ndu_chucks:

@Onlytruth, olodo. Continue trying to convince yourself that you are not bigoted - the truth is that you are very much bigoted and even the blind can see that.

Merry Xmas in advance, though something tells me that you may be an animist or idol worshiper who would be a regular patron of Okija schrine, Nzukari schrine, Nwakodikpu schrine, and others like them.

They are still better than whatever demon you are worshiping which drive you to kill the unarmed and innocent.
Igbo gods never accepted such practices.

Aigbofa:

You people are living in a fantasy world. Northerners will never dare target Yorubas. There are too many of them in Yorubaland, ( i.e Kwara ) besides, they have been in peace with Yorubas now for over a century.
What they are not used to are overbearing, greedy and extremely haughty ibos.

The more we Yorubas live in denial the more they kill us like chickens and walk away freely.

The Jos riots of 2001, 2004 and 2008 were most, linked to the Hausa/Fulani hegemonic tendency. The 2008 riots which killed  about 200 Yorubas and destroyed about 5 billion naira worth of property of the Igbos, among their dead, has now made it clear that Southerners are not safe at all in Northern Nigeria. Did the state government act quickly to nip the Jos riot in the bud? No! That the riot was as a result of a political clash between the indigenes and the Hausa/Fulani settlers - which seemingly had no bearing on the resident Southerners because of our practice of fake  federalism - shows that, it is time for a concrete action on the part of the South. In elementary or “ordinary level economics” by Lawal, most of us were taught in “factors affecting the location of industry,” and by extension enterprise and small scale businesses, that if there is the presence of insecurity in a place of economic interest, what to do is simple: flee!

http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/articles/3224/1/Jos-Riot-And-The-Dead-Mans-footsteps/Page1.html

My son’s killing in Jos is Satanic’ 30/11/2008


Three young men on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in Jos were on Friday morning killed in the rampage that broke out over the council polls. They were among the hundreds killed in the crises. Joke Kujenya spoke with family members of one of the victims, Ibukun Akinjogbin
The gloom that pervaded the Lagos State Low Cost Housing Estate, Meiran, Ojokoro, Lagos, residence of Mr. and Mrs. Akintola Tokunbo Akinjogbin, yesterday can be felt with touch. The woman, emotionally broken, laid on the bed while female members of her family and friends sat around to share in her grief. Her eyes bore the image of a woman that is wearied from shedding excessively painful tears.

The second son of the family, young Mr. Ibukun Oluwatosin Akinjogbin, 23, was one of the fifty people whose lives were brought to a cruel end by the rampaging voters in Jos on Friday morning. He was killed along with his nephew, Mr. Leke Akande, 23, and a friend, Mr. Tola Odusola, 20, all youth corps members, in the home of Ibukun’s uncle, Mr. Bisi Akinjogbin, an Abuja-based businessman. The hatchet men, who broke down the high gates and stormed the residence along Katako Junction by 7Up depot in Jos about 9.15am on Friday morning; caught down the three young men in the presence of Mrs. Doyin Akinjogbin, the uncle’s wife while her daughters also watched in horror.

http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/forum/main-square/27336-three-youth-corpers-among-dead-jos.html

Nigeria: ‘They cut my wife into pieces and set her on fire’

The husband of a school teacher, whose wife was allegedly murdered by her students in Gombe, the Gombe State capital three years ago, is now being reportedly threatened with death by anonymous callers.

The man, Michael Olufemi Oluwasesin, whose wife, Mrs Christiana Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin, was murdered at Government Day Secondary School, Gandu, Gombe State, said anonymous callers harass him daily, ordering him to withdraw the case he instituted against the state government.
"I don't know who they are. They call me all the time and tell me to choose between life or death and drop the case," he said.

http://www.plurpol.org/joom/index.php/regional-news/64-africa/6170

Akin-Egba:

The more we Yorubas live in denial the more they kill us like chickens and walk away freely.

http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/articles/3224/1/Jos-Riot-And-The-Dead-Mans-footsteps/Page1.html


http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/forum/main-square/27336-three-youth-corpers-among-dead-jos.html
http://www.plurpol.org/joom/index.php/regional-news/64-africa/6170

O.k my "Yoruba" friend. Gideon Akaluka was a Yoruba from Ile - Ife. Yes, Yorubas are sometimes caught up in violence in the North, but it will be ingenious of anyone to suggest Yorubas are being targeted in the North the way ibos are

Aigbofa:

O.k my "Yoruba" friend. Gideon Akaluka was a Yoruba from Ile - Ife. Yes, Yorubas are sometimes caught up in violence in the North, but it will be ingenious of anyone to suggest Yorubas are targeted in the North the way ibo are

Every southerner is simply caught up in the incessant northern battles. Akaluka was a single Igbo man. He was not the Igbo race. So stop deluding yourself that Yorubas are free in the North. Hausa even kill us in Yorubaland. Remember Sagamu crises of 2005 or 2006?

