"Dear Reader:

I have excerpted below an unpublished response (by one Mr. Lanre Banjo)
to an article titled "Igbo Leaders Vow Never to Fight for Yorubas, Fear
Another Betrayal" in a March issue of "The Nigerian Times" published
by Dr. Chika A. Onyeani of New York. The full article was recently
brought to my attention, and it is one of those revelatory articles which
I simply cannot but share with you, my beloved Netters ! My focus here
is not on the views of the author, (Banjo) but on the recorded conversation
between Awo and Ojukwu. This excerpt obviously can not be all of their
conversation, but the authenticity and information that this short
piece provides is there for us to judge.

----- stuff deleted ------

Enjoy it.

Bolaji Aluko


------------------------------- Begin Excerpt ------------------------
.........
........[STUFF DELETED].
.........
... Here is the true account of what took place as taken from scripts
of the discussion between Papa and Chief Ojukwu (the Ikemba). The
discussion was taped by the Ikemba and the recorder was captured after
Enugu fell.

On Saturday, May 6, 1967, at 5.15 pm, a meeting began to take place,
at the State House, Enugu, between the then Excellency, Lt. Col.
Odumegwu Ojukwu (the Ikemba) and a delegation of the National
Conciliation Committee (Committee) led by the most Honorable Chief
Obafemi Awolowo. The Committee was represented by Professor Samuel
Aluko, Chief Mariere, Chief J.I. Onyia, while the Eastern Region was
represented by Lt. Col Imo, Lt. Col Effiong, Lt. Col. Kurubo, Mr. C.O
Mojekwu, Mr. N.U. Akpan, Professor Eni Njoku, Dr. Nwakanma Okoro,
Dr. P.N.C. Okigbo, Mr. C.A. Onyegbale and Mr. Ndem with the Ikemba
presiding over the meeting. The names are listed for the purpose
of verification of facts presented herein below with those of them who
may still be alive..............
.......
Papa: The main concern of these delegates is to ensure that Nigeria
does not disintegrate, and I would like to see Nigeria bound
together by any bond because it is better than breaking the
whole place up because each unit will be the loser for it.
The economy of the country is so integrated that it is too late
in the day to try and sever them without risking the death of
one or both of them. So we have come, therefore, to appeal
to you to let Eastern representatives attend the meeting of
the Committee (ON-GOING NATIONAL CONCILIATION MEETING)
I do not want to put myself in a position where I will be treated
as an advocate of the Eastern cause. Let the Eastern delegates
go there, make their case and then as a member of the Committee
I will get up and say I support this entirely. If at the meeting
the East and West present what they want for a new Nigeria
whether temporarily or permanently, and the North says "no,
we are not going to have it", I will go out and address a
World Press Conference and send our case to that body and say
this is what we have done and the North has turned it down.
I will then take any step that is necessary to bring into effect
what we want. The North needed to be in a position of being
presented with the United front of the South.

Ikemba: I started off this struggle in July with 120 rifles to defend
the entirety of the East. I took my stand knowing fully well
that by doing so, whilst carving my name in history, I was
signing also my death warrant. But I took it because I believe
that this stand is vital to the survival of the South. I
appealed for settlement quietly because I understood that
this was a naked struggle for power and that the only time
we can sit down and decide the future of Nigeria on basis
of equality will always be equality of arms. Quietly, I
built up. If you do not know it, I am proud, and my officers
are proud, that here in the East we possess the biggest
army in Black Africa. I am no longer speaking as an underdog,
I am speaking from a position of power. The only
way for the
South to present a united front is for the South to meet and
hammer out that united front. It is a point which must be
cleared first before proceeding to make a statement of whatever
it is. That is why to my mind, at the present stage of the
crisis the ideal thing is for the Southern people to meet
in any platform and discuss and hammer out any difference
they might have because I will have nothing to do with the North.
Then going further, it would then mean that to do this the South
to meet; because if we wait for their permission, we will
wait for ever. On the specific question of whether there is
a possibility of contract with the North, the answer is at the
battle field.

