressed us. He said: “Well, I’m tired of sending orderlies to Col. Ojukwu. Each time, none serves up to one month to three months before he comes back for one accusation or the other”, that now, he was taking all of us to go and see him in his office at the State House. Whoever he picks, it’s his luck because this was a man that when his name is mentioned, you begin to shiver.

We were driven to that place from the Police Headquarters, Enugu to what is now the Orthopedic Hospital where we had the State House. We got to that place around 11a.m. Ojukwu arrived. We were marched before him as he sat down and when we lined up, they introduced us and he looked from left to right and immediately he pointed at me and said, “You, come out, the rest can go”. That was the verdict. Every other person left in jubilation. I didn’t know how I felt, it was a mixed feeling but I thank God. He told the ADC, who was the Major, to tell me what to do. He told me exactly why others left; that I am the 7th person now, that I should look very sharp because I am serving him directly.
His job
From there, the job started. The next thing he did by the time he was retiring by 6pm in the evening was that he gave me one key to the office and said: “Look, I am having one key to this office and I am giving you one. So, make sure that nothing leaks, make sure that no information leaks from my office and that nothing is being searched for, otherwise…” he nodded. I said that by the grace of God that nothing will go amiss. So, he said okay. He didn’t even ask me questions about where I come from. We have worked for almost two to three years before one day he asked me: “Where do you come from, Edwin?” He calls me Edwin instead of Godwin and I said, from Ugboka.
Our movement from Enugu started when Enugu fell. We were the last to move. He likes truth and he likes cleanliness. He told me that whenever he calls me, I should be at least one yard away from him; that he need not be shouting to me. I agreed and I maintained that. Even if he was in a meeting and you know he always stays at the extreme, once I hear him through the signs he made electronically, I will march and go there, greet him and then he will give me the instructions.

It so happened that, throughout my service with him, he trusted me and I maintained it. The instructions made me to deny every other association with everybody even friends. He gave the instruction, I feed from the kitchen; they give me food three times or as much as possible because I wouldn’t have time to go to my house to do anything. I prepare, anytime he goes out or has occasion to wear military uniform, I do it because the ordinary squad wouldn’t starch it well or do maintaining because this is what I was trained for as a policeman. I maintained my own uniforms. As the war developed, I wouldn’t go to war because I was not a war cabinet member but he made sure that every other domestic matter, I take care of them, he instructs me and he never repeats his instructions. He was very strict. He liked me so much that, throughout three years, he never for one day scolded me; he never scolded me at all, having learnt what made others to be brought back. Even as I was there, my promotion ran up to the ASP within the war period. I was promoted. You know, after the war, you have to abandon your old rank and go back.
The man Ojukwu
He was a man who loved work more than anything; that is why, when I got to hear that his eyes were bad, I knew exactly that he overstressed his eyes even though I’m not a doctor. He was always reading, he was writing always, he was always there buried in books. Imagine a man who read in Oxford, obtained a Master’s degree and everyday he was there – day and night – holding series of meetings, writing, doing all these and giving out instructions. So, the much I can remember is that we worked very cordially as much as I could and the family members all know me. I know the mother, the father; I got to know him when he died at Nkalagu. That was where he passed on. Maybe he didn’t want to be carried overseas because the money was there. I liken Ojukwu to Jesus Christ because he was a man who obtained his degrees from overseas and shunned every other work only to join army and in the army, he proved beyond every reasonable doubt that he liked the job.

He rose very well in rank and because of his love for the Igbo people, he denied himself of everything and later became Head of State of Biafra as mandated by the people then. You can imagine how he ran that war, using everything; I think he might even have used his father’s money. But what I’m sure of is that he used every opportunity he had to see that the war progressed, aimed at making his goal to be achieved by establishing the Republic of Biafra. But due to the fact that so many things were against him, it had to be abandoned. You know Jesus came into this world, abandoning the best things God set for Him in heaven only to come and suffer and die for us. So the man, Odumegwu Ojukwu, picked that attribute of Jesus because, with his wealth and his father’s wealth, he needed not suffer for us at all. He was as a sacrificial lamb, which people are now realizing. In fact, his actions tended to stabilize Nigeria, otherwise it would have been a different matter. I don’t condemn him for the actions taken, otherwise you and I would not have been talking. We would have been decimated long ago.
Close shave with death
I met him when he was just three months old as the administrator of the Eastern Region. Everything was going normal until the Biafran was declared. That time, we never slept again. The moment Biafran nation was declared, there was no rest for him; there was no rest again for anybody serving him. Wherever he was, I will be at the door. I screen anybody entering to see him. You do not enter unless I announce you and before then, I must have searched you and announced you and he said okay, come immediately or give me five minutes to finish up. I took up security at the doorpost before you go to meet him.

We were close to death on one particular day due to aircraft bombing. We would have perished at Madonna, Mbano area because that very day, during the heat of the bombing mission by the Nigerian aircraft, we were there. He was interviewing people and doing his normal duties, suddenly an aircraft zoomed in around 12 noon. When the aircraft came, myself and the security officers zoomed into his office because the canon fires were too close, even the aircraft bombed the Mercedes car with which we arrived. I know exactly that it was targeting us and the car was very close to the office. We pushed him (Ojukwu) down and all of us lay on him as protection but when this aircraft became desperate and the bombing became intense, we remembered there was a temporary bunker. We said, let’s go into the bunker and he reluctantly rose up and we walked into the bunker. The moment the last of us entered the bunker, there was darkness everywhere. His table, chairs, books and documents, which were on the table where he was working, all got shattered and burnt. That could have been a calamity. This happened at Madonna near Isieke, Mbano in the present Imo State.

That was the only close shave with death I witnessed by myself and you know that whatever happened to him that time will affect us. I wouldn’t have been here with you by now. That was the day I shivered. When we came out, there were so many casualties. I remembered that one European came to our office in the name of offering relief few days before the attack, I suspected him. It was when the aircraft took the first dive; it was so low that I noticed his face. We didn’t know that he came to sabotage us and it was less than a week. He was an Egyptian pilot because it was a Russian-made aircraft that could have destroyed us, but we thank God really. That was an incident that was touching.
The next one was when Ugwuta was falling; he (Ojukwu) went there too. I was there and he was at the war front. He taught me how to load HMG. Until water bomb finished our cars there, the cars we took there, we had to retreat. We came back in the night with another car. The man suffered. He took strange actions, which a Head of State wouldn’t even take. So, these were the sacrifices he made. It would have been a tragic event for us.
Lessons from Ojukwu
You know, he is not a relation, he is not a friend, and my approach with him was always instructional. You do this, you go there, and so, we have no social contact. He was a man who didn’t drink. He takes coffee and by then he was a chain-smoker. 555, that’s what he takes. He never tasted alcohol and he wasn’t eating too much. He never told me anything that was not instructional or related to my duties. He kept me at a distance and I kept him at a distance, knowing that there were other people ahead of me and his immediate brothers who he could always converse with.
Ojukwu’s departure
We sojourned longer at Umuahia. We got disorganized. We even ran to Ogwa in now Mbaitoli Local Government of Imo State in the house of Iheanacho. After about a day or two, we moved to Nnewi and that was in January. The last day, all the dignitaries you can think of in this Biafran setup, they all went in and held a meeting. I don’t usually stay in their meetings, I can’t be there. I will be at the corridor. Eventually, that meeting held for a whole day; from morning till around 1 O’clock in the night. Suddenly, vehicles were set up, heading for Uli Airport. I normally sat in the front to open the door and close it as an orderly. On getting to Uli, it was just like a market, filled with people with a very large plane; Super Consolation, stationed. He entered with most of these dignitaries that went out with him and I realized he was leaving.

Before the door of the aircraft was shut, he sent somebody to the door of the aircraft to say I should come in. I replied to that man to tell him that I didn’t know we were leaving here. That, in fact, I cannot enter the plane. If my wife had been around or if I had known that it was a movement of that nature, I would have joined him to fly. That was the last I saw him and that was the end of my service to him. That was also the end of the war. Since then, I was communicating with his brothers and at a certain time; they wanted me to come to Ivory Coast because when they come, they would say they want that honest orderly.

Yes, that’s what they branded me honest orderly. They came to my house and said my master wanted me to come to Ivory Coast; that there is a job I will do for him. I told them that my family has expanded and that I can’t just be moving like that. They needed me then but I said no because I know it was either to take care of some of his businesses there or things like that.
Ojukwu’s return
When he returned around 1983, I went to him. He was happy. He received me and asked me to take lunch with him. When it was announced that that orderly came, he left every other thing, came and embraced me. He said I shouldn’t go until I take lunch and I obeyed. You know, he was not a person you visit anyhow without having something serious. He was down-to-earth, he likes you to come but the duty of the work wasn’t really giving him the chance to be receiving people anyhow because he was not a man you go to gossip to about anything. He was a very intelligent man. I later became President of the Customary Court; writing and doing other court duties. I saw him when he was at Hill view area this Independence Layout. There was a day he was passing through this area, eventually he stopped at a suya spot. I raced to that place and called him ‘master.’ He said ‘orderly.’ He came down and we embraced. People converged and were surprised. After asking about my welfare and family, he bought what he wanted to buy and left. He was a very brave man. When he went into politics, people were skeptical about his involvement in politics. When you have your facts at your fingertips and you know that God is with you, you can go to your enemies’ camp and come out. He will tell you the reality; he will tell you exactly what happens.
After Ojukwu’s depature
Immediately he left, there was order for me to return to police. I rejoined police and I got resposted like every other person. Along the line in 1970, I was in Lagos where I was posted, I attended an interview on two occasions and I was confronted with “you served the rebel”. They threw the accusation to me during Board members promotion interview in 1976 because we used to have annual Board Interview. I said how, sir? The then Commissioner of Police said, “look at your picture with Ojukwu.” I said, “yes, I served him, sir, but I was there on posting. I did not apply for it.” He said but why didn’t you refuse it? I said that if I declined it, I would be declared a saboteur; that was why I had to be there. I didn’t apply.

In 1977, they confronted me in Lagos again when I went, “you are a rebel agent” and I told them I didn’t apply. I was on posting by the Commissioner of Police then, later IG. So, there was noting I could do. My situation was defenceless. Immediately after that interview, I planned to leave before I would be dismissed, because there were people who could take action against you. I had to quit the force at least to have a good record that I wasn’t dismissed. Till today, I get my pension with the little rank that I held, otherwise by then, I was having more than 15 years to serve and by then I would have risen but today, I thank God, its no longer an issue.
So, that ended my career abruptly. I didn’t think of it, there were no consultations. I said why should I be defending one thing, instead of asking me questions on my police duties, why do you then come to blackmail me? I can’t defend what is indefensible and I thank God because now, I’m not indebted to anybody. God has blessed my family. I have children and almost all of them are now graduates and they are doing well. It’s God who leads. He provided and He makes provisions for my children.
News of his demise
I saw the news of his demise as I was watching CNN. I saw only that Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Biafran leader is dead. The spoon with which I was taking my jollof rice, I didn’t know when I dropped it on the ground instead of the table, I dropped it on the ground. I shivered. I felt it to the marrow of my bones. I thought he would have made it. I never expected his death now. I did not; if he had been in Nigeria, maybe but in overseas? No. But I am praying that God never abandons him in His kingdom. When Jesus came, He liberated the oppressed, He gave the blind sight, Ojukwu followed that example, he liberated the oppressed. Igbos are being desecrated, I was there; from time to time, we will go to the airport to receive corpses during the pogrom. He had the mind to carry the people, unshaken for that period of three years. God didn’t want him to go beyond this.

