ekt_bear:

I definitely would not have done it the way Ojukwu did it. I'd have delayed, delayed, delayed...building up an army and resources secretly.

Declare independence in 1970 or 1975 from a stronger position rather than from a weak one.

I figure that if you want to confront someone much bigger/stronger than you, you need to be very prepared.

afam4eva:
You mean you'll prepare for ten years for a war? Even though you know that you're not a life regional premier. You'll probably be outsted in a few years. Meanwhile, while you're preparing, your people will keep being massacred, lef, right and center but you'll still be preparing. I bow for you oga.

Note that it has never been Ojukwu's decision to secede from the beginning. All this was brought to the fore Post Aguiyi-Ironsi and the events that came thereafter.

The same thing we accuse Ojukwu for doing is the same thing that [size=16pt]no one has the balls to do today[/size] despite the fact that things are worse of that they were pre-biafra. We keep shouting break-Nigeria from left, right and center and no one seems to be stepping up to the plate. The moment another Ojukwu steps up from the east, thirty years down the line, he will be labelled as the worse thing to happen to Nigeria.

afam4eva:
You mean you'll prepare for ten years for a war? Even though you know that you're not a life regional premier. You'll probably be outsted in a few years. Meanwhile, while you're preparing, your people will keep being massacred, lef, right and center but you'll still be preparing. I bow for you oga.

Note that it has never been Ojukwu's decision to secede from the beginning. All this was brought to the fore Post Aguiyi-Ironsi and the events that came thereafter.

The same thing we accuse Ojukwu for doing is the same thing that no one has the balls to do today despite the fact that things are worse of that they were pre-biafra. We keep shouting break-Nigeria from left, right and center and no one seems to be stepping up to the plate. The moment another Ojukwu steps up from the east, thirty years down the line, he will be labelled as the worse thing to happen to Nigeria.

afam4eva:
You mean you'll prepare for ten years for a war? Even though you know that you're not a life regional premier. You'll probably be outsted in a few years. Meanwhile, while you're preparing, your people will keep being massacred, lef, right and center but you'll still be preparing. I bow for you oga.

Note that it has never been Ojukwu's decision to secede from the beginning. All this was brought to the fore Post Aguiyi-Ironsi and the events that came thereafter.

The same thing we accuse Ojukwu for doing is the same thing that no one has the balls to do today despite the fact that things are worse of that they were pre-biafra. We keep shouting break-Nigeria from left, right and center and no one seems to be stepping up to the plate. The moment another Ojukwu steps up from the east, thirty years down the line, he will be labelled as the worse thing to happen to Nigeria.

Rossikk:

Achebe comes across as a tribalist to me. Why does he not criticise those who declared 'Biafra' and put the lives of millions of Igbos at risk in so doing? Other nations that declare secession/war, do they not prepare for it? How can you go into battle with cutlass and light weapons against a country like Nigeria? It makes no sense, and Achebe attacking Awo and co for taking advantage of the Igbo leadership's stupidity makes no sense. Can you believe the Igbo leaders were banking on FRANCE to assist them and send them weapons? France are like TWINS with the UK. The strongest of allies. Not surprisingly the French abandoned Biafra once the war started, no doubt after a few closed door meetings with the Brits in Paris or London in smoke-filled rooms over Brandy.

Where is Achebe's criticism of Igbo naivety in all this??

Antivirus92: why do blind people always rush to say that biafra was declared stupidly? You said 3 million igbos were killed during the war? How many igbos were already killed in the north before the war? Did ojukwu just wake up from sleep and declare biafra? His brothers were being massacred mercilessly in the north when the country was just about seven years of age. If you were him what would you have done? Being the sacrificial victim at that early stage of the country,when will it stop! What ojukwu did was the best. It's better you die fighting for ur freedom than being just murdered one by one by jihadist. EVEN UPTILL TODAY, HAS THE KILLING STOPPED OR IS OJUKWU STILL DECLARING BIAFRA?

