logica:
Exactly. That tells a lot about the person of Ironsi himself. Is that how an assassination is carried out? A so called "General" believed that a man who planned to assassinate him will come sit in his office reception. Some even claimed he was arrested after being caught eavesdropping at the door. All manners of shenanigan have been written on Banjo's arrest; but none ever made sense. Clearly, his superiors and colleagues were simply wary of him. This usually stems from superior intelligence.

logica:
LOL. And if he succeeded nko? I guess success would've been getting shot to pieces somewhere between Ore and Lagos.

CeterisXVII:


Moreover, the 101st Division had no support weapons whatsoever. The 11th battalion at Auchi had three (3) machine guns along with rifles. The 18th battalion in Warri had two (2) machine guns along with rifles. Only 14% of men in the 19th battalion in Benin had weapons. Even the vaunted 12th battalion that had been slated to take Lagos had no mortars, until a single 3 inch mortar was sent from Enugu at the end of the second week of the invasion.

Shortly before Murtala Mohammed took Auchi, Ojukwu (who was still entertaining grandiose delusions about a counter-attack on Ilorin), made an additional 81mm mortar tube available to Ademoyega. Ifeajuna sent ‘Molotov cocktails’ (petrol bombs) when Irrua became threatened. It may well be these petrol bombs that caused a “poisonous gas” scare among federal troops at Eyaen.

Read more: http://newsrescue.com/nigeria-history-biafra-midwest-invasion-1967-lessons-todays-geopolitics/#ixzz4v3z3zj92

I think his real reasons for halting at Ore, were simple. He did not have adequate men, material, resources and guns to continue the expedition to Lagos. He knew once he left Ore, news would have reached Lagos, and the authorities would be warned ahead of his arrival. They would come out guns blazing to halt his advance. So he tried to buy time to negotiate a safe entry into the old Western region. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

Dedetwo:
Please stop regurgitating what you copied from Nowa Omogui. 101 was not division but mere invading force of less brigade strength. They had hoped on surprise attack but lost the surprise when the goofy commander in Victor Banjo stopped the momentum of the force. The lead Battalion commander even questioned the stability of Banjo as commander in Ore and he was thrown into guards room.

PFRB:
Banjo did not fail. Banjo withdrew.

CeterisXVII:


Ojukwu never released Awolowo. Gowon did. That was why Awolowo joined Gowon's cabinet. Stop trying to twist the facts. They are all in public domain.

lawani:
If He wasnt yoruba he probably would not have been arrested. its better to split the country along yoruba hausa igbo lines

Bolustical:
What do you expect from:

Someone who could sacrifice three million people for his ambition?

Someone who could leave Effiong in the cold to face the music alone only to come and get pardon and contest elections later?

I am very sure no Igbo man can replicate what Fajuyi, Banjo and others did to Yorubas or other Nigerians.

PFRB:


3 Igbos were arrested with him and executed

WetinConsignMe:


WRONG! Very wrong. Gowon was not involved in Awo's release. Ironsi signed his release papers just before he was killed. Ojukwu was the only authority in the east as the Gowon coup did not work in the east. Ojukwu was the only one who had the power to release Awo and he was the person who released him.
Here are Ojukwu's words:

OJUKWU: We’ve said this over and over again, so many times, and people don’t understand; they don’t want to actually. If you remember, I released Awolowo from jail. Even that, some people are beginning to contest as well. Awo was in jail in Calabar. Gowon knows and the whole of the federal establishment knows that at no point was Gowon in charge of the East. The East took orders from me. Now, how could Gowon have released Awolowo who was in Calabar? Because of the fact that I released him, it created quite a lot of rapport between Awo and myself and I know that before he went back to Ikenne, I set up a hotline between Ikenne and my bedroom in Enugu. He tried like an elder statesman to find a solution. Awolowo is a funny one. Don’t forget that the political purpose of the coup, the Ifeajuna coup that began all this, was to hand power over to Awo. We young men respected him a great deal. He was a hero. I thought he was a hero and certainly I received him when I was governor. We talked and he was very vehement when he saw our complaints and he said that if the Igbos were forced out by Nigeria that he would take the Yorubas out also. I don’t know what anybody makes of that statement but it is simple. Whether he did or didn’t, it is too late. There is nothing you can do about it. So, he said this and I must have made some appropriate responses too. But it didn’t quite work out the way that we both thought. Awolowo, evidently, had a constant review of the Yoruba situation and took different path. That’s it. I don’t blame him for it. I have never done."

humilitypays

T9ksy:



It seems that Ojukwu was not just a b.a.stard (afterall, his mother was a northerner whom his father had slept with in one of his numerous business visits to the north) but also a damn mischievous liar to boot.