Hausa no fear Yoruba even in our land
http://www.republicreport.com/tension-between-yoruba-hausafulani-in-lagos-metropolis-after-violence-reports-say-written-by-ben-ezeamalu-patience-ogbo/


http://articles.cnn.com/2002-02-05/world/nigeria.killings_1_yoruba-ikeja-lagos?_s=PM:WORLD


http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-556174.html

Akin-Egba:


Hausa even kill us in Yorubaland. Remember Sagamu crises of 2005 or 2006?

Hausa no fear Yoruba even in our land
http://www.republicreport.com/tension-between-yoruba-hausafulani-in-lagos-metropolis-after-violence-reports-say-written-by-ben-ezeamalu-patience-ogbo/


http://articles.cnn.com/2002-02-05/world/nigeria.killings_1_yoruba-ikeja-lagos?_s=PM:WORLD


http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-556174.html

"Touts are to blame

Traders in the area blamed the clash on the touts who live and work under the bridge.

“There are nothing like Hausa and Yoruba people fighting. The fight was between touts who just want to cause trouble in the area. Thank God the police came on time, the clash would have been worst; even school children were rescued by the police, because some people wanted to kill them,” said a trader who identified himself as Mr. Eze."


Now, that was one honest Mr.Eze. Unlike my Mr. Akin Goebbels Egba. The above quote came from the same link you provided in support of your misleading argument.

This thread is sadly, funny----in a sick kinda way. Look at what my brothers are arguing:Who do Hausas Love to kill the Most?!! Sick, I tell ya! You guys can delude urselves all u want the truth is Hausas will kill both tribes in a heartbeat;Igbos quicker than any other (they simply don't trust them). The truth is the Igbos on here have to stop the chest-beating nonsense while the rest of Nigeria has to seek a way to bring the Igbos back into the fold and give them a sense of belonging; that way, their paranoia will cease and then, and only then, will there be real progress. Only then will there be a "REAL" Nigeria!

Aigbofa:



"Touts are to blame

Traders in the area blamed the clash on the touts who live and work under the bridge.

“There are nothing like Hausa and Yoruba people fighting. The fight was between touts who just want to cause trouble in the area. Thank God the police came on time, the clash would have been worst; even school children were rescued by the police, because some people wanted to kill them,” said a trader who identified himself as Mr. Eze."


Now, that was one honest Mr.Eze. Unlike my Mr. Akin Goebbels Egba. The above quote came from the same link you provided in support of your misleading argument.   

Whether touts or not, Yoruba lives were lost, killed by hausa even in Yorubaland. Now who says touts are not the ones who killed Igbos in the North and Igbo touts also retaliated in Aba and Onitsha? Why are our Yoruba touts not retaliating, so it become touts kill touts?

bk.babe97y:

So what if Katsumoto discusses Biafran issue? Maybe thats what he's expert in! Me I'm expert in ony two subjects: Ibos and Ojukwu! Bite me! . . . . eh, actually dont. Just remembered yall Ibos is cannibals!!!

Katsumoto dont pay them no mind :[b]THIS IS THE TYPICAL IBO REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY THEY TRYING ON YOU!!!! Hoping you'll defend urself by replying less to Ibo/Biafra related topics so they can run amok with their revised history![/b]

I have said it before and Ill say it again, if anyone attempts to revise history or debate using stories handed down from relatives without sticking to facts, I will CORRECT the factual inaccuracies with facts at my disposal. If I have the time, I will post on any thread I please. That reverse psychology will not work on me. That I post on many Civil war threads just simply highlights the sheer volume of lies being peddled about the Civil War.

excanny:

You are just ranting. You are the one trying to change my stance which is, as long as you are yet to disprove it, that is where you are usually seen. Who care what you post in the child boards? It takes me several weeks to even check those boards. I only peep there whenever the main politics board is uninteresting.

