Niger Delta armed insurrection did not begin with MEND, Okah or Asari-Dokubo.  Decades before them an Ijaw nationalist named Isaac Boro led an armed campaign for greater Niger Delta autonomy, resource control and self determination for the inhabitants of the Niger Delta.  So who was Boro, and what was his story?

The Background of Isaac Adaka Boro

Boro was an Ijaw nationalist that burned within with passionate zeal to remedy the injustice that minority ethnicities in the Delta suffered in a Nigerian state dominated by the large ethnic groups.  Boro noted that “most of the youths were so frustrated with the general neglect that they were ready for any action led by an outstanding leader to gain liberty…. we were clenched in tyrannical chains and led through a dark alley of perpetual political and social deprivation. Strangers in our own country! Inevitably, therefore, the day would have to come for us to fight for our long-denied right to self-determination”. He complained at the economic and material neglect of the Niger Delta:

“Economic development of the area is certainly the most appalling aspect. There is not even a single industry. The only fishery industry which ought to be situated in a properly riverine area is sited about 80 miles inland at Aba. The boatyard at Opobo had its headquarters at Enugu … Personnel in these industries and also in the oil stations are predominantly non-Ijaw,”

After briefly working as a teacher Boro joined the police and worked in Port Harcourt.  However Boro’s maverick nature saw him go AWOL and start working as an instructor at the Man O’War Bay Character and Leadership Center in Victoria, Western Cameroon.  He was fired from his police job for going AWOL.

Upon his return to Nigeria Boro enrolled at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to study chemistry.  While there he became president of the students’ union.  His itchy feet managed to stay at university for two years before he once again departed, this time on a tour to solicit support for the Ijaw cause.  His journey saw him head to Ghana (in the company of Samuel Owonaru) to solicit financial aid for his mission to liberate and gain self autonomy for the people of the Niger Delta.  He was also an admirer of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and made a stop at the Cuban embassy in Ghana to claim solidarity.  However Boro and Owonaru’s appeals for Cuban support were unsuccessful and they were ejected from the embassy.

However Boro was not dissuaded.  He and Owonaru returned home and with their comrade Nottingham privates, and began to recruit young men to their cause under the umbrella of an organisation known as the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF).  They eventually set up a military camp at Taylor Creek.  Their recruits were given training in the use of firearms and explosives in the creeks and bushes.  privates served as the “chief of army staff” and “adjutant”.  Eventually they managed to muster a force of about 150 men split into three “divisions”.

ARMED CONFLICT

On February 23, 1966 the three divisions moved out from their Touton Ban camp with Boro, Onwonaru and privates as their divisional commanders.  Before going into battle the troops were given a rallying call:

“ Today is a great day, not only in your lives, but also in the history of the Niger Delta. Perhaps, it will be the greatest day for a very long time. This is not because we are going to bring the heavens down, but because we are going to demonstrate to the world what and how we feel about oppression….Remember your 70 year old grandmother who still farms to eat, remember also your poverty stricken people and then, remember too, your petroleum which is being pumped out daily from your veins, and then fight for your freedom”.

The NDVF men attacked a police station at Yenagoa, raided the armoury and kidnapped some officers including the police officer in command of the station. They also blew up oil pipelines, engaged the police in a gunfight and declared the Niger Delta an independent republic. The revolt was suppressed and Boro, Owonaru and privates were put on trial on a 9 count charge of treason at Port Harcourt Assizes before Judge Phil Ebosie.  Boro was found guilty.  Before sentencing Boro made an impassioned plea of defiance.  He claimed that his people:

“had long sought a separate state not because they loved power but because their conditions were peculiar and the authorities did not understand their problems.  There is nothing wrong with Nigeria.  What is wrong with us is the total lack of mercy in our activities.”

