The devil u know is better than the angel u don't know, Ojukwu alligning with the Northeners he fought war with simply explains this saying, Real men fights and shake hand with each other. He who fights and run away lives to fight another day (this time potical fight)

ojukwu is still alive today, but the cowardly Awolowo could not but commit suicide after waging economic war against the igbos, what a history of the greatest tribalist of Nigerian story. The same igbos he was waging economic war against have overtaken his yoriba boys who are still wallowing on the breast fed them by their thin god. what an irony!

why cant people stop being tribalistics, instead of insulting yourselves why dont you stay of the thread. does nigeria belongs to the igbos or youruba, fools fighting over nothing.

Is this some kind of joke? Was Ojukwu in some kind of coma when IBB was in power? This is why Nigeria has a long way to go before it can be put right. How can IBB even have the guts to stand as a candidate after everything he did. Overconfident bastard and Ojukwu is actually worst silly old fool. History shows he has no backbone jumping ship when the going gets tough. Hissssss

This love of money will be the death of many.

I have these few comments to make;

1.The title of this thread is highly faulty,thank God it has been modified.Ojukwu hasn't endorsed anybody including IBB.

2.I have great respect for Ikemba Nnewi, Eze Igbo Gburugburu,but I am afraid the way Igbos act and our culture is such that nobody can claim to be our mouthpiece or can call us to order(too bad!).Not even Zik of Africa can be said to receive a unanimous approval from Igbos.If Nnamdi Azikiwe,Michael Okpara,K.Mbadiwe,Sir Akanu Ibiam,and Odimegwu Ojukwu cannot be our mouthpiece at one time or the other,please we need some re-orientation.

3.IBB is looking for a cheap victory in the East.Why is he interested in one more term as a president?Why use us to achieve it?Why at this time that we the new generation wants to do away with rotational presidency and all its attendant evil?

4.Why do we like trivializing issues and bringing out only tribal and religious exchange of words whenever a critical topic is posted on NL?

5.Where are we still getting this erronous notion that the Igbos like money more than other tribes? From the lootings and corruption in Nigeria,can someone tell me which tribe is coming first and the position of the Igbos.Will it kill anyone 2 own up that why we say the Igbos love money is because of their hardwork?, I have a taxi driver I arranged to be picking me every morning by 6.15 am.Every morning I will walk over to Peter's compound(tribe withheld to avoid exchange of words) but Peter will just be up running up and down 2 brush his mouth,no bath and some days he'll carry chewing stick while we move. I later engaged Uche,and by 5.55am,he is already at my gate,dressed and looking fresh and immediately it is 6.am his horn is blaring.

Is it now a crime to be diligent in your work?

I readily forgave him when he jumped ship and left Effiong to take charge, I readily forgave him when he took sides with Abacha and watched gleefully while Ken saro-wiwa was murdered, but how can you forgive a man who had his rank back and his own soldiers never had theirs back and are wallowing in poverty at the Oji river camp, how can you forgive a man whose properties where returned to him and he couldn't fight for his people own properties leading to the abandoned property saga, how can you forgive a man who takes sides with man whose dictatorship resulted in the Humiliation of a top igbo man that was his deputy ebute ukiwe, how can you forgive a man who takes sides with a man in whose dictatorship Igbos felt the brunt of his administration and paid with their lives during the crisis that occurred during the MKO election saga-------SO MUCH FOR A LEADER

Ojukwu is not Awolowo, the monkey, who committed suicide and died like a rat poisoned with otapiapia.
Ojukwu left as a gallant soldier,and returned as a gallant soldier. And thats why he still commands respect among his contemporaries till today.

METALONG- u are a true bastard!  You claim Awolowo committed suicide yet you provide no substantial proof of this, you are trying to label a great man into what he is not, apart from Awolowo's political conquest, he was a great achiever, bringing substantial development to his people in the areas of technology, education and health. Can you say the same for Ojukwu? Ojukwu's arrogant nature caused his tribe to continue to suffer to this day, the over aggressive nature of most igbo's makes other ethnic groups in nigeria to wonder if this people are giving power, would they not return nigeria back to the days of slavery. Ojukwu has no shame, all the promises he made(BIAFRA), what happened to them? he exploited the youth and brave igbo men who sacrificed their lives for what now seemed a ill conceived war. Instead of giving your people proper education by building universities and strong health institutions, he paraded himself like the useless tyrant he is, and don't even try to turn this into a yoruba-igbo conflict, because I'm mixed with both myself, and lost people in the biafra war so i know first hand the stupid cost of the war,

