ono:
Men, all these ones na upper-cut deadly blows.

Ugwumba:

@ ono, this childishness is part of the reason why intelligent discourse is difficult in this forum.

@Ugwumba, this is what those that want to intelligently discuss the issues have been putting up with - Ono's childishness and very low intelligence!
The guy behaves like a restless brat running around making a lot of noise when men and women are trying to hold a communion of ideas.

Kanto:

You guys should not bother yourselves with idiots like Ono whose lazy life revolves around oil.He is well known in Nigeriavillagesquare for the same inferiority complex.



(1) In the first place it is arrant nonsense to talk of the Biafran war in terms of victory or defeat. All Nigerians are vanquished by the war. The war was unnecesary and a shame to both the Blackrace and Africans in general. It demonstrated the extent to which the long suffering Africans can go to kill themselves. Ndigbo or any group for that matter then as now have the right to self determination the same way Nigeria got self determination from the British, if not then the British should have also had the right to continue colonising us.


(2) It was the North that originally intended to seccede. Gowon had even already announced "there was no basis for Nigerian unity" before the British adviced them against it, because they felt they couldnt control a government headed by a Southerner.

My question therefore to idiots like Ono; what if the North had secedded as originally planned?

(3)Every distinct group has a right to self determination as is even recognised by the United nations charter. Many nations have gained independence recently under this principle, amongst them East Timor, Montenegro, and many nations from the former Soviet Union etc. Nigeria was just a Btritish contraption that brought together strange bedfellows. So the noise about Biafra which assumes that Nigeria is a sacred unbreakable nation is stupid and childish. As the Americans have predicted, there is a 98% likelihood that Nigeria will break sometime in the near future.

(4) In every war, crisis or conflict there will be those who oppose and those who support. During the Algerian war of independence there were Algerians who fought on the French side, so also was East Timor, and so also was Biafra. There were Efiks, Ijaws even Igbos etc who supported and opposed Biafra. Indeed the second in command of Biafra major gen.Philip Effiong was from either present day cross river or Akwa Ibom state, so it is plain stupidity for idiots like Ono and his fellow co.travellers to talk of Biafra as if it was exclusively an Igbo thing, there was and still are minorities who then and now support the Biafran idea as a more viable option of neighbours and more relatively homogenous peoples both in ethnicity and religion to present day failed Nigeria.

(5) As for the claim by the madcow Ono that Igbos faced annihilation during the war, we are yet to see any conflict in history where a people have been succesfully annihilated. The genocidal war in Sudan has been on for more than 20 years yet there are still Southern Sudanese fighting, the Palestinians have been in war for more than 50 years yet they are still fighting, not even the Germans could annihilate the jews etc Annihilation as an issue is thus only relevant in the heads of fools like Ono whose Niger-Delta region has ironically been facing repeated massacres in Odi and other areas under a permanent military task force, yet he has the ordercity to talk of the annihilation of others.

(6) The Igbos fought a historically acknowledged hero's war of survival against all odds without arms or even food and held the rest of Nigeria up for 3 years. In the process the Igbos showed extreme survivalist skills, creativity, and doggedness unrivalled in history. Even in what some mentally inferior goons would term a defeat they proved they are not a pushover. Wars are not always fought to win but sometimes to prove a point. If the Igbos had half or even a quater of the weapons available to the Nigerian side the outcome of that war would have been different.

(7) Present day realities has vindicated Ojukwu. All Nigerians from East, West to the North have been vanquished by the war. There is bad leadership, poverty, injustice, oppression, massacres, etc in Nigeria and no group is immune from it.

( Lazy idiots like Ono should be pardoned for thinking only of oil. No great nation on earth today has oil. Weath is created through hardwork, creativity and enterprise. Even if you gave noisemakers like Ono total control of their oil, they will still be dirt poor, as present day oil dependent Nigeria has proven. Nigerians must distance themselves from oil and realise that the oil has been a curse rather than a blessing. Nigeria did better with Palm oil, Cocoa and groundnut before the discovery of crude oil. If not for the discovery of crude oil Nigeria would have been richer and better. Countries like Ghana, Ivory coast, Uganda, Botswana etc are doing better without oil to the shame of oil drunk lazy idiots like Ono.

(9) The annihilation that Ono and his co.travellers wished on others are closer to happening to his Niger-Delta group than anywhere else. We shall see how many of them will survive when the Nigerian army decides to launch a full scale offensive against the criminal child kidnappers in their childish so called militancy.

(10)Besides Nigerians should be careful when they hear urchins like Ono talking of the Niger-Delta as if it is a homogenus mono-ethnic region. The Niger-Delta in reality is a multi-ethnic region with much internal discord and acrimony such that the Ijaw, Itshekiri,Urhobo etc are constantly embroiled in bloody conflicts. If left alone they cannot even stay together peacefully. So nobody should be fooled by the holier than thou image of the Niger-Delta computer urchins like Ono is wont to bandy about here.Ono probably comes from a tiny insignifant ethnic group struggling to be relevant because of crude oil, but crude oil will thankfully finish one day, when it finishes we shall see how bastards like Ono can open their lazy mouths again!