Do you realise how ridiculous that is? Am I here to post only in sections that you frequent? The queen of England visits Nairaland; she doesn't get that privilege.

excanny:


I still maintain biafra issues are as far you can go. It is your onus to strongly disprove that or go to hell.

You are right; I got my BSc, MSc, and Ph.D in the Nigerian Civil War from the Biafran University at Abakaliki.

Katsumoto:

I have said it before and Ill say it again, if anyone attempts to revise history or debate using stories handed down from relatives without sticking to facts, I will CORRECT the factual inaccuracies with facts at my disposal. If I have the time, I will post on any thread I please. That reverse psychology will not work on me. That I post on many Civil war threads just simply highlights the sheer volume of lies being peddled about the Civil War.

Nothing could be more disingenuous than these off-the-wall and unfounded comments lacking characteristics of self-discipline from you. I think it is foolhardiness on your metal capacity by giving credence to idiotic philosophical approaches of certain qualified morons on this forum.

I guess this is a form of exercise dictated by your inalienable privileges. I say stick with it. Did you insinuate to “CORRECT factual inaccuracies with facts at your disposal”? Pal, you are funny as hell.

inyarmria ideeeiots

i will still perfer the yorubas than my igbo brothers anyday anytime

@ excanny

is that how you come back  okay we are bolo thats why the fulani used betrayal not battle to get ilorin. as i said earlier, through out history we never knew you guys existed because you are insignificant!!! you never even had a kingdom (and pls, do not give me that crap about nri kingdom) talkless of an empire! we and the fulanis have been trading since the time we meet. we had calvaly while you had cutlass. if not for the british that merged all of us together. the hausa and fulanis would have been the best. their empire stretched from senegal to north of cameroun. that would have been closely followed by the yorubas who's empire stretched from east of ghana to western nigeria. even the binis empire would be before you guys! so yes, the northern army can occupy us atlest they give a bit of respect compared to that rat called ojukwu. may God allow you guys declare your land and resource grabbing war again, wo, [b]the living would envy the dead in your countr[/b]y!!!! bunch of imbe.ciles!!! biafra my backside!!!! pls, if they born you guys well, declare it!!!

i was even trying to be diplomatic but it seems that there is no reasoning with you guys!!! even a latino knows this!!!

jason12345:

@ excanny

is that how you come back  okay we are bolo thats why the fulani used betrayal not battle to get ilorin. as i said earlier, through out history we never knew you guys existed because you are insignificant!!! you never even had a kingdom (and pls, do not give me that crap about nri kingdom) talkless of an empire! we and the fulanis have been trading since the time we meet. we had calvaly while you had cutlass. if not for the british that merged all of us together. the hausa and fulanis would have been the best. their empire stretched from senegal to north of cameroun. that would have been closely followed by the yorubas who's empire stretched from east of ghana to western nigeria. even the binis empire would be before you guys! so yes, the northern army can occupy us atlest they give a bit of respect compared to that rat called ojukwu. may God allow you guys declare your land and resource grabbing war again, wo, [b]the leaving would envy the dead in your countr[/b]y!!!! bunch of imbe.ciles!!! biafra my backside!!!! pls, if they born you guys well, declare it!!!

i was even trying to be diplomatic but it seems that there is no reasoning with you guys!!! even a latino knows this!!!

Jason, you are itsekiri, it would be next to dumb to say yall never knew Ndigbo.Cut it out.

jason12345:

@ excanny

is that how you come back  okay we are bolo thats why the fulani used betrayal not battle to get ilorin. as i said earlier, through out history we never knew you guys existed because you are insignificant!!! you never even had a kingdom (and pls, do not give me that crap about nri kingdom) talkless of an empire! we and the fulanis have been trading since the time we meet. we had calvaly while you had cutlass. if not for the british that merged all of us together. the hausa and fulanis would have been the best. their empire stretched from senegal to north of cameroun. that would have been closely followed by the yorubas who's empire stretched from east of ghana to western nigeria. even the binis empire would be before you guys! so yes, the northern army can occupy us atlest they give a bit of respect compared to that rat called ojukwu. may God allow you guys declare your land and resource grabbing war again, wo, [b]the leaving would envy the dead in your countr[/b]y!!!! bunch of imbe.ciles!!! biafra my backside!!!! pls, if they born you guys well, declare it!!!

i was even trying to be diplomatic but it seems that there is no reasoning with you guys!!! even a latino knows this!!!

