By Mahmud Jega

One day in June 1967, the town of Ilorin, where we then lived, suddenly exploded in wild celebration. Everywhere you looked, people were dancing and singing in the streets. Small kids though we were, we also poured into the garden of our house and joined our neighbours in the wild celebration.

What was all the excitement about? Rumours had swept Ilorin and the entire North that Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of the Eastern Region and head of the secessionist state of Biafra, had died. The celebrations only ended that evening when the Military Governor of the North, Lt-Col Hassan Usman Katsina, spoke on the radio and denied the rumour.

Ojukwu was by then the Number One hate figure in Nigeria, the loyalist part of it. Weeks later, when we moved out of Ilorin following the creation of states and I went to school in Jega, in the then North Western State, the widespread hatred for Ojukwu continued unabated.

Ojukwu bashing dominated the early years of our lives in the late 1960s. The Nigeria Army composed many songs against Ojukwu and Biafra, which were played on the radio every day. Every poet in the North, big or small, also composed a song to denigrate Ojukwu.

Endless stories, all of them wishfully negative, were being told about the Biafran leader. We heard in those days that the Sarkin Ruwan Argungu Ibrahim Makwashe offered to bring Ojukwu’s face to appear in a calabash of water so his eyes could be speared, but that General Yakubu Gowon rejected the offer. [We couldn’t understand why!]

One of the commonest songs sang in those days was:

Ojukwu dan tawaye [Ojukwu the rebel],

Dan Mama mai gajeren kwana [Mama’s son with short sleep].

Probably the commonest war song on the radio, sang by Federal soldiers and said to have been composed by then Captain Mamman Vatsa, was:

Idan kunaso mu shirya [If you want us to reconcile],

Ku karbi dokokin gwamnati [Accept government’s orders]

Ku janye sunan Biafra [Revoke the name “Biafra”],

Ku aika da wadansu member [Send some of your members],

Su gana da Gowon mai girma [To meet His Excellency Gowon]

Karya Ojukwu yana fadi [Ojukwu is telling lies],

Wanga yakin yafi karfinsa [This war is beyond his power].

Dr. Okpara ma ya gudu [Dr. Okpara has run away]

Dr. Zik ma ya gudu [Dr. Zik has also ran away]

Munci Nsukka, munci Bonny, munci Enugu [We have captured Nsukka, Bonny and Enugu]

Karyan Igbo ta kare [The Igbo lie is finished]!


In our own village, the popular local poet Dan Gwamna composed a song which he used to sing while playing with achikokko, a hand instrument made from palm fronds with plant seeds inside. He said:

Ubangiji Allah yasa a kamikke Ojukwu [May Allah cause Ojukwu’s arrest]

A kawo shi Nigeria abishi ana kallo [So he will be brought to Nigeria and everyone will go and see him]

Idan kallon ya isa asa shi awon tonka [When we finish seeing him, we make him to pound pepper]

Idan tonkan ya isa asashi awon shuni [When the pepper is enough, we make him to pound dye]

Idan shunin ya isa ya dauko galmatai [When the dye is enough, he should bring his hoe]

Mutai kwabin laka [Let’s go work on mud]

Ojukwu dan kuikuyon kare bakada rana [Ojukwu is a small dog which has no use]

Yana daula cikin haki kamar gwamnan kusa [He is running in the grass like the governor of rats]…

In Sokoto too, where we spent our holidays, the local singer Shu’aibu Tsamaye used to move from house to house, singing:

Nsukka ma an rike [Nsukka is captured]

Har Anacha an rike [Onitsha too is captured]

Har Enugu an rike [Enugu too is captured]

Kuma bashida kudin kashi [He has no money to spend]

Sai suda ta isheshi bakin garka [A small bird went to him]

Tana fadin “Soja suna zuwa Ojukwu” [And said “Ojukwu, soldiers are coming’]

Mamman Shuwa na ishema [Mamman Shuwa will find you]

Yacce mata shin wagga suda [He said to her ‘you small bird’]

Ban iya shegantaka ba [I don’t like idiocy]

Gobe gudu zaniyi [I will run away tomorrow]

In shiga jirgin sama [I will enter a plane]

Mai saukar ungulu [One that lands like a vulture]

Sai suda naji tai jawabi tacce mishi [But the small bird said]

In Adar kakai kayi [You can run to Adar]

In tsibiri kakai kayi [Or run to an island]

To dada mun game kasa [We have captured the country]

Mun lauyeta mun zaman mata Jamhuriya [An made it a republic]

Inko ka kiya, yanzu igwa na ishe ma [If you don’t run, artillery will soon find you]

Kafin karfe bakawai [Before 7o’clock]

Da bindiga mai wutaitai [With guns blazing fire]…

It was amazing that in later years, the beard became associated in this land with Muslim radicalism. For most of the 1970s, a bushy beard was a bad word in Northern Nigeria because of Chief Ojukwu’s very thick beard during the Civil War!

Let us fast forward to 1982, when President Shehu Shagari, who had granted a pardon to General Yakubu Gowon a year earlier, granted Ojukwu a pardon and facilitated his return from exile in Ivory Coast. Apparently, Shagari’s ruling NPN was looking for a tool to wrench the Igbos away from the NPP and Zik, and they thought Ojukwu could do the job. Granting Ojukwu a pardon was however a very big political gamble for Shagari, given the feelings in the North. When Ojukwu returned and NPN elements such as Dr. Alex Ekwueme and Dr. Chuba Okadigbo were falling over themselves to receive him, there was open resentment in the North.

Soon as Ojukwu settled down, he went to Kano to see the Emir Ado Bayero, who he described as his “very good friend.” To most Northerners at the time, that was scandalous. During the Civil War, rumours had it that Emir Ado had constructed a big cage in which Ojukwu would be paraded around Nigeria when he was captured.

Anyway, with Ojukwu back in the East in 1982, NPN and NPP immediately began a frantic contest to get him to join their parties. It was in that atmosphere that I arrived in old Anambra State in August 1982 for my NYSC service year. The Anambra State-owned Nigerian Satellite newspaper, managed at the time by the great writer Cyprian Ekwensi, campaigned vigorously for Ojukwu to join NPP, with banner headlines such as “Ikemba greets Zik again!” Eventually, after much suspense, Ojukwu declared for NPN.