Papa: I do appreciate the points you have made, especially the suggestion
the South could take the bull by the horns, convene a meeting
of its leaders and work out its salvation. Well, I must say
that a number of factors have been overlooked in this regard.
I would be quite willing to attend any meeting convened by the
leaders of the South in the South, but it must be realized
that we in the West are in a very difficult position. All the
members of the bodyguard of the Military Governor of the Western
Region were Northerners; there were over 36,000 soldiers in
the whole of the West, most of whom were Northerners, and all of
them carry arms..... I led a delegation to Lt. Col. Gowon on the
7th and at that interview I made it clear on behalf of the West
that if the soldiers of Northern origin were not removed from
the West we would not attend any further meetings of the Ad Hoc
Committee. He said he would do something, of course he did not.
We passed our resolution (THAT THE NORTHERN SOLDIERS SHOULD BE
REMOVED FROM THE WEST) and Col. Adebayo did very well and give
us certain Yoruba officers with whom to go and deliver the
petition to Lt. Col. Gowon. I did give him an ultimatum up
to the 15th of May to remove these Northern soldiers from the
West. Of course, he agreed to remove them by the 31st of May
but the time we returned to Ibadan Northern soldiers had taken
up arms and wanted to kill me, to kill Adebayo and all others.
Just now Adebayo does not sleep in his house. Somebody told
me that he has not been sleeping in his house. I know why they
put two policemen with two rifles in front of my house the other
day. Of course, I rang up and said I wanted them removed. There
were policemen in front of Sardauna's house but they did not save
him. The populace, of course, turned against the Northern
soldiers. I don't know why Adebayo should issue the release
that soldiers should not be taunted. But this is the way we
have been doing our quiet fighting. You are remote from the
West; you have advantages which we do not possess. We cannot
rush without rushing to our death at the same time. We are not
cowards in the West but we have to move cautiously, because if
we do not do that you might not have us alive; you would only
have monuments all over the place.
And I may say in this connection of Southern solidarity -- I am
sorry to go into what has happened in the past -- in 1953 there
was an understanding between the banned NCNC and the banned
Action Group; we entered into an agreement, which I hope we will
use sometime, to the effect that if the North remained intransigent
we would declare a Southern Dominion. This was signed by myself
and Zik and I still stand by it; but we prefer that you should
send your delegates to this meeting, so that we should, known
to everyone, enter into negotiations among ourselves and present
a common front to the North. Then nobody can accuse us of
conspiracy or trying to divide the country into two parts. I
want you to look at it from our point of view. If there were
no Northern soldiers in the West the position would be different.
And even if by the time I return home the Northern soldiers have
gone I still do not want to be accused of perfidy. The issue
at hand is not enough for us to say that we do not like the North.
That is a negative approach. I think a positive approach will
be for us to meet. Unity will last only if it is based on common
understanding among us and the basis will start at this meeting.
As I said before, I want you to give me a chance of meeting
your people regularly. Let us reolve our differences and
get what we want and quickly too.

Ikemba: If the reason is to get a platform for a meeting between the
Southern leaders, I agree very much that we should try and find
a platform and here we seem to be presented with a fait accompli.
The Southern leaders are here now, so the main thing is to go
on and discuss.

Papa: It will be something near fraud for us to sit down here and
discuss in terms of the South especially as this delegation was
sent here by a body consisting of the Northern delegation....

Ikemba: Now coming to the wider question of the East attending, if it
is a Reconciliation COmmittee then it must be reconciling warring
parties. A Reconciliation Committee can not have the parties
within, somehow, it does not work, unless, of course, they have
already agreed on the major issues, because reconciliation
is to stay in the middle of the warring parties. And one thing
is so clear in the Nigerian situation: certainly the North
and the East are warring. For any Reconciliation Committee to
do justice to the East, it should not have Easterners and
Northerners
in it. That is one point. How does the Reconciliation Committee
expect us to go to Lagos ? Can you, Sir, imagine Sir Kashim
Ibrahim coming to the East to meet and discuss ? The critical
point of the Eastern stand is that the East cannot go to any place
where there are Northern troops. That tells his own story.
The North has made it abundantly clear that no association
if they are not controlling the central machinery, is acceptable
to them. Even in the face of the resolutions of the South,
the Emirs, feudalist Emirs, had the audacity to dictate to the
South; first that they will not allow the Northern troops to leave
the West until they are satisfied that the West has got sufficient
troops.