May Allah curse your people the day you all try to enter into the battle after we declare our land and resources again.

Dede1:


Nothing could be more disingenuous than these off-the-wall and unfounded comments lacking characteristics of self-discipline from you. I think it is foolhardiness on your metal capacity by giving credence to idiotic philosophical approaches of certain qualified morons on this forum.

I guess this is a form of exercise dictated by your inalienable privileges. I say stick with it. Did you insinuate to “CORRECT factual inaccuracies with facts at your disposal”? Pal, you are funny as hell.

Too much grammer; I didn't get that but still, I DEY LAUGH.

chyz:

Jason, you are itsekiri, it would be next to dumb to say yall never knew Ndigbo.Cut it out.

my parents told me they never knew igbos. the itsekiris only knew the bini, urhobo and ijaw with most of the minorities down south not igbos. moreover, i apologise if the out burst my offend you but i hate when someone thinks he is superior to another and thats what ojukwu tried doing with the letter. i was shocked that excanny and co did not see anything wrong wiith what ojukwu said. how can you not respect other but you want others to respect you? how?

chyz:

May Allah curse your people the day you all try to enter into the battle after we declare our land and resources again.

no one would fight with you guys as long as you only take what is yours. the whole of SS is not yours and would never be. if you see the so called map of biafra, it also included ijaw, itsekiri,orhobo . how can a liberator not respect the people he wants to liberate . if you take only what belongs to you or with the permission of other ethnic groups,you tke their land, then no problem but when you start to demand for things like they are yours then there would be trouble!!!

jason12345:

my parents told me they never knew igbos. the itsekiris only knew the bini, urhobo and ijaw with most of the minorities down south not igbos. moreover, i apologise if the out burst my offend you but i hate when someone thinks he is superior to another and thats what ojukwu tried doing with the letter. i was shocked that excanny and co did not see anything wrong wiith what ojukwu said. how can you not respect other but you want others to respect you? how?

Like i said before, If he actually said that, then he is wrong but which is worse or what is different about the comment you just make when it comes to us wanting to revert back to how we were before the illegal amalgamation?!

About your parents telling you that itsekiris never knew the Igbo, either you are lying or you family don't know their history in full because for damn sure my family knew the itsekiri for centuries.

jason12345:

no one would fight with you guys as long as you only take what is yours. the whole of SS is not yours and would never be. if you see the so called map of biafra, it also included ijaw, itsekiri,orhobo . how can a liberator not respect the people he wants to liberate . if you take only what belongs to you or with the permission of other ethnic groups,you tke their land, then no problem but when you start to demand for things like they are yours then there would be trouble!!!

You keep running your mouth about someone wanting to take something,who said the Igbo are taking anything that are not theirs? Who said the other tribes from the south-south don't want to leave? The ones that don't, how can they be forced? Check ijaw groups and the call for a separate state of their own. Look up the name Asari Dokubo. As for Biafra, Ibibio are in the fight just as the Igbo, do your research, look up the name Ralph Uwazuruike. Both Asari Dokubo(Ijaw separationist) and Ralph Uwazuruike(MASSOB Leader) have a group together, check it out and do your research brother. Don't mention anything about the south-south that you know nothing about.I am from the south-south and know our history from in and out because i took out the time to do so.You should do the same before you come out here and spew nonsense time after time. You have been warned before both by non-igbo of the south-south( Beaf, Dawgpound) and Igbo of the south-south( Me and abadaba)

jason12345:

@ excanny

is that how you come back  okay we are bolo thats why the fulani used betrayal not battle to get ilorin. as i said earlier, through out history we never knew you guys existed because you are insignificant!!! you never even had a kingdom (and pls, do not give me that crap about nri kingdom) talkless of an empire! we and the fulanis have been trading since the time we meet. we had calvaly while you had cutlass. if not for the british that merged all of us together. the hausa and fulanis would have been the best. their empire stretched from senegal to north of cameroun. that would have been closely followed by the yorubas who's empire stretched from east of ghana to western nigeria. even the binis empire would be before you guys! so yes, the northern army can occupy us atlest they give a bit of respect compared to that rat called ojukwu. may God allow you guys declare your land and resource grabbing war again, wo, [b]the living would envy the dead in your countr[/b]y!!!! bunch of imbe.ciles!!! biafra my backside!!!! pls, if they born you guys well, declare it!!!

i was even trying to be diplomatic but it seems that there is no reasoning with you guys!!! even a latino knows this!!!