In November 1982, from my base at Nnobi only 5 kilometres away, I entered Ojukwu’s hometown of Nnewi with trepidation, as any Northerner must in those days. A Hausa youth corps member based in Nnewi at the time however told me that he visited Ojukwu’s mum in her house! He said she was a very nice woman and that she received him very well. When he told his own mother in Zaria about the visit, she was horrified and warned him never to step into Ojukwu’s home again!

As the 1983 general elections approached, the contest between the Anambra NPN, now led by Ojukwu, and NPP led by Zik and Governor Jim Nwobodo became very hot and often violent. Ojukwu, who had received the traditional title of Ikemba of Nnewi upon his return, had a personal militia called the Ikemba Front while NPP had the Nwobodo Vanguard. Several times on my way to Enugu from Nkpor Junction, I encountered the two groups on their way to political rallies. They rode dangerously in Kombi buses, with militiamen hanging on the doors and roofs, brandishing weapons, forcing all other vehicles off the road.


In May or June 1983, Ojukwu himself came to my station at Nnobi for a rally, and I went to see him. He arrived in a fleet of red Mercedes Jeeps. When he alighted from the jeep and walked to the podium, the red-shirted Ikemba Front militiamen formed a guard of honour on both sides of the red carpet. As he walked slowly, the IF men shouted, “Ikemba! Ikemba! Ikemba!”

Ojukwu wore a blue jeans trouser and a t-shirt and he waved a fly whisk. He spoke very imperiously, holding the mike very close to his mouth, aligning his head at a sharp angle, turning very sharply every now and then. He spoke in Igbo, so I could not get the gist of what he said. Incidentally, NPN’s governorship candidate in old Anambra that year was Chief C.C. Onoh, father of beauty queen Bianca Onoh, who later became Ojukwu’s wife.

In the ensuing elections, FEDECO declared that C.C. Onoh had defeated Jim Nwobodo, but when the senatorial election results were announced, Ojukwu, NPN’s candidate for Anambra South, “lost” to NPP candidate Dr. Edwin Onwudiwe. Many newspapers said at the time that it was all scripted by Dr. Umaru Dikko and the NPN to use Ojukwu to win the East and then dump him. As one who lived in Anambra State that year, it did look like that to me.


Anyway, when General Buhari overthrew the Second Republic a few months later and herded hundreds of politicians, including Ojukwu, into detention, some Southern newspapers insinuated that the Northern Generals had fulfilled their aim of getting Ojukwu behind bars to avenge for the Civil War. This pressure probably led to his early release in October 1984, when others remained in detention.

Since then, Ojukwu’s relationship with the North remained cool and fragile, despite some attempts at a thaw. Ojukwu was one of the Abacha regime’s goodwill ambassadors and travelled on its behalf to many countries. In 1994, I think, the Abacha regime’s friends brought him to Kaduna, where he delivered a lecture at Hassan Katsina House.

In July 1996 or so, Ojukwu was in Sokoto to attend the presentation of staff of office to Sultan Muhammadu Maccido. He was given a front row seat and television cameras kept zooming at him. I cannot remember another major foray into the North by Ojukwu after that one, though there could have been some.

Despite all those events, Northerners were always sceptical about the Ikemba. Ojukwu himself never showed much remorse, much less apologise, for the Civil War. He saw himself and the Igbo as victims of it, while in the North, he is seen as the man who caused it, unfairly perhaps.


The last public encounter that he had around here tended to accentuate those feelings. Last year, Ojukwu attended a ceremony in Abuja to receive his pension from the Military Pension Office, supposedly a peace gesture to pre-Civil War Igbo officers. Ojukwu rapped the MC for referring to him as Lieutenant Colonel, which was his rank when Gowon dismissed him from the Army in 1967! He said he is a “General.” How did that sound to people on the Federal side during the war?

Now that the Ikemba has died, we should expect Northern leaders to fall other themselves to pay tributes to him. But don’t be deceived; they didn’t love him. Only that, unlike in 1967, no one is going to dance in jubilation.


http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148609:four-decades-since-a-death&catid=6:daily-columns&Itemid=6
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why hasnt ojukwu been immortalized by the igbo's for decades
i thought this man fought for their freedom
wasnt he loved that much by the igbos??
there should have been a monument a day a location a popular location called his name? a park
is there any?? do clear me on this,

Truthful article, the guy told it as it is.

What was all the excitement about? Rumours had swept Ilorin and the entire North that Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of the Eastern Region and head of the secessionist state of Biafra, had died. The celebrations only ended that evening when the Military Governor of the North, Lt-Col Hassan Usman Katsina, spoke on the radio and denied the rumour.

Ojukwu was by then the Number One hate figure in Nigeria, the loyalist part of it. Weeks later, when we moved out of Ilorin following the creation of states and I went to school in Jega, in the then North Western State, the widespread hatred for Ojukwu continued unabated.

Ojukwu bashing dominated the early years of our lives in the late 1960s. The Nigeria Army composed many songs against Ojukwu and Biafra, which were played on the radio every day. Every poet in the North, big or small, also composed a song to denigrate Ojukwu.

People can be very foolish.two days ago i opened a trend when a yoruba friend of mine serving in jigawa told me that there were jubilations in the north(maybe some parts) over Ojukwu's death and some idiotic folk where accusing me of propaganda and spreading false news.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=812669.0

I think they all have to get their heads checked Idiots

That is a very good one, Whatever we do today will become history tomorrow

jascon1:

why hasnt ojukwu been immortalized by the igbo's for decades
i thought this man fought for their freedom
wasnt he loved that much by the igbos??
there should have been a monument a day a location a popular location called his name? a park
is there any?? do clear me on this,

Yes they are building one now in Owerri even before he died. A park

@OP---We all know they dont love him, but who cares? Do they love anybody? They dont even love their own Nothern brothers too, thats almajiris for you.