The Babangida years

By Tolu Ogunlesi
April 17, 2010 10:36PM   

In his first New Year Days speech as military president, months after deposing the Buhari-Idiagbon government in a bloodless coup enthusiastically welcomed by Nigerians, Ibrahim Babangida declared: I wish to reaffirm that this administration does not intend to stay in power a day longer than is required to lay the necessary institutional framework to bring about a better and more stable Nigeria. Babangidas bonhomie (its trademark an endearing gap-toothed smile) - in stark contrast to the stern, unsmiling façade of Muhammadu Buhari, his predecessor - made it easy for him to be believed.
The distinction between the two regimes in fact ran much deeper than personality quirks. Babangida, in action, proved to be the complete antithesis of his predecessor. He threw open prison doors, setting free hundreds of 3rd republic politicians convicted and jailed by Buhari. He repealed the obnoxious Decree No. 4 of 1984 with which the Buhari regime had shackled the media. He promised to run an open administration that is responsive to the yearnings and aspirations of all the people - a departure from the high-handedness of the Buhari/Idiagbon era.
One of his first actions as military president was to allow Nigerians to decide, through public debates, whether to accept the $2.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan the Buhari government had been negotiating for.
After the terror of the Buhari years, Nigerians appeared to have found a statesman in military uniform.

Tough times that lasted

By 1985, Nigerias foreign debt had ballooned to $18 billion, up from $3.4 billion in 1980 (it would rise beyond $30 billion by the end of the 80s), and external reserves had dwindled to less than $2 billion. Oil prices had been in freefall for 3 years running, and in January 1986 they finally fell to less than $20 per barrel, a record low since the start of the decade.
To his credit Babangida made all the right noises about revamping the economy. In his Independence Day 1985 speech, barely two months old in office, he declared a state of economic emergency for the next 15 months. That speech went on to lay down a comprehensive plan for economic reconstruction.
This plan included a moratorium on new foreign debt, promotion of agriculture and industrial development, restriction of importation to essential commodities, financial sector reform and privatisation.

Populist leanings

IBB was a master of the populist move - ambitious government programs targeted at tackling poverty, and empowering rural dwellers. His government churned out program after program, in a bid to actualize his promises to run an inclusive, people-facing government. In 1986, Babangida launched the Mass Mobilization for Self Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic Recovery (MAMSER).
In 1987, the Directorate of Food and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI) was launched to promote agriculture and transform Nigerias rural landscape by providing modern infrastructure. Other Babangida creations include the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), Peoples Bank of Nigeria (PBN), National Board for Community Banks (NBCB), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), National Planning Commission (NPC), and the Urban Development Bank.
No other Nigerian government presided over such substantial expansion of government bureaucracy as the Babangida administration. In time, the fiscal prudence that Babangida espoused vanished: billions of naira were sunk into an endless transition programme, and in the early 90s, 12 billion dollars worth of windfall crude oil revenue (courtesy of the rise in the oil prices due to the Gulf War) could not be accounted for.
Mr. Babangida also came to perfect the art of dispensing patronage through political appointments (mostly targeted at leading members of the opposition) and a far-from-transparent allocation of lucrative oil blocks.

A man whose words mean nothing

Mr. Babangidas contradictions eventually overwhelmed his reputation so that when, in May 1993, the activist and lawyer Gani Fawehinmi described him as a man whose words mean nothing to him, evidence of this littered his eight years in power.
Only months after vowing to run a government by consultation with the people, Mr. Babangida in 1986 surreptitiously - and unilaterally - took Nigeria, an avowed secular state, into full membership of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), a body which describes itself as the collective voice of the Muslim world.
Mr. Babangida lamented the large role played by the public sector in economic activity with hardly any concrete results to justify such a role.Ironically, over the course of the next five years, he would go ahead to supervise an unprecedented expansion of government. And despite his deference to the wish of Nigerians to reject the IMF loan, Mr. Babangida went ahead to implement some of the Funds most drastic requirements - a devaluation of the naira, and removal of subsidies, chief of which were the petroleum subsidies.
Mr. Babangida promised Nigerians that the belt-tightening was sorely needed: the painful injection that would usher in vibrant economic health; the mandatory dark lining before a cloud of prosperity. Those reforms, which he christened Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), came into effect in 1986, with a far-from-pleasant impact on Nigerians. Purchasing powers dwindled, inflation rose, and the obliteration of the middle class began. In 1989, SAP riots rocked the country, as Nigerians had finally had enough of economic reforms which silver lining they waited in vain for.