@Kanto
I truly commend this post for trying to do the difficult task of putting the likes of Ono in their place with minimal collateral damage to the good people of the Niger Delta.

Ono's style of attack is usually directed at a group - the Igbos. This makes it a bit difficult to reply him in kind cos not everyone likes the idea of attacking a whole ethnic group - Ono's specialty.

I agree with most of the contents (if not all) of the post. That war was needless, and was more of a personal struggle than a fight for a nation. Sadly, many people lost their lives.
I don't think that Ojukwu was fighting a war into democracy, i believe that he would have been a detector worse than Indi Amin or Saddam Hussein had he succeeded in a war that he sponsored.

Ugwumba,
Sincere apologies. If you read further down, in my reply to Laudate, I told him I will not mis-talk again.

naijaking,

naijaking1:

I did not know about Zik and Prof. Eyo Ita, but I told the story of M.I Okpara and pipe borne water in Calabar.

Without holding brief for either politicians, we must look at these incidents from proper temporal and political perspectives.

I also heard that Ojukwu was very hard on some Onitsha officers, while most 1960s era Igbo politicians regarded the Wawa people as "un-educatable".

I think these politicians were just being politicians, and not necassarily trying to subdue their minority population, afterall by the time these suppressive actions were taking place, they had no way of knowing that cross-river, or rivers states would be created out of the then eastern nigerian region.

Chief Asiodu's statment must be also be understood in the context of his job in the federal government.

When all is said and done, him and his people remain Igbos( maybe only when convenient), but the efforts of other delta Igbos like Achuzie, must never be diminished

Did the political actions of our early politicians explain the reason why some people from Onitsha, Asaba, PH, Calabar areas formed an alliance against their own people during the civil war?

Only time will tell.

This is one great post from you. And while I will not dispute the fact that some ''forms'' of hatred did spread from the ''centre - Enugu'' to people other than the minorities in the old Eastern Region, you will agree with me that this is not the way the minority people at the time see it, generally. The general feeling then, was that of distrust for the Igbo rulership.

The statement credited to Chief Phillip Asiodu was an eye opener. You might say he was a Federal Government commissioner or whatever, but that statement was made in bad light and is the statement held on to by successive military and civilian administrations to deprive our people of their God-given wealth. Today, Asaba is enjoying a state capital status, and Asiodu is benefitting from allocations from the centre. Today, Asiodu can say he too is from the Niger Delta, because his state is a core Niger Delta state, even when Asaba produces no drop of oil. Is this the type of justice that we want in this country?

I will not dignify people like RichyBlack and Kanto with a reply. And Donzman, since you're hell bent on getting a reply from me, I will demand you first ask me in a courteous manner before I can give you a reply.

Ugwumba:

@ ono, this childishness is part of the reason why intelligent discourse is difficult in this forum.

@ laudate:

1. If Ironsi's, Ojukwu's and Nzeogwu's (all career military officers, too) mistakes have been attributed as 'Igbo' mistakes, how are we not entitled to state that Ogundipe's (career military officer) cowardice (which we know is not in contest - from notable Yoruba military leaders like OBJ, Scorpion etc. in their memoirs) is the Yoruba's.

I, by no means, attribute cowardice as being in the nature of the Yoruba, but this was used in the context of the events during that period to demonstrate where the leaders and most senior members of these tribes went wrong.

You may note that I indicate that the Yoruba displayed bravery in a different context when the continued pressure on actualizing the 'Abiola' mandate led directly to the OBJ presidency.

The Igbo, have also had their moments of cowardice in the recent history of Nigeria where a number of the Senate presidents buckled under sustained pressure from the presidency.

Courage and cowardice are alter-egos - the absence of one is the other.

2. You state that Ohaneze has only supported resource control since the discovery of oil in Imo and Abia. This you, of course, must be aware is blatantly false, since oil was discovered in these states in the mid-1960's before resource control became an issue.

You may be unaware of the history of oil exploration in Nigeria, for which you may be forgiven, but to parade such inaccuracy to 'score points' does not speak well of your intentions.

3. I do not deny that the Igbo (my tribe) have not always been good neighbours and many may have fancied control over their neighbours, but it has much less to do with oil than a typical human weakness - the majority tribe always wanting to lord it over the minority.

We all suffer from this in Nigeria, and until we learn that the three most populous tribes must allow the rest an equal voice in the affairs of the nation, we cannot go forward.

Nothing annoys me as much as the WAZOBIA sentiments that are expressed in many facets of Nigerian life. If I was from any of the less populous tribes, I would truly be livid.