Baawaa:

That is a very good one, Whatever we do today will become history tomorrow

no doubt

High_Chief:

Yes they are building one now in Owerri even before he died. A park

@OP---We all know they dont love him, but who cares? Do they love anybody? They dont even love their own Nothern brothers too, thats almajiris for you.

@High_Chief. I ga adindu. Thanks for pointing that out. God bless thee. We can care less if they hate him up North because we don't even like Gowon here in the east, and I betcha that if one searches high and low, one will find that there are aweful songs and poems about Gowon and the North around here.

@OP. Please tell me something we don't know already

this is all that u can get from boko haram republic, hmmmmm afghanistan in africa.mad set of people

Great article by Mahmud Jega.
But one thing is this; whether they liked him or not, Ojukwu even in death will never be short of admirers.
Rather, he would be the stuff of Legends and heroic deeds in many decades to come.

OP,
nice write up,but who cares if the north loves Ojukwu or not  

I dont understand why people like this person article should be accepted by seun,i dont get the message his is tring to pass.please should help me to understand him, the truth still remains that Ojukwu is a hero wheather you and your people like it or not

Nice write up. Ojukwu know them very well.
Just check out terrorist harams

What became of Murtala and Maman Vasta - NEMESIS.

St.upid thread from a st.upid fellow. Totally irrelevant and worthless.

yea!before people couldnt stand bearded men as they were terrified by the look of the man ojukwu cos of his beard,but now most people copy the same scary beard to apear very wise to their followers as they encourage the bombings of churches for sharia to reign supreme.

NL has made me understand better d influence of sentiment on our opinions abt issues of national and international interests. For instance, over 90% of those dat are/will be happy with this thread will be Northerners and over 90% of those that are/will be unhappy with it are easterners while d remaining 20% will be southerners, free thinkers and those who are not greatly influenced by sentiments! This is another problem we shy away from as a nation! God have mercy on Nigeria, her citizenry and her leaders!

Bandit C.:

St.upid thread from a st.upid fellow. Totally irrelevant and worthless.

wanted to reply you,but when I saw your name,there was no need to,its obvious you think with your foot!

Who are the heroes, who are the enemies and foes? Only their deeds can tell. Their deeds are clearly written in their history. Those who care to read, listen and reason cannot be fooled. Like i said earlier over the death of this man, ojukwu was not a hero. At least to the very Nigerians he fought and killed, not to the igbos he led to a war he could not die for. He betrayed his people by betrayin the freedom he claimed to fight for. ppl should understand that presidential pardon and amnesty simply mean you accept to be wrong fightin your course and promise never to raise a voice again. The stupid and foolish leaders of the south south people re doing the same again today betrayin the death of late noble stateman and activisit, Saro Giwa. Back to ojukwu, the igbo nation as much as i adored their creativity lost their battles the day ojukwu accepted national pardon, forming parties and contesting in the very country he led his peopl to die. Moses in the bible would not leave his people to die in the wilderness and run back to Egypt for pardon. Martin luther king jnr died for a course he believed in, today obama's in the white house. NELSON mandela never retracted his words against the apartheid in south africa, jailed and today, the country's better for it. Nigeria is the only country where thieves and selfish leaders re made martyrs. GOD BLESS. Contrary opinions re welcome but pls be objective amap.

^^^ not to the igbos he led to a war he could not die for. He betrayed his people by betrayin the freedom he claimed to fight for

Ran away in the heat of the war and den calls himself a General, Bloody coward.

Ojukwu, Awo and all dem lot r d reason y Nigeria is still heavily tribalised. they r d reason y everything is stillseen in the light of Igbo, hausa and yoruba not 1 Nigeria that it should b.

airlord:

^^^ not to the igbos he led to a war he could not die for. He betrayed his people by betrayin the freedom he claimed to fight for

Ran away in the heat of the war and den calls himself a General, Bloody coward.

Ojukwu, Awo and all dem lot r d reason y Nigeria is still heavily tribalised. they r d reason y everything is stillseen in the light of Igbo, hausa and yoruba not 1 Nigeria that it should b.

ur name AIRLORD means u have no direction, no future, u can never be an elder. i guess u chose government instead of history in secondary school if at all u graduated from one. ask questions what lead ojukwu to declare an independent biafra.

^^^^LWKMD. do enlighten me Mr historian wat made him run away and abandon d cause he was fighting for. u can train ur little mind to hav a conversation witout swearing u kno. And na urself u dey curse no b me.

Jarus:

By Mahmud Jega

One day in June 1967, the town of Ilorin, where we then lived, suddenly exploded in wild celebration. Everywhere you looked, people were dancing and singing in the streets. Small kids though we were, we also poured into the garden of our house and joined our neighbours in the wild celebration.

What was all the excitement about? Rumours had swept Ilorin and the entire North that Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of the Eastern Region and head of the secessionist state of Biafra, had died. The celebrations only ended that evening when the Military Governor of the North, Lt-Col Hassan Usman Katsina, spoke on the radio and denied the rumour.

Ojukwu was by then the Number One hate figure in Nigeria, the loyalist part of it. Weeks later, when we moved out of Ilorin following the creation of states and I went to school in Jega, in the then North Western State, the widespread hatred for Ojukwu continued unabated.

Ojukwu bashing dominated the early years of our lives in the late 1960s. The Nigeria Army composed many songs against Ojukwu and Biafra, which were played on the radio every day. Every poet in the North, big or small, also composed a song to denigrate Ojukwu.

Endless stories, all of them wishfully negative, were being told about the Biafran leader. We heard in those days that the Sarkin Ruwan Argungu Ibrahim Makwashe offered to bring Ojukwu’s face to appear in a calabash of water so his eyes could be speared, but that General Yakubu Gowon rejected the offer. [We couldn’t understand why!]

One of the commonest songs sang in those days was:

Ojukwu dan tawaye [Ojukwu the rebel],

Dan Mama mai gajeren kwana [Mama’s son with short sleep].