Greatest failings

Mr. Babangidas greatest failings were however in two key areas: his human rights record, and his political transition programme. In December 1985, a group of soldiers, which included his close friend, Mamman Vatsa, were arrested on allegations of plotting to topple the 4-month old Babangida government. After Vatsa was convicted and sentenced to death, Mr. Babangida assured a delegation of distinguished writers (Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and J.P. Clark), which had come pleading for mercy, that he was determined to do everything in my power to save (Vatsa).
Hours later, Vatsa and the other alleged plotters were executed.
As opposition to Mr. Babangidas rule grew, so did his intolerance for dissent, so that he routinely shut down or proscribed media houses; and harassed journalists, civil society and labour groups using the instruments of state (the State Security Service, Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Police).
In 1986, five students of the Ahmadu Bello University were murdered when mobile policemen invaded the campus to quell anti-IMF protests. He also promulgated a series of draconian decrees targeted at quelling all opposition, and on occasion did not hesitate to deport foreign critics (University lecturer Patrick Wilmot and journalist William Keeling).
In October 1986, frontline journalist Dele Giwa was murdered by a letter bomb in Lagos. Preliminary police investigations stated that senior officers of Mr. Babangidas intelligence services, who had hounded Giwa in his final days, had questions to answer regarding Giwas death. The mystery of the Giwa assassination remains unsolved till date.

An interminable journey

A maddeningly convoluted transition programme, whose terminal date soon became a mirage - first 1990, then 1992, and then 1993 - is one of the most significant things Babangida will be remembered for.
Early on in his administration, Mr. Babangida inaugurated a Political Bureau to kick off, as it were, the national debate on a viable future political ethos and structure for our dear country.
The political bureau was soon followed by a Constituent Assembly, which in 1989 fashioned a new constitution for the country.
Also, in 1989, he created, by presidential fiat, two political parties, the Social Democratic Party and the National Republican Convention. Then in 1991, he released a controversial list of prominent politicians whom he said were banned from participating in the transition programme.
In October 1992, he cancelled the results of the parties presidential primaries, causing new primaries to be held in March 1993. And then in June 1993 he annulled the results of the presidential elections, presumed to have been won by billionaire businessman MKO Abiola.

This was the final straw
.
By this time, Nigerians had finally had enough of his shenanigans, and violent protests forced him to step aside on August 27, 1993,My colleagues and I are determined to change the course of history, Mr. Babangida told Nigerians in his maiden speech as Head of State, on August 27, 1985.
By the time he reluctantly relinquished power exactly eight years later, he had achieved that goal, far more successfully than he, or anyone else, could ever have imagined.

Source: Next
====================

The Holy Book says "my people perish for lack of knowledge".
Will you allow 150m of us (Nigerians) perish or will you ALSO forward this article on the (mis) deeds of our self-proclaimed "evil genius" to all Nigerians that you know
Will you help confirm "maradona" IBB's claim (in Germany in the 90s during one of his radiculopathy treatment trips) that we, his fellow citizens are "docile" (MUGUs) by not sharing this mail
Find a way to get involved at all levels- local, state and federal- this election period for a better Nigeria!!!

Rubbish!

The Hausa respect the Igbo. They may not like us, but they respect us. These people know our word is our bond. Unlike you double talking Yorubas.

Our cultures are similar in which we both honor manhood and honesty.

The same cannot be said with the Yoruba.

ezeuche - i'm beginning to doubt your sanity.

Posted by: bawomolo

Rubbish!

The Hausa respect the Igbo. They may not like us, but they respect us. These people know our word is our bond. Unlike you double talking Yorubas.

Our cultures are similar in which we both honor manhood and honesty.

The same cannot be said with the Yoruba.

ezeuche - i'm beginning to doubt your sanity


I second that motion

bawomolo:

ezeuche - i'm beginning to doubt your sanity.

Na now you begin?? ROFLMAO!

ojukwu should please do us a favour and stop embarassing himself. , which kain dirty talk be this? i dont hate the north, some of my best friends are from that area, but come 2011, its jonathan or nothing, any one who doesnt like it can go and form thier own country.

Kobojunkie:


Na now you begin?? ROFLMAO!

i know right, how can one be a supremacist and a sycophant at the same time

must be a bipolar disorder or something.

Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people

1 [a] Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.
23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;
24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
29 the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;
33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future [b] for the man of peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future [c] of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him

The Wicked = (Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki, Muhammadu Buhari, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Oluṣẹgun Mathew Okikiọla Arẹmu Ọbasanjọ, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, )

usbcable:

Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people
Nairaland is full of tribalistic people

As usual. . .when the mistakes of Ojukwu comes out to the public,you'll begin to scream tribalism.abeg go siddon jo.