DEATH AND BEYOND

Despite his plea Boro was sentenced to death by hanging.  In the melee of crisis and conflict in 1966 Nigeria, the sentence was not carried out and he was pardoned by then Nigerian Head of State General Gowon.  When war broke out in 1967, Boro surprisingly enlisted and fought on the side of the federal Nigerian forces against whom he campaigned.  He was killed in action on May 17, 1968 aged just 32.  He was buried in Lagos at the Ikoyi cemetery.  His widow Georeie Deyeha Adaka Boro is still alive.  She was pregnant with their child Deborah when her husband was killed, and gave birth to Deborah after her husband’s death.

I am baffled that after 40 years of sober reflection, people still think that Adaka Boro was an angel. He was not, he was a common criminal. People who eulogize him today, despite the current deplorable state of affairs in the Niger delta ought to be ashamed of themselves. He aligned with hausa people against his own eastern Nigerian brothers, well, the result is better imagined by what's going on in the ND today. Like Ken Saro Wiwa, Boro fought against his Biafran brothers, but unlike Wiwa he did not have an opportunity to apologize for his actions, because he was mowed down by the same very people he supported in preference to his brothers.
Yes, he was young, he was militant, but that didn't make it right to betray his own people. If he is alive today, I don't think he would very proud of his youthful exhubarance and inexperience against his people. Why don't we remember the truely great former eastern Nigerians like Okoi Arikpo, Eni Njoku, Margaret Ekpo, and Okoko Ndem, etc. When did betraying your own family become an attribute

In fact, the use of word baffled is an understatement. Alfred Isaac Adaka Boro was a common criminal, traitor and a seed of destabilization planted in the eastern region of Nigeria by combined efforts of NPC and Action Group when NCNC put a motion to carve addition regions out of northern and western region of Nigeria in order to inform sense of equality among the regions. 

After the show of shame in kaiama which depicted that the dude was not only politically myopic but intellectually unstable, the masters issued an order to all the agents of northern and western region, both civilians and uniform people, to constantly trail and liquidate him at the right time. The punk’s time came up after the capture of Port Harcourt by the Nigerian vandals and was led into ambush set by the elements of 15th Brigade, 3MCDO, Nigerian army. The Biafrans were also on hot pursuit of knucklehead but I guess Nigerians got to him first.

Sometime I can not resist myself from laughing at our fellow inhabitants of southern Nigeria especially when they haul insults on the northern Nigerians. The northern Nigerian political cabals, including their able agents from western region of Nigeria, had tossed out suicidal pills in the forms of South-south and Niger Delta. Due to apparent lack of vision and inherent stupidity, the suicidal pills were swallowed by certain ethnicities in southern Nigeria in the midst of festive fanfare.

Anybody who had an iota of geographical perspective of the colonial contraption called Nigeria would not be fooled about certain part of Delta State buried in delta formed by Escravos and Forcados Rivers. By the same token, it amounts to geological travesty to include highlands of Obudu and Ogoja as Niger Delta.

My people say that when someone gives a toddler gift that is beyond the toddler’s imagination, the toddler has always queried the giver whom the gift belongs.

@naijaking1

I must quickly state that you just made a very provocative and myopic ascertion about ADAKA BORO. So in your unwritten constitution not fighting on the part of the ibos was criminality?

I hope you read:

“Economic development of the area is certainly the most appalling aspect. There is not even a single industry. The only fishery industry which ought to be situated in a properly riverine area is sited about 80 miles inland at Aba. The boatyard at Opobo had its headquarters at Enugu … Personnel in these industries and also in the oil stations are predominantly non-Ijaw,”

If 42yrs after the start of the civil war it is still a challenge for people to objectively appraise the campaign and see areas where it could have been bettered , then it makes the job of guaging the mood of the different nationalities at that time and the factors that would have informed their positions very easy.

i no fit shout abeg.

Dede1:

The punk’s time came up after the capture of Port Harcourt by the Nigerian vandals and was led into ambush set by the elements of 15th Brigade, 3MCDO, Nigerian army.

Correction - Adaka Boro was killed during the capture of my hometown, Okrika.

I cannot feign surprise at the utterances of the esteemed gentlemen above.

