Lonewolf: The underlying message is not an eulogy to nameless 'thugs' as u say but rather an identification(not sympathy) of the cause or ideology behind them , Nigeria as we know it now is not yet a complete project and without realising learning lessons from past events,the nation has no hope of solving current ones or preventing similar isues from happening. Niger Delta is a region where the young are already been given a re-orientation with regards to their existence in Nigeria and i think the angst of not having a good future is foundation for something horribly worse in the future.

Ibime:

I dont need to provide that. It is well evidenced and quoted by all minority leaders of the former Eastern region as a reason for their defection to Nigeria. At the time, Niger-Deltans were pandering after the creation of Rivers State. That was the biggest thing on their agenda as they felt marginalised by Enugu. Nigeria was already under Federalism before Ironsi, and they asked Ojukwu for a Rivers State under federalism, not controlled explicitly from Enugu and were refused. There is copious evidence on the internet if you care to look.

  This is just a lie that has been repeated several times and in the process, has become a truth. In all the civil war reflections, there have never been any Ijaw who said he was at that meeting with Ojukwu when he refused to yield to minority request of autonomy.

Andre Uweh:

This is just a lie that has been repeated several times and in the process, has become a truth. In all the civil war reflections, there have never been any Ijaw who said he was at that meeting with Ojukwu when he refused to yield to minority request of autonomy.

You can believe what you want. . . . as of May 1967, Gowon had already split the nation into 12 states. . . . Ojukwu opposed this move, and made no move to make similar concessions to the minorities. . . at this point, Igbos would argue that Gowons move was a political bribe (which it was), but the agitation for the creation of Rivers State had been going on for several years before the war and a simple respect of these minority wishes by Ojukwu would have bought their alliance. . . . .if as you claim, that Ojukwu never held any such meetings, then that is the height of arrogance on his part. . . . .but I have read in several places that meetings were held.

naijaking1:

@Ibime
Thanks for your nice description of the Eleme/Okirika neighbourhood.

I have never understood how you think Ojukwu could have delt with a splinter Ijaw, Ogoni, Onitsha groups demanding autonomy while other Ijaw, Ogoni, Onitsha men and women were actively engaged on the battle front. You have not even shown that the majority of Ijaw people at the time in question supported Boro, yet you're looking back 42 years after the fact and insisting that Ojukwu lost the alliance of Ijaws, becasue he refused to discuss autonomy?. Many Ijaw people were in the Biafran govenement, why should Boro have been treated in any special way?

First of all, before you declare Biafra, you make sure that everyone is onside. . . . contrast this with the Hausa approach to the counter-coup where Murtala Mohammed and the rest of them were patient enough to wait until they had all the facilities in place before striking. . . . Ojukwu was a strategic novice in comparison to Murtala Mohammed. . . . you make it sound as if Ojukwu had to hold several exhaustive consultative meetings with different factions and time would not allow him to do so. . . . . this is not correct. . . .there was already a commission for the devolution of Rivers State, comprising Saro-Wiwa, Elechi Amadi and several Ijaw leaders. . . they all spoke with one voice, and Ojukwu did not need to tour the whole region in an exhaustive process of building alliance. . . . all it took was one agreement, which wasnt forthcoming. . . . this was what led to the so-called betrayal of Biafra to Nigeria who had promised them the ability to control their own affairs.

Ibime:


(1.) With regard to the bolded part, I think your faulty knowledge of Rivers State geography hinders your argument.

Firstly, Eleme refinery is in Okrika and nowhere near Port Harcourt or even Eleme town. My village house is directly opposite Eleme Refinery (which is situated in a land called Samanga) and all my neighbours are Okrikans drawn mostly from Kalio village which is also opposite the refinery and Ogan village which is a little further away. THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE ELEME MAN LIVING NEXT TO THE REFINERY. Right on the left hand side of the refinery is Okrika Grammar school. Eleme town itself is 20 minutes drive from the refinery. I do not know who called the refinery Eleme refinery and have never cared to ask. If as you say, Adaka-Boro was in Eleme refinery area, then his command must have been preparing an assault on Kirike Town, which is a 5 minute walk across the bridge. Adaka-Boro was killed in Kirike Town, as part of his duties, not because he branched off back into Kirike. You cannot branch off into somewhere which is only 5 minutes away. 3rd Marine Brigade were the ones who attacked Kirike which was under Biafran occupation at the time and shortly after this time, Boro was killed. I can divulge further anecdotes about the Nigerian invasion of Kirike cos my father was in Kirike at the time, but lets just leave it there for now.