If you do not find my posts balanced, I will not offer any apologies, because everyone writes from his/her personal leanings and experiences - mine is left of center and, unapologetically, Nigerian first, Igbo next.

ugwumba i hail you o baba! i wish chxta and nutter were still around!

Vicjustice:

I agree with most of the contents (if not all) of the post. That war was needless, and was more of a personal struggle than a fight for a nation. Sadly, many people lost their lives.
I don't think that Ojukwu was fighting a war into democracy, i believe that he would have been a detector worse than Indi Amin or Saddam Hussein had he succeeded in a war that he sponsored.

Why don't you ask people to explain things you don't understand?

What has democracy got to do with the issues on ground? Well, if incoherent and senseless posts like these are all those that are bent on spreading falsehood and hatred have then one can go to bed rest assured that the lies will remain lies.

Donzman:

See how this Igbo hater called Laudate keeps going around spreading Igbo hate seeds. Someone talks about how much we are friends with Efiks and Ibibios and the only thing she has to say is about how me Igbos look down on them. . .Stupid tribalist.

Donzman. . . . .you really make me laugh! Please post all the comments that I have made that show the spread of Igbo hate seeds. You need to see a shrink. Don't kill yourself with paranoia. Go back & read my earlier comment. It was made in response to Ugwumba's statements, who acknowledged that the relationship of Nd'Igbo with the southern minorities, has not always been rosy. But then, I expect that only a die-hard tribalist like you, would be so quick to insult others, for making a factual statement.

If you can't understand the context in which my statement was made, then I'll have to conclude that you flunked your final exams in English comprehension. Mumu!! 

Ugwumba:

@ obong, read the posts of some of those who say they are from the Niger-Delta here and you will come to this same conclusion (note that I refer to those southern minorities who have made statements here).

During the civil war, south eastern minorities were divided in their support for Nigeria and Biafra - many supported because of a shared sense of the injustice of the pogroms, while many others did not because of a real fear of igbo dominance.

To give the impression that the south eastern minorities were in any way unified to[i] 'fight nigeria within a nigerian context'[/i] is not only untrue, but does a great disservice to those who fought and died on Biafra's side.

Mazi Ugwumba, thank you for expressing the truth in such a clear, lucid & articulate manner!   

Planner:
[Ono and Laudate you guys derive so many pleasure in the post below:

Igbo leaders, however, have not done themselves any favours with their neighbours by their attitudes towards them - starting from Zik's removal of Professor Eyo Ita, to mockery of their lifestyles and to attempts to dominate.

Why? Because you have not purged yourselves of immense bias.   

Note: As far as there are skinheads and suicide bombers, then there will always be zionist.

Planner, you are free to express agreement, with any comment that catches your fancy. It's called choice.

Ugwumba made the statement quoted above, and I agreed with him, because I have seen real-life examples of this issue, that he spoke about. You did not direct your objections to the originator of that statement, instead you chose to turn round and accuse me of bias, for agreeing with him. How ironic.

Planner, you are free to hold whatever views you like, in the same way I reserve the right to agree with whomever I choose, as long as I can see the truth in whatever comment that person has made. If that offends you. . . . . too bad.

Do you get the point?

babyosisi:
I would rather hang out anyday with ono and mohadana before I sit with someone like laudate.
A  bold enemy is 100 times better than a false friend.
2face ilaudatia   

What makes you think that it would be a pleasure to hang out with you? What on earth gives you the idea that I would ever consider sitting with a tribalist like you? Oh mi gosh!! This is so funny. I can’t stop laughing. 

Finally, you claimed that Laudate is two-faced. Hmmn. In what way has Laudate been two-faced? Please spell it out in black & white o! You take great delight in accusing people of all kinds of negative stuff, while using a smiley to mask your own evil remarks. When you are asked to substantiate your allegations with facts, you become mute. Anyway, that has always been your style. Why am I not suprised?

Afam:
Laudate, it seems that you enjoy reading anything against the Igbos even though you spearhead same but will quickly jump to defend a statement targeting the Niger delta while opposing most comments by some Igbo people here. Make your stand clear and be bold about it. Hiding or masking real hatred with remarks and comments isn't the best in my opinion.

Ah. . . . .this is so funny.  I have always had tremendous respect for your comments, but I'll have to disagree with you, right here. How many comments made by Igbo people, have I opposed?? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? Please let me know. And if I have opposed a few comments by an Igbo, is it a crime? Can't I state my mind without fear or favour? Or do you expect everyone to do 'follow-follow' or fall in line, with every comment made on this forum, just because it has been made by an Igbo person? Is there no room for independent thought anymore? 