Prove to me that you have Yoruba blood, can you? People who come come from mixed families are being denied the ethnicity of their mothers, talk less of you who had neither mother nor father from the tribe you are desperating trying to claim.

Can you show somebody your family's ancestral land in the SW? Keep deceiving yourself. Come at me as an Itsekiri that you are and quit hiding under Yoruba shadow.

jason12345:

my parents told me they never knew igbos. the itsekiris only knew the bini, urhobo and ijaw with most of the minorities down south not igbos. moreover, i apologise if the out burst my offend you but i hate when someone thinks he is superior to another and thats what ojukwu tried doing with the letter. i was shocked that excanny and co did not see anything wrong wiith what ojukwu said. how can you not respect other but you want others to respect you? how?

As long as you see nothing wrong with Adekunle(a Yoruba man) invading Biafran
territories, I shall see nothing wrong in Ojukwu trying to do the same in Adekunle's Yoruba territory. Shi ke nan. Ka gane?

I kinda like this Chyz guy,very rational sounding fellow. Dede1, I hope say na joke u dey joke with all dat yeye grammar wey u just scatter for here.lol.

excanny:

As long as you see nothing wrong with Adekunle(a Yoruba man) invading Biafran
territories, I shall see nothing wrong in Ojukwu trying to do the same in Adekunle's Yoruba territory. Shi ke nan. Ka gane?

gbammmm

excanny:

As long as you see nothing wrong with Adekunle(a Yoruba man) invading Biafran
territories, I shall see nothing wrong in Ojukwu trying to do the same in Adekunle's Yoruba territory. Shi ke nan. Ka gane?

You continue to appear illogical and emotional. Were you expecting all Western and mid-western soldiers to resign their commissions in the military? Adekunle was a NIGERIAN soldier given a task to prosecute and he prosecuted it as a Nigerian soldier and not as a Yoruba soldier. The Western and mid-western regions were still neutral prior to the Biafran invasion of the mid-west and the West at Ore.

Katsumoto:

You continue to appear illogical and emotional. Were you expecting all Western and mid-western soldiers to resign their commissions in the military? Adekunle was a NIGERIAN soldier given a task to prosecute and he prosecuted it as a Nigerian soldier and not as a Yoruba soldier. The Western and mid-western regions were still neutral prior to the Biafran invasion of the mid-west and the West at Ore.

Bullshit. Be a man and accept the fact. The West neutral how?and the Igbo citizens who didn't participate or had no say in the war weren't? Western soldiers invaded our land so we invaded theirs period. You say Ore and I say Yenagoa.

Katsumoto:

You continue to appear illogical and emotional. Were you expecting all Western and mid-western soldiers to resign their commissions in the military? Adekunle was a NIGERIAN soldier given a task to prosecute and he prosecuted it as a Nigerian soldier and not as a Yoruba soldier. The Western and mid-western regions were still neutral prior to the Biafran invasion of the mid-west and the West at Ore.

It amuses me how you try to sound smart in your arguments, and in the process run into more trouble.

Was Western Nigeria a different country from Nigeria? Nigerian soldiers invaded Biafra, and yet you are trying to tell us some parts of Nigeria were neutral? Neutral, yet supplied their sons to join the Nigerian military? Dude, think again.

chyz:

Bullshit. Be a man and accept the fact. The West neutral how?and the Igbo citizens who didn't participate or had no say in the war weren't? Western soldiers invaded our land so we invaded theirs period. You say Ore and I say Yenagoa.

What fact? That for the West and mid-west to be neutral, their sons must resign their commissions in the Nigerian Army? Did they join the Army to support Biafra or Nigeria?

excanny:

It amuses me how you try to sound smart in your arguments, and in the process run into more trouble.

Was Western Nigeria a different country from Nigeria? Nigerian soldiers invaded Biafra, and yet you are trying to tell us some parts of Nigeria were neutral? Neutral, yet supplied their sons to join the Nigerian military? Dude, think again.

Yes the West and mid-western regions were neutral. Conscription of civilians into the Army began after the Biafran invasion. Other than that, Western and mid-western soldiers were professional soldiers. Go and read your history books.