The fact remains that it is not on every occasion that Igbo and Ijaw interests converge. The fair treatment of minorities under Biafra should not be expected out of a mutual understanding of fair play (as many Igbos argue), but should be enshrined in a written constitution that gives them a say in their own affairs. One does not swap one oppressor for another, because whilst Ojukwu had pleaded with Nigeria to implement the Aburi Accord, he totally refused to apply the same Aburi Accord to Biafra to allow minorities some semblance of autonomy.

The above is a simple statement of fact, and as usual we should look to learn from the lessons of history. There is no doubt that the minorities of the former Eastern Region taught Biafra a lesson about diplomacy and this lesson has been learnt, for no Biafran now talks about Biafra without deliniating the boundaries to exclude all minority lands. Of course, minority lands SHOULD be part of Biafra, but only under true federalism, which is a lesson which is starting to be hammered home to all and sundry in the jungle called Nigeria.

@Dede
Thanks for the important historical update. It was strategically beneficial for the east to empower the minorities of the north---Benue/Plateau axis, and Christians; in return the north reciprocated by seeking out and empowering eastern dissidents like Boro who had a grouse with his own regional government.

Certainly, we can go back and forth about equitable distribution of wealth, offices, and industries under the eastern Nigerian government, but why did Ijaw people pay too much attention to Adaka Boro when they had well established channels of representation both in the eastern government, the house of assembly, and even the judiciary?

For those people "celebrating" the unfortunate soul that was called Adaka Boro, why not look back and calculate how many of his philosophies has actually turned out to be true. You could start by counting that his own life was snuffed out by those he preferred over his brothers.

ISAAC ADAKA BORO-A true Niger Delta'Ijaw leader and Hero who fought and sacrificed his life for his people.

Great Men don't just wake up one morning and decide to be a great man, they are born with the genes of greatness and they lay foundations to proof it.   Your struggle continues.

Isaac Adaka Boro was a revolutionary hero of the ijaws and fought well to advance our course.
The supreme owu bara ibibọ of Ijaw land

God will not Forgive those Yorubas who Murdered him.

WilyWily:

God will not Forgive those Yorubas who Murdered him.

His eastern Nigerian brothers whom he sabotaged need to forgive him first.

every single topic, turns tribalistic !!! i detest this!! we are no different from the older generation we are quick to accuse of all our problems or the white man we call racist!!

Well, suppose I get my legs and fingers crossed and watch!

naijaking1:

His eastern Nigerian brothers whom he sabotaged need to forgive him first.

But they have sink their differences

WilyWily:

But they have sink their differences

I hope they have.
Ken Saro Wiwa made peace with his brothers, Adaka Boro never really got the time or opportunity to reflect. That's the teaching point for the younger generation that seem to adore him---he was not a perfect man.
Another point worthy of note ought to be that no matter how intense the struggle within your family, inviting outsiders for or against you has always proven to be a mistake, and historically too.

Remember the Scott who betrayed the famous castle, because he complained that he was not paid enough in gold? After helping the Brits gain access and take over the castle on the condition that the Brits allow him to carry as much gold as possible, the Brits simply killed him by making him carry all the gold stored in the vault.

If anybody betrayed him state/region, he could betray his local government, his town, and most likely his own family. That's why Adaka Boro gets no respect even from Hausa and Yoruba people.

It is easy to criticize Isaac Boro but how many Nigerian youths today can get up and do something to make the country better? I'm not talking about carrying out a armed struggle here I'm talking about Nigerian youths starting small projects that will impact on their communities. From the poster's article, it is clear that Boro read widely and was well informed. How many Youths in the country today are informed? Food for thought.