I agree Bluetooth I dont know when people will realise he was also a massive reason for the f u c k up that was Biafra that resulted in senseless death. Hes shameless.

LadyT:

I agree Bluetooth I dont know when people will realise he was also a massive reason for the f u c k up  that was Biafra that resulted in senseless death.  Hes shameless.

And your awolowo was the cause of innocent people dying so i dont get your point.

He did not see anything wrong with the fact that Babangida was in power for eight years, as military, and still wants to return as civilian president. He said of this: “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 is still alright, then he should offer himself for the job and if the people want him, so be it.”

Apologies to my igbo bruvs but with this statement credited to Ojukwu it means what ever the man is smoking is now smoking him! I mean we are talking about Nigeria and not Kwara state?
Or is the man that broke or does he thinks he can be relevant in the scheme of things with such statement?
The unfortunate fact is that he is not as smart as IBB and he will be used and dumped!

G.B.T:

He did not see anything wrong with the fact that Babangida was in power for eight years, as military, and still wants to return as civilian president. He said of this: “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 is still alright, then he should offer himself for the job and if the people want him, so be it.”

Apologies to my igbo bruvs but with this statement credited to Ojukwu it means what ever the man is smoking is now smoking him! I mean we are talking about Nigeria and not Kwara state?
Or is the man that broke or does he thinks he can be relevant in the scheme of things with such statement?
The unfortunate fact is that he is not as smart as IBB and he will be used and dumped!

Don't take it out of context. The main thing we stated is "If the people want him". And when he made this particular statement he generally speaking,not specifically speaking about IBB.

I readily forgave him when he jumped ship and left Effiong to take charge, I readily forgave him when he took sides with Abacha and watched gleefully while Ken saro-wiwa was murdered, but how can you forgive a man who had his rank back and his own soldiers never had theirs back and are wallowing in poverty at the Oji river camp, how can you forgive a man whose properties where returned to him and he couldn't fight for his people own properties leading to the abandoned property saga, how can you forgive a man who takes sides with man whose dictatorship resulted in the Humiliation of a top igbo man that was his deputy ebute ukiwe, how can you forgive a man who takes sides with a man in whose dictatorship Igbos felt the brunt of his administration and paid with their lives during the crisis that occurred during the MKO election saga-------SO MUCH FOR A LEADER

Another good reason to support my thought that what the dude is smoking is starting to smoke him and is time he is enrolled into an institution to preserve what is good that is left of him!

G.B.T:

I readily forgave him when he jumped ship and left Effiong to take charge, I readily forgave him when he took sides with Abacha and watched gleefully while Ken saro-wiwa was murdered, but how can you forgive a man who had his rank back and his own soldiers never had theirs back and are wallowing in poverty at the Oji river camp, how can you forgive a man whose properties where returned to him and he couldn't fight for his people own properties leading to the abandoned property saga, how can you forgive a man who takes sides with man whose dictatorship resulted in the Humiliation of a top igbo man that was his deputy ebute ukiwe, how can you forgive a man who takes sides with a man in whose dictatorship Igbos felt the brunt of his administration and paid with their lives during the crisis that occurred during the MKO election saga-------SO MUCH FOR A LEADER

Another good reason to support my thought that what the dude is smoking is starting to smoke him and is time he is enrolled into an institution to preserve what is good that is left of him!

You mean he fled and left his people to bear the brunt of the war? Came back and joined the same Northern elites whom he was fighting and encouraged millions of people to die for, Got all his property and military entitlements back while those soldiers who believed in the Biafra cause he championed are languishing in poverty.

The same IBB that waged war on his people and killed them in millions is the one Ojukwu is now campaigning for.

Maybe it wasnt a war based on principles afterall but one based on personal selfish interest/ego

Ojukwu have been pay to speak 4 the igbos, has 4 me ojukwu dont have say in igbo land anymore. Ojukwu is jst eatin 4rm the national cake,anybody can eat 4rm the cake cos is our money, election will tell the win.

Ojukwu have been pay to speak 4 the igbos, has 4 me ojukwu dont have say in igbo land anymore. Ojukwu is jst eatin 4rm the national cake,anybody can eat 4rm the cake cos is our money, election will tell the win.

Yoruba cowards will keep on ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting like  rabies infested dogs whenever respected personalities, like Ojukwu, do not support their selfish cause!!!