Papa: You have talked about Easterners and Northerners trying to go to
the same meeting and bringing about reconciliation because they
are the two warring parties. I do not think the fight is between
the East and the North alone. It affects all other parts of the
country save that there is no quarrel between the East and the
West and Mid-West. The fight involves all of us. The West
at this moment, has its own complaints against the North. The fact
that we went there particularly so soon after my withdrawal
from the Ad Hoc Constitutional Committee, which I observed was
set up by the Federal Government to wage war against the East
instead of trying to put things in check, must assure you that
we are resolved to find a solution to this.
You have also spoken about Lagos or anywhere in the West as
unsafe for the Easterners to hold a meeting. Nobody can
tell when life will be lost, but I think, speaking the minds of
entire people of Western Nigeria and Mid-Western Nigeria, that if
anybody can at this stage take the life of an Ibo man or an
Easterner, or if any outstanding Eastern loses his life by the
act of someone else, the whole of the Western Region and the
Mid-Western Region will take it as the end of Nigeria. I
can give that assurance on behalf of Western Nigeria and Lagos."

[End of all the Awo-Ojukwu quotations in the excerpt - Mr. Lanre
Banjo continues:]

This meeting was concluded on Sunday, 7th of May at about 2.15 pm with the
hope to reconvene and with the Ikemba maintaining that the South must
first meet. Before I go further, it would be noted that the Ikemba's view
was maintained due to hindsight (sic: LACK OF FORESIGHT). First, Papa
has just been released from prison for a charge of treasonable felony.
Secondly, he was in Enugu representing the Nigerian National Conciliation
Committee. How could Ikemba expect him to chage and focus on Southern
plan of pulling out of Nigeria ? Papa was more principled than that.
Even prior to his meeting with the Ikemba, he had been falsely accused
of having teamed up with the Ikemba in his campaign against the Federal
Military Government by being in regular touch with him by phone calls
and personal visits to Enugu, to perfect their joint plans. That he had
been sending Professor Aluko and others to Enugu for illegal guerrilla
training. Given this situation, a sudden change to discuss how the South
will unite against the North will definitely confirm the dreadful
and blatant accusations already levelled against him............."

Comment reserved

Papa: You have talked about Easterners and Northerners trying to go to
the same meeting and bringing about reconciliation because they
are the two warring parties. I do not think the fight is between
the East and the North alone. It affects all other parts of the
country save that there is no quarrel between the East and the
West and Mid-West. The fight involves all of us. The West
at this moment, has its own complaints against the North. The fact
that we went there particularly so soon after my withdrawal
from the Ad Hoc Constitutional Committee, which I observed was
set up by the Federal Government to wage war against the East
instead of trying to put things in check, must assure you that
we are resolved to find a solution to this.
You have also spoken about Lagos or anywhere in the West as
unsafe for the Easterners to hold a meeting. Nobody can
tell when life will be lost, but I think, speaking the minds of
entire people of Western Nigeria and Mid-Western Nigeria, that if
anybody can at this stage take the life of an Ibo man or an
Easterner, or if any outstanding Eastern loses his life by the
act of someone else, the whole of the Western Region and the
Mid-Western Region will take it as the end of Nigeria. I
can give that assurance on behalf of Western Nigeria and Lagos."

....smh

@op, you said ojukwu did d recording, he probably was saying all he was saying just to get awo to talk since d stuff's being recorded...so you don't have d real talk

Ojukwu didn't record. These aren't his accounts.

