LEST WE FORGET... THE GENOCIDE OF ASABA

October 7 will continue to be a date in Nigeria’s history; for the good cause, it was the day the first indigenous university in Africa, University of Nigeria Nsukka, opened its gates “to restore the dignity of man” in 1960.

Exactly on October 7, 1967, the federal troops under the command of Lt Col Murtala Ramat Mohammed committed the greatest genocide in Africa’s history. In a broadcast at Benin to signal what was to happen at Asaba on September 21, 1967, Lt Col Mohammed thundered, “I have already dispatched my forces to deal with the rebels around Agbor and Asaba”. Little wonder why Igbo women were raped, children maimed, pregnant women raped and their pregnancies disemboweled from Benin, Agbor, Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku with the grand finale been the butchering of over 2000 defenseless men and male children who had rolled out their drums to rejoice with the federal troops for recapturing Asaba from Biafran forces at St Patrick’s College area of Asaba by Lt Col Mohammed’s troop for alleged “Biafra sympathy”. All these happened in total disregard to the Geneva Convention and federal directive issued by the then Nigeria’s HOS, Major-General Yakubu Gowon.

In the words of 58 years old eye witness, Ifeanyi Uraih, who was a resident of Asaba then with his nine siblings and parents, “I cannot tell this story without tears in my eyes, but I have no bitterness in my heart… They ordered everyone to come out to the town square… They were honest with us. They told us they were going to kill us. They took us to the mounted machine guns. Then it dawned on us that it was true. I was standing with my older brother at the edge of the crowd. He was holding my hand. He had always taken care of me. We shared the same bed. He was the first to be dragged away by the soldiers. He let go of my hand and pushed me into the crowd. He was shot in the back. I could see the blood gushing from his back. He was the first victim of the massacre. Then all hell let loose. I lost count of time. To this day, I live with the smell of the blood of my brethren that night. Even the heavens wept for the victims of this holocaust. Finally the bullets stopped.” Luckily Uraih made it alive because the bodies of the people who were killed fell and buffered him.

It is indeed 45 years today but the wound is still fresh. According to Chinelo Egwuatu, another survivor of the Murtala’s genocide, “We can forgive but we should never, ever forget… There is no way you can bring the people back, but you can at least acknowledge that it happened.” Special thanks to the University of Florida Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and its team of researchers ably led by Erin H. Kimmerle, Professors Elizabeth Si Bird and Fraser Ottanelli who have elected to “break the silence, honour the dead, develop a historic record of the event and secure funding to build the permanent memorial” for the victims of the genocide.

For us, we must take up the mantle and bring to the fore-burner of international discourse, the atrocities of the 1967-70 genocide of the Nigerian state against ndigbo; today, Awolowo’s starvation policy is the centre stage of our national debate courtesy of Prof Chinua Achebe; how about the Oguta blood bazaar superintended by Olusegun Obasanjo? Have we forgotten about the Onitsha 300 burnt in the Apostolic by Murtala and the activities of Benjamin Adekunle, Shehu Yar’Adua, Ibrahim Taiwo, Jalo, Sani Abacha, etc during the genocide the government of Nigeria continues to call “civil war?”

On the part of the Federal Government, it is time we put this ugly part of our history permanently behind us by giving the dead a deserving state burial and proper apologies rendered to the surviving families of these great Nigerians, whose blood were wasted by bloodlust and hate-mongering soldiers. Anything less is begging the question and it behooves us all as Nigerians to seek justice for the dead. BY Okafor C. Udoka

i wonder why murtala muahammed face is on our N20 note? Even Awolowo the murderer! These two wicked souls i believe are in hague already even in their graves.

45 years after, Nigerian Government has not deeemed it fit to appologise for these heinous crimes, as a matter of fact, a war remembrance monument should be built at st patrick, the venue of the massacre of innocent civillians and a memorial held there every year! This country will NEVER know peace until the bloods wasted are appeased.

45 yrs after, the blood of the innocent still crying for justice and they want us to sweep everything under the carpet and act as if nothing happened. Mrs tokunbo awolowo is currently disappointed that her father was a murderer: I wonder what the daughter of muritala mohammed 'll blot out when confronted with the enormity of the atrocious and genocidal acts her father committed. I'm ashamed to be a citizen of a country where murderers are regarded as heroes; where I'm expected to rever and not to question the genocidal acts of the so called heroes. Shame to all that have kept quiet even in the face of these damning evidence: I cry for Nigeria.

warrior01: 45 yrs after, the blood of the innocent still crying for justice and they want us to sweep everything under the carpet and act as if nothing happened. Mrs tokunbo awolowo is currently disappointed that her father was a murderer: I wonder what the daughter of muritala mohammed 'll blot out when confronted with the enormity of the atrocious and genocidal acts her father committed. I'm ashamed to be a citizen of a country where murderers are regarded as heroes; where I'm expected to rever and not to question the genocidal acts of the so called heroes. Shame to all that have kept quiet even in the face of these damning evidence: I cry for Nigeria.

my broda, they want to hide the attrocities and the genocide swept under the floor, but for how long shall the blood of ndigbo be used for sacrifice to appease the god of nigeria unity?