I am writing on here for something else, First of all I am English born my parents are from Jamaica and West Africa my Nigerian link is my mothers is a Jamaican with Nigerian roots we have traced my grandfathers name to Rivers State and we were told by a good friend of mine that we are Ijaw people. He is very learned and is a fellow Nigerian. This conflict over oil would have bothered me anyway but more so now that we are certain we are descended from Ijawland.  However this is a dispute with no real end in sight. How sad and tragic that blatant daylight robbery is being committed by the Powers that be. Alot of bloodshed to the land. Well i cannot talk much about it but my heart is with my people of course. Can anybody reply to me by telling me what the name Pampi means and where it originates I am so sorry to interrupt an important topical debate with a personal request.
A BIG SHOUT OUT TO MY IJAW BROTHERS AND SISTERS I WILL BLESS EYES ON THE GLORIOUS IJAWLAND SOON AND YOU ARE IN MY HEARTS WITH WHAT SEEMS LIKE YOUR ETERNAL AFFLICTION. THE GODS ARE WITH YOU. AMUN/AMEN
HOTEP ASHUG (PEACE AND LOVE) NU MAS TU (I BOW TO THE DIVINITY IN YOU) EVERYTIME. BLESS UP ONE BLACK LOVE.

The poster's article is not all there is about Adaka Boro.

I don hear this tory tire.

By now, there's no doubt that Ijaws and the other ethnic minorities in that area have been neglected. One of the steps the Nigerian government needs to take in order to solve the problems in that region would be to engage in constructive dialogue with the people in the area, and invest heavily there. All that said, the notion that a bunch of thugs can go bombing places like Lagos, etc, is absolutely unacceptable. If you have a beef, come to the table and talk your shit. When you start acting like a terrorist, then you have lost the plot.

Ibime:

Correction - Adaka Boro was killed during the capture of my hometown, Okrika.

I cannot feign surprise at the utterances of the esteemed gentlemen above.

The fact remains that it is not on every occasion that Igbo and Ijaw interests converge. The fair treatment of minorities under Biafra should not be expected out of a mutual understanding of fair play (as many Igbos argue), but should be enshrined in a written constitution that gives them a say in their own affairs. One does not swap one oppressor for another, because whilst Ojukwu had pleaded with Nigeria to implement the Aburi Accord, he totally refused to apply the same Aburi Accord to Biafra to allow minorities some semblance of autonomy.

The above is a simple statement of fact, and as usual we should look to learn from the lessons of history. There is no doubt that the minorities of the former Eastern Region taught Biafra a lesson about diplomacy and this lesson has been learnt, for no Biafran now talks about Biafra without deliniating the boundaries to exclude all minority lands. Of course, minority lands SHOULD be part of Biafra, but only under true federalism, which is a lesson which is starting to be hammered home to all and sundry in the jungle called Nigeria.

I have no intentions of opening a can of warm with Boro’s demise but to share little information I had from very reliable and informed sources. It was not a coincidence that the death of Boro’s compatriots; George Amangala, Bodman Nyanayo and Nothingham Dick took place in Bonny under the watchful eyes of 15th Brigade of 3MCDOs. It must be recalled that in exception of Lt. Bello, who was the first commander of the Brigade, all the subsequent commanders were of Yoruba extraction.

The Brigade commanded by Adaka Boro never joined fight in the capture of Okirika Refinery Jetty that saw the occupation of Okirika by Nigerian vandals. I must say that Brigade under Boro made it easier for the capture of Opobo, Andoni, Obodo, Oranga and Buguma.

There were four Brigades readied to assault Port Harcourt. The Brigades included 14, 15, 16 and the Brigade under Boro. I intentionally omitted the number designating the Brigade under Boro bacuse it was summarily disbanded after the death of its commander. The first move to capture Port Harcourt was all out assault on Eleme which fell into vandals hands after bitter fighting. It was at this juncture that Boro decided to branch to Okirika on a private visit when the ambush was set and his faith was sealed.

Following the death of Boro, the Nigerian propaganda machine attributed the killing to fleeing Biafran soldiers. However, at the time of Boro’s death, there was no Biafran unit operating in Okirika axis. It was the same 15th Brigade yet under the command of another Yoruba extraction that carried out the massacre of the civilians at Ogba-Egbama.


Ibime, bros, there is no simple fact about your accusing fingers on Ojukwu. Believe you me, I am not a fan of Ojukwu not because he stood up against the aggressors but the manner he prosecuted the war. We were in a war of attribution where chance and surprise make or break it. In most cases, Ojukwu chose to gamble. For example, the appointment of Col Banjo as the commander of 101 Division was one of the most ridiculous blunders in annals of military history.