In his (Awo's) own words, culled from his book ”Adventures in Power, Book One” ..............



"For the two days of the 30th and 31st of July, there was black-out on the news. But on I August, as Giwa-Osagie had said, cheering news came through on the radio. A new Head of National Military Government had taken over from General Ironsi. He was Colonel Yakubu Gowon. In his radio broadcast, he promised, among other things, to pursue most vigorously the question of the release of political prisoners.

On 2 August, I listened to the six o’clock news bulletin. It was then I heard the joyful news I had been waiting for since my incarceration that I, together with six others, had been pardoned and released from prison . The word that came to my lips unconsciously and loud and clear was ‘hallelujah!’ And in ecstasy, I took my Diary instantaneously and recorded the following in Speed-writing Shorthand.

On this triumphant occasion, I reiterate one of my credos as follows: “I believe that the following decision of mine is irrevocable under all and any circumstances, namely: that I hereby solemnly and resolutely dedicate the rest of my life, every second of it, to the service of the Peoples of Nigeria in particular, and of Africa in general by promoting their welfare and happiness. So be it-Amen."

T9ksy:
^^^ Abegi jstfu!!!

The man himself kept a diary and in his diary he wrote about the announcement he heard on the radio about his release and you are coming here

to regurgitate some spurious tales by a phd. Phd ko, Pmd ni!!

Btw, at the time of Awo's release, who was paying ojukwu's salary and the staff of the prison where awo was incarcerated? Was it the central bank of nigeria or the central bank of biafra?

Moreover, the offence that Awo was jailed for was against the federal republic of nigeria and not the eastern region and as such if ojukwu had truly released awo, he would have subsequently, been rearrested the moment he set foot in lagos.

Olu317:
Such can't happen again and again in Yoruba land. Col.Banjo was used to cover up ,he “Ojukwu " flaws and weakness. And I hope all Yoruba living now and in the future will understand that an alliance with Eastern people is and will always be a calamity. I can't even comprehend the wickedness in the heart of some folks even on here apportioning blame to a man that was killed through a kangaroo tribunal. No wonder, even the man that killed him bedridden till he died. I am so elated at the manner at which the children of late col. Victor Banjo have survived the storm. They are doing well despite the early death of their father at tender ages. This is the power of God to have showcase his greatness. They are in the news and are bold to speak positively about their father. Can the children of Odumegwu Ojukwu do the same about him? This is how life plays out on the just and unjust.....

CeterisXVII:

Even if Banjo had not stopped, he would still have been annihilated before he ever got to Lagos. Do you think the federal forces would have rolled out the red carpet and popped champagne to welcome Banjo and his army, once they sighted their advance? Or do you think they wouldn't have launched a counter attack against Banjo, long before he got to the outskirts of Lagos?

T9ksy:
^^^ Abegi jstfu!!!

The man himself kept a diary and in his diary he wrote about the announcement he heard on the radio about his release and you are coming here

to regurgitate some spurious tales by a phd. Phd ko, Pmd ni!!

Btw, at the time of Awo's release, who was paying ojukwu's salary and the staff of the prison where awo was incarcerated? Was it the central bank of nigeria or the central bank of biafra?

Moreover, the offence that Awo was jailed for was against the federal republic of nigeria and not the eastern region and as such if ojukwu had truly released awo, he would have subsequently, been rearrested the moment he set foot in lagos.

Dedetwo:


How could Gowon who was not able even approach Ibadan at the moment in discourse release Awo is Calabar in eastern region when the military governor never recognized the person of the so-called head of state? It is unfortunate that most Nigerians seem to lose the balance of logic under the heavy dose of tribalism.

T9ksy:
^^^ Abegi jstfu!!!

The man himself kept a diary and in his diary he wrote about the announcement he heard on the radio about his release and you are coming here

to regurgitate some spurious tales by a phd. Phd ko, Pmd ni!!

Btw, at the time of Awo's release, who was paying ojukwu's salary and the staff of the prison where awo was incarcerated? Was it the central bank of nigeria or the central bank of biafra?

Moreover, the offence that Awo was jailed for was against the federal republic of nigeria and not the eastern region and as such if ojukwu had truly released awo, he would have subsequently, been rearrested the moment he set foot in lagos.

Dedetwo:


If Ojukwu had flaws and weakness, the appointment of Col Banjo as CO of 101 Brigade magnified such shortfalls in a human.

Guestlander:


This was even before the war broke out. How Ojukwu could have released someone jailed for a federal offense is beyond me.
Moreover, Ojukwu was alive for many years after Awo published his memoirs not once did anyone contradict his account.

lawani:
It is very funny for you people to keep saying or inferring that Col Ojukwu did Awo a favor! that is very childish my people.