Please go back & read my posts. They are scattered all over different threads in this forum. If I disagree with anyone, I often give my reasons for doing so, in black & white. So my stand is clear. I have made other statements in support of the Igbo, in this thread as well as in other threads. I didn't notice any objections then. It seems that every one must buy into a particular point-of-view which is supported by the Igbo, or risk being accused of "reading anything against the Igbos and spearheading same . . . .," to use your own words. How sad. 

Planner:
I wonder why an enlightened person will write that Ogundipe merely resiigned or had a careers change when he is suppose to take over a post being the most seniour officer.  Ok. See this analogy. You are army reserve and due to be deployed in a war ozone, on the eve of your deployment you had a change of mind and resigned. Do you know what they normally do to such people? Court Marshalled. Period.

So those who said that he is a coward (mind yorubas are not) are very correct to say that.
And stereotypes  is a human failing. So for igbo people to say that yorubas  are generally coward is not out of place. The same is said of the igbo people being greedy and all other 'evils" attributed to them.

Yes. . . . .Ogundipe had a career change. What is wrong with that?? If the army didn't want him to resign or if his desire to leave was wrong, why didn't they court-martial him, at that time? What on earth do you take the Nigerian Army for? Please go back and read the role of the military prior to the events of 1966, again. The miltary were not supposed to be the rulers of Nigeria. That they even got into power in the first place, was an aberration. And secondly, a commanding officer is only as good as the troops he leads. If those troops refuse to show loyalty to him or take directives from him, what is he supposed to do? Install himself as their Commander-In-Chief by force, without any support?? Get real, Planner.

Finally, I must thank you for one thing. You have finally clarifed your mind-set for me. When it comes to tackling real-life issues, or addressing the mistakes of the past, you would rather rely heavily on stereotypes and prejudice to do so. Now, everyone on this board knows the kind of premise on which you base your arguments. There is no need to expect much from someone with this kind of mind-set.

Have you guys noticed that Ono is only about oil, oil, oil! what a  mentally inferior and lazy idiot. Inspite of the fact that countries like Ghana without a drop of oil  is doing better than us, this lazy  madman cannot post any comment without including oil in it.

This man cannot sleep without dreaming of the same oil that has made Nigeria the worlds 2nd poorest nation.

ThankGod that the so called oil which has been more of a curse than a blessing is a wasting asset. When the oil wells dry up, perhaps people like Ono who cannot do without oil will commit suicide. Lazy cow.

@laudate
I've been following your posts and I believe you raise interesting issues. The problem is that Ono has been trying to poison this thread with his insensitive remarks, and this has created a hostile environment. I consider your views and tone of discussion much more mature than the hate-filled, anti-Igbo, pro-genocide, pro-marginalization comments from Ono.

Ono's childish comments are geared towards polarization and he may have succeeded a bit, but we can truncate his (Ono's) sinister plans.

If it is possible that we all collectively ignore him (Ono) and discuss the issues like adults (and not children) we'll have the opportunity to learn from this thread.

Kanto:

Have you guys noticed that Ono is only about oil, oil, oil! what a mentally inferior and lazy idiot. Inspite of the fact that countries like Ghana without a drop of oil is doing better than us, this lazy madman can not post any comment without including oil in it.

This man cannot sleep without dreaming of the same oil that has made Nigeria the worlds 2nd poorest nation.

ThankGod that the so called oil which has been more of a curse than a blessing is a wasting asset. When the oil wells dry up, perhaps people like Ono who cannot do without oil will commit suicide. Lazy cow.

@Kanto,
Point noted. The guy is a crazed lunatic and probably drunk from drinking too much crude oil. Let's ignore him and address the real issues concerning what caused the Biafran War and what lessons were learnt from it. Ono is an irritant mosquito that should be ignored.

laudate:

Yes. . . . .Ogundipe had a career change. What is wrong with that?? If the army didn't want him to resign or if his desire to leave was wrong, why didn't they court-martial him, at that time? What on earth do you take the Nigerian Army for? Please go back and read the role of the military prior to the events of 1966, again. The miltary were not supposed to be the rulers of Nigeria. that they even got into power in the first place, was an aberration. And secondly, a commanding officer is only as good as the troops he leads. If those troops refuse to show loyalty to him or take directives from him, what is he supposed to do? Install himself as their Commander-In-Chief by force, without any support?? Get real, Planner.

Finally, I must thank you for one thing. You have finally clarifed your mind-set for me. When it comes to tackling real-life issues, or addressing the mistakes of the past, you would rather rely heavily on stereotypes and prejudice to do so. Now, everyone on this board knows the kind of premise on which you base your arguments. There is no need to expect much from someone with this kind of mind-set.

@laudate, I agree with you that Ogundipe lost control of the army. In effect, the northern soldiers mutinied and their leaders were confined to northerners. Hence, Ogundipe stood no chance.