But one thing is certain, there is a glaring difference between a principled man like Ojukwu, and  the treacherous Awolowo who died like a rat by committing suicide.

dayokanu:

- - - Maybe it wasnt a war based on principles afterall but one based on personal selfish interest/ego

  oro kabiti -  Big word.

Ojukwu have been pay to speak 4 the igbos,left with me, ojukwu dont have say in igbo land anymore. Ojukwu is jst eatin 4rm the national cake,anybody can eat 4rm the cake cos is our money, election will tell the winner.

sbeezy8:

We know that yorubas were killed in Both coups. Akintola by the igbo coup to install zik or irionsi even if the few idiots among them were yoruba.
But as for the killing the son of the soil are you talking of fajuyi, who probably planned knew about the coup or are you talking about Akintola who was killed in the igbo coup.

the despoiling yoruba women by drunken northerners NEVER heard that rumor ( Ive never even set my eyes on a drunken aboki) . . . but I do know about the beautiful biafran women who were despoiled or married like ndidi maryam babangida.

In this your response you say the yoruba soldiers are cowards, ok fine but you always said that Ojukwu ran away to live to fight snother day, so maybe they had the same strategy as Ojukwu. LOL

@ eboski.pls my brothers let us 4get abt ojukwu issues, the main reason why we are here is to put heads together and plan for 4 the betament of naija not ojukwu who is fighting 4 is own pocket and family interest in govt. The mistake that has happen be4 we the youth shouldnt let it repeat itself again,pls

At the time, there was a widely held belief (propagated by Ojukwu and other Biafran leaders) that defeat for Biafra would be met by mass indiscriminate massacres by the federal government. If Ojukwu believed this, then his escape at the end of the war is deplorable. After over a million Igbo were killed in the senseless war, Ojukwu fled in the last days of the war when his people were at their lowest ebb, despite repeatedly promising throughout the war that he would never leave his people to the mercy of the federal troops. If he believed that all his people would be massacred then his flight to a luxurious exile abroad and refusal to stand side by side with them to finish a war he dragged them into, cannot be applauded. Ojukwu is an iconic leader for his people, but has failed to deliver the aspirations of his people. The question remains – is Ojukwu a hero or a disastrous strategis

http://maxsiollun./2007/12/16/ojukwu-hero-or-villain/

OJUKWU & IGBO LEADERSHIP

By

Tochukwu Ezukanma

I am ambivalent about the past because on the one hand, the past is irretrievably lost, but on the other hand, the present is only a reflection of the past, and an understanding of the past provides necessary tools for resolving the problems of the present. So, while there are many more contemporary issues that should rivet the focus of most imaginative writers, I cannot help to retrospect, and glean insights from the events of the past. As we ponder the vast scene of confusion that is our beloved country, are we not confronted with the inexorable reality that our present problems are the direct results of the happenings of yesteryears. Not surprisingly, as I brood over the plight of the Igbo nation, I am irresistibly drawn to the past, to the civil war. While there may be some fundamental cultural and historical factors that militate against Igbo political progress, it was the civil war that actually deal the Igbo a bludgeoning blow. To really address the present Igbo political problems, we cannot escape an objective assessment of that war and the central figure in that war, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu.



Ojukwu's recent presence in the Washington DC area did not inspire much enthusiasm within the Igbo community. The Igbo's earlier perception of him was shaped through the distorted prisms of the Biafran propaganda. The Biafran propaganda apotheosized him, so, in the Igbo minds, he became something of a deity, an invaluable political asset. But, over the years, he proved himself a political profligate, improvidently spending his political capital. His repeated political blunders, especially, that his infamous waltz with Sani Abacha demystified and stripped him of much of his political legitimacy. It left him devoid of any political good will, except for the lingering grip of the Biafran propaganda on some Igbo minds.



As an emissary of the Abacha government, he was in Washington DC. His mission then was to burnish the badly blemished image of the Abacha government, evidently for a consideration. It was 1995, and he stood before an exclusively Igbo audience. As usual, he was a riveting presence: a consummate orator, a captivating demagogue. With credulous and adoring listeners, he was spouting some half truths, twisted facts and some downright falsehood; and his audience in their gullibility were applauding.



That forum reinforced my earlier conviction that the problem with politicians is that they generally lie too much, that the problem with their following is that they barely think, and that it is the volatile mix of these two worrisome realities that has brought the world most of its political calamities.