Dedetwo:


Are you a student of military tactics? How could he have been annihilated when Gowon would have been on the run to Kaduna? Remember there were Yari.ba who readied themselves to join the liberation force. Did you think that uprisings of the so-called cocoa famers were mere coincidence? If Lagos was securely under 101 Brigade, please tell how northern region and Gowon would have flooded Apapa Wharf with war materials? Both sides depended on the element of surprise and Banjo lost that key aspect for Biafra.

Olu317:
The war was simply lost because of two factors; The killing of Victor Banjo,which brewed more hatred toward Biafra and the Boastful nature of Odimegwu Ojukwu,who had no known strategy to win the war but killed the whole Nigeria Army with his lips.

Dedetwo:

Are you a student of military tactics? How could he have been annihilated when Gowon would have been on the run to Kaduna? Remember there were Yari.ba who readied themselves to join the liberation force. Did you think that uprisings of the so-called cocoa famers were mere coincidence? If Lagos was securely under 101 Brigade, please tell how northern region and Gowon would have flooded Apapa Wharf with war materials? Both sides depended on the element of surprise and Banjo lost that key aspect for Biafra.

WetinConsignMe:

Bros, I beg to differ. Remember Awo, who Yorubas recognised as.their leader, was alresdy entrenched in Gowon's administration. The Yorubas were not about to join any invading army to go sack Lagos. Ojukwu had no chance of winning that war and older, wiser Igbos like his father.and Zik advised him so. But youthful exuberance and optimism urged him on.
Though, in his defence, he was also counting on Awo keeping his word, which he didn't.

WetinConsignMe:

Not true. Ojukwu said many.times that he released Awo from Jail WHILE AWO WAS ALIVE and Awo never contradicted him.
There was no "federal" at that point. The coup did not.work in the east so, as Ojukwu said many times, the war was part of the coup. He said Gowon should be in Guiness record for.having the longest coup.

WetinConsignMe:

My friend THINK. Use your brain for once, not go by what is written under who knows what circumstances and possibly changed or manipulated.
There is a forrmal process to releasing someone from prison. It is not done through radio announcements.There are things to.be signed and then someone has to actually physically do it. Ojukwu was the only one in a position to physically release Awo.
Ojukwu, right from the beginning, made it clear he did not accept Gowon as head of state. If Gowon had the power to come to Ojukwu's domain and release Awo why didn't he have the power to simply relieve Ojukwu of command and be done with him? Ojukwu also said many.times that he released Awo from Jail WHILE AWO WAS ALIVE and Awo never contradicted him.
Anything can be written or re-written after the fact, which is why YOU MUST USE YOUR HEAD.

Only thing u can say is that Gowon could have re-jailed him, so in that sense he released.him.

WetinConsignMe:


WRONG! Very wrong. Gowon was not involved in Awo's release. Ironsi signed his release papers just before he was killed. Ojukwu was the only authority in the east as the Gowon coup did not work in the east. Ojukwu was the only one who had the power to release Awo and he was the person who released him.
Here are Ojukwu's words:

OJUKWU: We’ve said this over and over again, so many times, and people don’t understand; they don’t want to actually. If you remember, I released Awolowo from jail. Even that, some people are beginning to contest as well. Awo was in jail in Calabar. Gowon knows and the whole of the federal establishment knows that at no point was Gowon in charge of the East. The East took orders from me. Now, how could Gowon have released Awolowo who was in Calabar? Because of the fact that I released him, it created quite a lot of rapport between Awo and myself and I know that before he went back to Ikenne, I set up a hotline between Ikenne and my bedroom in Enugu. He tried like an elder statesman to find a solution. Awolowo is a funny one. Don’t forget that the political purpose of the coup, the Ifeajuna coup that began all this, was to hand power over to Awo. We young men respected him a great deal. He was a hero. I thought he was a hero and certainly I received him when I was governor. We talked and he was very vehement when he saw our complaints and he said that if the Igbos were forced out by Nigeria that he would take the Yorubas out also. I don’t know what anybody makes of that statement but it is simple. Whether he did or didn’t, it is too late. There is nothing you can do about it. So, he said this and I must have made some appropriate responses too. But it didn’t quite work out the way that we both thought. Awolowo, evidently, had a constant review of the Yoruba situation and took different path. That’s it. I don’t blame him for it. I have never done."

humilitypays

CeterisXVII:


The same Awo asked Ojukwu not to declare secession because he knew Yoruba land was occupied by Northern troops, and the proportion of Yorubas in the army were few. Awo was part of the team that went back to persuade Ojukwu to have a re-think, so how on earth could the Yoruba people have agreed to join the liberation forces??! When and where, was such an agreement made?