Probably the commonest war song on the radio, sang by Federal soldiers and said to have been composed by then Captain Mamman Vatsa, was:

Idan kunaso mu shirya [If you want us to reconcile],

Ku karbi dokokin gwamnati [Accept government’s orders]

Ku janye sunan Biafra [Revoke the name “Biafra”],

Ku aika da wadansu member [Send some of your members],

Su gana da Gowon mai girma [To meet His Excellency Gowon]

Karya Ojukwu yana fadi [Ojukwu is telling lies],

Wanga yakin yafi karfinsa [This war is beyond his power].

Dr. Okpara ma ya gudu [Dr. Okpara has run away]

Dr. Zik ma ya gudu [Dr. Zik has also ran away]

Munci Nsukka, munci Bonny, munci Enugu [We have captured Nsukka, Bonny and Enugu]

Karyan Igbo ta kare [The Igbo lie is finished]!


In our own village, the popular local poet Dan Gwamna composed a song which he used to sing while playing with achikokko, a hand instrument made from palm fronds with plant seeds inside. He said:

Ubangiji Allah yasa a kamikke Ojukwu [May Allah cause Ojukwu’s arrest]

A kawo shi Nigeria abishi ana kallo [So he will be brought to Nigeria and everyone will go and see him]

Idan kallon ya isa asa shi awon tonka [When we finish seeing him, we make him to pound pepper]

Idan tonkan ya isa asashi awon shuni [When the pepper is enough, we make him to pound dye]

Idan shunin ya isa ya dauko galmatai [When the dye is enough, he should bring his hoe]

Mutai kwabin laka [Let’s go work on mud]

Ojukwu dan kuikuyon kare bakada rana [Ojukwu is a small dog which has no use]

Yana daula cikin haki kamar gwamnan kusa [He is running in the grass like the governor of rats]…

In Sokoto too, where we spent our holidays, the local singer Shu’aibu Tsamaye used to move from house to house, singing:

Nsukka ma an rike [Nsukka is captured]

Har Anacha an rike [Onitsha too is captured]

Har Enugu an rike [Enugu too is captured]

Kuma bashida kudin kashi [He has no money to spend]

Sai suda ta isheshi bakin garka [A small bird went to him]

Tana fadin “Soja suna zuwa Ojukwu” [And said “Ojukwu, soldiers are coming’]

Mamman Shuwa na ishema [Mamman Shuwa will find you]

Yacce mata shin wagga suda [He said to her ‘you small bird’]

Ban iya shegantaka ba [I don’t like idiocy]

Gobe gudu zaniyi [I will run away tomorrow]

In shiga jirgin sama [I will enter a plane]

Mai saukar ungulu [One that lands like a vulture]

Sai suda naji tai jawabi tacce mishi [But the small bird said]

In Adar kakai kayi [You can run to Adar]

In tsibiri kakai kayi [Or run to an island]

To dada mun game kasa [We have captured the country]

Mun lauyeta mun zaman mata Jamhuriya [An made it a republic]

Inko ka kiya, yanzu igwa na ishe ma [If you don’t run, artillery will soon find you]

Kafin karfe bakawai [Before 7o’clock]

Da bindiga mai wutaitai [With guns blazing fire]…

It was amazing that in later years, the beard became associated in this land with Muslim radicalism. For most of the 1970s, a bushy beard was a bad word in Northern Nigeria because of Chief Ojukwu’s very thick beard during the Civil War!

Let us fast forward to 1982, when President Shehu Shagari, who had granted a pardon to General Yakubu Gowon a year earlier, granted Ojukwu a pardon and facilitated his return from exile in Ivory Coast. Apparently, Shagari’s ruling NPN was looking for a tool to wrench the Igbos away from the NPP and Zik, and they thought Ojukwu could do the job. Granting Ojukwu a pardon was however a very big political gamble for Shagari, given the feelings in the North. When Ojukwu returned and NPN elements such as Dr. Alex Ekwueme and Dr. Chuba Okadigbo were falling over themselves to receive him, there was open resentment in the North.

Soon as Ojukwu settled down, he went to Kano to see the Emir Ado Bayero, who he described as his “very good friend.” To most Northerners at the time, that was scandalous. During the Civil War, rumours had it that Emir Ado had constructed a big cage in which Ojukwu would be paraded around Nigeria when he was captured.

Anyway, with Ojukwu back in the East in 1982, NPN and NPP immediately began a frantic contest to get him to join their parties. It was in that atmosphere that I arrived in old Anambra State in August 1982 for my NYSC service year. The Anambra State-owned Nigerian Satellite newspaper, managed at the time by the great writer Cyprian Ekwensi, campaigned vigorously for Ojukwu to join NPP, with banner headlines such as “Ikemba greets Zik again!” Eventually, after much suspense, Ojukwu declared for NPN.

In November 1982, from my base at Nnobi only 5 kilometres away, I entered Ojukwu’s hometown of Nnewi with trepidation, as any Northerner must in those days. A Hausa youth corps member based in Nnewi at the time however told me that he visited Ojukwu’s mum in her house! He said she was a very nice woman and that she received him very well. When he told his own mother in Zaria about the visit, she was horrified and warned him never to step into Ojukwu’s home again!

As the 1983 general elections approached, the contest between the Anambra NPN, now led by Ojukwu, and NPP led by Zik and Governor Jim Nwobodo became very hot and often violent. Ojukwu, who had received the traditional title of Ikemba of Nnewi upon his return, had a personal militia called the Ikemba Front while NPP had the Nwobodo Vanguard. Several times on my way to Enugu from Nkpor Junction, I encountered the two groups on their way to political rallies. They rode dangerously in Kombi buses, with militiamen hanging on the doors and roofs, brandishing weapons, forcing all other vehicles off the road.


In May or June 1983, Ojukwu himself came to my station at Nnobi for a rally, and I went to see him. He arrived in a fleet of red Mercedes Jeeps. When he alighted from the jeep and walked to the podium, the red-shirted Ikemba Front militiamen formed a guard of honour on both sides of the red carpet. As he walked slowly, the IF men shouted, “Ikemba! Ikemba! Ikemba!”