And now ACN is using Fashola's name and success to link to CPC so that all can be under Buhari and you want to tell me the north is ruling because of the amount of states it has?
Every change the west gets it betrays the rest of the south and leaves all of us under northern dominion.
every. single. chance.

and the westerners that fight against it
Soyinka
Fela

are jailed, beaten and killed by other northerners, but no region outside of the north has had more of it's leaders jailed and murdered by northerners
yet they're still talking about Igbos. Wonders

Ikengawo:
Papa: You have talked about Easterners and Northerners trying to go to
the same meeting and bringing about reconciliation because they
are the two warring parties. I do not think the fight is between
the East and the North alone. It affects all other parts of the
country save that there is no quarrel between the East and the
West and Mid-West. The fight involves all of us. The West
at this moment, has its own complaints against the North. The fact
that we went there particularly so soon after my withdrawal
from the Ad Hoc Constitutional Committee, which I observed was
set up by the Federal Government to wage war against the East
instead of trying to put things in check, must assure you that
we are resolved to find a solution to this.
You have also spoken about Lagos or anywhere in the West as
unsafe for the Easterners to hold a meeting. Nobody can
tell when life will be lost, but I think, speaking the minds of
entire people of Western Nigeria and Mid-Western Nigeria, that if
anybody can at this stage take the life of an Ibo man or an
Easterner, or if any outstanding Eastern loses his life by the
act of someone else, the whole of the Western Region and the
Mid-Western Region will take it as the end of Nigeria. I
can give that assurance on behalf of Western Nigeria and Lagos."

Ikengawo:

....smh

Either youre being unbelievably deceptive or youre just as uneducated as I suppose you are and have a problem comprehending the english language. I'll say both.

The same paragraph you quoted basically has Chief Awolowo assuring the Easterners of their safety if they ventured to the West, Mid-West or Lagos to attend any dialogue with the North so that war could be avoided. So, what dont you understand about it and why are you shaking your head like a lizard?

Dude, you need to get rid of your unnecessary hate so you can start seeing things for what they are, only then will you be able to think rationally.

[b]Obviously Awolowo was a brilliant politician with all the tact required to lead a bloodless revolution which Oju Iku failed to see. How can you, for the love of Christ, start a battle you so badly lack the capabilities to sustain?

Oju Iku demonstrated cowardice by fearing to meet in the west and despite being a military officer, he failed to understand the art of war. I wonder how someone will call an Awolowo who requested that his security be withdrawn, a coward. Didn't Oju Iku himself flee, dispossessing innocent women and children of their planned flight to safety? That is cowardice at its worst - running from a battle you initiated and taking advantage of the weak

And let it be clear to all you ranting folks, that the Yorubas have never been and never will be subservient to the north. The Yoruba is the only nation in Nigeria with a distinct identity, the only region that has been vocal and bold even in the face of imprisonment and death in modern Nigeria, the only race that has proved that it cannot and will not stand a day of mediocrity in governance, the only people with a clearly defined ideology of what they want from a united or divided Nigeria irrespective of their religious differences.

Obviously a united south will be place in a better position to deal with the north but what Oju Iku failed to realize is that wars are not won on the battlefields but in meeting rooms. [/b]

This thread is awfully quiet now that Achebe as been proven right.

Ikengawo: And now ACN is using Fashola's name and success to link to CPC so that all can be under Buhari and you want to tell me the north is ruling because of the amount of states it has?
Every change the west gets it betrays the rest of the south and leaves all of us under northern dominion.
every. single. chance.

and the westerners that fight against it
Soyinka
Fela

are jailed, beaten and killed by other northerners, but no region outside of the north has had more of it's leaders jailed and murdered by northerners
yet they're still talking about Igbos. Wonders

If Yoruba leaders are jailed by northerners, why is it your headache? Frankly, you only get attention from Yorubas because of your unending cry about Biafra.

channel 190: I'd never fantasied politics section, but not when u talk in ignorance.
You are the war leader and all your border army are dying of hunger, they tried by eating Dogs, fly and anything that comes their way...and finally those you trusted betrayed you and ur enemies enters your cycle...what do you, stand and fight, fight to waste other bloods in a failed battle?

[size=18pt]He called off the war and ran away[/size].

Only cowards do that real warlords fight to the end.

Name one respected warlord who fled warfront

channel 190: I'd never fantasied politics section, but not when u talk in ignorance.
You are the war leader and all your border army are dying of hunger, they tried by eating Dogs, fly and anything that comes their way...and finally those you trusted betrayed you and ur enemies enters your cycle...what do you, stand and fight, fight to waste other bloods in a failed battle?