It appears that you are not aware that several Easterners fought against Biafra.

Chyz, ol boi I like u but u fall my hand with that statement. Either speak the truth or be silent. On this one, Katsumoto is right. Biafra invaded and had to be chased out. Biafra seceded and had to be brought back by force:unfortunately! U guys should stop adding sentiments when arguing, only logic! True innocent Igbo blood was shed, no reasonable person will deny this: But that's war for u! U think innocent Nigerian blood wasn't lost as well? If we're to play dumb here then all blame would be squarely placed at the doors of Igbos; but that would be unfair, to say the least because events occured that precipitated the first coup in Nigeria. We can go on and on about this all day, but the bottom line is all sections of Nigeria are to blame for the calamities that have bedeviled the country ever since, and Igbos are not as innocent, or victims, as some want it to seem!

Katsumoto:

What fact? That for the West and mid-west to be neutral, their sons must resign their commissions in the Nigerian Army? Did they join the Army to support Biafra or Nigeria?

The mid-west was mutual. Now by your statement it showed that the "West" according to your way of argument was not neutral. You way of thinking is bullshit.I must say once again. You invade, i invade.Stop pointing fingers. You say Ore and i say Yenagoa. You say your papa na touch my land and i say your baba don commot my papa land first.

chyz:

You keep running your mouth about someone wanting to take something,who said the Igbo are taking anything that are not theirs? Who said the other tribes from the south-south don't want to leave? The ones that don't, how can they be forced? Check ijaw groups and the call for a separate state of their own. Look up the name Asari Dokubo. As for Biafra, Ibibio are in the fight just as the Igbo, do your research, look up the name Ralph Uwazuruike. Both Asari Dokubo(Ijaw separationist) and Ralph Uwazuruike(MASSOB Leader) have a group together, check it out and do your research brother. Don't mention anything about the south-south that you know nothing about.I am from the south-south and know our history from in and out because i took out the time to do so.You should do the same before you come out here and spew nonsense time after time. You have been warned before both by non-igbo of the south-south( Beaf, Dawgpound) and Igbo of the south-south( Me and abadaba)

http://www./biaframap2004.jpg

check your biafra map and see whether it was not land grabbing?  i am not opposed to ojukwu and some allied minorities going with biafra, what i do not like is the inclusion of warri (itsekiri mainly) even almost to ondo . the man wanted to take the WHOLE of SS with some part of mid-west that was seperated from the west by ekwueme*. tell me, if a yoruba man did what ekuweme and ojukwu did, would you not complain? how can this moro.n (ojukwu) invade, grab land and resources and expect people not to fight back?  even in the face of his people dying, the self proclaimed leader left his people to die yet you give such a man respect? he so much disrespected the yorubas and the disrespect he had for the ijaws made them pull out. how can you disrespect people and expect them to respect you in return . it is this same thing that is going on on NL. the pro-biafrans only think about themselves, what about the nigerians that died?

anyway, as i said earlier and i would maintain it. if biafra forms again AND invades the territories that are not part of her jurisdiction then the same result would happen again if not worse and THE LIVING WOULD ENVY THE DIED!!!

jaygetta:

Chyz, ol boi I like u but u fall my hand with that statement. Either speak the truth or be silent. On this one, Katsumoto is right. Biafra invaded and had to be chased out. Biafra seceded and had to be brought back by force:unfortunately! U guys should stop adding sentiments when arguing, only logic! True innocent Igbo blood was shed, no reasonable person will deny this: But that's war for u! U think innocent Nigerian blood wasn't lost as well? If we're to play dumb here then all blame would be squarely placed at the doors of Igbos; but that would be unfair, to say the least because events occured that precipitated the first coup in Nigeria. We can go on and on about this all day, but the bottom line is all sections of Nigeria are to blame for the calamities that have bedeviled the country ever since, and Igbos are not as innocent, or victims, as some want it to seem!

my brother, you could not have said it better!!!

this is for the people that say ojukwu was a hero for leaving his people to die and awolowo was not a neutral before,during and after the war



The aim of a leader should be the welfare of the people whom he leads. I
have used 'welfare' to denote the physical, mental and spiritual
well-being of the people. With this aim fixed unflinchingly and
unchangeably before my eyes I consider it my duty to Yoruba people in
particular and to Nigerians in general, to place four imperatives before
you this morning. Two of them are categorical and two are conditional.
Only a peaceful solution must be found to arrest the present worsening
stalemate and restore normalcy. The Eastern Region must be encouraged to
remain part of the Federation. If the Eastern Region is allowed by acts
of omission or commission to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the
Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the Federation. The people
of Western Nigeria and Lagos should participate in the ad hoc committee or
any similar body only on the basis of absolute equality with the other
regions of the Federation.