The point Ugwumba was making was that if Ogundipe's decision were interpreted as a personal/career choice, why not extend that logic to the Igbo officers who acted on January 15, 1966. Far from that, many saw that coup as an Igbo coup as opposed to a coup executed by military officers, who just happened to be largely Igbos.

@Obong:

My brother please be very careful not to join these lowlife's like Ono and his co.travellers with their dirty unprogressive propaganda. Ndigbo and the people of present day Cross River and Akwa Ibom have come a long way. My wife for example is Efik from Cross River.The wife of the governor of Cross River liyel Imoke is from Anambra state, and i understand the mother of the Akwa Ibom governor Akpabio is also from Anambra state. This is a clear demonstration of how closely intertwined we are.

It is unfortunate that Nigeria's politics try to use divide and rule tactics to turn people against each other. But there is evidence that even before Nigeria was founded the Igbo and their neighbours have lived together peacefully for thousands of years. Someone will try to claim Igbo oppression, but it is on record that of the 3 former regions only the East produced a non-majority in the person of Dr Eyo Ita as premier. This to me does not signify oppression. Biafra's 2nd in command and last  head of state General Phillip Effiong is also from your area.

Unlike the North which constantly slaughters other Nigerians and Christians at the slightest excuse, the Igbo have never been known to attack their neighbours. It is indeed impossible for a people who have intermarried so much, and who consider themselves cousins to even contemplate oppression. So please my brother be careful.

@Donzman, Afam, Babyosisi etc;

Cease bothering yourself with characters like Ono who is taking advantage of being anonymous to spew all kinds of garbage. The fact remains that Biafra have been vindicated if not there would be no MEND, OPC etc. The injustice Ojukwu saw many years back is what both MEND, late Ken Saro Wiwa,and OPC is fighting now.

People like Ono are just shameless idiots, because the courageous Biafran war which lasted for 3 years against all odds is what their own MEND is trying to fight through cowardly hide and seek and criminal kidnap methods, yet he has the audacity to tell us they are using better methods. These are people who leave in a highly militarized region,facing annihilation with a destroyed environment, frequent assaults and massacres by the Nigerian army yet he has the effrontery to talk of the heroic Biafran war.

In life those who support injustice end up in the belly of injustice. That was what led to the Killing of Ken Saro Wiwa, and that is what has led to the Genocide in Odi etc i use to support the Niger-Delta cause but now with people like Ono i realise that the law of Karma is only making them to pay for their sins and  support of injustice. There will surely be many more Odi's in future, and i will support a fullscale invasion of  Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta states to flush out  massacre and annihilate the militants and their tribesmen by the Nigerian armed forces.

People like Ono should also be very careful not to intigate the Igbo against his tiny minority people, because if the Igbo is incited to turn against the tiny minorities in Ono's area it will be worse than Rwanda as all of them will be wiped out. Those who know him should warn him before it is too late mino

RichyBlacK:

@laudate, I agree with you that Ogundipe lost control of the army. In effect, the northern soldiers mutinied and their leaders were confined to northerners. Hence, Ogundipe stood no chance.

The point Ugwumba was making was that if Ogundipe's decision were interpreted as a personal/career choice, why not extend that logic to the Igbo officers who acted on January 15, 1966. Far from that, many saw that coup as an Igbo coup as opposed to a coup executed by military officers, who just happened to be largely Igbos.

Richy black, thanks for your comments.

Maybe some people saw the January 1966 coup as an Igbo coup, not just because most of the officers involved were Igbo, but because in the execution of the coup, only politicians from other regions, lost their lives. Who knows?

I believe the young officers who initiated that coup may have had altruistic motives, but things went wrong at the end of the day. The probably learnt too late, that coups & violence create more problems than the ones they were originally designed to solve.

"When March 31st came a great number of members of international Press came to Enugu, fully expecting a declaration to secede. Instead Ojukwu announced he was issuing a a Revenue Edict to use all Federal Revenue collected in the East as a means of paying for the rehabilitaion of refugees. Oil revenues were not affected, as these were collected in Lagos. The peorters were stunned: they had expected fire and brimstone; instead they were getting a fiscal measure. Some asked Ojukwu about secession. Mildly he told them he would only lead the East out of Nigeria if the East were attacked or blockaded."

Gowon imposed his blockade early in May. It was the final straw. On May 26th 1967 the 335-memeber Consultative Assembly in Enugu gave Ojukwu a mandate to pull the East out of Nigeria.

One of the questions that never fails to arouse curiosity is: Why were the Aburi agreement not implemented by Gowon

laudate:

Richy black, thanks for your comments.

Maybe some people saw the January 1966 coup as an Igbo coup, not just because most of the officers involved were Igbo, but because in the execution of the coup, only politicians from other regions, lost their lives. Who knows?

I believe the young officers who initiated that coup may have had altruistic motives, but things went wrong at the end of the day. The probably learnt too late, that coups & violence create more problems than the ones they were originally designed to solve.