Ojukwu wore a blue jeans trouser and a t-shirt and he waved a fly whisk. He spoke very imperiously, holding the mike very close to his mouth, aligning his head at a sharp angle, turning very sharply every now and then. He spoke in Igbo, so I could not get the gist of what he said. Incidentally, NPN’s governorship candidate in old Anambra that year was Chief C.C. Onoh, father of beauty queen Bianca Onoh, who later became Ojukwu’s wife.

In the ensuing elections, FEDECO declared that C.C. Onoh had defeated Jim Nwobodo, but when the senatorial election results were announced, Ojukwu, NPN’s candidate for Anambra South, “lost” to NPP candidate Dr. Edwin Onwudiwe. Many newspapers said at the time that it was all scripted by Dr. Umaru Dikko and the NPN to use Ojukwu to win the East and then dump him. As one who lived in Anambra State that year, it did look like that to me.


Anyway, when General Buhari overthrew the Second Republic a few months later and herded hundreds of politicians, including Ojukwu, into detention, some Southern newspapers insinuated that the Northern Generals had fulfilled their aim of getting Ojukwu behind bars to avenge for the Civil War. This pressure probably led to his early release in October 1984, when others remained in detention.

Since then, Ojukwu’s relationship with the North remained cool and fragile, despite some attempts at a thaw. Ojukwu was one of the Abacha regime’s goodwill ambassadors and travelled on its behalf to many countries. In 1994, I think, the Abacha regime’s friends brought him to Kaduna, where he delivered a lecture at Hassan Katsina House.

In July 1996 or so, Ojukwu was in Sokoto to attend the presentation of staff of office to Sultan Muhammadu Maccido. He was given a front row seat and television cameras kept zooming at him. I cannot remember another major foray into the North by Ojukwu after that one, though there could have been some.

Despite all those events, Northerners were always sceptical about the Ikemba. Ojukwu himself never showed much remorse, much less apologise, for the Civil War. He saw himself and the Igbo as victims of it, while in the North, he is seen as the man who caused it, unfairly perhaps.


The last public encounter that he had around here tended to accentuate those feelings. Last year, Ojukwu attended a ceremony in Abuja to receive his pension from the Military Pension Office, supposedly a peace gesture to pre-Civil War Igbo officers. Ojukwu rapped the MC for referring to him as Lieutenant Colonel, which was his rank when Gowon dismissed him from the Army in 1967! He said he is a “General.” How did that sound to people on the Federal side during the war?

Now that the Ikemba has died, we should expect Northern leaders to fall other themselves to pay tributes to him. But don’t be deceived; they didn’t love him. Only that, unlike in 1967, no one is going to dance in jubilation.


http://dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148609:four-decades-since-a-death&catid=6:daily-columns&Itemid=6
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You know its funny when how we all scream "fairness" and yet we all are bigoted. You have written out a well scripted article and people are attacking you. Please pay them no heed, keep telling your story from your perspective without fear or sentiments. I am an Igbo man and to me, Ojukwu is a Coward who couldnt die for a cause he supposedly believed in.

babs777:

Who are the heroes, who are the enemies and foes? Only their deeds can tell. Their deeds are clearly written in their history. Those who care to read, listen and reason cannot be fooled. Like i said earlier over the death of this man, ojukwu was not a hero. At least to the very Nigerians he fought and killed, not to the igbos he led to a war he could not die for. He betrayed his people by betrayin the freedom he claimed to fight for. ppl should understand that presidential pardon and amnesty simply mean you accept to be wrong fightin your course and promise never to raise a voice again. The silly and foolish leaders of the south south people re doing the same again today betrayin the death of late noble stateman and activisit, Saro Giwa. Back to ojukwu, the igbo nation as much as i adored their creativity lost their battles the day ojukwu accepted national pardon, forming parties and contesting in the very country he led his peopl to die. Moses in the bible would not leave his people to die in the wilderness and run back to Egypt for pardon. Martin luther king jnr died for a course he believed in, today obama's in the white house. NELSON mandela never retracted his words against the apartheid in south africa, jailed and today, the country's better for it. Nigeria is the only country where thieves and selfish leaders re made martyrs. GOD BLESS. Contrary opinions re welcome but pls be objective amap.

Ojukwu! The man who led millions of his own people into a war that he wasnt ready to die for.

Librate:

your name AIRLORD means u have no direction, no future, u can never be an elder. i guess u chose government instead of history in secondary school if at all u graduated from one. ask questions what lead ojukwu to declare an independent biafra.

Just like Airlord, I am also interested in knowing what you think led to this war sir.

Okija_juju:

You know its funny when how we all scream "fairness" and yet we all are bigoted. You have written out a well scripted article and people are attacking you. Please pay them no heed, keep telling your story from your perspective without fear or sentiments. I am an Igbo man and to me, Ojukwu is a Coward who couldnt die for a cause he supposedly believed in.



Ojukwu! The man who led millions of his own people into a war that he wasnt ready to die for.

Just like Airlord, I am also interested in knowing what you think led to this war sir.

Alhj_Harem You are not Igbo, honestly your multiple characters make me wonder the kinda person you are in real life. We have traced your root, your mother ran away with a Nigerian soldier during the war due to her whoring nature and gave birth to you, hence your hatred to anything Igbo and Ojukwu, so you are not Igbo but Almajiri. Mumu

High_Chief:

Alhj_Harem You are not Igbo, honestly your multiple characters make me wonder the kinda person you are in real life. We have traced your root, your mother ran away with a Nigerian soldier during the war due to her whoring nature and gave birth to you, hence your hatred to anything Igbo and Ojukwu, so you are not Igbo but Almajiri. Mumu

I thought you could be reasoned with until your last statement. Sadly, your stock is what has kept ndi igbo in the dark ages since 1960.

Okija_juju:

I thought you could be reasoned with until your last statement. Sadly, your stock is what has kept ndi igbo in the dark ages since 1960.

You have been busted dude and quit your silly games. Stop familiarizing, you have nothing to reason with me, I dont wish to know you mahn

I read an acclaimed Igbo man calling Ojukwu a coward here. I dont even want to copy u b4 i reply bcz u dont think straight.