So, I thank God for his soul because God will not abandon him because His ways are not our ways, His plans are not our plans, His thoughts are not our thoughts. It’s there in the Bible; people might condemn you but God will not do so. God is a powerful God and He gave him the chance to do all these things. He could have been eliminated during the war, but no, he did as a human being, Jesus is a Spirit. I’m only sorry that much time was not given to him so that he would eventually live to see more progress in Nigeria.
Madunagu: General Emeka Ojukwu: A tribute
(This tribute has taken this long to appear because knowing our country very well, I wanted to ensure that I am not misunderstood by my method or language. That has now been ensured).
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70849:madunagu-general-emeka-ojukwu-a-tribute&catid=38:columnists&Itemid=615#comments
I HAVE never referred to our subject by any title other than General. It is either Emeka Ojukwu or General Emeka Ojukwu. Nothing else. But by insisting on this identification – even at his death – I do not intend to insult the feelings of many Nigerians who sincerely regard Emeka Ojukwu as a hero and icon and had given him several titles and honours: Chief, Dim, Ikemba, Ikediora, Eze Igbo Gburugburu, etc. These are, indeed, great titles. All I have been saying by my insistence is that the titles and honours should not, for whatever reasons, be used as “replacements” for General. They can, however, be used as additional titles and honours, which Emeka Ojukwu acquired after he had attained the status of General.
My position is not legalistic. It is ideological: I believe that given the criteria for awarding this title in Nigeria since the country’s political independence in 1960, and given the character and history of the Civil War and the events that led to it, Emeka Ojukwu deserves the title General as much as, or to the extent that, any other Nigerian General – dead or alive – deserves it.
Beyond this, however, my position derives from my fundamental proposition on the Nigerian Civil War (or Nigeria-Biafra War), 1967 – 1970. That proposition may be stated like this: Given what happened in Nigeria in January, May, July, and September – November 1966, only a radical intervention that aimed at correcting the grave and tragic mistakes the “five army majors” committed in January 1966 and advancing their original revolutionary programme (of social transformation) could have prevented a civil war, or could have brought it to a quick end after it started. Interventions of this type were actually attempted. But they all failed – some more disastrously than others. In retrospect, I can now see that none of them had a good chance of success.
The forms the almost inevitable war could take if it broke out, its geopolitics and diplomacy, its ideology and propaganda, its resilience, its strategy and tactics – all would depend on the character of the forces in power in Lagos and Enugu. Debates on the larger subject from which my proposition emanates have been going on for about 45 years and will continue. But one idea I have ruled out completely as unhistorical and unscientific is that, given the events of 1966, Emeka Ojukwu chose war instead of peace. My intense study of this conflict over the years convinces me that it was almost inevitable.
I was riding in a car in Calabar with two young men the day after Ojukwu died. They started a discussion on Ojukwu and the Nigerian Civil War. The younger one said something that made me cut in, “Man, answer the question: Who started the war?” He said, “Ojukwu.” His colleague concurred. Then I asked when the war started, and where? None of them knew the answer to either of the two questions. I told them that the current public knowledge is that the shooting war started on July 6, 1967 at two points on the northern border of their state, Cross River State. The two of them turned sharply to look at me. I allowed some time to elapse before I added: “but the question of who fired the first shot is immaterial. When two bitterly opposed armies face each other across a border that is undefined, any sound or movement could start the shooting. The Nigerian Civil War became inevitable by the end of 1966.”
Although my knowledge and opinion of Emeka Ojukwu and the Civil War have developed over the years and decades since the war, this “near-inevitability” element has remained. “The Civil War of 1967 – 1970 was an inevitable event in the history of Nigeria”, says Anthony Akinola in his tribute to Emeka Ojukwu, (Ojukwu and national unity, The Guardian, December 5, 2011). His reason? “The imbalance in our political structure suggested it was always on the cards… I have always held the view that we could still have fought a war at a later stage of our history if we had not experienced an earlier one”. I would endorse Akinola’s general proposition. It does not, of course, validate my special proposition, but it gives me pleasure that I am not so isolated in the use of the method and perspectives by which I arrived at my conclusion.
A few days after General Ojukwu’s death, an older brother of mine phoned to offer condolences to me. When he mentioned “condolence” I thought he was referring to Alex Ibru, the publisher of The Guardian, who died a week before Ojukwu. But my brother said he meant “double condolence”: Ibru and Ojukwu. It was clear how my brother knew that Ibru’s death was a personal bereavement for me. But I think he sensed my bemusement in regard to Ojukwu and quickly added that Ojukwu and I had “something” in common. He tried to find the exact word and I helped him: radicalism. I told my brother that the attribute he saw was not just radicalism, but radicalism-plus-integrity. As the line went off, I added: “but Ojukwu was not a socialist.” My brother said nothing to this.
It was Kayode Komolafe of ThisDay Newspapers who phoned me late in the night of Saturday, November 26, 2011, to announce the death of Emeka Ojukwu. After agreeing that the man’s death marked the end of a particular section of a particular chapter of Nigeria’s modern history, we spent the next 15 minutes or so wondering how the Nigerian state or, more especially, the Federal Government of Nigeria, would react to the event. The reason for our apprehension was that although Ojukwu was granted state pardon, he never, to the best of our knowledge, categorically renounced, either verbally or in writing, the act that created the need for pardon in the first place, namely, creating Biafra out of Nigeria and then leading the new nation in war against Nigeria.
For me, the implication of this, an implication which Ojukwu himself voiced in different ways at different times, is that if he again found himself in a situation like that of (1966 - 1970) he would again react as he did. And yet the man’s acceptance of the sovereign authority of Nigerian state over him – at least from the time he came back from exile in 1982 until his death in November 2011 – was, to put it mildly, as strong as that of any other Nigerian. For me, it is this perfectly integrated duality that defines post-war Ojukwu; it is this duality that sustained his popularity among segments of Nigerian population; and it is to this duality that the Nigerian state and Nigerian politicians have been responding since the man died. Komolafe and I agreed to await the Federal Government’s reaction. And it came the next day.
Paying his tribute through his spokesperson, Reuben Abati, President Goodluck Jonathan said that “Chief Ojukwu lived a most fulfilled life, and has in his passing on, left behind a record of very notable contributions to the evolution of modern Nigeria which will assure his place on the history of the country”. Then: “Chief Ojukwu’s immense love for his people, justice, and equity and fairness which forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian Civil War, as well as his commitment to reconciliation and the full reintegration of his people into a united and progressive Nigeria in the aftermath of the war, will ensure that he is remembered forever as one of the great personalities of his time who stood out easily as a brave, courageous, fearless, erudite and charismatic leader.”
Making allowance for the professional touch in the choice of words and language, if this statement, released by Reuben Abati, reasonably reflected the feeling of President Jonathan and his government and that of critical institutions of the Nigerian State, then it represents a demonstration of the three key propositions in this tribute: the duality proposition (embodied in the words “his people” and “Nigeria”), the inevitability proposition (embodied in the phrase “which forced him”), and the radical – and – integrity proposition (which is reflected in his entire tribute). But the proof or validation of my propositions do not depend on official tributes.
OJUKWU
Biafra will be realised without war – 73-year-old ‘war veteran’
From PETRUS OBI, Enugu
Saturday December 24, 2011

•Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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The war Veterans Social Welfare Association is the association of soldiers that fought the Biafra-Nigerian civil war under the command of the late Gen. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and integrated with the Nigerian Legion, the association was inaugurated by Ojukwu himself after the war.

The General Commander of the veterans, Col. Emmanuel Ossai, who hails from Aboh, Nokwa East LGA, Delta State, took over from the first commander, Col. Professor Awamadu, after the latter’s death. In a memorable occasion, he was handed over the staff of office by Ojukwu himself on March 24, 2009.

In this interview in Enugu, Col. Ossai spoke on Ojukwu’s death and the future of Biafra. He remains optimistic that Biafra would be reality through a peaceful means rather than a civil war. He also asserted that the best way to immortalise Ojukwu was by ensuring the realisation of the “Republic of Biafra,” where he expects the portrait of Ojukwu to be used in the new Biafra currency.

Ossai recalled the exact words of Ojukwu the day he handed him over the staff of office in 2009. According to hi, Ojukwu said: ‘You have to use this opportunity to do good things; wherever you go, you shall remember me. Let nobody claim the rank that does not belong to him; if you people live, I am living; anything you do must be taken to remember me; it pleases me; I am a member; as you go out remember that you are my followers; wherever you go I am there. Nothing can separate you from me; don’t leave me; you are scattered because of greediness but if you are united nobody can scatter you; it’s not difficult for me to be seeing you as often as you wish but if I do it will generate anxiety to others outside; but let them fear you; you are the bone with which the easterners stand.’
He said: “Those were the words of a man of peace and unity for his people. Ojukwu never initiated war; he has never caused any problem in Nigeria but was forced to defend his people.”
What has been happening since you took the staff of office from Ojukwu?
He charged me with the initial responsibility of inaugurating commanders for the various zones within the old Eastern Region. I have been doing this and today we have people like Lt. Col Emmanuel Okpara commanding Owerri, Lt. Col Kalu Okam from Ebonyi State; also Lt. Col Elias Onah from Nsukka commanding the veterans from that area. Lt. Col Ambrose Ugwu is commanding Enugu. We have Lt. Col Simeon Ezepue for Nnewi; Lt Col Ukwuije, commanding veterans from Abia South and Lt Col Jim Mba, 85 Marine Obigbo, among others. Today, there is only one Biafra war veterans association and that is this one set up by Ikemba himself and which is led by my humble self. We are over 8, 000 and we are still mobilising our people.
Why are the veterans gathered here today?
The essence of the gathering is to mourn our leader; we have earlier completed seven-day mourning, but it continues until we get him buried. We want the world to know that he has left people behind, people he gave assignment; there are a few places that are yet to be inaugurated, but he is no more here to see the job completed. So, we are mourning him and we will continue to mourn him.

We keep organising ourselves. We talk to our follow veterans. We give them encouragement to take heart, assuring them that what God has promised us will eventually come to pass; because I have never seen a place where God promised something and failed to do it. He has promised us Biafra and surely we will get it. So, we keep on advising our fellow veterans, telling them that one day we will hear the name of Biafra being sung into our ears. Yes, Biafra has been given to us by God and it will eventually come. God revealed this to us and some prophets, that He has given us Biafra; that we should wait for it; and once God says something He must surely fulfill it. God doesn’t promise and fail, He must surely fulfill it.

Now that Ojukwu is dead what happens to the veterans?
With the encouragement and training he gave us I think we can go ahead from where he stopped; there is no going back.
Who do you think can step into the shoes left by Ojukwu?
Uwazuruike can continue from where Ojukwu stopped. Before he died, he introduced Uwazuruike and handed over everything to him; that boy is doing marvellously well; he is doing very well. We take Ojukwu so high; he is a very courageous man; if he tells you this is this, that is the way it is. So, we don’t joke with his words; whatever he tells us we uphold it.
Tell us about your war experience.
I started from Nsukka before they posted me to His Excellency’s (Ojukwu’s) Brigade; I fought there for some time before leaving for Calabar. When I got to Calabar, the moment the late Emeka Omeruah, the former governor, saw me he said ‘oh, Ossai, you are the most experienced’ and he sent me to Atana-Onoyon to replace Lt. Agbirigba; so I went there. I received special award from Ojukwu during the war. There was a wonderful operation I did in 1968 and Ojukwu ordered that I should be given honours award. Then, I was still a captain. It was at Nkana.
My colleagues were detailed to go and re-capture Nkana Bridge; the bridge was destroyed, so they went inside and then stayed there for days; they couldn’t go there. It was on October 1, 1968 and I was just taking siesta when the spirit of God came to me and woke me up. When I got up, I asked my adjutant whether he called me he said no. I called Captain Ojoko of the Engineering unit attached to my battalion. I asked if he woke me up. He said no. I started thinking. I ordered the mortar officer to come and to tag digital targets immediately and then I asked the engineer to get me a ladder. I told them I must cross Nkana that afternoon. Within me I felt that it was God that woke me up that afternoon. I crossed that afternoon and I captured it.
So, when the Divisional Commander, Col. Uwakwe came, he was very happy; he embraced me; he kissed me and he took the news to Ojukwu at Umuahia and they prepared the award for my gallantry.
Why did Biafra lose the war?
We didn’t have enough weapons and ammunition; we were patching up things; most times I normally sent most weapons I captured in the front to army headquarters. In the Nkana operation, the bombs I captured were sent to my division. Some were sent to my Brigade and we kept some for my battalion. The man in-charge of armoury then was Major Onyekwelu from Delta. He was in-charge of the armoury at Umuahia, and I handed those bombs to him. There were also saboteurs, who messed up our efforts; at times they would expose our plans to the enemy; that was why each time I planned my operation I was always successful because I didn’t reveal it to anybody, even my officers. I will call operational orders at the 11th hour. By the time you know about the operation you won’t have time to tell your girlfriend that you are going in for an operation.
There were also the economic blockades; all our borders were blocked, both land and sea. Most of the weapons we used were captured from the enemy. At times helicopter normally came to throw down ammunition for operation. What quantity do you think they can get?
Has the association received any form of support from the government of the defunct old Eastern Region?
No government in the east has shown us support. There has not been any aide from any government; the only time a governor came close to us was the day we went for Ojukwu’s 78th birthday on November 4; we went to Enugu to celebrate his birthday; it was there that Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State came to my table to inquire who the commander of the veterans was. He came to my table and presented kola to us and gave us a N100, 000.
How, in your view, should Ojukwu be immortalised?
I think this can be done by naming many places after his name as well as molding emoluments. Above all, the realization of Biafra would be his greatest immortalisation. Once we get Biafra, our money will bear his portrait; no doubt about that.
What are your plans towards Ojukwu’s burial?
We have discussed with the family and they have assured us that we would be invited to take part in the planning. Apart from that, we are going to put together a special parade for our General.
What’s your relationship with MASSOB?
We have cordial relationship with them; most of us registered with them; we don’t discriminate. Every easterner is a member of MASSOB because it is the Movement for the Actualization of a Sovereign State of Biafra, which we all believe in. So everybody born in the East is a MASSOB member. Their leader, Uwazuruike, is our son and we have maintained a cordial relationship over the years.
What was your worst experience of the war?
What I wouldn’t like to remember about the war was the sufferings of the boys; most of them were fighting without uniform and on empty stomach. There was no food and the boys were harvesting and eating raw cassava and so on. It was a really bad experience and one I don’t like to remember.
If there is cause for another war for Biafra, will you be part of it?
You man to fight war again?
Yes, maybe for the realization of Biafra?
We don’t hope to fight war again; we are not expecting another war; we have handled war during our time; now we want peaceful demonstration for Biafra and we shall get it without war, by the grace of God.

OJUKWU
Ojukwu personally fought to stop Nigerian soldiers from taking over Uli Airport – Emma Okocha
By GILBERT EKEZIE
Saturday December 24, 2011

•Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Those who have read the book, Blood on the Niger, will certain remember Mr. Emma Okocha, renowned historian and scholar on conflict. He’s also a researcher, who covered events in Burundi, Congo, Somalia, Western Sudan and Dafur.
In this interview, Okocha spoke about Biafra, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the new Igbo leadership and other issues.
How do you see the death of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu?
We are very sad over his passage, but we have to take the history back to its perspective. Ojukwu was the Napoleon of our time and may be the last of the origin. He was a great military artist.