He called off the war and ran away.

Yeah, you quite right when you wrote "He ran away"...........like a mofo sis.sy but as per calling off the war, he did no such thing.

In Madiebo's (GOC of the biafran army) book, he stated how oju-iku unambiguously told gen. effiong, minutes before he deserted his people to their fate and

impending doom, "to keep it up".

I wonder what he expected Effiong to keep up? prolly his man.hood or could it be the dumb and gratuitous war

dayokanu:

Only cowards do that real warlords fight to the end.

Name one respected HEROIC warlord who fled warfront...................dressed like an ugly bearded tranny.

Oju-iku -the late (& good riddance too), ikemba of Nnewi.

Yes oooooooooooh, we lost the war but we gained Lagos. ONE NEJIRA. You all stop by my store to buy some water because I know you all must be very thirsty from running your oilly mouths all day.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/789775_Ojukwu_getting_ready_to_run_jpg967aeb75e390ca75377ad019b3c9fae5

d

Ikengawo: And now ACN is using Fashola's name and success to link to CPC so that all can be under Buhari and you want to tell me the north is ruling because of the amount of states it has?
Every change the west gets it betrays the rest of the south and leaves all of us under northern dominion.
every. single. chance.

and the westerners that fight against it
Soyinka
Fela

are jailed, beaten and killed by other northerners, but no region outside of the north has had more of it's leaders jailed and murdered by northerners
yet they're still talking about Igbos. Wonders

Yoruba cant betray you, we are not brothers in the first place. an anambra man can betray IMO man, osun man can betray ekiti man. Ogun can't betray anambra.

lagcity:
Yoruba cant betray you, we are not brothers in the first place. an anambra man can betray IMO man, osun man can betray ekiti man. Ogun can't betray anambra.

Imagine a Russian or Iranian claiming an American betrayed him

Or Israeli claiming that Palestinian betrayed them

dayokanu: Is it not ironic that the same Ojuku who was bragging about war when they brought war to his backyard he fled to Abidjan

No wonder Igbos a re genetic cowards

There is a YouTube video of ojukwu telling ibos not to ever think of war again. Nuff said, the first one was a mistake by igbos but they can't admit it.

Collins93304: Yes oooooooooooh, we lost the war but we gained Lagos. ONE NEJIRA. You all stop by my store to buy some water because I know you all must be very thirsty from running your oilly mouths all day.

Where is your store so that I can get my Yoruba paws on you? The news headline will read: Yoruba man punches okoro to death, fellow okoros threatens to declare biafra on January 5, yet again. You ppl are loud for nothing. November 5 my black nyash

dayokanu:

Imagine a Russian or Iranian claiming an American betrayed him

Or Israeli claiming that Palestinian betrayed them

.

It is an unfortunate war.
However, the young man with all youthful exuberances who bullied the older folks like achebe into an unplanned war remained their hero.
While they live their deliverance in the hand of others.(At least they thought Yoruba would have co-operated with them not on mutual term but on theirs).
Every man has a right to his decision but you can not force others to go your own way.
However, the young officer discarded the voice of reason only to come back later saying it is someone else.
Bible said, who is the man who wants to build a house, who would not first take account of its cost?
Even catholics knows this story, not to mention the pentecostals.

The source of the tragedy of Biafra is clear from your comments.
In reading that piece you did not see how Pa Awo demonstrated the "reality" of the situation in the West?
I guess bravery in your world is starting a war that you are sure to lose, especially when the negotiating route has not been exhausted?

You did not see how Ojukwu boasted about his "biggest" army - even as he admitted he was not ready?
Someone that started with 120 rifles was claiming to have the biggest army in Black Africa and negotiating from a position of power only a year or so later?
Did what the sage foresaw not end up happening to the "brave" Ojukwu?
As is very clear from the thinking always displayed by Biafrans on this forum, Ojukwu overrated his capabilities.

Perhaps he was an actual believer or merely a boaster it is not easy to know, but either way such approach to matters of life and death is dangerous.
As I have said before - many of you "Biafran" descendants have learnt no lessons - and you just proved it once