Laudate,
Why will I blame the Northern people much for their actions? True, they went extreme with their attacks on other people. But we have to be fair on them too. They lost many of their people in the war too.

Will all these Igbo loudmouths be talking like this today if it was the Hausa/Fulani North that was largely slaughtered and lost that war in 1966 - 1970? I'm only trying my best to be fair on all the parties involved in the war. The hausa/fulanis up until today are the least educated people in this country. You can imagine the barbaric way they would handle the situations that led to that war at the time. Their Sardauna was slaughtered, along with several other top politicians from the North, by a group, largely made up of Igbo military Majors. Many other politicians from other areas were spared. Now, would you blame them for being suspicious?

Ordinary religious sentiments draws the fury of these people, talk less of killing their elected leaders. It's like pulling on the tail of a Lion! This is what I've been trying to make all these recalcitrant Igbos see, but will not because the likes of Kanto and his ilks are dafts and blind.

I quite understand why the Igbos are bitter about it. They lost out in the scheme of things. It's painful, but that's what fate has brought to them. They should just accept their fate and move on with their lives - as many of them are currently doing.

The then Sardauna been be an old fool wey discouraged his people from civilisation but yet his own children they learn western education. He was not really liked in the North because he was very corrupt, them make him look like a saint to find a reason to justify the pogrom.


Assessment of Nigeria by American ambassador to Nigeria in 1965

Lets face it, any race between the Northerners and the Southerners on a level playing field will be won by southerners by miles and the Notherners will not like that. For them to have a chance some kind of artificial shackles must be place on the path of Southerners, they too will not like that

North no gree "one Nigeria on justice and equity" sake of say their chances will be slim. na him make dem first one seceed but later with UK support dem seize Power come impose artificial shackes like quota system and Federal Character.

If dem know say dem like Naija-deta more make dem grant local control of resources to each geo-politican zone.

ono:

Laudate,
Why will I blame the Northern people much for their actions? True, they went extreme with their attacks on other people. But we have to be fair on them too. They lost many of their people in the war too.

Will all these Igbo loudmouths be talking like this today if it was the Hausa/Fulani North that was largely slaughtered and lost that war in 1966 - 1970? I'm only trying my best to be fair on all the parties involved in the war. The hausa/fulanis up until today are the least educated people in this country. You can imagine the barbaric way they would handle the situations that led to that war at the time. Their Sardauna was slaughtered, along with several other top politicians from the North, by a group, largely made up of Igbo military Majors. Many other politicians from other areas were spared. Now, would you blame them for being suspicious?

Ordinary religious sentiments draws the fury of these people, talk less of killing their elected leaders. It's like pulling on the tail of a Lion! This is what I've been trying to make all these recalcitrant Igbos see, but will not because the likes of Kanto and his ilks are dafts and blind.

I quite understand why the Igbos are bitter about it. They lost out in the scheme of things. It's painful, but that's what fate has brought to them. They should just accept their fate and move on with their lives - as many of them are currently doing.

And when humans are about to be counted,you'll present yourself ?.
when one swims underwater,every once in a while,he raises his head to gulp in some air for fear of asphyxiation.
You my dear were left underwater too long,you are beginning to sound like a scratched up VCD.

Where are these bitter Igbos you speak of?

The ones in PH,Asaba and Yenegoa owning properties, doing business and making a living and employing you as houseboys and girls?
Or the ones in Kano ,Katsina and Kaduna persevering despite the threats from the "sons of allah"
Shall we speak of the ones in Abuja and Lagos,where do we start?
You wouldn't want me to talk of Igbos in Igboland do you?

If you or anyone thinks Igbos sit around in villages sobbing over the war you must be living in a cave because if you weren't there is an Igboman living a few houses away from wherever you live in Nigeria.
Except on your stick houses in the water,I doubt if we've sunk that low

Jealousy is a dangerous thing.
Thank God you have an avenue to vent called nairaland.
Use it and get all of it out before you start taking it out on your neighbors,that'll be very unfair.

Get this and get it very well,the Igbo man is in Nigeria and in Nigeria to stay.
The sooner you get it,the better for you.
If my people survived a war in their own land by the whole of Nigeria,believe me you with a thousand and one tribes buried in one state all bickering at each other  will not be a match.

How much richer is Nigeria since your so called crude oil was discovered?
The Igbo,Yoruba and perhaps even the hausa man will do well without that oil.
oloibiri wells have dried up let's see how much longer the others will last.

quite understand why the Igbos are bitter about it. They lost out in the scheme of things. It's painful, but that's what fate has brought to them. They should just accept their fate and move on with their lives - as many of them are currently doing

Bitter? No. Just like Babyosis said we are igbo people have since moved on. Check out the people who has propeties all over the country. It is still the igbo people. The problem is people like you (Ono) and your niger-delta brothers DO NOT WANT TO MOVE ON. You people keep remiding us on who lost and won, who betrayed and not etc.