What do you mean by referring to Ojukwu as a military artist?
You know there are different people who just come to win the war because they are Generals. They want to accomplish their mission in the field. There are those who fight because they are professionals, who are trained to fight and they use a lot of technology and artistry. There are others, like Achuzia, Benjamin Adekunle, etc., who cannot do without war. If there is peace, they will be irrelevant. They like to fight if there will be acrimony. Achuzia was known during the war to carry boys to fight against armoured cars and sometimes he came back with 90 per cent casualties. Colonel Timothy Onwuatuegwu would go with four boys, accomplish his mission and return. But Colonel Ojukwu was ahead of the whole pack. Unknown to many, he was his own commander’s dream. I will refer you to a philosopher, Spinoza, who did not believe in praying too much, like Nigerians do these days. For instance, Egyptians do their prayers and at the same time, get their jobs done.

Ojukwu, facing overwhelming Nigerian military machine, had no option to stop at the security. But he went further to declare a war because he believed in his will to succeed, like Napoleon, who was challenged by Russian unreceptive topography. He stood his ground and got enmeshed in the cold debris of Siberia. Napoleon was the man who went further than Spinoza, and prostrated, saying: “Nothing is impossible.” So, when you look at the military figures and antecedents, you know that Ojukwu needed a proper military perspective. He believed in the supremacy of his will.
What is your take on Biafran-Nigeria war?
Biafrans sustained the 30-month war by Ojukwu’s sheer will. There was a diplomatic advantage. There was also a human resources disadvantage. Ojukwu carried famished people, a Biafra that was depopulated, no food, no military arsenal and a Biafra that was an enclave. Eventually, major towns, like Nsukka and Enugu fell, with the exception of Nnewi, his own town. Ojukwu continued to fight war that was totally unmeasured and had no standards in the African conflict studies. So, we have been able to posit that Ojukwu’s greatness lay in his overwhelming will and I go forward to say that even though he was defeated in that war, in the history chronicle, you will see that at the end of the war, Biafra was not defeated.

When Ojukwu returned from exile he became the issue. He was the brain behind the Biafran Research and Production (RAP). The Igbo that used to be loyal to Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe turned to Ojukwu. If the Biafra was defeated, like Japan was, this won’t be so.
What sad experience would you say Biafrans had during the war?
Biafrans lost the provision to reintegrate their army into the Nigerian Army. They lost, abysmally, their economy, currency and their savings were reduced to mere N20. They were enmeshed in the argument of abandoned property. There were clauses of abject surrender, having engaged in a war that they lost almost everything. Ojukwu lost faith and face in diplomacy.
What unique strides would you say Ojukwu made?
When he came back from Cote d’Ivoire, it was a different issue on the table. He became leader of the Igbo that believed in Biafra (Uwazuruike group); the Igbo that believed in Nigeria and those that are Igbo just because they have the characteristics of Igbo, like some of us that came from the West Niger area, who are not in the Biafran map, but are the minorities of the former Eastern Nigeria, congregate whenever Ojukwu was the issue. He was the leader of all the groups. So, putting his life and time in perspective, we went back to my book, Jews of Africa, because we found out that he has no serious memoirs on hand; yet he was able to write his own history. Like Spinoza said, “a man becomes the consummate cause of his life when he is able to write his own history through sheer will power.”

Ojukwu did that in his landmark leadership of the Biafran entity. Throughout the 30-month war, from 1967 to 1970, he was able to claim a revolution for himself. He did that by behaving like Napoleon. He inspired his people and brought the armament to play. With stick and machete, he could face the Nigerian arsenal of modern equipment. So, from all the tributes paid to him, we are establishing that for the first time, the Biafran command recaptured Enugu using Biafran boys, soldiers who later metamorphosed to ‘Boys Company,’ which today operates all over the world. Doctors Without Borders” also started with Biafra under Ojukwu. There would not have been ‘Doctors Without Borders” without Biafra. The doctors decided to come together to give medical aids to the Biafrans and that was how the whole thing started. Ojukwu’s great strides are not only in the military operations, but also in science. I am saying that the Biafrans, through Ojukwu, reorganised agriculture, what Nigeria is now lacking. They were good in technology in the way of refining crude oil and transportation. Vehicles that were out of the road were also refurbished. In fact, Ojukwu moved into the field.

From the portal of commander-in-chief, he went to fight physically in Oguta when Uli Airport was threatened in 1967 and through his inspiration and performance in the field, he became the commander’s dream and federal troops, marine, sea and land attackers on Oguta were reposed. The Nigerian Army Chronicle written by General Momoh, ‘How Ojukwu defended Oguta,’ has the detail. When we talk about Biafra and Ojukwu’s command, these are what we call the Biafran ingenuity.
Is it true that Ojukwu did not enter into alliance with other countries and that was why Biafrans were defeated?
In history, we are being disturbed that Ojukwu did not enter into alliances, just like Nigeria did under Gowon, Awolowo and Enahoro during the war. They critically went into alliance with the Western powers, like Russia to subdue Biafrans. But the new reclassification of Nigeria-Biafran war memoirs have shown that Ojukwu really went into alliance with some European countries and that was why he was able to get some arms from Czechoslovakia. If not for the death of Duke of Czech in 1968, probably, more arms would have come in. The greatest and most productive alliance that Ojukwu did during the war was with Greece. According to memoir of Ojukwu’s roving Ambassador, Okechukwu Ikejiani, former chairman of Nigerian Railways, they went to Greece and had an agreement and Greek government trained special marine commandoes of Biafra and they were expected to return after the training through the Atlantic and Topedo NNS Nigeria. The trained Marine Commandoes arrived the NNS Nigeria on January 17, 1970, two days after the surrender of Biafra.
Could you comment on Ojukwu dynasty?
There is no way you can talk about Odumegwu Ojukwu without mentioning his father, Louis Ojukwu, who was the wealthiest black man by 1966. He had an argument with his son Odumegwu at the Government House, Enugu because he wanted him to delay the declaration of secession. He said: “The Igbo have never been defeated anywhere, anytime in memory. I am too proud. I do not want the Igbo to fight with sticks, machetes. I will buy them enough arms, give me time to settle with the marketing board.” Louis Ojukwu was the chairman of Nigeria Marketing Board; chairman of the Nigeria Shipping Supply Company; chairman, Coal Corporation and others. He had a Midas touch and his only partner then in the business world was John Holt Nigeria Limited. Due his fame, he visited Britain without papers. He had no time for visa or passport and on arriving Liverpool from Lagos, he was joined by John Holt and on being accosted by the officers at the Port, John Holt went down and approached them saying: “If I were you, I will leave the gentleman alone.” He was the only black man that swam in the ocean liner. He was ushered in from the boat to the business meetings after which, he returned immediately. Louis Ojukwu was the one who sponsored Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Nigeria before independence. In fact, he had enough money. He told Ojukwu that he would buy over liabilities of the refugees from the North. He also promised to provide his son, Odumegwu, with enough arms.

What is your reaction on secession of Biafra?
Men with will, like Napoleon, Khan and Ojukwu are not supposed to be given the benefit of making mistakes. It is risky arrangement to do that because it will lead to catastrophe. Ojukwu declared secession without his father’s blessing and that led to his father’s early death.
Do you think that Ojukwu fought a just cause?
Yes and that was why all Igbo followed him. Our research proved that. When the Yoruba were tempted to do same on the annulment of June 12, election, they did not and till now, I do not know why. But I believe that they did not want to take the risk because there was no Ojukwu among them. You cannot evaluate a human except you go to his philosophical cord. The Yoruba did not go to war because of the great injustice done to Abiola. They were expected to fight. If it were the Igbo, they would have gone to war.
As a historian, what do you think that contributed to the loss of Biafra in the war?
Ojukwu appointing Banjo to lead his liberation was a mistake. Just as a man of will, it was an exercise that would change the face of the war, if it becomes calamity. The people of Midwest expected him to appoint them commanders of the Biafran army, but he did not and rather appointed Victor Banjo. Also, when OAU started, Biafra was to be given confederation but Ojukwu refused. That was really a mistake to his followers and a catastrophe to us historians.
What would you say about Igbo without Ojukwu?
The Igbo had really lost a great leader that will be difficult to be replaced. However, something is still going to be done. When Dr Nnamdi Azikwe died, you could talk about Ojukwu, Okadigbo and Okigbo, who were great leaders in their own stuff. Ojukwu represented those who believe in Biafra, those Nigerians who are Igbo and those who are just Igbo, while Zik represented only Igbo who were Nigerians, and those Nigerians who were Africans. Zik was a pan-Africanist and an Igbo man who was a Nigerian, probably, the best. He made major contributions to the Igbo ascendancy. He built the Onitsha market. He built the best citadel in Igbo land: University of Nigeria Nsukka. He left and Ojukwu became the overall leader of the Igbo and now that Ojukwu has left, there are people that could take his position.
Could you suggest who should step into Ojukwu’s shoes?
Leadership is not by appointment. It is all about who follows who. It is all about followership. You cannot claim to be a leader when you don’t have followers. In Igboland today, nobody is following anybody, except Ralph Uwazuruike. He is the only one that can come out and others will follow him; we cannot be blind to that. So, he is a leader. Besides, I see problems because he maintains that flanks of followership that believe in Biafra, while other countless Igbo, who don’t believe in Biafra do not succumb to Uwazuruike’s philosophy. Ojukwu succeeded because he was able to hold all sections of Igbo. He really dealt with Nigerians and had knowledge of Nigerians in his movements from independence till now.

His exposure in Kings College, Lagos, ability to understand Nigeria and Nigerians helped him a lot. The only Igbo leader that has such characteristics is Justice Chukwuemeka Oputa, but he is not active anymore due to age. I see Dr. Walter Ofonagoro also not vibrant any more. I also see Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu.
So, what we are going to do is not to cry that Ojukwu’s shoes are too big to wear. The Igbo at this point in time of our history need a caucus of leadership that will be spearheaded by a younger person. Uwazuruike should be given the lead. He should be given the throne because it is Ojukwu’s will that Uwazuruike should take over from him. But, he has to be surrounded by the Igbo Nigerians, like Ndubuisi Kanu, Chinua Achebe and Arthur Nwankwo; so as to have a stronger leadership.
What kind of burial is the world expecting for Ojukwu?
Ojukwu’s burial would be that of a mankind because he was a symbol of Biafra. Ojukwu gave the Igbo a sense of belonging. So, nobody should be stopped from participating in his burial. The most important thing is that Nnewi, by tradition, supersedes everyone else. They will come with something different. Nnewi was the only town that was not touched during the war and every Nigerian commander wanted to enter Nnewi, but could not. So, Nnewi will bury. Ojukwu. Igbo and MASSOB will also bury him and nobody should try to stop them from burying their leader the way they want it. Finally, his political associates and international community will also participate in his burial.

OJUKWU
OUR AGONY –Veteran Biafran soldiers
From PETRUS OBI, Enugu
Saturday December 24, 2011

•Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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The burial of the late Biafra leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, may have been scheduled for February 2 but the burial rites and celebration of his life by his people have long started.
Recently, some Biafran soldiers, most of who are already aged, came together in Enugu, shortly after the seven-day mourning, in what they termed continuation of their last respects to their leader.

The veterans took their turns to pay tribute to their leader, urging the Federal Government to, as a mark of respect, use the death of Ojukwu to pay the long awaited compensation to soldiers who fought on the side of Biafra.
Major Edwin Nwora (lawyer and legal adviser to the Biafra war Veteran Association)
Ojukwu’s death is very painful to us because he is irreplaceable. You were asking of what we learnt from Ojukwu. First of all, what we will never forget about Ojukwu is truthfulness, doggedness and straightforwardness. You know the meeting with Gowon in Aburi and what was agreed? He said let us go back for confederation. Gowon came back and cancelled it, saying that Ojukwu spoke a lot of English and he didn’t understand what he was saying. Ojukwu was one of the best Nigerians. He wanted the best for Nigeria; but what he hated was injustice; he didn’t want injustice against anybody.

He was the best Nigeria will ever have; he wanted unity for Nigeria. He was a leader when his people were being killed, maimed and disgraced. They rushed back home like outcasts, as Soyinka would say. When people treat you as an outcast, when your country treats you as an outcast, you don’t just remain like that; the best option for Ojukwu was to declare Biafra. The nation we built with so much hard work treated us like outcasts. Azikwe was nationalist. Mbadiwe was a nationalist. They are among the people that made Nigeria what it is today. They are from this part of the country. For them to be pushed and killed and driven away from Nigeria was a big disgrace; if I were Ojukwu I would have done same. So we have to remember him for his doggedness, honesty, hard work, justice and integrity; that’s what we remember Ojukwu for. He is dead but he is in our mind.

Coming to the veterans, you have to pity us because we were denied our rights; remember the American civil war? The North and South fought. The north were the republicans and the business men. The South were purely Negros and farmers. To make peace, they were fully integrated; the leaders of the rebels, from the South, were integrated into the America armed forces and they were given all their benefits. Here we fought; no benefit was given to us; we have nothing. If I show you my wound today you will run away. Most of us had their taste of the baptism of fire. We had real baptism of fire. People don’t realise what we suffered, but we are hearing that the Federal Government has approved money for the veterans of Eastern Nigeria; if we are given that as compensation it will be good because we have no pension, no gratuity, nothing.