How will u expect Ojukwu to die when he knew that he couldnt sustain the tempo of the war even when the english man has a saying that goes thus, 'We fight and run away to live and fight another day'. Dont u also know that he who doesnt acknowledge a person stronger than him is a fool? Borrow a leaf from Ghaddafi who claimed he cant accept defeat until he was captured and killed. Today Ojukwu is being celebrated. Ibo borther, please who is celebrating Ghaddafi for dieing for what he believed in?

We need to think b4 we make some comments. The writer made a good effort at history which i commend. I dont need to be told that the north dislikes Ojukwu just as I dont need to be told that the night is different from daylight.

okpara ugo:

I read an acclaimed Igbo man calling Ojukwu a coward here. I dont even want to copy u b4 i reply bcz u dont think straight.

How will u expect Ojukwu to die when he knew that he couldnt sustain the tempo of the war even when the english man has a saying that goes thus, 'We fight and run away to live and fight another day'. Dont u also know that he who doesnt acknowledge a person stronger than him is a fool? Borrow a leaf from Ghaddafi who claimed he cant accept defeat until he was captured and killed. Today Ojukwu is being celebrated. Ibo borther, please who is celebrating Ghaddafi for dieing for what he believed in?

We need to think b4 we make some comments. The writer made a good effort at history which i commend. I dont need to be told that the north dislikes Ojukwu just as I dont need to be told that the night is different from daylight.

I will take it that you are refering to me so here goes my response to you sir;

I may not be thinking straight in your opinion but that doesnt change the facts. HOW WILL I EXPECT OJUKWU TO DIE IN A WAR WHERE HE WAS OUR "GENERAL"? He fought against Nigeria, a war that he thought was necessary to achieve his goal. He dragged MILLIONS of MY OWN PEOPLE _{(Yes!! I am Igbo no matter what them Ojukwu-d'ick riders say)} into this war against their wish. He was in the military so I'm sure he wasnt ignorant of the military strenght of the Nigerian Army, he was the leader of the Eastern Region so he must have had a fair assesment of the stock of weapons in his armoury, He was also a politician so he also understood that alligances would be made by either side to get whatever assistance needed to win the war. KNOWING all these, he forged ahead and went into battle, MILLIONS OF NDI IGBO lost their lives in that war. They died for a cause that they strongly believed was their only means to stay alive. They fought with the faith that OJUKWU who was their leader would not abandon them on the battlefield. Even through the starvation they fought. All this time, Ojukwu was comfortably hiding and running between all his well fortified and camoflaged bunkers. Everyday he would send out propaganda messages spuring his "minions" to advance and press on towards their deaths. And when it became clear that there was no miracle for him, he ran away. Imagine how mothers, wives, children and Biafran Soldiers felt. Imagine how those who didnt have much before tha war and were still living with the hope of a brighter tomorrow who lost their lives and livelihood felt. Imagine my Grandmother who lost 4 of her sons in one bombing raid felt when she heard that their General had run away by night and lead her sons to die unnecessarily. If he knew he couldnt die for his cause, why lead millions to their deaths. The Pogrom killed alot of Easterners, The war caused over 100 times more deaths than that pogrom could ever have achieved.

You say "He who lives to fight today, lives to fight another day", thats the creed by which cowards live by. "It is more honourable to die for a cause you believe in, than to live for nothing". So he ran to fight another day. What other wars did he fight?! What did the war achieve?! He was granted a presidential pardon and he came back into Nigerian Politics (The same Nigeria he fought against). He became one of the problems of the common-man that he was supposedly fighting to save. He came back home and visited the northerns that he led us to fight against, wined and dined with them, whilst the mothers and fathers of the true Biafran war Heroes and Martyrs mourned at home. What do we have to show for that war! WHat did we achieve?! The North still runs the show, the East has never produced a single President since that war (no scratch that, not even a single Vice-president), the East is still as marginalized as they were in the 60's before the war, the north still every now and again carry out pogroms where they target and hack Easterners to death, e.t.c. NOTHING CHANGED except that we sacrificed our brothers and sisters for no real reason.

Is Ojukwu a hero sir?! NO!

Do I mourn his death sir?! NO!

Do I support the Biafran cause?! NO!!

DO I believe in a united Nigeria that would be based on equity, justice and fairness to and for all?! Yes! _{(The day we start electing credible people into government based on merit and not on ethnic sentiments)}

Am I an IGBO man?! Proudly Anambra, Proudly Rivers, Proudly South-East and most of all, Proudly Nigerian.


Go sit down and ask yourself sir; "WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A HERO?" And I hope to God that you can be reasonable in your assesment.


HERE IS A LIST OF GENERALS WHO HAVE DIED FIGHTING FOR A CAUSE:

[size=18pt]Generals Who Died In the American Civil War[/size]

August 10, 1861 Battle of Wilson's Creek [US]
Battle of Springfield [CS]

Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon [US] is killed in the Confederate victory Missouri

Sterling Price
January 19, 1862 General Felix Zollicoffer is shot and killed when he accidently crosses the Union line and speaks to Col. S. S. Fry [US] at the battle of Mill Springs Kentucky

Battle of Mill Springs
  Felix Zollicoffer
April 6, 1862 On the first day of the battle of Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing, General Albert Sidney Johnston, commander of the Department of the West is killed while leading an advance against a Union position in a peach orchard. Tennessee

  Albert Sidney Johnston
June 29, 1862 During the Battle of Peach Orchard Confederate Brigadier General Richard Griffith is killed by an artillery blast Virginia

August 6, 1862 Union Brigadier General Robert McCook, ill and riding in an ambulance, is attacked by Confederate raiders between Athens, AL and Descherd, TN. He dies from his wounds. 
September 1, 1862 Battle of Chantilly
Union Major General Phillip Kearny [US] is shot and killed when he crosses Rebel lines while riding his horse. Gen Issac I. Stevens [US] is also killed Virginia