The igbo people are been reminded time and time again (with twisted tales) about the nigerian civil war.

What the igbo people are doing is trying to halt the vicious lies been spread by you and others - so that history will not repeat itself.

The Jews who do not want the world to forget about the holocaust have moved on, but do not want a repeat of the sad event.

I guess igbo people are learning to live their hostile enemies ( that is what makes us strong as people).

Whatever happened can never be undone but we can only learn from it. Again, as far there are skinheads, we will always have zionists.

How much richer is Nigeria since your so called crude oil was discovered?

Answer: Poorer, more disorientated, divided and Much more corrupt.


Oli is too important to Ono. I do not know whether he has heard of Ethanol.

laudate:

Richy black, thanks for your comments.

Maybe some people saw the January 1966 coup as an Igbo coup, not just because most of the officers involved were Igbo, but because in the execution of the coup, only politicians from other regions, lost their lives. Who knows?

I believe the young officers who initiated that coup may have had altruistic motives, but things went wrong at the end of the day. The probably learnt too late, that coups & violence create more problems than the ones they were originally designed to solve.

Sure, the execution of that coup did not go as the planners wished. However, the demographics of those killed in the coup is a secondary issue compared to the primary issue of the demographics of the planners/executors.

Assuming the following demographics for the planners of the Jan. 15, 1966 coup: 2 Hausa, 2 Igbo and 2 Yoruba (as opposed to 5 Igbo and 1 Yoruba). With similar outcome of coup casualties, or even a more skewed outcome, say only northern leaders were killed, it is doubtful that the coup would have been viewed through an ethnic prism.

The misguided interpretation that the coup was planned by the Igbos contributed immensely to the pogrom targeted at the Igbos (though many other southerners were killed also) in many parts of Nigeria.

Also, the separation of personal choice/ambition from ethnic hegemony was not brought to bear on the situation. Every Igbo person was guilty by association for an act that was executed by a handful of Igbos.

The high visibility of Igbos in every corner of Nigeria (largely due to trade/commerce) did not make things easier for them also.

RichyBlacK:

Sure, the execution of that coup did not go as the planners wished. However, the demographics of those killed in the coup is a secondary issue compared to the primary issue of the demographics of the planners/executors.

Assuming the following demographics for the planners of the Jan. 15, 1966 coup: 2 Hausa, 2 Igbo and 2 Yoruba (as opposed to 5 Igbo and 1 Yoruba). With similar outcome of coup casualties, or even a more skewed outcome, say only northern leaders were killed, it is doubtful that the coup would have been viewed through an ethnic prism.

The misguided interpretation that the coup was planned by the Igbos contributed immensely to the pogrom targeted at the Igbos (though many other southerners were killed also) in many parts of Nigeria.

Also, the separation of personal choice/ambition from ethnic hegemony was not brought to bear on the situation. Every Igbo person was guilty by association for an act that was executed by a handful of Igbos.

The high visibility of Igbos in every corner of Nigeria (largely due to trade/commerce) did not make things easier for them also.

Yes. . . .you are right. I get what you mean. But the truth is that the intentions of the coup planners as was communicated to the population, did not tally with the outcome of events, especially when the casualties were recorded. Despite that, I still believe the governement did a poor job of handling the whole situation, in the aftermath of that coup.

If the coup plotters had been tried within a few short weeks of the event, or court-martialled in full glare of the public, it would have gone a long way to assuage the feelings of the people that justice had been done. But instead, a lot of things were kept under wraps, and this fuelled suspicions and strife. Unfortunately, the Igbo bore the brunt of it, in many parts of the North. That was a very sad chapter in our history.

ono:

Laudate,
Why will I blame the Northern people much for their actions? True, they went extreme with their attacks on other people. But we have to be fair on them too. They lost many of their people in the war too.

Will all these Igbo loudmouths be talking like this today if it was the Hausa/Fulani North that was largely slaughtered and lost that war in 1966 - 1970? I'm only trying my best to be fair on all the parties involved in the war. The hausa/fulanis up until today are the least educated people in this country. You can imagine the barbaric way they would handle the situations that led to that war at the time. Their Sardauna was slaughtered, along with several other top politicians from the North, by a group, largely made up of Igbo military Majors. Many other politicians from other areas were spared. Now, would you blame them for being suspicious?

Ordinary religious sentiments draws the fury of these people, talk less of killing their elected leaders. It's like pulling on the tail of a Lion! This is what I've been trying to make all these recalcitrant Igbos see, but will not because the likes of Kanto and his ilks are dafts and blind.

I quite understand why the Igbos are bitter about it. They lost out in the scheme of things. It's painful, but that's what fate has brought to them. They should just accept their fate and move on with their lives - as many of them are currently doing.