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In the words of 58 years old eye witness, Ifeanyi Uraih, who was a resident of Asaba then with his nine siblings and parents, “I cannot tell this story without tears in my eyes, but I have no bitterness in my heart… They ordered everyone to come out to the town square… They were honest with us. They told us they were going to kill us. They took us to the mounted machine guns. Then it dawned on us that it was true. I was standing with my older brother at the edge of the crowd. He was holding my hand. He had always taken care of me. We shared the same bed. He was the first to be dragged away by the soldiers. He let go of my hand and pushed me into the crowd. He was shot in the back. I could see the blood gushing from his back. He was the first victim of the massacre. Then all hell let loose. I lost count of time. To this day, I live with the smell of the blood of my brethren that night. Even the heavens wept for the victims of this holocaust. Finally the bullets stopped.” Luckily Uraih made it alive because the bodies of the people who were killed fell and buffered him.

It is indeed 45 years today but the wound is still fresh. According to Chinelo Egwuatu, another survivor of the Murtala’s genocide, “We can forgive but we should never, ever forget… There is no way you can bring the people back, but you can at least acknowledge that it happened.” Special thanks to the University of Florida Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and its team of researchers ably led by Erin H. Kimmerle, Professors Elizabeth Si Bird and Fraser Ottanelli who have elected to “break the silence, honour the dead, develop a historic record of the event and secure funding to build the permanent memorial” for the victims of the genocide.
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U want them to be Nigerians, u considered then as Nigerians and not Biafrans, hence u fought to liberate them and when u captured their town, you wasted more than 2000 able bodied men in a single swoop and murtala muhamed is accorded a hero status?

It takes university of Florida to bring to fore front, the Genocide dat has been hidden in Nigeria. And when Erudite prof Chinua Achebe wrote his war memoir, Some section of the country that benefited from the genocide are quick to raise eyebrow and attack Pa Achebe. What goes round must surely come round. Karma is a naughty biatch, we have forgiven but can NEVER forget

No matter how long it takes, the truth will always prevail.

tyson55: No matter how long it takes, the truth will always prevail.

The refusal to acknowledge the truth has been the reason the war wound refuse to heal. Each time i remember this asaba Genocide, i feel like taking up arm. May God forgive me but the truth must be told, let those that want to suppress the truth keep running amok in the media. One thing is sure, A 9 month old pregnancy has no hidding place.

Why dont you people rename Murtala Muhammed Airport to Holocust Airport

May the blood of those slain cry against the people and land of their murderers.
May they never know peace.
And may their generation become desolate.
Iseee!!

olabukola: Why dont you people rename Murtala Muhammed Airport to Holocust Airport

Dats why plane has been crashing at MMA vicinity cos MM is a murderer! Awolowo starvation is d reason u people are lavishly poor

Mod, pls move this thread to the front page, we need to knw why murtala muhammed a murderer is being honoured for commiting Genocide against fellow Nigerians.

let it be known to the whole world dat GENOCIDE was carried against biafrans by GOWON, AWOLOWO and MURTALA MUHAMED

I want to see no Red Cross, no Caritas, no World Council of Churches, no Pope, no missionary and no UN delegation. I want to prevent even one Ibo from having even one piece to eat before their capitulation. We shoot at everything that moves and when our troops march into the centre of Ibo territory, we shoot at everything even at things that do not move," (Benjamin Adekunle, Commander, 3rd Marine Commando Division, Nigerian Army to French radio reporter).

The boldened above butresses the extent the awolowo's starvation policy was implemented by dis satanic vegetable adekunle. posterity is judging dis country. One Nigeria!

i will tell these stories to my children and grand children both born and unborn! the truth will never be swept under d carpet. No justice, No peace!

WOW!
Does anybody want to refute those eye-witness accounts? And these motherfuckers with slick tongues who are too smart for their own good want to tell me that all hell will break loose because Chinua Achebe recalled what he lived through in his memoirs.
Bring it On!

Gowon, Awolowo and Murtala Muhamed must not escape Hague! weda dead or alive, these trio must be tried and punished for Genocide against humanity!

aryzgreat: LEST WE FORGET... THE GENOCIDE OF ASABA

greatest genocide in Africa’s history

Igbo and the word greatest! So Rwanda was a child's play?

D blood of the asaba victims are crying to high heavens, Nigeria will never know peace untill she takes responsibility for the ethnic cleansing and Genocide that followed

I wonder why Igbos were hated and still hated without any tangible reason by most Nigerians. I've researched for reasons but none has been heavy enough to justify the level of hate and envy. The comment made by that Adekunle disgusts me.

One of the key actors is still with us in Nigeria. He is Yakubu Gowon. He should just offer himself for trial at the Hague.

Yakubu Gowon already knows that His soul is cursed.
He is a Zombie- HOmo Mortus!
He better make an appearance on TV confessing
his sins and begging for the nation's forgiveness.
He should do that, instead of carrying Bible around like
he is an evangelist, when we all know that he cant sleep at night, even in JOS!

Threads such as this don't trend, they don't leave long.

Nigerians will prefer not to face the truth.

There was genocide, planned and professionally executed.

We need to call for a National Conference.

We need to renegotiate Nigeria.

The generation that fought the war are almost gone.

Let us not repeat their mistake.