  Battle of Chantilly
September 14, 1862 Brigadier General Samuel Garland [CS] is mortally wounded during the Battle of Fox's Gap, dying later that day. Later that day, Major General Jesse Reno [US] is also mortally wounded a few feet from the spot where Garland fell. Maryland

  Samuel Garland
September 29, 1862 General William A. Nelson gets into an altercation with General Jefferson C. Davis at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky. Davis returns later with a gun and shoots and kills Nelson. Kentucky

  Confederate Invasion of Kentucky
  William 'Bull' Nelson
December 13, 1862 Confederate General T. R. R. Cobb dies during the battle of Fredericksburg. South Carolinian Maxcy Gregg is mortally wounded and dies two days later. Georgia

  Fredericksburg
May 2, 1863 General Stonewall Jackson is shot 3 times in a friendly fire incident Virginia

  Stonewall Jackson
  Chancellorsville
May 7, 1863 Major General Earl van Dorn [CS] is killed by a jealous husband. 
  Earl Van Dorn
May 10, 1863 Stonewall Jackson dies at a field hospital near Guiney Station, VA, Virginia

  Stonewall Jackson
July 1, 1863 General John Reynolds is killed west of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Less than a month earlier, Abraham Lincoln had offered him command of the Army of the Potomac 
  John Reynolds
  Gettysburg Chronology, July 1, 1863
  Battle of Gettysburg
September 21, 1863 Mortally wounded at Chickamauga, Confederate Brigadier General Benjamin "Ben" Hardin Helms dies. He was Abraham Lincoln's brother-in-law. Georgia

  Battle of Chickamauga
  Abraham Lincoln
May 9, 1864 General John Sedgwick [US] is killed by a Confederate sharpshooter during the battle of Spotsylvania. He is replaced by Horatio Wright 
  John Sedgwick
June 14, 1864 While inspecting his lines, Leonidas Polk is killed at Pine Mountain by an artillery blast ordered by William Tecumseh Sherman. Georgia

  Leonidas Polk
  Atlanta Campaign
  William Tecumseh Sherman
July 22, 1864 During the Battle of Atlanta, Major General James McPherson, commander of the Army of the Tennessee is killed when he accidently crosses Confederate lines. 
  Army of the Tennessee
  Battle of Atlanta
July 22, 1864 Major General W. H. T. Walker is killed by Union forces while scouting a position before the Battle of Atlanta 
  Battle of Atlanta
September 19, 1864 3rd battle of Winchester (Opequon Creek)

Phil Sheridan [US], with a force of 40,000 men, strikes Jubal Early's [CS] 14,000 man Confederate army north of Winchester. Sheridan simply overpowered the Confederates. General Robert E. Rodes was mortally wounded in the conflict. Virginia

  Jubal Anderson Early
  Philip Sheridan

Its quite easy to jump on the Bandwagon of "Ojukwu praise singers" and be readily accepted by everyone in the east, but Sir! In you opinion, "What did Ojukwu live and Die for?"

I think a reasonable and fair person should be able to understand okija_juju's perspective.

If your four uncles fought and died for a man who later abandoned them, then it is very unlikely that you'll have fond feelings for that man.

The above post needs to be read honestly and without prejudice.

^^^

I would be pleasantly shocked if one fellow Igbo man can see things from a different perspective other than the popular and generally accepted one.

I also have relatives that fell in battle and those that fought from the beginning to the end. My home town, Umuahia was a major war zone and you can imagine the level of destruction, carpet bombing and blind artillery barrage that we suffered, which led to the death of many. All people that I know that were involved in the war do not regret fighting the war, they only regret losing the war. If we were to face the same circumstances leading to the war, we would fight again with no regrets.

Now about General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu (translated:am I surprised/afraid ? or fierce lion) Ojukwu. The best thing that happened to NdiIgbo and Nigeria was that he did not fall in battle. That would have been the ultimate humiliation and would have led to several factions, who would have carried on the battle. It would have given the feds a sense of triumph and I am glad that it did not happen.

The fact that he left the scene, was like a hovering spirit which prevented Federal troops from causing further punishment to Ndi Igbo. Following the surrender of Biafra, the feds declared "No Victor no Vanquished" situation for a good reason. The Biafran soldiers were not disarmed when the war came to an end. The federal govt had to at least pretend to be acting in good faith, lest Ojukwu reinforced and launched another uprising from exile. His departure ensured that the feds walked on an egg shell while dealing with NdiIgbo as he was like a time bomb waiting to happen.

Ojukwu was only human and he made some strategic and tactical mistakes during the war, but which General doesn't make mistakes ? The war was foisted on us and Ojukwu did well to answer the call of duty at that age.

Odumegwu, may you rest in peace and find rest in the bosom of our Lord.

Rest in peace all Biafran soldiers that fell in battle.

Rest in Peace all Biafran vets that have departed in peace time Nigeria.

Rest in peace all civilian casualties that died of starvation, artillery and bomb shells in markets, hospitals, their homes and those that were executed by federal troops.

My tribute to my uncle Martin, who passed away not too long ago. He fought in many sectors of the war. He saw war and war saw him.

My tribute to living vets like Dee Eziachi.

Tribute to all those who believe that we had to fight to survive. Those that understand that our backs were to the wall and the only way was forward.

We lost the war but not in shame. We did not achieve our goal but we kept our dignity. We earned our respect, wrote it in blood and set it in stone.

To Nigeria, Ojukwu was an elusive trophy, but to Biafrans, he was a fence between the devil and the sea and we are glad that the fence did not fall.

FACE:

I also have relatives that fell in battle and those that fought from the beginning to the end. My home town, Umuahia was a major war zone and you can imagine the level of destruction, carpet bombing and blind artillery barrage that we suffered, which led to the death of many. All people that I know that were involved in the war do not regret fighting the war, they only regret losing the war. If we were to face the same circumstances leading to the war, we would fight again with no regrets.

Now about General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu (translated:am I surprised/afraid ? or fierce lion) Ojukwu. The best thing that happened to NdiIgbo and Nigeria was that he did not fall in battle. That would have been the ultimate humiliation and would have led to several factions, who would have carried on the battle. It would have given the feds a sense of triumph and I am glad that it did not happen.

