seunmsg:


In war, anything goes. That's why it's better not to start a war you are not fully prepared for. It saves you stories like this. That is why I will blame Ojukwu for starting a war he knew he can't win. He's a war criminal for wasting the lives of 2million Igbos for no reason. Beside, both sides committed war crimes during the war.

Okijajuju1:
I recently visited the Museum in Lagos and saw the car he got shot in..

One remarkable thing I noticed was the accuracy of the assassins. The were so accurate with their shots that only 1 bullet strayed and hit the body of the car. All other shots went into the car. The driver seat had a bullet hole in the center of the head rest.

Crazy stuff.

chukwudi44:
That is the corpse of a war criminal!! The blood of the women and children of Asaba were appeased by this act of heroism by the brave Col Dimka.I suggest Dimka should be considered for a national award.

seunmsg:


In war, anything goes. That's why it's better not to start a war you are not fully prepared for. It saves you stories like this. That is why I will blame Ojukwu for starting a war he knew he can't win. He's a war criminal for wasting the lives of 2million Igbos for no reason. Beside, both sides committed war crimes during the war.

emmalexabl:
Murtala muhammed set a record of war crimes.
In a rain of blood., tens of thousands of innocent youth.,some of them just 6 years old were lined up on the streets of Asaba and executed in cold blood on direct order of murtala.

Happy he never escaped justice in this world and he will definitely be getting his punishment also in the spirit realm!!

datigbogirl:


So for example if a weaker country datz fed up with the bulls!t of anoda stronger country decides to damn all consequences and go to war...their leader should be labelled a war criminal ryt? That's your definition of a war criminal init?

Can you see how tribalism & hate has messed up your thinking?

fortune1968:
Igbo and ipob **** may continue their hatred of other groups in the country .They should just continue .With their recent activities and utterances ,I'm sure the are eternally doomed politically in this country -Nigeria.

zendy:
It beats my imagination that a man like Murtala Ramat Mohammed still has,not just a place of honour on the 20 Naira note, but also has an International Airport and many other landmarks named after him. How is this possible? Or is it that no one cares about history any more? How can such a controversial character still be accorded such recognition?
The sins of Murtala:

1] Led the counter coup and superviced the killing of over 300 fellow officers. Murtala led other northern elements (including the then Lt Buhari) to commit this murderous act in retaliation for what they tagged an "Igbo coup". For me,a coup plotter,wether Nzeogwu or Murutala has any place in history. It should also be noted that everyone who participated in the first coup were punished at the end of the war while Murutala and co who committed far worse atrocities got off scot-free.

2]Troops under Murtala's command committed genocide in Asaba when they entered the city at the start of the civil war. Over 700 defenceless civilians who came to welcome the federal troops were gunned down in cold blood. Wether this happend on Murutala's orders or not is immaterial. His troops killed people and he should bear responsibility for the conduct of his men.

3]Murtala,in direct contravention of orders and sound advice led thousands of Nigerian soldiers to their deaths trying to cross the river Niger (in 3 separate attempts) into Onitsha all in his vain attempt to increase his popularity. His troops would later be destroyed at Abagana and he was recalled from the war and sent to London while many of his men lay dead under the River Niger.

4]murtala came to represent the face of northern domination. He kicked out Gowon,seized power,retired everyone who was above him in rank and in one of the worst acts of military indecipline,he triple promoted himself from a one star Brigadier to a full 4 star General. Murutala was the first military officer to conduct a coup in other to take political power. Even Nzeogwu and co had no intention to take power for themselves.

Murtala Mohammed was a failed soldier,a sociopath,mass murderer and accomplished coup plotter. Because of him,many people needlessly died. My question is this. What is the face of such a despicable man doing on the 20 Naira note?

lookandlaff:


I've said this many times, Igbos are just shooting themselves in the foot because Biafra will never happen and now after preaching hatred how are the other tribes supposed to hand over power to an Igbo man?

tolzy90:
Trying to get something here, was it Murtala Mohammed that went to war with the Ibos or Gowon. The war started and ended with Gowon as head of state. Hw matter come concern Murtala? Kids evrywhr, y'all need to read more on Nigeria history and stop spreading false info. Murtala was one of the most loved heads of states Nigeria ever had. He was so simple, he doesn't use convoy. The main reason he was easily assassinated.

chukwudi44:


Bros just google the Asaba massacre or the butche of asaba and tell me what you see.You might even want to read emma okocha's blood on the Niger.Murtala Mohammed supervised one of the worst war crimes in the history of humanity

chukwudi44:


The butcher of Asaba is not amongst the founding fathers of Nigeria

DeejayTafari:
please are u a medical student or a doctor?

GeneralShepherd:
How people justify genocide is unimaginable! I am not a fan of Ojukwu, Awolowo or any of the past elites in Nigeria. I owe none my respect because the Nigeria we see today is a result of their collective actions and inactions.

Chukwudi44 raised an interesting point accusing Murtala Mohamed of war crimes, if this accusations are true historical accounts (a big if), why then are we pouring eulogies on this man?

We need to say no to killing of non-combatants, if not it will continue repeating in Nigeria.

I am igbo but I was appalled at the indiscriminate killing of Shites by the Nigerian army. Killing none combatants, women and children is a war crime.

IGBOPRINCE:
@ Lookandlaff I took my time to read that history content. No time to argued who was right or wrong. Tanx by throwing more light.

.

chukwudi44:
That is the corpse of a war criminal!! The blood of the women and children of Asaba were appeased by this act of heroism by the brave Col Dimka.I suggest Dimka should be considered for a national award.

lookandlaff:


Who do you blame for the massacres the Biafrans committed on it's own people? We don't teach history in our schools, You are reading stories as told from the igbo side, note I said Igbo side not Biafran, I say this because I have posted accounts from independents and most importantly from non-ibo minorities within Biafra on the atrocities committed by Biafra against people from the midwest, cross-river and rivers. What say you to that? As Chinua Achebe himself said, until the lion begins to write his own story, the tale of the hunt will always favour the hunter. There are no saints in the war, both sides are just as guilty of attrocities but if we continue to dwell on it we will never heal and quite honestly, it's the Igbos that need the healing the most because from where I stand it is clear Ibo parents have bombarded their offspring of one sided tales of the war which have sown discordant seeds and their children have grown up with a chip on their shoulders.

chukwudi44:


The asaba massacre is a very well documented event.Even before Emma Okocha wrote "blood on the Niger".The atrocious events that transpired there in oct 1967 was already in the public domain!! If you know of any igbo massacre of non-igbo minorities during the war,kindly spill it here including dates,venues as well as commanding officers.

Mikollon1:


I don't understand the noise about women and children. What about the men killed? Are their lives worth less?

Tycoflu:

Wikipedia said that it was Maj. Ibrahim Taiwo that gave the order so why una dey blame MM?



The Federal troops entered Asaba around October 5, and began ransacking houses and killing civilians, claiming they were Biafran sympathisers. Leaders summoned the townspeople to assemble on the morning of October 7, hoping to end the violence through a show of support for "One Nigeria." Hundreds of men, women, and children, many wearing the ceremonial akwa ocha (white) attire paraded along the main street, singing, dancing, and chanting "One Nigeria." At a junction, men and teenage boys were separated from women and young children, and gathered in an open square at Ogbe-Osawa village. Federal troops revealed machine guns, and orders were given by Maj. IBRAHIM TAIWO to open fire. It is estimated that more than 700 men and boys were killed, some as young as 12 years old, in addition to many more killed in the preceding days.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asaba_massacre