He said that the Igbo will provide the next Nigerian president. Surprisingly, this statement drew a thunderous applause from his audience. I was appalled by this brazen piece of demagoguery. I crafted some questions for him. I wanted to rattle him with some pointed questions. I raised my hand frantically, but I was not allowed the opportunity to ask any of my questions. The self-appointed Igbo leaders of Washington DC were at work. It was their evening, and they were putting a spin on it. They have a penchant for ingratiating the Nigerian Embassy, and fawning over every important visitor from Nigeria. So, in their customary sycophancy, they orchestrated the event in a way that will preclude serious questions that may disconcert the August visitor. Applicants for the most menial jobs are subjected to rigorous interviews. Lamentably, men who lay claim to the leadership of a people are shielded from meaningful questions from those whom they supposedly lead. Evidently, we carried across the Atlantic elements of that hero-worshipping that imperiled accountability in Nigeria public life.



The Igbo producing the next president as of 1995? Staggering nonsense! After all, Moshood Abiola who was wasting away in jail as of then was a crony of the northern dominated military elite and an intimate friend of the northern aristocracy. Moreover, like the majority of the northerners, he was a Moslem. If the northern powerbrokers could not trust him with power, what Igbo could they have entrusted with it.



In the same speech, he also extolled the Constitutional Conference. The Constitutional Conference was tendentious rubbish, a gaudy political ploy that kept the politicians busy while Abacha tightened his hold on power. It was something of a nursery game at which a bunch of venal politicians played at the supervision of Sani Abacha. Ojukwu and the other Igbo leaders stampeded into the Constitutional Conference ostensibly to "enshrine" rotational presidency, and the devolution of power to regional units in the new constitution. What of the previous constitutions, and all the grandiose ideals enshrined in them? Were they not all violated, and shoved aside at the whims of the northern feudal lords and their military surrogates. If all previous constitutions were tossed away as worthless pieces of paper, what was to ensure the sacrosanctity of the one written by the Constitutional Conference? If the Hausa/Fulani as of then were refusing to rotate the presidency with the Yoruba who had been their allies for about 30 years, why would anyone expect them to rotate it with the Igbo whose presidency, in the words of Abubakar Umar (supposedly, a progressive), "will be too much for the country to bear"?



I had a feeling that Ojukwu left that forum dismayed by the quality of his listeners, that is, not knowing that it was the hero-worshippers in their traditional shamelessness who deliberately searched out mostly the incoherent, and inarticulate to ask questions. Is Ojukwu really a hero, or do we just glory in nonentities?



In a naval battle in the South Atlantic, the British Navy disabled a German warship, and the commander of the German warship, Hans Langsdorff shot himself in the head. In his suicide note, he stated that "for a captain with a sense of honor, his personal fate cannot be separated from that of his ship". Ship, captain, and honor. What of nation, leader, and honor? "In politics and statecraft", Richard Nixon once wrote "power means life or death, prosperity or poverty, happiness or tragedy for millions of people".



Honor linked the personal fate of a captain to that of his ship. So, quite naturally, honor should inextricably bind the personal fate of a leader to the life or death, happiness or tragedy of his people. Ojukwu led the Igbo in a war against northern domination of Nigeria. That war was not wrong in itself. However, while there were insinuating circumstances that impugned the basis for one Nigeria, Biafranism was not the only political option open to the Igbo. Eastern Region of Nigeria, even Igboland was not an ideological monolith. There were contending views as to the response to the mass murder Easterners in northern Nigeria. There were knowledgeable and respectable voices who urged for a more circumspect approach. Nnamdi Azikiwe among others disagreed with Ojukwu's methods, and counseled against his policy of secession. Ojukwu ignored and/or suppressed all such dissenting views, and set off on his own political course. So, he is liable for Biafranism, and all the pains, sorrows, and ravages it wrought on the Igbo. Even the qualified endorsement of secession by the Ojukwu appointed Consultative Assembly does not in any way exonerate him from this responsibility.



Yakubu Gowon was then an ill-baked, insecure and mild-mannered ethnic and religious minority foisted on Nigeria by the northern feudal lords and neo-colonial interests. He was inexorably beholden to his northern masters and Yoruba allies. Still, he is culpable for the war to keep Nigeria and all its concomitant horrors. Even in democracies where the leader's choices are circumscribed by the constitutional prerogatives of the parliament/congress, the leader is still held answerable to his political decisions and actions. For example, in spite of the intrinsic limitations placed on leadership by the institutional moorings of democracy, it will be most grotesque to suggest that Winston Churchill was not responsible for the British stance in the 2nd World War, or that President Roosevelt be not accountable for both the New Deal and American involvement in the 2nd World War.