So, it will be good to at least appease the veterans; it is not too much if we are given that benefit; it is our right. In a civilian society. Nigeria has not treated us fairly. We didn’t fight a wrong war; we were trying to defend ourselves; we were pushed to the wall and we had to react. I have no regret for taking part in the civil war. We were pushed to the wall, our brothers and sisters were being killed for nothing. We believe in one Nigeria, but the Nigeria we believe in hates us. Are we to jump into the Atlantic Ocean and drown ourselves? No, we didn’t nee to do that and that is why I praise Ojukwu. He stood his ground to defend honesty, justice for everybody. That’s why Ojukwu is a big loss to every easterner.
Lt. Col. Elias Ona, former secretary of the veterans’ welfare association

We are united as an association because when the war ended Nigeria had four regions: East, West, North and Mid West. The United Nations had a resolution in 1890 that no people or race should be regarded as slaves or defeated people of war. Why is that the three regions that fought with us have been compensated, leaving the East? That forced us to unite to fight for a common cause. And of course, even if the government will compensate us, they will not go to individual houses; there has to be a platform; that’s why we came under this umbrella. That is why we are calling on other veterans, who have not registered with us, to do so before it become late. Now we are in one country but if you go to some parts you will be slaughtered. How then can somebody be in his own country and at the same time remain a stranger? We decided to unite because Igbo are Hebrews and you can never divide the Hebrews. So, we are for unity and we are working together with well thinking easterners.
Lt. Col. Mbina Mbina (from
Cross River State)
The war was not fought only by the Igbo. I want to correct this impression in people’s minds that the war was an Igbo war; it was a war by easterners because when the massacre happened, they never killed only the Igbo. If we cast our minds back, we will remember that Captain Akpe, who is directly from Ogoni, in Ikom, was killed alongside the late Gen. Thomas Aguiyi Ironsi. That moved the people of former Ogoja province to join the war. We are also appealing to the Federal Government that they are duty bound to see that veterans are compensated, in line with the ‘no victor’ no vanquished’ declaration after the war. If that is not done, it then means that the government is biased against the soldiers who fought the war on the Biafra side.
We have integrated ourselves, but there has been no rehabilitation, no settlement or compensation. We are appealing to them to use the death of our commander and give to his men who fought with him what is due to them. If they can give amnesty to the Niger Delta, those young boys who, because of one reason or the other, exercised their rights, why should it not go to a whole nation, like Biafra, who surrendered and laid down their arms and brought peace and development to the country?
Lt. Col. Nwafor Ukpo Johnson
The Federal Government should come to our aid. Former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, said after the war that there was ‘no victor’ and ‘no vanquished.’ It should have been assumed that we were in eastern command of Nigeria Army, not Biafran Army; we are in eastern command. The present president of Nigeria should come to our aid and give us our entitlement as Nigerian soldiers of eastern command.
Ojukwu: when someone you love dies
With Dan Onwukwe (08023022170 dan_onwukwe@yahoo.com|)
Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Ojukwu
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When someone you love dies, someone much bigger than you, someone you have profound respect and admiration for, a few things rush into your subconscious: you suddenly realize how ‘small’ you are, and how ‘big’ death seem to be and how it can deal with even the toughest as nail kind of personality. No wonder death has been described as the last ‘enemy’ to be destroyed.

Waking up penultimate Saturday morning to hear the death of one of Nigeria’s most genuine, remarkable and colourful personalities, Dim Chukwuemkea Odumegwu Ojukwu, brought closer this reality to me. Although we all know that Ojukwu’s death took it’s fateful turn last year when he was rushed to a London hospital, by a chartered aircraft from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) that he died when we were told by family members that he was recovering and could return home ‘soon’, further drives the point that death could also be a thief at night. It can strike anytime.

My admiration for Ojukwu developed not as a result of personal encounter with him, it was the consequence of my eldest brother, Charles, narration of the man. My brother had abandoned his studies at Holy Ghost College Owerri where he had a vision to pursue a course in Engineering in the university. He had majored in sciences. But something happened. My brother had left the dormitory for Ahiara in Mbaise, where Ojukwu was billed to make the famous Ahiara declaration, speech. He was taken in, indeed ‘wowed’ by Ojukwu’s gift of oratory.

The eloquence and substance of Ojukwu’s speech my brother told me years later, was a self- awakening. He said he has never seen anybody then who had spoken with such camdour and clarity of purpose as Ojukwu did that blustery day at Ahiara. I asked him was that enough reason for him to abandon his studies and ‘drafted’ him to the Biafran army? He retorted, “you won’t understand”. Thank God my two elder brothers came back from the civil war alive.

The Nigerian civil war was an incredibly, terrifying period that lasted for three years. It can never be forgotten. History is shaped by defining moments. Individuals become heroes and leaders depending on how they seize the moment in such remarkable, heart-wrenching period. Ojukwu soared in it. He was like a lightening in our hearts, in our subconscious. I never saw him until my secondary school days. A political rally was going on at Aba Township Stadium. Ikemba was in town to formally declare for the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Even with the poisonous hatred many in the South East had for the NPN, I went for the man: Ojukwu. I was too young then, to risk going to Aba unaccompanied. It was my second visit there. My interest was to catch a glimpse of the man and see whether what my elder told me was truly the speck of the man called Ojukwu. Somebody ‘smuggled me’ into the stadium.

The impression I had that fateful day still remains with me. I saw a man with an overwhelming belief in himself, a man with a stunning self-confidence and incomparable breadth of vision and a sheer tenacity, persistence and if you like, a willingness to fail. It was a self confidence etched in incredible risk. Ojukwu has always had this commanding presence and the look-at-me swagger. For what is indisputable, Ojukwu was a mesmerizing speaker. You must listen to him, unless you have already made up your mind not to ‘tune in’. He had the charisma of a revolutionary. His arguments were always ideological, methodical and grounded in historical logic. When he speaks, he takes his audience along with facts, perhaps not the whole truth.

He was by all standards, a tough and popular leader, loved by many. He was also a lady’s man because some ladies, I hear, love men with sheer nerves. Ojukwu had unmatched capacity to persuade anyone, one-on-one, in small or in large groups. He was not only charismatic, his aura has influence enough to impose his own will. A few times I came close to him as a journalist, I observed a man who had a disdain for anyone who lacks intellectual fecundity. He liked making a distinction between doers and thinkers, between a contemplative person and an activist. But, those who dislike his guts claim he was an embodiment of an urgent dreamer.

The nuanced explanation as to whether the civil war was necessary and now realistic, the Biafran nation would continue to be given different versions by historians. It is so because historians are often in a rush to make conclusion, but history does not. In that respect, I do not think, it is true, as Chief Olusegun Obasanjo claimed the other day that Ojukwu told him he had ‘remorse’ over the civil war. A man with Ojukwu’s quality of mind that is nimble, and an intellectual prowess guided by history, would not say he regretted his involvement in the war.

On the country, the rigour and righteous fury which Ojukwu used in justifying the war in his speeches at Aburi (Ghana) and Abiara, have been vindicated in the events of our nation decades after he made those declarations. Consider of his statements at Aburi where he said matter-of-factly, “ I did not go to Aburi as an easterner. I came here as a Nigerian seeking a satisfactory solution to a Nigerian problem. I did not go to Aburi to seek power for myself nor did I go there for picnic. I went to work in order to save Nigeria from disintegration.” He noted that no nation will have peace amid deep-seated suspicion of its citizens or ethnic groups against the other.

Different authors who have written on the civil war and the Ojukwu factor had painted him with a brush of stubborn arrogance and proud pathos, haven’t all these fears become some of our fault-lines as a nation? What did the restiveness in the Niger Delta teach us? What lesson does the arrogant Boko Haram challenge teach us? A nation on a pressure cooker. That was the essence of Biafra. It was a rebellion triggered by heartrending tears from the oppressed and dissatisfied Igbo. Ojukwu was the symbol of that self-awakening. Other ethnic groups are up against the Nigerian state because of the same dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs of the nation. Is Nigeria at ‘war’ with its people? Aren’t bribery, corrupt and greed which Ojukwu so tellingly decried in his Aburi and Aburi speeches Nigeria’s heels?
Undoubtedly, his death has removed one of the greatest figures of our time. History will be kind to him.

He called attention he believed was were hurtful to his people. That what leadership entails. If there was any regrets, it was the fact that he did not fulfill his political ambition. It was so because in his first try after his return from exile, he was deceived to believe he had been anointed and sanctified by the powers that be in NPN. That he painfully discovered that later was instrumental to his sticking to the provincial political party, APGA. His death will undeniably, create a vacuum in Igbo land. The worry is that politics in Igbo land is, if anything, in even greater disarray. All manner of character will strut the stage to claim they are the “anointed” Igbo leader by Ojukwu before the man died. Truly before Ojukwu, Ndigbo have had authentic leaders like the great Zik of Africa, Dr Micheal Okpara, Dr Akanu Ibiam, and to a small measure, Dr Chuba Okadigbo and Dr K.O.Mbadiwe. After them, no commanding figure that can call a meeting and Ndigbo will oblige, as Ojukwu did.

Without Ojukwu, hope will darken yet again. The enemies of Ndigbo “invading army” will try to run rings around our people and create disunity. Ojukwu was an incandescent density whose prowess dwarfed the rest. He must be happy even in grave that his last political wish was granted him by the Anambra electorate. His last wish was for Peter Obi to be re-elected for a second term in office. He had told the people. “This is my last wish, vote him (Obi) for four more years! That’s the sinking feeling when someone you love passes on.
Re: Ojukwu and the Biafran cross
With Dan Onwukwe (08023022170 dan_onwukwe@yahoo.com|)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011


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Dan, thanks so much for your article, titled Ojukwu: when someone you love dies.
I often look forward to your essays. I did notice a few discrepancies which regrettably, I must point out to you.
Granted that most people these days do not read with attention, there is still a handful who live on good write-ups like yours. For their sake, let us do better because good is not enough where is possible - especially with journalism. It devolves on our generation - the last generation that saw all that happened both in Nigeria and in Biafra, to at least strive to state facts accurately

Here are few discrepancies I noticed. I humbly ask for clarifications, where possible:
The Ahiara declaration took place in Mid-1969, after Owerri was recovered from the Nigerians in April of that year. Holy Ghost College was in Mid-1969, the home of Colonel Ogbugo Kalu’s 14th Division of the Biafra Army. There were no students there and then. In fact, this is a painful misrepresentation because all secondary schools in Biafra were closed in July 1967!

Ojukwu committed several blunders during Biafra’s existence. I consider the Ahiara Declaration a Master Blunder. Anyone with a measurable amount of knowledge of the whiteman would tell you that you do not confront the whiteman from a position of weakness, especially without an ally. For example, Fidel Castro survived the US, because of the Soviet Union. So I wonder why on earth your brother was impreesed. the Ahiara Declaration was great oratory, by an MA-Oxford and a General of the people. But it was unwise. On that occasion, quoting Count von Rosen in Captain Okpe’s Biafra the last flight, “Ojukwu should choose between a revolution and winning this war”.

These observations of mine may not align with the norm, but I believe that at long last, we Igbos are now at the stage of soul-searching and retrospection, regarding reasons why we as a people, lost so much and so traumatically, in ten short years between 1960 and 1970.
On the righteous fury which Ojukwu used in justifying the war in his speeches at Aburi (Ghana), my comment on that is: the Aburi meetings took place in March 1967. There was no Biafra at the time and the war which started in July 1967, had not even occurred. In fact, Nigeria was still a country of 4 Regions till May 1967 - ie, 2 months after Aburi, when Gowon split the regions into 12 states. It is preposterous that anyone would state that Ojukwu was justifying any “war” during the Aburi discussions.

And for the record, General Ojukwu never justified the war. He defended Biafra’s taking up of arms for our survival via Sovereignty.
Truly before Ojukwu, Ndigbo have had authentic leaders like the great Zik of Africa, Dr Micheal Okpara, Dr Akanu Ibiam, and to a small measure, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo and Dr K.O.Mbadiwe.
It is typical of we Igbos to gloss over our mistakes and shortcomings. Where in this article is a mention of Azikiwe’s political short-sightedness? Ojukwu’s total diplomatic ignorance all through the Biafra passage? And of course, the perennial lack of strategic foresight on the part of Igbo politicians, past and present?
Yes, we are the GREAT Igbos. But, on January 1960, we owned Nigeria, we owned West Africa. Ten short years later, we were a people forced within 20 square Kilometers of territory, about to be wiped out. How come? The answer is that political blunders - which you do not mention in your article, were committed.

I wonder what other people groups in Nigeria would be saying? Has it occurred to you that every tribe in our beloved country claims victimization? What do we Igbos gain by endless jeremiads? When shall we Igbos begin to admit that we have self-destroying foibles and begin to make amends? Absence of a choice is a choice, and by not openly speaking the truth, we tell lies and guarantee our continued declension. When shall we begin to understand that should be our, and not pursuit of immediate personal glory? Are the wanton kidnapping and assassination incidents in Igbo land being conducted by our “enemies”? Was it our “enemies” that has allowed our precious language to slide to less than 50% usage? Why is Igboland such a front that most Igbo children are born and/or raised outside Igboland? What one positive reform has taken place in Igboland since the dawn of time? Is it the OSU issue? Is the Osu caste system still enforced in “Christian” Igboland of today, not an abhorrence before Jehova God, whom we Igbos glibly claim we worship? If we are unable to be united, why can’t we work on controling those things (frivoulous title acquisitions, rampant creation of autonomous zones within our Local Government Areas, etc), that tend to divide us? Would that not be a good start for reforms?