Ono, why the harsh words? Sometimes, the tone of your replies make it easy for people who read your comments to feel antagonistic towards you. In choosing uncomplimentary epithets like 'loud mouths', 'recalcitrant' etc. to describe a whole group of people, you alienate them and any message you are trying to get across, gets lost.

It wasn't only the Igbo who suffered losses in the war, every other group suffered one kind of loss or the other. And people all over this nation, still suffer from some kind of bitterness in varying degrees, about what happened during the war. Don't you think any group of people who lost as much as the Igbo people did, have a right to feel bitter about their losses? If you were in their shoes, wouldn't you feel the same way?

As for the Fulani, a number of them believe in 'an eye for an eye'. But anyone in power in Nigeria, needs to send a strong message to the religious fantics among them, that 'extremism' in whatever shape or form, will not be tolerated from any group. Fanaticism breeds hatred & bloodshed. And that is the last thing we need, in this nation.

On a final note, I have heard stories and seen examples of those who chose to stand in solidarity with their brothers from other ethnic groups, during that war. There are some families in the South-West who took care of some Igbo families that stayed behind, during the war. A few have even told stories of how a Hausa man or a Fulani man, stood between them and the northern religious militants, in order to save their lives. We need to be more tolerant as a people. That is my belief.

On a final note, I have heard stories and seen examples of those who chose to stand in solidarity with their brothers from other ethnic groups, during that war. There are some families in the South-West who took care of some Igbo families that stayed behind, during the war. A few have even told stories of how a Hausa man or a Fulani man, stood between them and the northern religious militants, in order to save their lives. We need to be more tolerant as a people. That is my belief.

Heart warming.

mikeansy:

The then Sardauna been be an old fool wey discouraged his people from civilisation but yet his own children they learn western education. He was not really liked in the North because he was very corrupt, them make him look like a saint to find a reason to justify the pogrom.

Please I beg of you, do not elevate falsehood to the level of discourse. Where did you get the information that the late Sardauna Sir, Ahmadu Bello was not liked by the North?? Nothing could be further from the truth. Or are you talking about another Sardauna?

Please talk to any Northerner who was alive & living in the North in the sixties, you will find that the man was not only well-liked, he was practically revered.

http://www.dawodu.com/mamza6.htm

http://www.arewa-online.com/sardau.html

http://www.nigerianmuse.com/important_documents/?u=vanguard_north_one_destiny.htm&PHPSESSID=81a679c6a4caac9371857e4ebee2112e

http://www.arewa-online.com/arewa-cnn_a00001Sardauna.html

When it comes to tackling real-life issues, or addressing the mistakes of the past, you would rather rely heavily on stereotypes and prejudice to do so.

Prejudiced? No. I am only acting on self-defence. I cannot allow someone to just rubbish my heritage like Ono always does. Mind you , i only write in reponse to a post. So Laudate  I am not prejudieced. Like you summarised we are basically the same irrespective of  our different backgrounds.

Sadly people like Ono will never agree. As far he is concerned an annihilation of the igbo people ethnic group will give him some peace but you know what: YOU WILL FAIL!

Planner:

Prejudiced? No. I am only acting on self-defence. I cannot allow someone to just rubbish my heritage like Ono always does. Mind you , i only write in reponse to a post. So Laudate  I am not prejudieced. Like you summarised we are basically the same irrespective of  our different backgrounds.

Sadly people like Ono will never agree. As far he is concerned an annihilation of the igbo people ethnic group will give him some peace but you know what: YOU WILL FAIL!

Don't you think you are exaggerating?  I have read a lot of Ono's posts, and I haven't seen anywhere, he has made any remark calling for the annihilation of the Igbo. But then, I stand to be corrected. I do not always agree with his comments, but I don't see the need to attack his person, in order to get him to have a change of heart.

You (along with a few others on this thread), have often called him all kinds of unflattering names, so it is only to be expected that he would retaliate in anger.

He has a lot of views which differ from the mainstream perspective, held by many folks from the South-east. I guess we can't all have an identical opinion on every issue. So if he has a contrary view, then one can only try to educate him on areas where his opinions are wrong. Name-calling and vicious attacks won't do much, in this instance.

My brother please be very careful not to join these lowlife's like Ono and his co.travellers with their dirty unprogressive propaganda. Ndigbo and the people of present day Cross River and Akwa Ibom have come a long way. My wife for example is Efik from Cross River.The wife of the governor of Cross River liyel Imoke is from Anambra state, and i understand the mother of the Akwa Ibom governor Akpabio is also from Anambra state. This is a clear demonstration of how closely intertwined we are.

i didnt respond to ono because he's an idiot. i responded to the few people who listed incorrect facts only to settle the little issues that may exist between the those of cross river and akaa ibom people previously. some of these issues may linger today, however, i am not seeking to create a division. ono can do that on his own