Soldiers by both training and orientation are ill equipped for political leadership. Edward Gibbon, that 18th century man of letters, once wrote that ", the temper of soldiers, habituated at once to violence and (servitude), renders them very unfit guardians of a legal or even a civil constitution. Justice, humanity, or political wisdom, are qualities they are too little acquainted with in themselves to appreciate them in others". In spite of these inherent handicaps, the soldiers were thrust into Nigeria politics by a political accident. They were neither expecting it nor prepared for it. Out of the confines of the barracks and the parochialism and regimentation of military life, these young army officers were overnight saddled with enormous powers and responsibilities. That mixture of military brashness, political power and youthful ebullience was to be a dangerous experiment. Yakubu Gowon, probably conscious of his limitations, sought the advise of the politicians - older men and experienced men. Ojukwu, on the other hand, befogged by his imperiousness, arrogance and superciliousness, ignored the counsel of older and experienced politicians, notably Nnamdi Azikiwe.



Azikiwe, although notorious for his equivocation and inconsistence, was still universally revered for his learning, prudence and experience. It was a profound act of irresponsibility for a 33year old soldier to rebuff the political advise of the father of Nigerian nationalism renowned for his political instincts and intellectual penetration. It smacked in the face of the traditional Igbo, actually African respect for age and the wisdom of the elders. He chose to tread his own political path, a path devoid of the foresight, staidness and somber reflection of the elder, but replete with youthful impulsiveness, wanton despotism and military license. Not surprisingly, he led the Igbo into a quagmire of powerlessness and helplessness.



By building an autonomous power structure that defied, and to some extent repressed the traditional Igbo political power structure, he disjointed and severely weakened the Igbo leadership order. Historically and culturally, the Igbo do not readily submit to a hierarchical social order, or coalesce around a leader. So, the pre-1966 power establishment in Igboland must have been painstakingly cobbled together over many decades. Ojukwu's repudiation of the established Igbo leadership form, rocked that traditional power structure to its core. Subsequent swipes at it after the civil war only furthered the deterioration of an already decrepit system. War is an infernal monster that racks, devours and devastates. It generally takes its highest toll on the youths. With their reckless idealism, impressionable minds and an excitability that can easily be kindled, they are readily whipped into a frenzy. Youthful idealism and exuberance are forged into combat material by military training, a zombification process that drills men into obeying orders unquestioningly. The word "infantry" evolved from the French word for child because of the child-like compliance instilled in soldiers. For every soldier thus trained, armed, and ordered into battle, his stake is clear. He is staking his life for some lofty ideals as made believe by the leadership. But, what are the moral obligations of that supreme commander who is ordering young men to their death in droves from the comfort and security of his bunker? What are the stakes for him that has convinced young men that the struggle was worth their lives, hundreds of thousands of them?



Some leaders in history dramatized the stakes of leadership under such circumstances. As the German Third Reich with all its attendant dreams tumbled down, Adolf Hitler took his own life, and Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's minister for propaganda, killed his six children,. and with his wife, Magda, committed suicide. When her revolt against Roman suzerainty ended in her defeat, the Icenic queen, Boudica, drank poison and died. But, as it all closed in on Emeka Ojukwu, he packed his bag and baggage and ran away.



The civil war exposed the Igbo to untold hardship. The Igbo persevered in the fight because they believed in the superior validity of their cause, and were acutely conscious of the unmitigated danger of northern hegemony. That war decimated the flower and promise of Igboland (it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Igbo youth died in that war), and the associated hunger took a devastating toll on the Biafran populace. It did irreparable damages to many families, and irretrievably shattered many dreams.



If the war for Igbo self-determination was worth that many lives, and such a colossal sacrifice, was it not worth Ojukwu's life? If Biafranism was not Ojukwuism, that is, if in Biafra, Ojukwu was not merely serving a personal interest, or realizing a personal ambition, if he was giving expression to the collective aspirations of the Igbo, then his personal survival of the war was not important, because there will always be men to lead the Igbo, and consequently give voice to the Igbo interests and aspirations in accordance with the social and political realities of the time. These men need to be guided by examples. Ojukwu should have therefore been prepared to die with Biafra as a tribute to the hundreds of thousands of men who died obeying his orders, an atonement for the pains and sorrow his decisions and choices cost his people, and above all, as an example to future generations of Igbo leaders. The example being that no Igbo leader should ever abandon the Igbo in times of adversity, that every Igbo man, especially, those in authority - those who have been entrusted with the fate of the entire ethnic group - must be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the Igbo nation.