(2.) Suddenly attracted war of attrition? Come on now, dont play chess with me. Ojukwu declared Biafra in May 1967, after which he had time to fly to Ghana to draw up the Aburi accord with Gowon and hold several other consultative meetings, but had no time to draw up a similar accord with minorities of the former Eastern Region? No constitution, no memorandum of agreement, and not even a verbal promise in the 2 months that elapsed before the start of the war proper? You cannot be serious. This is another strategic and tactical mistake on the part of Ojukwu to go along with all the other tactical mistakes that you believe he made.

(3.) As I have said, fair treatment of minorities in Biafra cannot be assumed under a wishy-washy approach to fair play. The fact that Ijaw men were in the Biafran army is not a signal of mutual cooperation when at the same time, all calls for an agreement to protect the autonomy of minorities are summarily dismissed. Besides, I expect all soldiers in Biafra to occupy positions based on the heirarchy of the former Nigerian army, and I expect Bayelsa State to produce top members of the Biafran military as Bayelsa State have always had a strong presence in the Nigerian army.

(4.) This contradicts your statement on the Ken Saro-Wiwa thread that Adaka-Boro was nothing but a ragtag militant who had little or no effect during the war. The likes of OBJ wrote in his book that Boro's brigade was the most effective brigade in the Niger-Delta and the Niger-Delta could not have been captured without Boro.

Please understand that I was born and raised within that neighbor too. Who referenced Eleme refinery? I think the first sentence in my post clearly stated Okirika Refinery Jetty. I did not know that Eleme is Okirika instead of Ogoni. However, the information open to me had maintained that Eleme or Tai Eleme is one of the four communities or local governments that made up Ogoni including Gokana, Kana and Bori. Again, in military parlance, the final assault on the Port Harcourt was readied by the capture of Obigbo, Eleme, Afam and Okirika.

Of course, the Brigade commanded by Adaka Boro was ill-trained, not up to Brigade strength sea-school-boys, indiscipline social misfits and never captured an inch of real estate from the Biafrans. The main function of the Brigade was scouting because some of boys in the Brigade knew the terrain of the area, especially the creeks, at the back of their hands.

Ibime, I would want you to, at least, give example while you are on the mission of throwing wild accusations and innuendos, especially about the defections of Ijo leaders. To date, the only Ijo leader that defected to Nigeria side was Lt. Col. George Korubo. Even when he defected for the same personal reason that saw Lt. Col H. Njoku ended up in Biafran prison, he remained Biafran in spirit. If Njoku had been Ijo man, you would have invoked his spirit to support your skewed argument.

Dede1:

To date, the only Ijo leader that defected to Nigeria side was Lt. Col. George Korubo. Even when he defected for the same personal reason that saw Lt. Col H. Njoku ended up in Biafran prison, he remained Biafran in spirit. If Njoku had been Ijo man, you would have invoked his spirit to support your skewed argument.     

Can you please elaborate on Korubo and Njokus defection? I am unfamiliar with their story and why they defected.

Besides that, I have always maintained that the creation of Rivers State was the dividing line between the likes of Adaka-Boro, Elechi Amadi, Sao-wiwa and Biafra.

Ibime:

Can you please elaborate on Korubo and Njokus defection? I am unfamiliar with their story and why they defected.

Besides that, I have always maintained that the creation of Rivers State was the dividing line between the likes of Adaka-Boro, Elechi Amadi, Sao-wiwa and Biafra.

Njoku did not defect because he was the son of Ikeduru near Owerri. However, my source informed that the defection of Korubo and the imprisonment of Njoku precipitated from the arguments both senior army officers had with Ojukwu over the decentralization of Biafran military chain of command and government functionaries.

I am not sure about Korubo’s seniority to Ojukwu but Njoku was certainly Ojukwu’s senior in the army. It must be recalled that George, ex-student of Government College, Umuahia, was the first easterner to graduate from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom.

As for that goofy Elemchi Amadi, he was only as good as a school teacher when he resigned his Nigerian army commission and ran back to eastern region of Nigeria in 1967. Please do not mention his name among Biafran leaders. The highest he rose in Biafra was a high school acting principal.