How could you accuse Ojukwu of not dividing Biafra into autonomous entities when the birth of country suddenly attracted war of attrition? If you had accused Ojukwu of not including all the minority peeps in decision-making, I would have say that is debatable. But I am afraid such argument could still not fly in the face of scrutiny.

The leadership of Biafra, to the best of my knowledge, comprised many minority stalwarts that one such stalwart was an Ijo who gave the name Biafra to the country.

Most Nigerians don't care about stuff like this. Most people are worried about food, electricity, how to pay school fees, etc. It's difficult to see the point of this incomprehensible romanticism of tribal ethnicities and origin. Of course, ethnic minorities have been treated badly -- no one will dispute that. That said, I think it's pretty pointless knocking your heads and typing essays about obscure "freedom fighters" most Nigerians will never know -- and, quite frankly, don't give a shit -- about.

Energy should be directed at more constructive things, things that affect the daily lives of Nigerians. Bleep a Boro.

lonewolf:

Most Nigerians don't care about stuff like this. Most people are worried about food, electricity, how to pay school fees, etc. It's difficult to see the point of this incomprehensible romanticism of tribal ethnicities and origin. Of course, ethnic minorities have been treated badly -- no one will dispute that. That said, I think it's pretty pointless knocking your heads and typing essays about obscure "freedom fighters" most Nigerians will never know -- and, quite frankly, don't give a shit -- about.

Energy should be directed at more constructive things, things that affect the daily lives of Nigerians. mess a Boro.

Things like these are bases of the bigger nonsense we see in nigeria today.

lonewolf:

Most Nigerians don't care about stuff like this. Most people are worried about food, electricity, how to pay school fees, etc. It's difficult to see the point of this incomprehensible romanticism of tribal ethnicities and origin. Of course, ethnic minorities have been treated badly -- no one will dispute that. That said, I think it's pretty pointless knocking your heads and typing essays about obscure "freedom fighters" most Nigerians will never know -- and, quite frankly, don't give a shit -- about.

Energy should be directed at more constructive things, things that affect the daily lives of Nigerians. mess a Boro.

For somebody who "doesn't care about stuff like this", you're very strongly opinionated. Any time, you guys forget the current Hausa massacre of the people of the Niger Delta, and delve into an episode of history manipulation and modification in the name of praising common criminals like Adaka Boro, you will surely attract corresponding views to set the record straight.

Again, I think that Nigerians should be directing their emotions towards constructive things, and demanding pressing answers to serious questions -- like why is there no sensible energy policy in the country, etc. People are always lamenting and living in some past glory. If it's not old Yoruba dudes talking about Awolowo, it's Igbos complaining about a civil war, or Hausas plotting the glory days of military rule. All that is washed up. Nobody cares. I know I don't. What people are bothered about is the 'here-and-now' and 'going-forward'. And in contributing constructively to how people can lift this cursed country from the hole, I don't see how eulogising some nameless militant is going to help. Just my thoughts though.

na_so:

@naijaking1
I must quickly state that you just made a very provocative and myopic ascertion about ADAKA BORO. So in your unwritten constitution not fighting on the part of the ibos was criminality?
I hope you read:

“Economic development of the area is certainly the most appalling aspect. There is not even a single industry. The only fishery industry which ought to be situated in a properly riverine area is sited about 80 miles inland at Aba. The boatyard at Opobo had its headquarters at Enugu … Personnel in these industries and also in the oil stations are predominantly non-Ijaw,”

If 42yrs after the start of the civil war it is still a challenge for people to objectively appraise the campaign and see areas where it could have been bettered , then it makes the job of guaging the mood of the different nationalities at that time and the factors that would have informed their positions very easy.

i no fit shout abeg.

Not fighting for your country/region/state or whatever you call it was bad, but crossing over to the other side has been a punishment that attracts the death penalty in every country. Show me a country that doesn't hang traitors like Adaka Boro?