I would like to comment briefly on these four imperatives. There
has, of late, been a good deal of sabre rattling in some parts of the
country. Those who advocate the use force for the settlement of our
present problems should stop a little and reflect. I can see no vital and
abiding principle involved in any war between the North and the East. If
the East attacked the North, it would be for purpose of revenge pure and
simple. Any claim to the contrary would be untenable. If it is claimed
that such a war is being waged for the purpose of recovering the real and
personal properties left behind in the North by Easterners two insuperable
points are obvious. Firstly, the personal effects left behind by
Easterners have been wholly looted or destroyed, and can no longer be
physically recovered. Secondly, since the real properties are immovable in
case of recovery of them can only be by means of forcible military
occupation of those parts of the North in which these properties are
situated. On the other hand, if the North attacked the East, it could only
be for the purpose of further strengthening and entrenching its position
of dominance in the country.

[b]If it is claimed that an attack on the East is going to be
launched by the Federal Government and not by the North as such and that
it is designed to ensure the unity and integrity of the Federation, two
other insuperable points also become obvious. First, if a war against the
East becomes a necessity it must be agreed to unanimously by the remaining
units of the Federation. In this connection, the West, Mid- West and Lagos
have declared their implacable opposition to the use of force in solving
the present problem. In the face of such declarations by three out of
remaining four territories of Nigeria, a war against the East could only
be a war favoured by the North alone. Second, if the true purpose of such
a war is to preserve the unity and integrity of the Federation, then these
ends can be achieved by the very simple devices of implementing the
recommendation of the committee which met on August 9 1966, as reaffirmed
by a decision of the military leaders at Aburi on January 5 1967 as well
as by accepting such of the demands of the East, West, Mid-West and Lagos
as are manifestly reasonable, and essential for assuring harmonious
relationships and peaceful co-existence between them and their brothers
and sisters in the North.[/b]

Some knowledgeable persons have likened an attack on the East to
Lincoln's war against the southern states in America. Two vital factors
distinguish Lincoln's campaign from the one now being contemplated in
Nigeria. The first is that the American civil war was aimed at the
abolition of slavery - that is the liberation of millions of Negroes who
were then still being used as chattels and worse than domestic animals.
The second factor is that Lincoln and others in the northern states were
English-speaking people waging a war of good conscience and humanity
against their fellow nationals who were also English speaking. A war
against the East in which Northern soldiers are predominant, will only
unite the Easterners or the Ibos against their attackers, strengthen them
in their belief that they are not wanted by the majority of their
fellow-Nigerians, and finally push them out of the Federation.

We have been told that an act of secession on the part of the East
would be a signal, in the first instance, for the creation of the COR
state by decree, which would be backed, if need be, by the use of force.
With great respect, I have some dissenting observations to make on this
declaration. There are 11 national or linguistic groups in the COR areas
with a total population of 5.3 millions. These national groups are as
distinct from one another as the Ibos are distinct from them or from the
Yorubas or Hausas. Of the 11, the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group are
3.2 million strong as against the Ijaws who are only about 700,000 strong.
Ostensibly, the remaining nine national group number 1.4 millions. But
when you have subtracted the Ibo inhabitants from among them, what is left
ranges from the Ngennis who number only 8,000 to the Ogonis who are
220,000 strong. A decree creating a COR state without a plebiscite to
ascertain the wishes of the peoples in the area, would only amount to
subordinating the minority national groups in the state to the dominance
of the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group. It would be perfectly in order
to create a Calabar state or a Rivers state by decree, and without a
plebiscite. Each is a homogeneous national unit. But before you lump
distinct and diverse national units together in one state, the consent of
each of them is indispensable. Otherwise, the seed of social disquilibrium
in the new state would have been sown.