Ibime:

You can believe what you want. . . . as of May 1967, Gowon had already split the nation into 12 states. . . . Ojukwu opposed this move, and made no move to make similar concessions to the minorities. . . at this point, Igbos would argue that Gowons move was a political bribe (which it was), but the agitation for the creation of Rivers State had been going on for several years before the war and a simple respect of these minority wishes by Ojukwu would have bought their alliance. . . . .if as you claim, that Ojukwu never held any such meetings, then that is the height of arrogance on his part. . . . .but I have read in several places that meetings were held.

For too long now, you have carried on about how Ojukwu refused  to "respect" minorities as a reason some Ijaw personalties sabotaging Biafra, but you don't really have any evidence to show that this pivotal reason you have proferred many times is indeed true. Forget about unsubstantiated stories from 'elders', you don't have any other evidence. It's quite a shame.

First of all, before you declare Biafra, you make sure that everyone is onside. . . . contrast this with the Hausa approach to the counter-coup where Murtala Mohammed and the rest of them were patient enough to wait until they had all the facilities in place before striking. . . . Ojukwu was a strategic novice in comparison to Murtala Mohammed. . . . you make it sound as if Ojukwu had to hold several exhaustive consultative meetings with different factions and time would not allow him to do so. . . . . this is not correct. . . .there was already a commission for the devolution of Rivers State, comprising Saro-Wiwa, Elechi Amadi and several Ijaw leaders. . . they all spoke with one voice, and Ojukwu did not need to tour the whole region in an exhaustive process of building alliance. . . . all it took was one agreement, which wasnt forthcoming. . . . this was what led to the so-called betrayal of Biafra to Nigeria who had promised them the ability to control their own affairs.

Once again, even if there was a disagreement in eastern Nigeria, just like there was in northern, and western Nigeria, making untainable demands on the region at that cucial time was simply blackmail.

From the ancient Roman and Greek empires, to the WWII, nations; even those with significant minority populations always wither the external invasion together, and later come back to their natural disagreements. I had earlier given an example of the Scottish guard who demanded gold from British invaders, but also remember that despite the struggle of the Irish and Scotish against the English, they--the Irish never joined forces with Hitler(despite many attempts-overtly and covertly) during the WWII.

An opportunistic and myopic Ijaw leader like Adaka Boro would have fallen for such a cheap trick. The story is same in Spain, where the Basque separatist continued fighting with Franco(at least openly). The US civil war the same. The examples are so many, and I don't understand why the so-called Ijaw leaders never took a page from history.

Dede1:

Njoku did not defect because he was the son of Ikeduru near Owerri. However, my source informed that the defection of Korubo and the imprisonment of Njoku precipitated from the arguments both senior army officers had with Ojukwu over the decentralization of Biafran military chain of command and government functionaries.

I am not sure about Korubo’s seniority to Ojukwu but Njoku was certainly Ojukwu’s senior in the army. It must be recalled that George, ex-student of Government College, Umuahia, was the first easterner to graduate from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom.

As for that goofy Elemchi Amadi, he was only as good as a school teacher when he resigned his Nigerian army commission and ran back to eastern region of Nigeria in 1967. Please do not mention his name among Biafran leaders. The highest he rose in Biafra was a high school acting principal.

People from PH division were not the only group to question Ojukwu, back home in Onitsha, officers like Ifeajuna fell out with the man, as did many other Onitsha indegines like Araka.

So, in addition to Njoku, other Biafrans questioned Ojukwu; so the treachery from Ijaw people was not certainly because Ojukwu somehow specifically disrespected them.

Disagreements, coups and counter-coups are characterisctics of any wartime, just ask Hitler---who survived as many as 49 assasination attempts by Germans who disagreed with him. Yet, no splinter group ever came out of Germany to claim that they changed loyalty because Hitler refused to yield to their demands while the war was going on.

Dede1:

However, my source informed that the defection of Korubo and the imprisonment of Njoku precipitated from the arguments both senior army officers had with Ojukwu over the decentralization of Biafran military chain of command and government functionaries.

I am not surprised . . . . . Ojukwu was never any good at "de-centralising" anything

naijaking1:

For too long now, you have carried on about how Ojukwu refused  to "respect" minorities as a reason some Ijaw personalties sabotaging Biafra, but you don't really have any evidence to show that this pivotal reason you have proferred many times is indeed true. Forget about unsubstantiated stories from 'elders', you don't have any other evidence. It's quite a shame.