The public good requires the rigorous subordination of the individual to the nation. According to Richard Goodman, "the process of the individual life is bound by irrevocable limits"; it is but a blip in time inexorably sandwiched between birth and death - just a breathe that can be snuffed out by the vagaries of life. On the other hand, the life of the nation is eternal.



Therefore no sacrifice made by the individual for the group can ever be too much. The obsession by man to cling unto to life is laudable, even sublime as long as it is not given precedence to the welfare of the entire group. As the war ended, the issue was not Ojukwu's personal survival, but the future of the Igbo nation. Laying the ground rule for this future was more important for the Igbo nation than the continued existence of any one individual, because irrespective of any one's station in life, he is but a dispensable cog of history.



The future of a people is predicated on their collective attitudinal disposition (especially attitude towards sacrifice, honor and loyalty) and the quality of their leaders. Ojukwu led the Igbo through the most trying period of their history. To the Igbo, the civil war was both attitudinal and psychological watershed. Wars, especially of such devastation brings about a convulsive transformation of the society, a sharp break with the past. This break was obvious in different facets of Igbo life, but especially in the Igbo mindset; there was a psychological and attitudinal shift. Overhanging this shift was Ojukwu's abandonment of the Igbo.



Ojukwu's desertion of the Igbo had a subliminal, but profound effect on the Igbo psyche. It perverted the Igbo value system, and debased her public virtue. Subliminally, it impressed on the Igbo, especially those in authority that it was alright to use your people for personal advancement, and abandon them when things go wrong. It ushered into the Igbo ranks a new culture - a culture of opportunism. It is this culture of opportunism, more than any other single factor that has been the bane of the Igbo nation since the end of the civil war.



A man who was poised to cash in on power, grandeur and history if the "toil, sweat, tear and blood" of his people pay off, and prepared to run away if everything goes crashing, is not a hero, not even a leader, but an opportunist who gambled with human lives. On the other hand, we should always respect the courage, and determination of those men who made up that ill-equipped, but indomitable army that bogged down the Nigerian military machine for nearly 3 years. We should always appreciate the sacrifices of those young men who had their lives rent permanently, and their future turned bleak by the crippling and disfiguring injuries they sustained fighting for Biafra. Finally, we should always remember, and pay tribute to those fallen heroes who laid down their youthful lives for Biafra.



Dec 2002

metalGo0g:

Yoruba cowards will keep on ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting, ranting like  rabies infested dogs whenever respected personalities, like Ojukwu, do not support their selfish cause!!!

But one thing is certain, there is a glaring difference between a principled man like Ojukwu, and  the treacherous Awolowo who died like a rat by committing suicide.

Principle of cowardice by running away from the war front and leaving the followers to die?

Principles like coming back and joining the same Hausa elites he fought against in NPN.

Principles like getting back his own military entitlements and properties back and leaving soldiers who fought for his cause to wallow and die in poverty.

Principles that includes supporting IBB a man who fought and killed Biafrans and Now going to Nssuka, Enugu and owerri to tell people to vote for a man who killed their grandafathers, fathers, uncles and aunties.

Which one is Yoruba selfish cause here? Is it asking Ojukwu to fight for neglected Biafran soldiers who were punished for following his command? Wetin concern Yoruba interest there?

G.B.T:

I readily forgave him when he jumped ship and left Effiong to take charge, I readily forgave him when he took sides with Abacha and watched gleefully while Ken saro-wiwa was murdered, but how can you forgive a man who had his rank back and his own soldiers never had theirs back and are wallowing in poverty at the Oji river camp, how can you forgive a man whose properties where returned to him and he couldn't fight for his people own properties leading to the abandoned property saga, how can you forgive a man who takes sides with man whose dictatorship resulted in the Humiliation of a top igbo man that was his deputy ebute ukiwe, how can you forgive a man who takes sides with a man in whose dictatorship Igbos felt the brunt of his administration and paid with their lives during the crisis that occurred during the MKO election saga-------SO MUCH FOR A LEADER

Another good reason to support my thought that what the dude is smoking is starting to smoke him and is time he is enrolled into an institution to preserve what is good that is left of him!

Igbos felt the brunt from the IBB administration or from tribalistic cry-baby yorubas in lagos? IBB administration aint do nothing to Igbos but they did fcck yall fools up tho.that has nothing to do with us tho SO SHOVE IT.

How does Ojukwu speaking with IBB effect the yorubas in anyway?? I think the mention of the name "Ojukwu" really makes their pusssy wet.