Rossikk:

But what about the declaration of secession that led to the war? That wasn't done democratically. We seem to forget that none of these people acted in real consultation with the masses, or under any sort of political legitimacy. Ojukwu, Gowon, etc were military dictators. Thugs - aged 31 and 32 at the start of the war. Two small boys. What gave any of them the right to take the country to war? We often discuss them like they were Churchill and De Gaulle. They were thugs running around with more firepower than common sense. They weren't even supposed to be anywhere near the corridors of power. Who elected them? The barrel of the gun?

I'm surprised Achebe is defending any of them and their actions, or even taking sides.

nezer76:
To hell with Achebe or wht ever he calls himself the write up obivously is intresting cos i see it as an avenue 4 d acade writer to refersh is dead senses with dead memories and comment frm fresh memories dat would surpasses him. At d same time ,wit due respect to his long standing interllectual status prof. Achebe made several blunders in d totality of his article. First and foremost Achebe 4got to note dat it was failure on his own part as an elder stateman in d region that d rebellious war was not included in curicullum taught in skol,4 i think he shld know d procedure as an academician. Secondly 4 Achebe to av decribe d late Awolowo of blessed memories as a person driven by ambition is just a mere acknowledgement of the saga bravery and political genius which is forever infinito. Perhase prof can give answers to this question, where was he in the days of the biafara war,? Wht was his contribution pre the war and his reaction during it , i mean when ojukwu and his boys shipped arms through cameroon particularly d bakassi region? Wht effort did the prof did to stop the war as a patriotic Nigerian then? And wht would have been the reaction of Achebe assuming Ojukwu succeeded in d creation of his dreamed republic. Secondly d story of a biafra war shldnt be taught in skol cos it nt a noble one , else we end up passin to our younger generation the ego of an insubmisive and arrogant soilder whose ambition for power drives thousands of Nigerian to the war field and inter to makes them an enemy of their state. Another blunder of the d prof is in d comparison of the then Gowon administation reprisal attack on d biafran as a genocide or islamic jihad no it isnt, Government then had no issue at hand to justify d declaration of war against his part until ojukwu declare one and annouced d state of d biafran. Several tactical steps were taken by Gowon to stop ojukwu frm taking control of d entire ibos, lik d creation of another region and later states in d said region to subdue d powers of ojukwu over them all so it mavels to hear 4m a prof.of many years standing that it is genocize or jihad cos there hav nt been "that intention 2 wipe d igbo race off" or have there been any religion issue or it under tone in it all. A pratical example is the emissary of d warl ord after his depature to d govt in Lag.d then FCt were they killed or held prisoner of war?. Moreso of all the interllectual mind that i knw in d world, Achebe was the first 2 refer 2 ojukwu biafran war as a genocide or jihad why now after how many decades?. Achebe must be caution else he truncate the peace and unity we av for long laboured for most especially now that d unity of d nation is very fragile and disarry or else be presumed to be preparing d seceding of the ibos now dat Bayesal have her flag, coat of arm and national atheam different 4m dat of our dear Nigeria. Finally I beleive wit d age of prof. Achebe he shld be bold enough to annouce the already founded Republic of Biafran not beating around d bush, if not their son in power will av find solution to our brothers problm in d north, the boko haram manic spearing lik cancer after all late yar dua of blessed memories did find solution to theres(Militiant).

afam4eva:
You mean you'll prepare for ten years for a war? Even though you know that you're not a life regional premier. You'll probably be outsted in a few years.

Meanwhile, while you're preparing, your people will keep being massacred, lef, right and center but you'll still be preparing. I bow for you oga.

Note that it has never been Ojukwu's decision to secede from the beginning. All this was brought to the fore Post Aguiyi-Ironsi and the events that came thereafter.

The same thing we accuse Ojukwu for doing is the same thing that no one has the balls to do today despite the fact that things are worse of that they were pre-biafra. We keep shouting break-Nigeria from left, right and center and no one seems to be stepping up to the plate. The moment another Ojukwu steps up from the east, thirty years down the line, he will be labelled as the worse thing to happen to Nigeria.

afam4eva:
You've not read the whole book to know that for sure...Also don't forget that Achebe was a Biafran to the core and he'll come across to be bias. If you're expecting an unbiased umpire in Achebe, then forget it.

Katsumoto: Hahahaha

Mr Achebe is just being disingenuous, insincere, or naive.