The fact that he left the scene, was like a hovering spirit which prevented Federal troops from causing further punishment to Ndi Igbo. Following the surrender of Biafra, the feds declared "No Victor no Vanquished" situation for a good reason. The Biafran soldiers were not disarmed when the war came to an end. The federal govt had to at least pretend to be acting in good faith, lest Ojukwu reinforced and launched another uprising from exile. His departure ensured that the feds walked on an egg shell while dealing with NdiIgbo as he was like a time bomb waiting to happen. Ojukwu was only human and he made some strategic and tactical mistakes during the war, but which General doesn't make mistakes ? The war was foisted on us and Ojukwu did well to answer the call of duty at that age.

Finally someone I can relate to.

Now I must first of all say I respect your views on the war and the man Ojukwu.

But I refuse to accept that our back were against the wall. For us to say that we didnt expect a backlash of that nature after the Nzegwu coup must mean that our people under-estimated the North, Islam and the mentality of their people.

Now on to the Pogrom! Shit had definitely hit the fan. Our people were being slaughtered in their numbers, I still recall vivid and graphic tales of trains pulling in stations in the east with headless bodies, decapitated corpses, slain Pregnant women with their feotuses hanging out of their cut open tummy, aircrafts being stopped on the tarmac and Easterners being pulled out and shot point blank by the military and other such tales. Now a sight like that is bound to aggravate anybody and testostorone would start flowing. Was a cessation our only avaliable option?! NO!! But Ojukwu, hungry for power, filled with anger and his blood pumping jumped to the conclusion of pulling out of Nigeria.

Now I am no politician, but Im sure he knew that Nigeria would not sit by and watch the country split into two halves so for those who say Gowon started the war, I say he was only carrying out his duty which was to protect the unity of Nigeria. Constitutionally, he had the right to put down the resistance by any means necessary.

To say those that were involved in the war dont regret it is rather unfair. Instead say those that you have met and know personally dont regret it. I have heard alot of people talk about that war and none of them speak well of it. If they had a choice, they would never have fought.

Biafra lost more than they gained. Infact, I can barely list the gains. The pogrom killed an estimated 30,000, the war killed an estimated 3 million (with three quarter of the casualty on the Biafran side). You said Ojukwu running prevented further casualties by the Nigerian soldiers?!  ARE YOU SERIOUS?! THe Igbos lost so much after that war. We lost jobs, we lost alot of influence in government, we were highly distrusted by the Government (the North), the Federal government had very heavy military presence in the East and post-war vitimization continued for a very long period. Even till today, the Igbos still are yet to come on level playing field politically in Nigeria. And you also spoke of the Biafran soldiers stil being armed, my brother in war, its not the amount of bullet that you have at your disposal that keeps you fighting, its moral and motivation. With most of the eastern states taken by the Army (Nigerian), and Ojukwu cornered, moral was low. When Ojukwu ran, that was the final blow. Even his deputy had to surrender. There was no reason to fight anymore. Their spirits had been broken.

The Feds triumphed. Gown only declared "no victor, no vanquish" so as to quickly re-integrate the East back into the general scheme of things. The IGBOS lost that war. We know it, Nigeria knows it and the Biafran apologists are living in denial.

The man Ojukwu! I am sorry made fatal mistakes, all of which I can over-look. But the real test was when it came to that point when it was shoot till the very end, he ran! ONLY to come back as a hero years later after a politically motivated state pardon?!  He came in waving his hands to the people he led to war only to achieve nothing?! He came and dived back into the Politic of Nigeria that he made us understand was anti-igbo?! He went up North and wined and dined with the enemies he led us to fight against?! He never once apologized to the grieving widows, widowers, parents and children which he led into battle! He never once thought it prudent for him to tell us why he ran!! I guess coming home and being celebrated by psychophants must have given him the complex of a god.

I want someone to tell me what the war achieved. Show me were the east were before the war and how much better off we are now.

Look at the OGONI 10, Ken-Saro Wiwa and the 9 other MOSSOP leaders. They fought the Government and Shell Petroleum against the injustice and inhumane way they were being treated. Incase you do not understand their plight, Ogoni is 0.001 of the size of the Eastern region Ojukwu controlled. The government massacred them in their numbers. Any Ogoni man caught near an Oil installation was shot. A dusk till dawn curfew was in place, they had every reason to militate, but they never once took up arms. He was arrested in 1992, spent months in prison without trial, was warned and released, upon his release, he stepped up his activism. In 1993, he was arrested again and after a month was released and he went back at it. Now the Ogoni people were motivated. They were ready to go to war, they were so gullible that they felt that their local charms and gods would see them through a battle with the Nigerian Army, Ken knew this, yet never spurred them to fight. 1994, he was arrested yet again along with others and this time he was executed and his body taken away by the government. Today the Ogoni cause has gotten a bigger audience than that of Biafra. SHell agreed to pay the families of the Ogoni 10 a sum a 15.5 million US Dollars in an out of court settlement and also Shell has been asked to pay Ogoni a massively insane amount in compensation and also clean up the spillage in Ogoni. The Ken Saro Wiwa fight gave voice to the Niger Delta struggle. Even with the Amnesty, the Federal governmant cant still contain the aftermath effect of Ken Saro-wiwas death (after over 15 years). If s'hit goes down tomorrow, Ken Saro-Wiwa would be a rallying point for an uprising . Many will see the Ogoni cause as worth laying down their lives to protect like their leaders did. Those who lost their loved would take succor in knowing that they fought a fight worth dying for.

Look at Isaac Adaka Boro, his cause is still the rallying point for the Niger Delta resistance till tomorrow.

Today, the Niger Delta has produced a President, the Ogoni people do not have Shell to contend with anymore, 13% derivation has been approved (and they are still agitating for more), OMPADEC, NDDC, e.t.c. And they are still fighting for more!!

What did Ojukwus' war give us, what did our sons, daughters, mothers, Fathers, Sisters and brother die for?! What are the gains of over two years of loss?! 

I need to know!!

Thanks Mr. Face