I recently joked to a friend that why many Igbos are now flocking to Islam is that we were running out of titles, and discovered that Alahaji is now allowed. A joke, but it has to do with the question of what adjustments need to be made socially and culturally, While we see and hear that Babangida, Atiku, Buhari, etc, routinely take evening strolls practically unescorted and unperturbed in their home towns and villages, can Ekwueme, Soludo or Chief Uzor Kalu, etc, move about their hometowns or even spend any time thereat, without a top-notch armed security outfit?
Mr. Onwukwe, our predicament was not brought about by the loss of Biafra and Biafra war. No. The Biafra War and Biafra were lost by attributes inherent in us that came to the surface after the British left.
Respectfully, Ebiz
Biography of Yakubu Gowon
General Dr. Yakubu Gowon, GCFR (born 19 October 1934) was the head of state (Head of the Federal Military Government) of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another. During his rule, the Nigerian government successfully prevented Biafran secession during the 1966–1970 Nigerian Civil War.
Early life
Yakubu is an Ngas (Angas) from Lur, a small village in the present Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State. His parents, Nde Yohanna and Matwok Kurnyang, left for Wusasa, Zaria as Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries in the early days of Yakubu's life. His father took pride in the fact that he married the same day as the late Queen Mother Elizabeth married King George VI. Yakubu was the fifth of eleven children. He grew up in Zaria and had his early life and education there. At school Yakubu proved to be a very good athlete, he was the school football goalkeeper, pole vaulter, and long distance runner. He broke the school mile record in his first year. He was also the boxing captain.

Early career and political ascent
Yakubu Gowon joined the Nigerian army in 1954, receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant on 19 October 1955, his 21st birthday.
He also attended both the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK (1955–56), Staff College, Camberley, UK (1962) as well as the Joint Staff College, Latimer, 1965. He saw action in the Congo (Zaire) as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, both in 1960-61 and in 1963. He advanced to battalion commander rank by 1966, at which time he was still a Lieutenant Colonel.
Up until that year Gowon remained strictly a career soldier with no involvement whatsoever in politics, until the tumultuous events of the year suddenly thrust him into a leadership role, when his unusual background as a Northerner who was neither of Hausa or Fulani ancestry nor of the Islamic faith made him a particularly safe choice to lead a nation whose population were seething with ethnic tension.
In January 1966, he became Nigeria's youngest head of state at the age of 32, because a military coup d'état by a group of mostly Igbo junior officers under Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu led to the overthrow of Nigeria's civilian government. In the course of this coup, mostly northern and western leaders were killed, including Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria's Prime Minister; Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region; and Samuel Akintola, Premier of the Western Region, as well as several high ranking Northern army officers. The then Lieutenant Colonel Gowon returned back from his course at the Joint Staff College, Latimer UK two days before the coup - a late arrival that possible exmepted him from the coupist hit list.[3] In contrast, only a single Igbo officer lost his life. This gave the coup an ethnocentric cast that aroused the suspicions of Northerners, and the subsequent failure by Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (who was the head of state following the January 1966 coup-with Gowon his Chief of Staff) to meet Northern demands for the prosecution of the coup plotters further inflamed Northern anger. It should be noted that there was significant support for the coup plotters from both the Eastern Region as well as the mostly left-wing "Lagos-Ibadan" press.
Then came Ironsi's Decree Number 34, which proposed the abolition of the federal system of government in favor of a unitary state, a position which had long been championed by the Southern parties - the NCNC and the AG. This was perhaps wrongly interpreted by Northerners as a Southern (Eastern, Midwestern and Western Regions) attempt at a takeover of all levers of power in the country. The North lagged badly behind the Western and Eastern regions in terms of education due to their religious related unacceptance of western education early, while the mostly-Igbo Easterners were already present in the federal civil service. On 29 July 1966, while Ironsi was staying at Government House in Ibadan, northern troops led by Major Theophilus Danjuma and Captain Martin Adamu stormed the building, seized Ironsi and his host, Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, and subsequently had the two men stripped naked, flogged and beaten, and finally shot. Other northern troops, led by Lieutenant Colonel Murtala Mohammed, the real leader of the counter-coup and who later succeeded Yakubu Gowon as head of state, then seized the Ikeja airport in Lagos. Several Igbo and Eastern minority officers were killed during the counter-coup.

The original intention of Murtala Mohammed and his fellow coup-plotters seems to have been to engineer the secession of the Northern region from Nigeria as a whole, but they were subsequently dissuaded of their plans by several advisors, amongst which included a number of high ranking civil servants and judges, and importantly emissaries of the British and American governments who had interests in the Nigerian polity. The young officers then decided to name Lieutenant Colonel Gowon, who apparently had not been actively involved in events until that point, as Nigerian Head of State. On ascent to power Gowon reversed Ironsi's abrogation of the federal principle.

The buildup to the Biafran War
In the meantime, the July counter-coup had unleashed pogroms against the Igbo throughout the Northern Region. Hundreds of Igbo officers were murdered during the revolt, and in the North, as commanding officers either lost their control of their troops or actively egged them on to violence against Igbo civilians, it did not take long for Northerners from all walks of life to participate. Tens of thousands of Igbos were killed throughout the North. The persecution precipitated the flight of more than a million Igbo towards their ancestral homelands in eastern Nigeria. Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the military governor of the Eastern region who did not allow attempts by Northern soldiers stationed in his region to replicate the massacres of Igbo officers, argued that if Igbo lives could not be preserved by the Nigerian state, then the Igbo reserved the right to establish a state of their own in which their rights would indeed be respected.

There arose tension between the Eastern region and the northern controlled federal government lead by Gowon. On 4–5 January 1967, in line with Ojukwu's demand to meet for talks only on neutral soil, a summit attended by Gowon, Ojukwu and other members of the Supreme Military Council was held at Aburi in Ghana, the stated purpose of which was to resolve all outstanding conflicts and establish Nigeria as a confederation of regions. The outcome of this summit was the Aburi Accord.
The Aburi Accord did not see the light of the day, as the Gowon led government had huge consideration for the possible revenues, especially oil revenues which were expected to increase given that reserves having been discovered in the area in the mid-1960s. It has been said without confirmation that both Gowon and Ojukwu had knowledge of the huge oil reserves in the Niger Delta area, which today has grown to be the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

In a move to check the influence of Ojukwu's government in the East, Gowon announced on 5 May 1967 the division of the 3 Nigerian regions into 12 states - North-Western State, North-Eastern state, Kano State, North-Central State, Benue-Plateau State, Western State, Lagos State, Mid-Western State, and, from Ojukwu's Eastern Region, a Rivers State, a South-Eastern State, and an East-Central State. The non-Igbo South-Eastern and Rivers states which had the oil reserves and access to the sea, were carved out to isolate the Igbo areas as East-Central state.

One controversial aspect of this move was Gowon's annexing of Port Harcourt, a largely Igbo city sitting on some of Nigeria's largest reserves, into the new Rivers State, emasculating the Igbo population there. The flight of many of them to the 'Igbo heartland' where they felt safer would later prove to be a contradiction for Gowon's "no victor, no vanquished" policy, when at the end of the war, the properties they left behind were illegally occupied by some minority elements in Rivers State.
Minority ethnicities of the Eastern Region were rather not sanguine about the prospect of secession, as it would mean living in what they felt would be an Igbo-dominated nation. Some non-Igbos living in the Eastern Region either refrained from offering active support to the Biafran struggle, or actively aided the federal side by enlisting in the Nigerian army and feeding it intelligence about Biafran military activities.

However, some did play active roles in the Biafran government, with N.U. Akpan serving as Secretary to the Government, Lt. Col (later Major-General) Philip Effiong, serving as Biafra's Chief of Defence Staff and others like Chiefs Bassey and Graham-Douglas serving in other significant roles.

Gowon as war leader
On 30 May 1967, Ojukwu responded to Gowon's announcement by declaring the formal secession of the Eastern Region, which was now to be known as the Republic of Biafra. This was to trigger a war that would last some 30 months, and see the deaths of more than 100,000 soldiers and over a million civilians, most of the latter of which would perish of starvation under a Nigeria-imposed blockade. The war saw a massive expansion of the Nigerian army in size and a steep increase in its doctrinal and technical sophistication, while the Nigerian Air Force was essentially born in the course of the conflict. However, significant controversy has surrounded the air operations of the Nigerian Forces, as several residents of Biafra, including Red Cross workers, foreign missionaries and journalists, accused the Nigerian Air Force of specifically targeting civilian populations, relief centers and marketplaces. Gowon has steadfastly denied those claims, along with claims that his army committed atrocities such as rape, wholesale executions of civilian populations and extensive looting in occupied areas; however, one of his wartime commanders, Benjamin Adekunle seems to give some credence to these claims in his book, while excusing them as unfortunate by-products of war.

The end of the war came about on 13 January 1970, with Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo's acceptance of the surrender of Biafran forces. The next day Obasanjo announced the situation on the former rebel radio station Radio Biafra Enugu. Gowon subsequently declared his famous "no victor, no vanquished" speech, and followed it up with an amnesty for the majority of those who had participated in the Biafran uprising, as well as a program of "Reconciliation, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation", to repair the extensive damage done to the economy and infrastructure of the Eastern Region during the years of war. Unfortunately, some of these efforts never left the drawing board. In addition to this, Gen. Gowon's administration's policy of giving 20 pounds to everyone who had a bank account in Nigeria before the war, regardless of how much money had been in their account, was criticised by foreign and local aid workers, as this led to an unprecedented scale of begging, looting and robbery in the former Biafran areas after the war.

Gowon's career after the Biafran War
The postwar years saw Nigeria enjoying a meteoric, oil-fueled, economic upturn in the course of which the scope of activity of the Nigerian federal government grew to an unprecedented degree, with increased earnings from oil revenues. Unfortunately, however, this period also saw a rapid increase in corruption, mostly bribery, of and by federal government officials; and although the head of State himself, Gen. Gowon, was never found complicit in the corrupt practices, he was often accused of turning a blind eye to the activities of his staff and cronies.

Indigenization Decree
Another fateful decision made by Gowon at the height of the oil boom was to have severely negative repercussions for the Nigerian economy in later years, although its immediate effects were scarcely noticeable - his indigenization decree of 1972, which declared many sectors of the Nigerian economy off-limits to all foreign investment, while ruling out more than minority participation by foreigners in several other areas. This decree provided windfall gains to several well-connected Nigerians, not the least important of whom was MKO Abiola (who Fela Anikulapo Kuti was later to lampoon as "International Thief-Thief" for his role as an inactive, nominal majority shareholder in a joint venture with ITT), but proved highly detrimental to non-oil investment in the Nigerian economy.

Hallmarks of General Gowon's reign
Apart from winning the civil war and keeping the country together, general Gowon's time also saw
• Development of the Country's capital- Lagos, into an international city.
• Creation of Twelve states
• Introduction of odd and even days to manage Lagos traffic.
• Expansion of Government bureaucracy

Overthrow
On 1 October 1974, in flagrant contradiction to his earlier promises, Gowon declared that Nigeria would not be ready for civilian rule by 1976, and he announced that the handover date would be postponed indefinitely. Furthermore, because of the growth in bureaucracy, there were allegations of rise in corruption. Increased wealth in the country resulted in fake import licenses being issued. There were stories of tons of stones and sand being imported into the country, and of General Gowon himself saying to a foreign reporter that "the only problem Nigeria has is how to spend the money she has." These provoked serious discontent within the army, and on 25 July 1975, while Gowon was attending an OAU summit in Kampala, a group of officers led by Brigadier Murtala Mohammed announced his overthrow.

Later life
Gowon subsequently went into exile in the United Kingdom, where he acquired a Ph.D. in political science as a student at the University of Warwick. He lived in north London / Hertfordshire border, and very much became part the English community in his area, where he served a term as Churchwarden in the local church.

In February 1976, Gowon was implicated in the Coup d'état led by Lt. Col Buka Suka Dimka, which resulted in the death of the now Gen Murtala Mohammed. According to Dimka's "confession", he met with Gowon in London, and obtained support from him for the coup. In addition, Dimka mentioned before his execution that the purpose of the Coup d'état was to re-install Gowon as Head of State. As a result of the coup tribunal findings, Gowon was declared wanted by the Nigerian government, stripped of his rank in absentia and had his pension cut off. Gen Gowon was finally pardoned (along with the ex-Biafran President, Emeka Ojukwu) during the Second Republic under President Shehu Shagari.

He returned to Nigeria in the 1980s, and in the 1990s he formed a non-denominational religious group, Nigeria Prays. Still based in the UK, General Gowon today serves an 'elder statesman' role in African politics, operating (for example) as an official observer at the Ghanaian presidential elections 2008.

Furthermore, Gen. Gowon is also involved in the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme as well as the HIV Programme with Global Fund of Geneva. A Centre was established in 1992 in honor of Gowon called the Yakubu Gowon Centre. He has now founded the Yakubu Gowon Foundation (YGF) as a private independent implementing and funding NGO to promote the development of communities through four program areas that are dear to his heart (Health, Education, Agriculture and Peace).