Crayola1:
The man is entitled to his opinions

and his version is no more right or wrong than the next, because most of you here yourselves can't even agree on the basics about the war.

ekt_bear:
Of course


If a certain opinion coincides with the truth (or is closer to the truth), you are saying that it is just as valid as one that is very far away from the truth? This is quite a bold claim.

ekt_bear:
Of course


If a certain opinion coincides with the truth (or is closer to the truth), you are saying that it is just as valid as one that is very far away from the truth? This is quite a bold claim.

ekt_bear: Which "most countries?"

Did the Soviets rebuild Eastern Germany properly?

Was Germany rebuild after WW1?

The Allies were magnanimous after WW2, in part because they learned lessons from WW1. But this certainly doesn't mean that "most" countries do the same after warfare.

ekt_bear: What is even the connection between them being massacred and the declaration of independence.

Are you saying that those within Biafra were being massacred, and declaring independence saved them?

If you are referring to those outside of Biafra, say still in the north...how on earth does seceding save them? Doesn't that actually increase the jeopardy they'd face?

I think that you guys aren't thinking very clearly or critically about this stuff.

ekt_bear: Which "most countries?"

Did the Soviets rebuild Eastern Germany properly?

Was Germany rebuild after WW1?

The Allies were magnanimous after WW2, in part because they learned lessons from WW1. But this certainly doesn't mean that "most" countries do the same after warfare.

Crayola1:

My point as much as some folks like to claim that their "truth" is the truest version of events, the real facts are that its not. Which is why any thread on the civil war reads like an out of control mad lib with everyone weaving anecdotes and a few facts as the authoritive version of events.

The cause of war is never clear 100% but unlike other places its even harder to pin down because its Nigeria. A place where most people more often then not regurgitate what was passed down as generation and becomes fact. It doesnt help matters that talking about the war is taboo that any real tidbits of value will be lost to time.

Rossikk:

Achebe comes across as a tribalist to me. Why does he not criticise those who declared 'Biafra' and put the lives of millions of Igbos at risk in so doing? Other nations that declare secession/war, do they not prepare for it? How can you go into battle with cutlass and light weapons against a country like Nigeria? It makes no sense, and Achebe attacking Awo and co for taking advantage of the Igbo leadership's stupidity makes no sense. Can you believe the Igbo leaders were banking on FRANCE to assist them and send them weapons? France are like TWINS with the UK. The strongest of allies. Not surprisingly the French abandoned Biafra once the war started, no doubt after a few closed door meetings with the Brits in Paris or London in smoke-filled rooms over Brandy.

Where is Achebe's criticism of Igbo naivety in all this??

ACM10:

. . . and whose opinion coincides with the truth? Or better still, give us an account that rates high on your truth-o-meter.

Antivirus92: i really lack words to describe you!

nku5: I tell you what with benefit of hindsight we know things could have been done a bit differently. That does not take away the reality of things that happened in the prosecution of the war. Whether we realise it or not, war has rules. If two men are fighting it doesn't give the other the right to look for the other ones chiildren to murder. Okay the war had ended, what about the post-war policies, banning of commodities that would have helped igbo people get back on their feet. As for[b] revisionism [/b]you haven't pointed out ONE lie in the article of which only an excerpt was posted. Anybody with the full article should please post so we can read it in full

ekt_bear:

I definitely would not have done it the way Ojukwu did it. I'd have delayed, delayed, delayed...building up an army and resources secretly.

Declare independence in 1970 or 1975 from a stronger position rather than from a weak one.

I figure that if you want to confront someone much bigger/stronger than you, you need to be very prepared.

T9ksy:

Unfortunately, Ojukwu did not die for his freedom rather he legged it in the middle of the night (for his

freedom), leaving his people at the mercy of the nigerian army. This was the same nigerian army that ojukwu had told his

people were ready to wipe the whole ibo race off the face of the world map. What then stopped the nigerian army from

killing the whole lot of them after ojukwu had absconded?


Among others, ojukwu was a damn liar who fooled his people into going to war, unprepared in order to satisfy his own

inordinate ambition. Even, as his people were dropping dead daily (in their hundreds)from hunger, ojukwu still refused to

surrender but rather exploited the plight of his people to get more aid from friendly nations.