On the other hand, if the COR State is created by decree after the
Eastern Region shall have made its severance from Nigeria effective, we
should then be waging an unjust war against a foreign state. It would be
an unjust war, because the purpose of it would be to remove 10 minorities
in the East from the dominance of the Ibos only to subordinate them to the
dominance of the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group. I think I have said
enough to demonstrate that any war against the East, or vice versa, on any
count whatsoever, would be an unholy crusade, for which it would be most
unjustifiable to shed a drop of Nigerian blood. Therefore, only a peaceful
solution must be found, and quickly too to arrest the present rapidly
deteriorating stalemate and restore normalcy.

With regard to the second categorical imperative, it is my
considered view that whilst some of the demands of the East are excessive
within the context of a Nigerian union, most of such demands are not only
wellfounded, but are designed for smooth and steady association amongst
the various national units of Nigeria.

The dependence of the Federal Government on financial
contributions from the regions? These and other such like demands I do not
support. Demands such as these, if accepted, will lead surely to the
complete disintegration of the Federation which is not in the interest of
our people. But I wholeheartedly support the following demands among
others, which we consider reasonable and most of which are already
embodied in our memoranda to the Ad Hoc Committee,

That revenue should be allocated strictly on the basis of
derivation; that is to say after the Federal Government has deducted its
own share for its own services the rest should be allocated to the regions
to which they are attributable.

That the existing public debt of the Federation should become the
responsibility of the regions on the basis of the location of the projects
in respect of each debt whether internal or external.

That each region should have and control its own
militia and police force.

That, with immediate effect, all military personnel should be
posted to their regions of origin,

If we are to live in harmony one with another as Nigerians it is
imperative that these demands and others which are not related, should be
met without further delay by those who have hitherto resisted them. To
those who may argue that the acceptance of these demands will amount to
transforming Nigeria into a federation with a weak central government, my
comment is that any link however tenuous, which keeps the East in the
Nigerian union, is better in my view than no link at all.

Before the Western delegates went to Lagos to attend the meetings
of the ad hoc committee, they were given a clear mandate that if any
region should opt out of the Federation of Nigeria, then the Federation
should be considered to be at an end, and that the Western Region and
Lagos should also opt out of it. It would then be up to Western Nigeria
and Lagos as an independent sovereign state to enter into association with
any of the Nigerian units of its own choosing, and on terms mutually
acceptable to them. I see no reason for departing from this mandate. If
any region in Nigeria considers itself strong enough to compel us to enter
into association with it on its own terms, I would only wish such a region
luck. But such luck, I must warn, will, in the long run be no better than
that which has attended the doings of all colonial powers down the ages.
This much I must say in addition, on this point. We have neither military
might nor the overwhelming advantage of numbers here in Western Nigeria
and Lagos. But we have justice of a noble and imperishable cause on our
side, namely: the right of a people to unfettered self-determination. If
this is so, then God is on our side, and if God is with us then we have
nothing whatsoever in this world to fear.

The fourth imperative, and the second conditional one has been
fully dealt with in my recent letter to the Military Governor of Western
Nigeria, Col. Robert Adebayo, and in the representation which your
deputation made last year to the head of the Federal Military Government,
Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon. As a matter of fact, as far back as November last
year a smaller meeting of leaders of thought in this Region decided that
unless certain things were done, we would no longer participate in the
meeting of the ad hoc committee. But since then, not even one of our
legitimate requests has been granted. I will, therefore, take no more of
your time in making further comments on a point with which you are well
familiar. As soon as our humble and earnest requests are met, I shall be
ready to take my place on the ad hoc committee. But certainly, not before.

In closing, I have this piece of advice to give. In order to resolve
amiably and in the best interests of all Nigerians certain attributes are
required on the part of Nigerian leaders, military as well as non-military
leaders alike, namely: vision, realism and unselfishness. But above all ,
what will keep Nigerian leaders in the North and East unwaveringly in the
path of wisdom, realism and moderation is courage and steadfastness on the
part of Yoruba people in the course of what they sincerely believe to be
right, equitable and just. In the past five years we in the West and Lagos
have shown that we possess these qualities in a large measure. If we
demonstrate them again as we did in the past, calmly and heroically, we
will save Nigeria from further bloodshed and imminent wreck and, at the
same time, preserve our freedom and self-respect into the bargain.

May God rule and guide our deliberations here, and endow all the
Nigerian leaders with the vision, realism, and unselfishness as well as
courage and steadfastness in the course of truth, which the present
circumstances demand. "

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may God bless this man!!! AMEN!!!