Onyekakeyah: Born in the war front (1)
TUESDAY, 27 DECEMBER 2011 00:00 BY LUKE ONYEKAKEYAH OPINION - COLUMNISTS

THIS piece is a tribute in honour of Chief Chuwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, patriot, nationalist and statesman, who passed on to eternal glory on November 29, 2011 in a London hospital at the age of 78. The death of Ojukwu, the fiery leader of the Biafran revolution provides an opportunity to relive some of the dramatic high points of the Nigerian civil war that raged from 1967 – 1970, as seen from my childhood perspective. Ojukwu’s death aroused nostalgia of the civil war, which nearly annihilated the Igbo, had it not been the way Ojukwu chose to handle it with tact. From the outset, I would like to clarify some salient points that have been misconstrued, which I regard as the central truth about the civil war. One is that it was not Lt. Colonel Udumegwu Ojukwu that declared the war that broke out on May 27, 1967 between the Eastern Region that wanted to secede and the Federal Nigerian State. Instead, it was the Nigerian State led by Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon that declared war and at the same time launched a ferocious attack on Biafra to force it back into the Nigerian state.
Ojukwu, as the then Governor of the Eastern Region, merely responded to the attack in defence of the East. Having found himself in a war front by virtue of his birth and leadership position, history beckoned on him to rise up to the challenge and take charge of the situation. Any other person who found himself in that position at that material time could have done exactly what Ojukwu did. Given that Ojukwu had no personal ambition at the time to dismember Nigeria, it is absolutely wrong for any one to ascribe to him an ambition or dream that he never contemplated.
The fact that Ojukwu was not a party to the first ever military coup led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, alongside predominantly Igbo officers proves this point. The truth, however, is that if the Nigerian State had not launched the vicious attack against Biafra, which led to a civil war that claimed over a million lives mainly on the Biafran side, there would have been no civil war. Though the action of the federal government was expected at the time, it is important to put the records straight and appreciate the real brain behind the war. It is only a tree that stands still when it knows that it is about to be cut down.That brings me to the second point, which is that Ojukwu was not fighting the cause of the Igbo alone as many have erroneously turned the war into an only Igbo project. The truth is that Ojukwu was fighting the cause of the entire defunct Eastern Region made up of the present South-East and South-South zones. The pogrom that broke out in the North did not spare anybody from the Eastern Region. Igbo and non-Igbo from the other ethnic groups in the Eastern Region were massacred alongside the Igbo without separation. That was why Ojukwu issued the order at the height of the crisis urging all Easterners to return home since they had lost favour with their fellow compatriots in other parts of the country. He didn’t call on the Igbo alone to return. It is therefore not correct to say that Ojukwu foisted Biafra on other ethnic groups in the East when the uprising was an Igbo affair. The uprising was nationwide targeted against Easterners.
My first consciousness as a kid was confronted with sad tales of killing and massacre of men, women and children in Northern Nigeria. It was like someone born on the war front whose life is shaped from the outset by war. As kids in the primary school, our teachers showed us gory pictures of beheaded, bandaged, bleeding folks, who had machete cuts in Northern Nigeria. As a kid, I did not understand what was going on or why people could inflict deep machete cuts on their fellows, butchering them as sheep and goats.
Then came a flood of returnees from Northern and Western Nigeria. Men, women and children poured into the East from all directions. People who had been away for decades suddenly found themselves in their village totally unprepared. It was a period of uncertainty for millions of folks and their families. Amidst the tension, news kept pouring in of killings of Igbos in different parts of the country. That was sometime in the second half of 1966 before the actual war broke out. We heard about the departure of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe to the United States of America for medical treatment. Zik was Nigeria’s first president. We heard about the Aburi Accord reached between Federal Government delegates led by Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon and Eastern delegates led by Ojukwu as Governor of Eastern Region. Lt. General J.A. Ankrah, Chairman of the Ghana National Liberation Council hosted the meeting in Aburi, Accra, as the safety of Ojukwu could not be guaranteed in any part of Nigeria. The failure of the Accord paved the way for an all out war. But the East insisted by declaring “On Aburi we stand”.We heard about the Ahiara Declaration, which articulated the principles of the Biafran revolution and set the stage for the war. Though, we didn’t understand the meaning of all this, as kids, we kept refraining the “On Aburi we stand” slogan with unrestrained audacity. Our belief was strongly founded on Ojukwu. As far as he was concerned, whatever he agreed, we agreed. Whatever he accepted, we accepted. And, whatever he rejected, we rejected. Ojukwu’s position on any matter won popular support. When the war finally broke out, schools were shut. We retreated into the bush, under big trees and pitched our classrooms and blackboards. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, served as the intellectual melting pot for Biafran scientists who researched on weapons manufacturing that helped to prosecute the war. There was high enthusiasm among the youths, who readily joined the Biafran army. Military establishments were set up in the nooks and crannies of Igbo land. The presence of soldiers wearing the khaki and camouflaged Biafran army uniform with the rising sun emblem was commonplace. Some of our boys who were wounded in battle or deafened by artillery shell or mortar retuned home for treatment or break.
The Biafran Organisation of Freedom Fighters (BOFF), the dreaded commandos, made a lasting impression on me because their headquarters was located in the neighbourhood of my village. They provided us with close insight into the workings of the army. We witnessed their training sessions, the movement of arms and ammunition and learnt new war songs, which the soldiers dished out on continuous basis. Biafran scientists were highly creative. Ingenuity was not lacking. They could turn wine into water if that was what was needed to win the war.
But one thing that scared us most was the frequent air raids from Nigeria. The buzzing of assault fighters and bombers was dreaded, as they bombed anything on their path without exception. Churches, schools and markets were among their main targets. In order to restrain the air raids, all public places were camouflaged with palm fronds and green tree branches. Schools and churches had their roofs decked with palm fronds. There was high sense of alertness among the populace, who had been drilled on how to take cover whenever there was an air raid.
Biafrans were taught to double their vigilance. The slogan, which when translated reads “He who is surrounded by the enemy guards his life – Children of Biafra don’t sleep”, sank deep into people’s consciousness. People developed the Spartan spirit of never give up. The survival mentality spurred people to act in an unusual way with successful outcome.
The early days of the war saw the Biafran troops recoding resounding success. Within a twinkle of an eye, they overran the entire Eastern Region and advanced across the River Niger to the Mid-West and pushed as far as Ore. But they were driven back following sabotage by some unscrupulous elements in the army, which turned the fortunes of the war against Biafra. The push back turned the hand of the clock as federal troops launched fierce attacks on all fronts against the ill-equipped Biafran forces. But the doggedness of Ojukwu spurred the army and the people alike to fight on against all odds.Whereas, the federal government was supported by world powers comprising Britain and Russia, the Biafrans managed to resist the onslaught and managed to prosecute the war on their own ingenuity alone to the surprise of the world. We were told the Federal Government planned to overrun Biafra within 24-hours but Ojukwu’s scientists produced weapons that wreaked havoc on the enemy forces. The famous “Ogbunigwe” and “Sure Battery” devices proved very potent in restraining the enemy’s strategic advance from different directions.
Akinola: Explaining the Civil War of 1967-70
WEDNESDAY, 28 DECEMBER 2011 00:00 BY ANTHONY AKINOLA OPINION - COLUMNISTS

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ONE thing we must not deny a future generation is the right to know the history of their nation. History is an important subject that should be made compulsory, at least at the secondary school level.
Since the death of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, a major actor in the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70, a number of younger friends have sought to know more about the war. With requests coming from no less than 10 individuals, a decision to summarise an historical epoch here would appear somehow appropriate. Hopefully, this summary should provide an insight into a history that has been competently documented by great authors which include Professor Anthony Kirk-Greene of Oxford University.
The Civil War of 1967-70 can hardly be discussed in isolation. Understanding it entails an excursion into the history of our great nation. Its remote causes can therefore be summarised as emanating from the very nature of our colonial-imposed federalism as well as the colonial masters’ legacy of divide and rule. Suffice it to say that the creation of Nigeria was designed, first and foremost, to serve the interests of the colonial masters. The federation bequeathed to Nigerians was lopsided, with political power skewing heavily in favour of the North to the detriment of the then southern regions, Eastern and Western. The colonial approach to education and religion could hardly be described as an effort directed at promoting unity in a nation of different languages and culture.
The immediate causes of the war derived from the aforementioned factors, as post-independence history was a history of the south attempting to challenge a structure that impeded progress as well as the political ambitions of its key leaders. The North, based on its population, agitated for, and successfully got, 50% of representation at the Federal House of Representatives during the Ibadan Constitutional Conference of 1950. This was not without opposition from politicians of the Western Region but the North got its way with support from those of the Eastern Region. That co-operation between the North and East more or less heralded an opportunistic alliance of their main political parties beyond independence in 1960.
However, the south continued to challenge what had constituted northern primacy in politics resulting in a succession of crises. The census crisis of 1962-3 and the contentious federal election of 1964 saw an otherwise divided south singing in unison. It would be naïve to assume that the feelings of ethnic politicians did not influence the thinking of soldiers, no matter what their pretensions to patriotism and non-partisanship, and this was what came into fore on January 15, 1966 when a bloody coup-attempt terminated our teething experiment at democratic politics. The soldiers struck on the background of a comical election that had produced a hitherto unprecedented violence in the Western Region in 1965.
The coupists, comprised mainly of soldiers from the Igbo-dominated Eastern Region, claimed to have acted in the national interest. What, however, did not seem to have been in the national interest was the pattern which the execution of their coup took. The key politicians and soldiers killed were northerners and notable southern “collaborators”. The “cleansing” exercise did not claim Igbo casualties. The coup itself could not be described as successful, hijacked as it was by senior officers who were hardly party to it. The subsequent leadership of Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo, did not help matters with his Decree No 34 of May 25, 1966 which transformed federal Nigeria into a unitary state.
Behind in Western education and commerce, the north saw unitarism as an orchestrated attempt to undo its peoples in the Civil Service and economic sectors of society. Coupled with failure to bring the coupists to trial, Ironsi’s unitary decree would be considered a catalyst to the counter-coup of July 1966 – “the northern reply” – which claimed the lives of many Igbo officers and men, including General Aguiyi-Ironsi himself. This was soon followed by a massive killing of Igbo residents in the North.
The display of dead bodies and mutilated limbs arriving in the East from the North meant that emotions and anger could hardly be controlled. The war drums were everywhere to be heard. There were quite a number of other elements in the decision to go to war and this included the refusal of the then Lt. Col. Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of the East, to accept the authority of General Yakubu Gowon, his junior by enrolment in the military, as Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The agreement reached at the Aburi meeting - a confederal arrangement, for instance - favoured the demands of the secessionists but would later be reneged upon by the federal authorities once its implications became glaring. Emeka Ojukwu had in that meeting “outsmarted” his colleagues.
Of course, the war cannot be explained without reference to the then newly-discovered oil in the Eastern Region. It assured “Biafra” as a project that could be economically sustained. It was also because of oil that the major powers were neither spectators nor pacifists in the “fratricidal” conflict. They were more interested in having access to the oil than in bothering with the number of Nigerians killed!
General Yakubu Gowon rightly declared that there was “no victor and no vanquished” in the conclusion of a war for which we were all to be blamed. What we must never do again is put our nation in a situation that makes another civil war an attractive option. The outcome of such a stupidity could be most unwelcome.
• Akinola, a political writer based in Oxford, is the author of Rotational Presidency.
Ojukwu: Bury him like a hero
By Femi Adesina (kulikulii@yahoo.com, 08055001928)
Friday December 23, 2011


I have an aunt who is given to melodrama. She is so full of histrionics that whenever you visit her, you laugh and laugh, ‘till you almost forget your name.’ She told me a story one day. A neighbour had died, a person she was quite indifferent to, though they lived a stone’s throw away from each other. As tradition demands, she had to visit to commiserate with the children and relations of the deceased.

As she walked the few metres to the home of the departed, my aunt was engrossed with very many thoughts; her business, preparation for end of year sales, the wedding of her son in the oncoming year, and sundry issues. Then she saw that she was right in the front of the house of the deceased, where many people were gathered, wearing lugubrious looks. A good number were weeping.
The grand thespian simply whipped off her wrapper, and joined in the ululation, lamenting that death had dealt mankind great evil by taking a good woman away. She said she was deep into the play-acting, when she suddenly remembered that there was a big hole in her underskirt. And because she had pulled off her wrapper to achieve maximum effect, the fistula was gaping, visible to everyone. What a scandal!

She said when the realisation struck her, faster than she had whipped off the wrapper, she picked it from where it had been thrown, and promptly tied it round her body, covering the gaping hole. For my aunt, it was theatrics that almost went awry.
Well, since November 26, 2011, when Ikemba Nnewi and Ezeigbo Gburugburu (Igbo King Worldwide), Chukwuemeka Odumegwu, passed away, we have seen and heard all sorts of tributes, many sincere and heartfelt, and many others bordering on histrionics and melodrama. My colleague, Shola Oshunkeye, writing in Sunday Sun of December 4, 2011 under the headline, Hypocrisy of tributes, has done justice to the matter. After Ikemba’s transition, we have seen and heard all sorts – the genuine, the fake, the sincere, and the downright disingenuous and mendacious. But one fact stands sure: an icon has passed away. An avatar is gone, and it is really the end of an era. People like Odumegwu Ojukwu come possibly once in a hundred years, and our generation may never see another like him.

Amidst the flurry of tributes, both the genuine and the dissembling, one, however, stood out. It was the one by Gen John Shagaya, who said Ojukwu really had no other option than to have led the secessionist bid of 1967, which eventually culminated in three years of civil war, leaving more than one million civilians dead.
Shagaya told an eternal truth, and he earns my respect for it. What options did Ojukwu truly have in the crises of 1966 and 1967, during which thousands of his kinsmen were massacred, particularly in the northern parts of the country? As governor of the Eastern Region, the onus was on Ojukwu not only to speak up for his people, but also to offer them protection. But here were Igbos being butchered, sawn to pieces and hacked to death, with the Federal Government appearing helpless. Gen Yakubu Gowon as military head of state seemed to have run out of ideas, and could not guarantee the safety and protection of a huge chunk of the population of the country. What next to do? Ojukwu had to pull his people out of the federation, after all the peace overtures had failed.

Was the war regrettable? Yes, any war should be regrettable since wars come with bloodshed, sorrow, anguish and loss of lives. But was the war inevitable? It was not. Ojukwu and his people were virtually pushed into it, and the war was the next available option, if they were not to be extirpated, completely annihilated, wiped off the Nigerian map, and possibly the face of the earth. Therefore, we can safely say Ojukwu was actuated not just by love for his people, but for the whole country, which was quite topsy-turvy then. Showing remorse for the war, as suggested by former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is completely out of order. It is way off the mark. You don’t show remorse for something that was virtually imposed on you.

