I went through the story in Sahareporters and I must confess that the Elder from the north that spoke called Alhaji Usman Faruk is talking absolute nonsense and he has got his history completely wrong.

I do not share Asari Dokubo's views about bombing the north and splitting the country either but let us all try to be historically factual when we speak. The truth is that It was the 98 per cent yoruba Third Marine Commando under the able command of Brigadier General Benjamin Adekunle that liberated the mid-west and the southern minorities from the igbos during the civil war and NOT the north.

Secondly the north literally begged Awolowo not to declare Oduduwa Republic and go the way of Biafra even though that was his original intention. Thirdly if it hadn't been for Col. Obasanjo (as he then was) who was stationed as Commanding Officer in Ibadan at the time the Biafran forces, under the command of the gallant yoruba officer Col. Banjo, would have entered and swept into the west at Ore and the war would have been over very quickly. They sent Professor Wole Soyinka to Obasanjo and asked for safe passage but Obasanjo refused.

Fourthly it was the support that the south west gave to the north that allowed Nigeria to win the war. Fifthly it was the lie that Gowon and the northern leaders fed to Awolowo that he would be made President of the country after the war and after being effectively being made de facto Prime Minister under Gowon during the war that got Awoloo to support them. Had it not been for that strong support from the yoruba and particularly the efforts of the predominantly yoruba Third Marine Commando who pushed the Biafrans out of the mid west, the south south and back into the east and who evenually went into igboland, occupied it and took the surrender of the igbos, there is no way that Nigeria could have won the war.

No matter what side of the divide we are on in this matter we must get the history right because there are millions of young people on the internet and in the country today who do not know the truth and that can easily misled by this type of historical revisionism and falsehood. The arrogance of Alhaji Faruk is sickening and this is especially reflected by the contemptuos manner he reffered to the yoruba in his interview.

9ja_I_hail: When people kept blaming awo for been the problem the southern Nigeria had yoruban's will rise up for his defense,do anyone noticed through what a true yoruba son said on this article? Fifthly it was the lie that Gowon and the northern leaders fed to Awolowo that he would be made President of the country after the war and after being effectively being made de facto Prime Minister under Gowon during the war that got Awoloo to support them.

Awo shame to u even in grave just because of power, Northerners promised you a president of Nigeria then you decided to use the blood of innocent igbo children and women to buy ur way into the presidency of Nigeria.I love the Northerners for their smartness after the war they made you april fool.

manchy7531:


UMU IGBO, gOD IS WITH US....THEY WILL EXPOSE THEMSELVES FINISH AND GOD WILL DESTROY THEM ALL.I WISH OJUKWU WAS STILL ALIVE TO SEE SOME OF THESE REVELATIONS

9ja_I_hail: The thing is that these abokies are maradona's when it come to politics,they always use yorubas to work against southerners and at the end of it they will do them april fool like they did to their father awolowo otapiapia master.I use to love this man call awolowo before but now with this revelation i came to agree that his name awolowo sound sensible than his brain.

9ja_I_hail: When people kept blaming awo for been the problem the southern Nigeria had yoruban's will rise up for his defense,do anyone noticed through what a true yoruba son said on this article? Fifthly it was the lie that Gowon and the northern leaders fed to Awolowo that he would be made President of the country after the war and after being effectively being made de facto Prime Minister under Gowon during the war that got Awoloo to support them.

Awo shame to u even in grave just because of power, Northerners promised you a president of Nigeria then you decided to use the blood of innocent igbo children and women to buy ur way into the presidency of Nigeria.I love the Northerners for their smartness after the war they made you april fool.

mpumalanga:

End of the story.The war was awo's personal enterprise and HIS wife must apologize
to the yorubas.He murdered the igbos and tried to destroy the historical relationships
between igbos and yorubas and replace it with OIL BOOM relationship there by creating generational
enmity and stifling the inherent flow of goodwill among the two groups that hated conflicts.How can you, awo?
SMH for some African leaders.

The truth is that It was the 98 per cent yoruba Third Marine Commando. . . blah

onomeasike: the ibos wont just put the blame and loss they suffered during the biafra war in the right quarters.clearly,many of them have not learnt any lesson.Would you do as Ojukwu (who was reportedly killed by AIDS) did in and expect to win a war?It is only a foolishman that will do the same thing in the same but expect a different result.The average igboman,even okonkwo character of the things fall apart fame,is more of brawn than brain.War is first fought in the brain,the strategy and humility to disarm ur enemy without his knowing and element of surprise is beyond the ability of average igbomen.If I am igbo,i will rather have the more matured ,beautiful and submissive igbowomen lead a war.These crop of igbos on nairaland are typical empty vessels of the igbos.

Onlytruth:

Yes we are all empty vessels. Stand up and answer your fathers name. Stop looking at us. We are determined not to be betrayed again. Now stand up and face aboki (unless you are the aboki, lol).

Aigbofa:

We were fighting Aboki long before Nigeria was created, if necessary we will fight them again... on our own terms. We may decide not to fight though if they agree to share iboland with us.

Secondly the north literally begged Awolowo not to declare Oduduwa Republic and go the way of Biafra even though that was his original intention. Thirdly if it hadn't been for Col. Obasanjo (as he then was) who was stationed as Commanding Officer in Ibadan at the time the Biafran forces, under the command of the gallant yoruba officer Col. Banjo, would have entered and swept into the west at Ore and the war would have been over very quickly. They sent Professor Wole Soyinka to Obasanjo and asked for safe passage but Obasanjo refused.

PROUD-IGBO:


^^^^It's the above quote from the Fani-Kayode that really saddens me....and makes me wonder how people can be so heartless and driven by material gain and power; How can Awo and Obasanjo (in the face of proven and apparent evil committed by the north) team up with these same people to sustain a lie.....not minding the fact that their ambitions were built on the blood of innocent women and children? Just b'cos they weren't from your ethnicity?

It's up there in black and white that the Biafran Army respected the sensibilities and territorial integrity of the Yorubas (contrary to what some of them would have you believe) by first seeking permission for safe passage to be able to take the fight to the enemy, but they were refused.

The whole sordid affair stinks!!!

May God judge them accordingly.....Amen.

Onlytruth:

We are already sharing YOUR land with them. lol

Take a careful look bro. Also note that they always remind you of your status as conquered territory.
Don't take my word for it, just look around.

Aigbofa:

Conquered territory in their imagination. They are running scared, that is why they will bring up Awolowo in a conversation regarding Asari Dokubo. They understand what a radicalised Yoruba means to "one Nigeria"

onomeasike: the ibos wont just put the blame and loss they suffered during the biafra war in the right quarters.clearly,many of them have not learnt any lesson.Would you do as Ojukwu (who was reportedly killed by AIDS) did in and expect to win a war?It is only a foolishman that will do the same thing in the same but expect a different result.The average igboman,even okonkwo character of the things fall apart fame,is more of brawn than brain.War is first fought in the brain,the strategy and humility to disarm ur enemy without his knowing and element of surprise is beyond the ability of average igbomen.If I am igbo,i will rather have the more matured ,beautiful and submissive igbowomen lead a war.These crop of igbos on nairaland are typical empty vessels of the igbos.

Onlytruth:

No my friend you still don't understand. They know that they have already lost the East, so they are flying a kite to remind you that [b]you are their conquered territory.
[/b]That's all.