BIO IN BRIEF: Dim Chukwuemeka
Odumuegwu Ojukwu
BACKGROUD
God blessed Igbo land on
November 4, 1933 with the birth
of a hero and leader of Ndigbo,
Dim Chukwuemeka Odumuegwu
Ojukwu, Ikemba I of Nnewi, Dike
di ora mma of Igbo land, and a
leading Nigerian politician till
death. There is no doubt he was
the only man who saw the today
Nigeria in the turbulent 60s. He
was born of affluent family, a
millionaire business mongul and
the then wealthiest man in
Africa, Sir Louis Philippe
Odumuegwu Ojukwu.
LEARNED
At the age of 13, Ojukwu left
Nigeria for further studies
abroad. He first went to Epson
College, in Surrey. Later he
earned Master in History from
Lincoln College, Oxford University
before returning to Nigeria in
1956. He briefly worked as a civil
servant at Udi in the then Eastern
Regional Government before
joining the military as one of the
first few graduates to be in the
Nigerian Military.
CHARISMATIC LEADER
The events of 1960s in Nigeria
cannot be told without
mentioning the excellent
leadership quality of Ojukwu. In
1964, after serving in the United
Nation peace keeping mission in
Congo, Ojukwu was promoted to
Lieutenant-Colonel. At 31 he was
commanding the 5th Battalion of
the Nigerian Army in Kano. It was
to the credit of his excellent
leadership skill that the coup
d’état of January 15, 1966, did
not go out of control in Northern
region – a remarkable feat for a
33 year old young man.
PATIENT AND PEACE-LOVING
LEADER
Ojukwu, then a Colonel, became
the governor of Eastern region in
the unitary government of the
Supreme Commander General
Aguiyi-Ironsi. Shortly, things fell
apart for the young governor. By
29 May 1966, northern Nigeria
people planned and executed
pogrom (targeted killings)
against the Igbos. Over 10,000
Igbos were gruesomely and
brutally slaughtered in cold
blood. This led to the first exodus
of Igbos to eastern region. More
than a million Igbos returned
home. But with patient and
peace-loving Ojukwu, there was
no reprisal in the east. According
to globasecurity.org, “ Ojukwu
did everything in his power to
prevent reprisal and even
encouraged people to return, as
assurance for their safety had
been given by his supposed
colleagues up the north and out
west”.
On 29 July 1966, northern Nigeria
junior army officers staged
counter coup, which murdered
General Aguiyi-Ironsi and saw the
killing of military officers from
Igbo extraction. As if that was
not enough, the military
hierarchy was abused by
enthroning a junior military
officer over his senior and
declared him as head of state.
Ojukwu did not get enraged.
Instead, he had perfect control of
his temper and sought peace to
end the chaos befalling the
fledgling country.
Without much regards to the
number of Igbos numbering in
thousands massacred so far by
the northern people of Nigeria,
another pogrom was staged
against the Igbos. In September
1966, military officers and
civilians of the then northern
region carried out genocidal
pogrom against the Igbos living
anywhere outside eastern region.
30,000 Igbos were targeted and
killed, several other thousands
were amputated. The second
mass exodus of Igbos saw the
return of men, women and
children with amputated bodies;
some with hands or legs cut off,
some without ears or eyes. It
was a heart breaking sight. Yet,
Ojukwu, the governor of eastern
region whose people were facing
risk of genocide in one Nigeria,
did not lose his temper to any
irrational action. He patiently
sought peaceful deal to end the
carnage.
In January 1967, a conference of
military leaders was held in Aburi
Ghana. An agreement, (the Aburi
Accord), was reached. In view of
the ethnic intolerance of the
regions in Nigeria accompanied
by massacre of Igbos, a strong
regional autonomy with weak
central government was agreed
upon as a deal. Returning back to
Nigeria, the then Head of state
with the advice of the oil giant
and other vested interests in
Nigeria project, did tinker with
the accord, gave it a different
meaning and unilaterally
implemented their own version
of the accord, which tactically
pulverized eastern regional
government. Highly controlled
media propaganda was used to
cast Ojukwu in bad light. This is
the last straw that broke the
camel’s back.
BRAVE, INTELLIGENT AND LOYAL
LEADER
Pushed to the wall, there is no
option but to defend one’s life.
At this point, Ojukwu saw the
ugly fate of Igbos as planned by
the then Nigeria. Eastern
consultative assembly was
convened to decide the final
response of eastern government
to the repressive actions of
federal military government of
Gowon. A vote for declaration of
sovereignty was passed. On 29
may 1967, Colonel
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu
Ojukwu declared eastern
government an Independent
Republic of Biafra.
The Nigerian government levied
war against the nascent Biafran
republic in an effort to force
Igbos back into Nigeria. Due to
the intelligence and bravery of
the under equipped Biafran army
under Colonel Ojukwu, Biafra
made lots of gains in the early
part of the war. This worried the
then great Britian and the
defunct Soviet Union with their
allies. They threw their weight
behind Nigerian government to
crush the Biafra, who resisted
their fire power for gory 30
months. If it were not for the
brave, intelligent and loyal
leadership of Ojukwu, no
squeezed enclave like the Igbos
could have resisted and survived
the nearly successful genocide, a
war crime, attempted by the
then Nigerian Government with
their world powers allies.
EXILED LEADER
Ojukwu was forced to leave the
country towards the end of the
war. On 9 January 1970, Ojukwu
handed over power to his second
in command, General Philip
Effiong, and left for Cote D’Ivoire,
where he was granted asylum.
STILL A LEADER AFTER THE WAR
After 13 years of exile, the
greatest leader of Ndigbo
triumphantly returned to Nigeria
in 1982. Immediately he began
the process of rebuilding the
morale of his people in the new
Nigerian system. He frowned at
the second fiddle that most then
Igbo politicians were playing. He
returned with him another hope
for fully integrated Igbo. He
formed Ohaneze Ndigbo, which
he remained the leader till death.
He also formed the APGA, a pan-
Igbo political party, which he
remained the chairman till death.
Today APGA can boast of two
performing State governors and
a handful of law makers in both
federal and state assemblies.
HUMAN RIGHT FIGHTER TILL DEATH
At the age of 13, Ojukwu was
detained for assaulting a white
teacher who bullied a black
woman in King’s College Lagos.
Looking through his biography,
Ikemba’s life had been that of a
sacrificial leader who spared
nothing to pursue justice for his
people. In Biafra war, he
selflessly used his father’s wealth
to fund the war. He is
uncompromising in the face of
injustice.
This earned him the titles
Ikemba, Dike di ora mma …,
Ojukwu remains an icon in the
history of Nigeria, an unequalled
hero in Igbo land. The mention of
his name sends fears down the
spine of any man. He was
enigmatic, yet compassionate.
ADIEU
Ikemba, we shall live to ever
remember your sacrifices,
courage, loyalty and fight for
liberation. You wrote a piece to
the whole world - Africans can
stand up against oppression
irrespective of the odds. The war
technologies – Ogbunigwe,
refineries, … – built from only
local manpower and sources
under your leadership is awe
inspiring to the industrial worlds.
We remain eternally indebted to
you.
Adieu daddy!!! Rest in
Peace.