Location of industries in the eastern Nigeria has become the reason for Boro to sabotage his people? I no fit shout abeg.
42 years after uninformed fools like Boro sabotaged the eastern Nigerian war effort, because "industries were located in Aba and Enugu", today, the PTI is being moved from Warri to Kaduna, you know Kaduna, that Kaduna inside Ijaw nation
Yes, my brother, I no fit shout abeg

@Dede1
I'm so impressed by your wealth of knowledge of the facts. Did you write a book, or is there a resource you can direct people like me who want to know more about the eastern Nigeria history. Thanks

lonewolf:

Again, I think that Nigerians should be directing their emotions towards constructive things, and demanding pressing answers to serious questions -- like why is there no sensible energy policy in the country, etc. People are always lamenting and living in some past glory. If it's not old Yoruba dudes talking about Awolowo, it's Igbos complaining about a civil war, or Hausas plotting the glory days of military rule. All that is washed up. Nobody cares. I know I don't. What people are bothered about is the 'here-and-now' and 'going-forward'. And in contributing constructively to how people can lift this cursed country from the hole, I don't see how eulogising some nameless militant is going to help. Just my thoughts though.

You cannot move anywhere if you do solve what led to the present state.Simply put you do not know where you are going if you do not know where you have been.

What you see in nigeria today is the 'effect of some causes' and you solve it by attacking the 'causes' and not the 'effects'

@asha 80
Word!

Dede1:


(1.) The Brigade commanded by Adaka Boro never joined fight in the capture of Okirika Refinery Jetty that saw the occupation of Okirika by Nigerian vandals. I must say that Brigade under Boro made it easier for the capture of Opobo, Andoni, Obodo, Oranga and Buguma.

There were four Brigades readied to assault Port Harcourt. The Brigades included 14, 15, 16 and the Brigade under Boro. I intentionally omitted the number designating the Brigade under Boro bacuse it was summarily disbanded after the death of its commander. The first move to capture Port Harcourt was all out assault on Eleme which fell into vandals hands after bitter fighting. It was at this juncture that Boro decided to branch to Okirika on a private visit when the ambush was set and his faith was sealed.

Following the death of Boro, the Nigerian propaganda machine attributed the killing to fleeing Biafran soldiers. However, at the time of Boro’s death, there was no Biafran unit operating in Okirika axis. It was the same 15th Brigade yet under the command of another Yoruba extraction that carried out the massacre of the civilians at Ogba-Egbama.


(2.) How could you accuse Ojukwu of not dividing Biafra into autonomous entities when the birth of country suddenly attracted war of attrition? If you had accused Ojukwu of not including all the minority peeps in decision-making, I would have say that is debatable. But I am afraid such argument could still not fly in the face of scrutiny.

(3.) The leadership of Biafra, to the best of my knowledge, comprised many minority stalwarts that one such stalwart was an Ijo who gave the name Biafra to the country.      

(4.) I must say that Brigade under Boro made it easier for the capture of Opobo, Andoni, Obodo, Oranga and Buguma.

(1.) With regard to the bolded part, I think your faulty knowledge of Rivers State geography hinders your argument.

Firstly, Eleme refinery is in Okrika and nowhere near Port Harcourt or even Eleme town. My village house is directly opposite Eleme Refinery (which is situated in a land called Samanga) and all my neighbours are Okrikans drawn mostly from Kalio village which is also opposite the refinery and Ogan village which is a little further away. THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE ELEME MAN LIVING NEXT TO THE REFINERY. Right on the left hand side of the refinery is Okrika Grammar school.  Eleme town itself is 20 minutes drive from the refinery. I do not know who called the refinery Eleme refinery and have never cared to ask. If as you say, Adaka-Boro was in Eleme refinery area, then his command must have been preparing an assault on Kirike Town, which is a 5 minute walk across the bridge. Adaka-Boro was killed in Kirike Town, as part of his duties, not because he branched off back into Kirike. You cannot branch off into somewhere which is only 5 minutes away. 3rd Marine Brigade were the ones who attacked Kirike which was under Biafran occupation at the time and shortly after this time, Boro was killed. I can divulge further anecdotes about the Nigerian invasion of Kirike cos my father was in Kirike at the time, but lets just leave it there for now.