If ever there was a warrior, Ojukwu was one. He fought the federal forces to a standstill for three years with a ragtag army made of traders, artisans, civil servants, and many untrained but highly inspired people. Both young and old. Ojukwu fought for a true federation, a country founded on justice and fair play. He fought for equity, rectitude, and for even-handedness, which would have been good not just for his people, but for the whole country. But he was shunned, misunderstood, hounded into war, into 13 years of exile, and today, the man is dead with the country still running the same skewed structure and formula that led us into war 44 years ago.

Ojukwu was born to run, born to fight. And he fought all through. After Biafra, and pardon by the Shehu Shagari government in 1982, he went into partisan politics. As member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), he aspired to be a senator. But among those shedding crocodile tears for him today were those who propped up Dr Edwin Onwudiwe up against him, and Ojukwu lost. A number of times, he sought to be president on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), but because free and fair elections are simply impossible here, he never went far. And when it was time to go, Ojukwu still fought like a true warrior. He went down with massive stroke in December last year, was evacuated abroad, but battled the infirmity for one clear year. Till he lost the final war on November 26. What a mighty warrior!

Ojukwu would have died a happier man if an Igbo had become president in his lifetime. But it never happened. Will it happen in 2015? We watch. And at the critical time last year, when the Igbo needed to take a position on the 2011 polls, Ojukwu was too ill to contribute to the zoning controversy. Some Igbos who were ruled by sound judgment knew that allowing the North to have its second slot under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) power sharing arrangement would augur well for the Igbo nation in 2015, but those ruled by emotion rallied behind their ‘own brother,’ Ebele, and are now looking forward to 2015, when their brother would do them a good turn by helping them to power. A likely prospect, or pipe dream? We wait. But illness prevented us from knowing what Ojukwu’s position would have been on the matter. We heard things ascribed to him by others, but of course, you can say all sorts of things (both truth and barefaced lies) on behalf of a man who was virtually incapacitated. We never heard it direct from the Ezeigbo Gburugburu himself, and now, we shall never know.

I remember the face-off that Ojukwu had with the State Security Service (SSS) in 2004. The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), led by Raph Uwazuruike, had held sensitization meetings in New York, Munich, and London, drawing global attention to the plight of the Igbo in Nigeria. The security agency accused Ojukwu of having endorsed the meetings, and so invited him to Abuja for a chat. A security agent visited the Enugu home of the Ikemba, and gave him a Sosoliso airline ticket for the trip to Abuja.

But Ojukwu raised an alarm. He said he was given a one-way ticket, which showed that he was not meant to return alive. And he said he would not honour the invitation. Obasanjo’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs then, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, asked the Ikemba to “stop being so scared of his own shadow,” while the then SSS spokesman, Ezra Tobechukwu, accused Ojukwu of taking fright “out of concern for his personal comfort, which unfortunately is consonant with his character over the years.” This was a jibe at Ojukwu on his flight to Ivory Coast in 1970, “in search of peace,” after Biafra had crumbled. The people who derided the Ikemba, and their paymaster, Obasanjo, are now shedding crocodile tears, describing the man in superlatives. Well, they can now keep the one-way Sosoliso ticket forever, or use it to fly, if they like.

A lot has been said of Ojukwu’s suavity and power of oratory. Having studied in England from the tender age of 12 till he obtained a master’s degree in History, he spoke Queen’s English flawlessly. But during the week, Kanayo Esinulo, who was the Biafran leader’s personal aide in exile, told me that what is unknown is that Ojukwu also spoke flawless French. Well, I’ve told Esinulo that he owes the world a book on this icon of a man that he knew so well at close quarters.
Ojukwu was bold, courageous, frank to a fault. He had charisma, was intelligent, and a natural leader. Despite his privileged background, he stood up to be counted, and carried the cross of his people when it mattered most. He will be sorely missed.

Have I said the man was perfect? Not so. Some people accused him of being intolerant of opposite views, and of being dictatorial. Don’t forget that a coup plot was even hatched against him in Biafra, which led to the execution of Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Col Victor Banjo. Yes, Ojukwu was not perfect, and no man is. Even on the domestic front, he married at least three women that we know. Why did the earlier marriages break down? It couldn’t have been solely the faults of the women. All these simply show that Ojukwu was man, and not an angel. Of course, angels don’t belong to this realm.
No matter his shortcomings, however, I believe Ojukwu should be buried like the hero that he was. Come February 2, 2012, when his earthly remains will be interred, it should be the final salute to a champion, an exemplar. It should be grand, dignified, glorious rites of passage, final curtain call befitting a hero. He deserves nothing less.
Hypocrisy of Tributes http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/columnists/oshunkeye/2011/oshunkeye-dec-04-2011.html
Shola Oshunkeye sholaoshunkeye@... (0805 - 618 - 0011)
Sunday, December 04, 2011
I still remember the scene vividly. It happened in 1969, a few weeks before I left primary school to start life as a vendor-cum-apprentice building plan draughtsman in Ilesa, my beloved hometown in Osun State. A man had just died next door. He lived in Ibadan with his family before he suddenly bit the dust. Even though he lived away from home, his death generated a great outpouring of grief. From sunrise to night-fall, mourners trooped in their numbers, some beating their breasts, several tearing their hair; others rolling on the floor, weeping as if their lachrymal gland had burst. People were generally inconsolable.
But young as I was at the time (I was just 13), I discovered something very intriguing about some female mourners. After a weeping spell, they would retreat to a corner and begin to talk. They would speak harshly about the dead man, and reel out a litany of 'wrongs' that he had committed, in their estimation. One was particularly damning in her criticism of the man. She complained that he was never there for anybody. He was too involved with his family to come home and see their 'situation'.
In Yoruba land, it is customary to see people frying akara (bean cake) to 'celebrate' the dead once he or she is survived by a wife or husband, and has children. Now, the gossiping female mourners on our street never missed their round of akara. They ate dollops of it at their corner. Not only that, each time a new mourner came in, sobbing, they quickly cleaned their mouths and rushed out to weep and eulogise the same dead man they had so blatantly disparaged. Once the weeping session subsided, they returned to their corner and continued with their derisively sarcastic remarks.
I found this rather intriguing, even wicked, in my juvenile estimation. How can a person mourn and eat at the same time? How can a person come to condole bereaved people and at the same time engage in such unholy pastime? I pondered and wondered.
I never got any explanation until years later when I started attending Sunday School. And we were taught that man never remained in the wholesome manner God created him because “as soon as he was made, the devil cast him headlong into death.” Since then, we were further educated, man lies consistently “from his own head, and from his own mind or disposition”. He tells lies after the fashion of Satan, the author of all lies, the teacher told us, and backed it with appropriate bible references.
Pardon me if I sound judgmental henceforth. Since I joined this noble profession, in 1989, and have been reporting the death of great Nigerians, I have observed a disturbing pattern, especially among our political elite. I have seen situations where the same forces that massed against a man, and blocked him from achieving complete reintegration in the nation's scheme of things (as in the case of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu), or winning crucial votes (as with Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe), became chief mourners at the person's demise. They, metaphorically speaking, wear sackcloth and cover their balding or baldheads in ashes, as an outward demonstration of 'deep' mourning. But deep down, there is nothing like penitence.
Such pretenders usually weep more than the bereaved. They are never short of superlatives to eulogise a man they would have butchered, without qualms, if they had met in a dark alley, while alive. But once the man has crossed to the world of spirits, they sing his praise to high heavens. In this theatre of the absurd, our politicians are super stars. They are the clear leaders. While the corpse of a political leader is still warm in the morgue, while it is yet to achieve rigor mortis, our politicians would stop at nothing to make political capital from “the tragic loss”. They would dramatise their condolences in high-sounding words. Consistent with their character as liars, they would issue statements they don't believe. They would say words that do not weigh more than the air that transmits them.
As the first indigenous president of independent Nigeria, Dr. Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, better known as the Great Zik of Africa, was widely regarded as the father of modern Nigerian nationalism. According to Wikipedia, so great was Zik's contribution to the evolution of modern Nigeria that history records him 'as the only individual whose name appeared in a democratic constitution. The Nigeria's 1963 Republican Constitution, which was an amendment of the 1960 Independent Constitution, has the following words: “Nnamdi Azikiwe shall be deemed to have been elected President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” as submitted by then Prime Minister, Sir. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who posited that, “Nigeria can never adequately reward Dr. Azikiwe” for his nationalism.'
Despite his tremendously large contributions to the development of his fatherland, the nation failed Zik, twice. Twice, he ran for president under the Nigerian Peoples Party, NPP, in 1978 and 1983 respectively, twice he failed. For such a great nationalist, a man who gave his all to fatherland, a patriot who was so pivotal to the emancipation of his people, you would have thought that an appreciative nation would have rewarded him with a real opportunity to prove his mettle. It never happened. Yet, when he died on May 11, 1996, aged 91, Onuiyi Haven, his residence in Nsukka, and his Inosi Onira retreat home in Onitsha, became Mecca of some sort. They almost caved in under the weight of thousands of people that thronged them, daily, to pay condolences. Yet, not all the teardrops were sincere. It turned out that those who frustrated his ambition at becoming president with executive powers wept the loudest. 'He was a patriot like no other,' some of them advertised.
'Zik's death is irreparable loss to Nigeria,' others wrote, rehearsed and recited before television cameras and radio microphones. Some even wept as they mimed their well-rehearsed lines on TV. Crocodile tears. If these actors really meant those words, why did they work against his ambition when he threw his cap into the ring? Did many of them not hold Zik's robe, during the day, and described him as the Messiah Nigeria needed? Didn't the selfsame political prostitutes pay nocturnal visits to the obscenely opulent homes of his traducers at night, where they cringed, and struggled, for crumbs?
Still, that was a child's play compared to what the Nigerian nation did to Zik's memory. General Oladipo Diya, the then Chief of General Staff, who represented the then Head of State, General Sani Abacha, at the state funeral, at Zik's Inosi Onira residence in Onitsha, eulogised the departed former president to high heavens. At the event, Diya told the whole world that his boss, General Abacha, had directed the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund, PTF, led by General Muhammadu Buhari, to undertake the construction of the mausoleum. People were ecstatic with the news. I covered the event for my paper, then, the Weekend Concord.
You can then imagine my sadness, in 2009, 13 years later, as I edited a story that I had commissioned on the same mausoleum. Nwabueze Okonkwo, THE SUN correspondent in Onitsha, wrote the story for The Spectator, our sister publication that I was editing at the time. I almost wept as I worked on the script that night. The final resting place of Nigeria's first indigenous president was, to say the least, in a sorry state. Thirteen years after he passed on (at the time of the report), the legend still lay in a shambolic, uncompleted mausoleum. The walls had gone gray due to age and over exposure to the vagaries of weather. Pieces of metals, iron rods and wood lay in chaotic positions, everywhere. So appalling was the situation of the mausoleum that if it were possible for the dead to see what transpires on earth, the Great Zik of Africa would have stirred in anger and demanded that he be moved to a more befitting resting place! Did we allow Zik to rest in perfect peace, as they say? Never! Yet, it would appear as if government after government was more interested in awarding and re-awarding contracts to fix the place. For instance, as we reported in the story, the Olusegun Obasanjo Government, after scrapping PTF, transferred the project to the Federal Ministry of Works for completion. “The ministry, in turn, re-awarded the contract to a local construction firm, Lemmy Akakem Construction Company Limited, at an unspecified sum,” Okonkwo wrote. “From then, the project wobbled at a slow pace till it finally ground to a halt few years ago. And nobody has offered any explanation as to why it was abandoned.”
That's not all. The same administration would, in December 2007, re-award the contract at a staggering sum of N121 million to a certain Beton Bau Nigeria Limited, a multi-national civil engineering firm, five years after work had stopped at the site. I don't know the present state of the mausoleum. But whatever it is, all these revelations have put the lie to the crocodile tears that we shed, and the hollow tributes that we pay to our heroes at their death.
I was in Accra, Ghana, last June, to deliver a lead paper at a regional conference on the brown envelope syndrome in journalism. The conference was the brainchild of The Media Project, a non-profit organization coordinated by Rev. Dr. Arne H. Fjeldstad, a Norwegian. During the programme, we visited the mausoleum of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, that influential 20th century advocate of Pan-Africanism who ruled Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, between 1952 and 1966. He died on April 27, 1972 at 62. I was proud to be an African, going by what I saw. I was so moved by the raw beauty of the complex that I instantly decided to do a story comparing the two mausoleums (Zik's and Nkrumah's) if only to underscore the unfair treatment we meted to Azikiwe in death, as in life.
I did the story and I will soon publish it.
Like the Great Zik of Africa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, another nationalist, not only played a crucial role in helping Nigeria gain independence from Britain, he also did a yeoman's job as Premier of the old Western Region. He executed his party's programme, with unparalleled passion and uncommon commitment, and turned the region to a model state that other regions struggled to copy. Till date, his great works, the many landmarks that dot the region, still bear eloquent testimony to his leadership acumen.
Like Zik, Awolowo ran for President, under the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, between 1978 and 1983. He failed on the two occasions. They said he was at best, a tribal leader. He was not good enough for the centre stage. Thoroughly frustrated, he withdrew to his shell, and vowed never to run for office again. Like Zik, there was also a great outpouring of grief when Awo died suddenly on May 9, 1987, aged 78. But as in all cases, both genuine friends and acerbic foes came out to pay tributes. As usual, it was a potpourri of genuine and pretentious tributes. There were a lot of crocodile tears, especially by those who, at one point or another, swore that he would only rule Nigeria over their dead bodies. Such men borrow the genuine words of Ojukwu's tribute to praise the man. “Awolowo was the best president Nigeria never had,” they said, without crediting Ojukwu with the copyright.
Now, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, former governor of the old Eastern Region, former Head of State of the defunct Republic of Biafra, fearless soldier, straight-talking politician, Oxford-trained essential intellectual, and Eze Ndigbo Gburugburu (King of Igbo worldwide) has passed on. After a prolonged battle with stroke, the ever-shinning star in the Land of the Rising Sun died at a London Hospital on November 26, 2011, at the age of 78.
As usual, condolences are flying everywhere. Tributes are flowing in deluge, even from unexpected quarters. Our politicians are back on track, doing what they know best, seizing every available space in the media to pay tribute. I have no problems with that. It's just that, like the above-mentioned cases, some of the current chorus leaders are the same people that never forgave Ojukwu for declaring Eastern Nigeria a sovereign state known as the Republic of Biafra. That was on May 30, 1967. And on July 6, 1967, less than two months later, General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria's Head of State at the time, declared war and attacked Biafra to kick-start a 30-month war that would send over one million people to their graves. When it became apparent that the war had been lost and won, Ojukwu fled into exile in Cote D'Ivoire, after handing over to Major General Philip Effiong, his second-in-command.
In 1982, after 13years in exile, Ojukwu returned to Nigeria, following his unconditional pardon by President Shehu Shagari. On arrival, he pitched his tent with the ruling National Party of Nigeria, NPN, as part of his efforts to take his people to the main stream. But many of them would rather he stayed above the fray. Maybe, they were right in a sense because every move he made within the party to play a role in the nation's scheme of things was frustrated. For instance, when he aspired to go to the senate, the party propped up a commissioner under the then Governor Jim Nwobodo, Dr. Edwin Onwudiwe, and truncated his ambition.
But a true soldier that he was, Ojukwu never quit. At the return of democracy in 1999, till his health began to fail, he played active part in national politics. Of the four elections organised under the current democracy, he ran for president thrice, under the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA. Sadly, he failed at each point. Now that he is gone, most of those who worked against him are at the forefront of the crowd canvassing one action or another to immortalise him. Some of them are vehemently insisting that he must be awarded a post-humus national honour. Some have even taken the game some notches higher, pressing for state burial. As if they meant it… From the foregoing, one thing is sure: from now till he is buried, the media would be replete with adverts and dispatches that espouse the virtues and contributions of the Ikemba Nnewi.
Fine. An iroko, like Ojukwu, cannot fall in a country like ours, and people would not scramble for something that would magnetise some kind of recognition and goodwill from some high quarters to them. But let's minimise the crocodile tears, please. Let our tributes be true. Let our affection for the Eze Ndigbo Gburugburu be sincere and genuine. Let us show our love by demonstrating sincerity of purpose in whichever way we want to immortalise him. And that should start with the burial plans. We should accord the Ikemba rites of passage fit for true national heroes.
The burial should be worthy of the phenomenon that the Eze Gburugburu was. We must resolve, as individuals, and as a people, to celebrate this great son of Nigeria. We must be transparently bold in the way we celebrate him. He was a brave man. He was a bold patriot. Unlike men of low degree, unlike men who, full of smooth pretence, exhibit all specious pliancy of mind, Ojukwu was brilliant and bold. He was bold everywhere. He was never bowled over, even though he showed patience and temperance whenever time dictated. We must celebrate these virtues, the best way possible. All for the great son of the Land of the Rising Sun.










Onyekakeyah: Born in the war front (2)
TUESDAY, 03 JANUARY 2012 00:00 BY LUKE ONYEKAKEYAH OPINION - COLUMNISTS

OJUKWU’S scientists produced weapons that wrecked havoc on the enemy forces. The famous “Ogbunigwe” and the “Sure battery” devices proved versatile in restraining strategic enemy advance.
Consequently, a war that was initially planned to last for 24-hours dragged for three years from May 1967 to January 1970. As the Biafrans resisted to the surprise of the federal government, the then Minister of Finance, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, came up with a strategy. The strategy was hunger and starvation that would weaken the beleaguered Easterners.
According to Awo, starvation was a weapon of war. The best way to deal with Biafra, he thought, was to impose total blockade on the encircled territory and prevent foods and other material supplies from getting in. With empty stomach, he thought, the soldiers would be weak to fight and would surrender.
That was how the vicious blockade was imposed on Biafra by the federal government and it worked. Gradually, essential food items disappeared from the market. Meat, milk, salt, fish and other essential supplies became scarce. Lack of protein foods, particularly, dealt a deadly blow on Biafrans. Children and the elderly suffered most from malnutrition. This category of people was ravaged by malnutrition, which led to the dreaded kwashiorkor pandemic that depopulated Biafra. Thousands of children and the elderly died. It was common then to behold grotesque-looking and badly malnourished children famished by hunger and starvation. Some looked like dried skeleton while others had swollen heads, tiny limbs, bulging stomach and eyeball.
But the Biafrans were not totally abandoned. A number of international relief agencies rallied to save what was left of the population. Using cargo aircraft that made risky night operations, they unrelentingly supplied tonnes of foods that helped save thousands of lives. Since there was blockade, the relief planes made daring night flights to Uli Airstrip, which served as hub for Biafran aviation.
The Red Cross, Caritas and World Council of Churches (WCC), were most prominent in the effort to save Biafrans through humanitarian aid. They brought corn meal, powdered milk, salted stack fish and an assortment of canned foods and medicines. These were distributed by local relief organisations using churches, schools and community centres as distribution centres.
The clergy played a prominent role in the relief distribution effort. Reverend fathers, sisters and brothers of different orders were involved. At the height of the crisis, hundreds of badly malnourished children were flown to Gabon, which had recognised Biafra alongside Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) and Tanzania.
The Biafran project was launched at the most inauspicious time when the world was not inclined to letting go of separatist groups anywhere in the world. But the post-cold war era that began with the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991 has seen the reverse of this inclination. Thus, the Biafran project would have succeeded if it had been ignited latter than it did. The world has seen the emergence of countries from the former Yugoslavia, Soviet Union, and even Africa; the latest being Southern Sudan.
Apart from the relief materials that were given, the people themselves were determined to survive the onslaught. For example, as kids, we embarked on aggressive fishing, hunting and food gathering. The forests and streams became our second home. They were combed day and night for fish, bush meat and vegetables. Several forest products served as food for the hungry Biafrans. Hunting and fishing was a major occupation that served as the primary source of food.
One thing that was clear throughout the war was that the unshaken public support for Ojukwu. The people were solidly behind Ojukwu. There was no wavering apart from the handful of saboteurs that became unpopular among the population. Men, women and children hailed Ojukwu as a trusted leader. There was no murmuring or complaining against Ojukwu. Instead, people were angry against the federal government for launching a war against Biafra.
Throughout the war, Ojukwu proved to be a fearless commander. He moved from one sector to the other raising the morale of his men. We heard that he personally took the command of some of the fiercest battles. Where ever the battle was hottest, Ojukwu breezed in to back his men. His unparallel intellectual capacity was a huge asset to Biafra. Some have critised Ojukwu on that ground for failing to take advice on some occasions. His excellent academic credentials were uncommon at the time in the army. Ojukwu obtained a Masters degree in Modern History from Oxford University in England. That placed him high above his mates.
Ojukwu was a strategist whose uncommon tact proved to be an asset in executing the war. How he managed to confront the well-equipped federal troops with practically nothing remains an enigma. He would have succeeded in the campaign had it not been that he was sabotaged, coupled with the fact that he confronted a force that was greater than him. The global geopolitics of the time was more conservative than liberal. During the time, demand for self-determination was an anathema. That was why the major world powers ignored the plight of Biafra and instead joined forces with the federal government to subdue the oppressed people.
But coming back home, the war was a revolt against the forces of injustice, oppression and suppression. These triple forces of repression appeared to have been targeted against Easterners, which in turn sparked the war. The flight of Ojukwu into exile at the most auspicious time, when the federal troops overran Biafra and captured Owerri, the last bastion of the resistance was a wise decision. His self-imposed exile to Ivory Coast prevented the federal troops from capturing him and probably summarily executing him.
For, as Bob Marley rightly sang in one of his hits, he who fights and runs away will live to fight again. His flight to Ivory Coast, after delivering a captivating speech to his compatriots effectively marked the end of the war in January, 1970. Ojukwu lived to continue the fight as politician against injustice in the country after his return from exile in 1982.
Since the war ended and Biafrans were re-integrated into Nigeria, the issue of injustice, oppression, suppression and marginalization have taken a new turn. Rather than abating, these divisive tendencies have escalated to the point of potentially putting the country on fire once again. The unity promoted in the “One Nigeria” slogan, which the war sought to seal has eluded Nigeria ever since. From a mere four regional structure at the start of the war in 1967, Nigeria has undergone dramatic split into 36-semi autonomous and antagonistic states that technically under the Nigerian identity. Discrimination is the order of the day.
Today, it is extremely hard for a Nigerian from one state to get employment in another state. All the talk of unity in official quarters is mere rhetoric. Those of us who were born in the war front have tales to tell. The misconstruing of the war as an Igbo project made the Igbo the scapegoat out of the other ethnic groups that made up the defunct Eastern Region.
Consequently, the Igbo have borne the brunt of the war in many respects. The plan of the Federal Government, for instance, to build three additional refineries in addition to the existing four all outside the South-East zone underscores the injustice and marginalization being perpetrated on the Igbo.
Ojukwu lived a transparent life completely free from corruption, which today is a stigma plaguing public figures in Nigeria. It is regrettable that he died without realising his dream of a just, free and fair Nigeria. Nevertheless, his legacy as an astute politician and foremost nationalist will live forever.
• Conclusion of the Ojukwu tribute from last week.
Mourn Gowon, Obasanjo, not Ojukwu
By Durugbo Ogueri Vincent
Friday January 06, 2012


Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Now that the ex-Biafran Head Of State, Odumegwu Ojukwu, is no more, some people who ought to celebrate his well-lived and used life on earth seem to be mourning him, instead of celebrating him in all his ramifications. I was born a Biafran, and I am proud of anything Biafran.

The late Odumegwu Ojukwu was like a god to me, in that, apart from God in Heaven, without Ojukwu’s intervention in 1967, I would have been dead by now. He is the spirit of Ojukwuism: The spirit of fearlessly defending the defenseless masses.Ojukwu may be gone, but his spirit lives on.

The main reason for this piece is to tell Nigerians, and the world, that this is the time to mourn Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo, including all who directly or indirectly fought against Biafra, and not Odumegwu Ojukwu. Why? you may ask.
Read the Book of Isaiah Chapter 1, verse 15, there you will see:“When you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you, when you make many prayers, I will not hear : your hands are full of blood.” (Isaiah 1:15).

Who was the man who, as the Military Head of State in Nigeria, destroyed the Federal nature of the Nigerian governance, for which we are still crying for today, and is directly responsible for lots of political cum economic crises rocking Nigeria as at today? Yakubu Gowon. Who, after the murder of Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi, disregarded the military hierachy to assume the position of Nigerian Head of State instead of Ogundipe, a situation that led to more troubles for Nigeria? Yakubu Gowon. Who is that Nigerian President/Head of State, who, with his mouth, told the whole world that “There is no basis for Nigerian unity”? Yakubu Gowon.

Who, as the Head of state of Nigeria, failed or refused to protect the lives of innocent Easterners in other parts of Nigeria during the pogrom around 1967-1970, leading to the death of millions of people within the same period? Yakubu Gowon. Who denied a people being killed by fellow Nigerians in their own country, the opportunity to be free and independent in their own Republic of Biafra? Yakubu Gowon.

Which Nigerian Head of State went to Aburi, Ghana, and signed an agreement with Ojukwu, but on returning to Nigeria, reneged/broke the covenant of the agreement (a sin against God and humanity), which led to a war that killed millions of innocent souls created by God, in the name of “Go On With One Nigeria”? Yakubu Gowon.
When Biafra was declared as result of all other Nigerians happily killing the Easterners (Igbos in particular) in Nigeria, who ordered the first gunshot to be fired in 1967? Yakubu Gowon.

Which Nigerian Head of state has the highest volume of blood of innocent children, giving them kwashiokor and starvation, old people and youths who were killed during the anti-Biafran madness by Nigerians, who now wish to deny Ojukwu a state burial? Yakubu Gowon.

Who stopped the peaceful de-amalgamation of Nigeria in 1967, and now giving room for Boko Haram, OPC, MASSOB, Niger-Delta militancy, and all manners of evils now bedevilling Nigeria? Yakubu Gowon.
Who is it that goes about “praying” in Nigeria, but whose hands are full of blood to the extent that God hides His eyes on seeing the blood of his fellow Nigerians, Biafrans, and foreign mecenaries who were killed on Nigerian soil since 1967 to date, all in the name of Go On With One Nigeria? Yakubu Gowon.

So, for all who hear of the demise of General Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, I say to you, mourn Yakubu Gowon, mourn the like of Olusegun Obasanjo, not Odumegwu Ojukwu. Let us rather celebrate the transition of the Lion Of The Tribe of The Igbos, never to mourn him.

Who is falsely telling the world that “No religion preaches violence”, thereby misleading and deceiving the ignorant Nigerians? Yakubu Gowon and Olusegun Obasanjo. Ojukwu was right, Yakubu Gowon and Olusegun Obasanjo were absolutely wrong in their evil (then or now, or after) against Ojukwu and Biafra.
Durugbo writes from Yenagoa