(2.) Suddenly attracted war of attrition? Come on now, dont play chess with me. Ojukwu declared Biafra in May 1967, after which he had time to fly to Ghana to draw up the Aburi accord with Gowon and hold several other consultative meetings, but had no time to draw up a similar accord with minorities of the former Eastern Region? No constitution, no memorandum of agreement, and not even a verbal promise in the 2 months that elapsed before the start of the war proper? You cannot be serious. This is another strategic and tactical mistake on the part of Ojukwu to go along with all the other tactical mistakes that you believe he made.

(3.) As I have said, fair treatment of minorities in Biafra cannot be assumed under a wishy-washy approach to fair play. The fact that Ijaw men were in the Biafran army is not a signal of mutual cooperation when at the same time, all calls for an agreement to protect the autonomy of minorities are summarily dismissed. Besides, I expect all soldiers in Biafra to occupy positions based on the heirarchy of the former Nigerian army, and I expect Bayelsa State to produce top members of the Biafran military as Bayelsa State have always had a strong presence in the Nigerian army.

(4.) This contradicts your statement on the Ken Saro-Wiwa thread that Adaka-Boro was nothing but a ragtag militant who had little or no effect during the war. The likes of OBJ wrote in his book that Boro's brigade was the most effective brigade in the Niger-Delta and the Niger-Delta could not have been captured without Boro.

Nigerians are a funny lot. The truth is the country is a collection of too many restless tribes who were forced into a marriage by the British. That's the essential root of the country's problems: our tribal incompatibility. Now, the reality is we are too far gone into the marriage to seek a divorce. We kind of have to stay together for the kids. So the reality is: we have to make do. We have to streamline, cut and adapt the polity to fit the challenges of the time and come up with a framework that make us viable as a country in THIS time, the 21st century.

Of course, we will need historical data to help us in that objective, which is why we should bear out history in mind. But the idea that people start eulogising obscure militia thugs from the civil war, or debating which tribe betrayed which, is not only pointless but, to my mind, absurd.

Again, my thoughts.

because whilst Ojukwu had pleaded with Nigeria to implement the Aburi Accord, he totally refused to apply the same Aburi Accord to Biafra to allow minorities some semblance of autonomy.


IBIME: Please can you show any literature or any evidence to show that Ojukwu could not allow minorities some semblance of automomy.

Andre Uweh:

because whilst Ojukwu had pleaded with Nigeria to implement the Aburi Accord, he totally refused to apply the same Aburi Accord to Biafra to allow minorities some semblance of autonomy.


IBIME: Please can you show any literature or any evidence to show that Ojukwu could not allow minorities some semblance of automomy.

I dont need to provide that. It is well evidenced and quoted by all minority leaders of the former Eastern region as a reason for their defection to Nigeria. At the time, Niger-Deltans were pandering after the creation of Rivers State. That was the biggest thing on their agenda as they felt marginalised by Enugu. Nigeria was already under Federalism before Ironsi, and they asked Ojukwu for a Rivers State under federalism, not controlled explicitly from Enugu and were refused. There is copious evidence on the internet if you care to look.

@Ibime
Thanks for your nice description of the Eleme/Okirika neighbourhood.

I have never understood how you think Ojukwu could have delt with a splinter Ijaw, Ogoni, Onitsha groups demanding autonomy while other Ijaw, Ogoni, Onitsha men and women were actively engaged on the battle front. You have not even shown that the majority of Ijaw people at the time in question supported Boro, yet you're looking back 42 years after the fact and insisting that Ojukwu lost the alliance of Ijaws, becasue he refused to discuss autonomy?. Many Ijaw people were in the Biafran govenement, why should Boro have been treated in any special way?

Boro was simply an opportunitst who knew he could pile pressure on the eastern Nigerian government because of outside influence from the greater Nigerian government. Many countries in similar situation would jointly ward off an outside invader first, then settlie any internal problems, no, not the Adaka Boro people, they saw an opportunity to strike at their own government, and they did.