Why should I provide evidence to a lazy researcher like you:


http://www.kwenu.com/lectures/davidwest_gamji.htm


There is no question whatsoever that the creation (or the tactfully carving out) of the Rivers State and the then South Eastern State contributed tremendously to the eventual dismantling of “Biafra.”

These two “strategic states” were created by Gowon on May 27, 1967.He tactfully beat Ojukwu by only three days for Ojukwu’s formal declaration of secession, which he did at two a.m. on May 30, 1967.

In his book “Gowon” J. Isawa Eliagwu agreed that “there is no doubt that it was partially aimed at diluting support for secession…. One of the results of the creation of states was the neutralization of support for secession…. In addition it robbed the [Igbo] of the oil they had hoped would be an asset to the new Republic (of Biafra).”

Ojukwu was so disconcerted and piqued he condemned May 27, 1967 as the “darkest dark in the history of freedom and respect for human beings.”

After the creation of states their (Ijaws, Efiks, and Ibibios) able young men enlisted in the Federal Armed Forces in their hundreds; most outstanding among these was Major Isaac Adaka Boro, a celebrated young undergraduate Ijaw activist freedom fighter.




http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1203093

"On 27 May, the consultative Assembly of the Eastern Region announced its decision to establish an independent state to be called the Republic of Biafra. Gowon responded to that announcement by creating twelve states. The minority in the Eastern Region were given two states: the South-Eastern and Rivers State. The north was carved into six new states, the Mid-West remained as it was while the west lost a slice of its southern section to the federal capital to make Lagos state. It reduced the power of the majority ethnic groups, gave the minorities a place in the sun at last and was as one writer put it, "the third coup" On May 30, 1967, Ojukwu proclaimed that the territory and region known as Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelves and territorial waters shall henceforth be an independent sovereign state by the name and title of the republic of Biafra.
"





The Niger-Delta remains the prize (or pawn), over which Nigeria fights. Ojukwus attitude to the right of Rivers indigenes to determine their own future was always hostile. Perhaps a meeting took place, perhaps not. Whatever the case, we all know Ojukwus response to minorities call for a say in their own affairs.

@Ibime
The question or evidence I asked you is not about the creation of the 12 states, or Gowon wartime strategies, it's an evidence that Ojukwu singled out Ijaw people, disrespected them and drove them into betraying their people. So far , nothing from you, you smart researcher

the choices Isaac Boro made is why the Niger-Delta is where it is today

If you think the Niger-Delta is great as it is then Boro is a hero

but if you think the Niger-Delta has been deprived of equal share of resources then Isaac Boro made the wrong choices and will not be at sleep wherever he is.

naijaking1:

@Ibime
The question or evidence I asked you is not about the creation of the 12 states, or Gowon wartime strategies, it's an evidence that Ojukwu singled out Ijaw people, disrespected them and drove them into betraying their people. So far , nothing from you, you smart researcher

Ibime is showing sign of desperation in his attempt to mute history or skew facts.

There is no question that Ijo defection to Nigerian side was treacherous as it could be. By the same token, we must not fail to include the Efik as the sell-out artists like the Ijo.

The raising of state creation by Gowon as a trump-card for the massive support the Ijo gave to Nigeria side is very lame. How about the Ogoni, Ibibio and Annag people?  Despite the creation of Cross River State and Rivers State, the leadership of these ethnicities supported Biafra to the end.

In fact, the support the Ijo gave to Nigerian vandals remains a nemesis but the greed that led to the confiscation of the properties that belong to Ndigbo in Port Harcourt will forever remain a scar on the palm of Ndigbo

I remain disappointed, because Ibime seems to be one of the most articulated posters on Niger Delta issue after maybe Ono, but for him to fall so flatly on his his face on this important issue is very disheartening.
Until we get to a point where some people would openly and bravely say" I was wrong", we would never really move on as people God created on the eastern side of the Niger in Nigeria.
"Celebrating" the lives of traitors like Adaka Boro in an attempt to re-write history is exactly the wrong move towards reconcilliation.

mikeansy:

the choices Isaac Boro made is why the Niger-Delta is where it is today

If you think the Niger-Delta is great as it is then Boro is a hero

but if you think the Niger-Delta has been deprived of equal share of resources then Isaac Boro made the wrong choices and will not be at sleep wherever he is.

Good summary

naijaking1:

I remain disappointed, because Ibime seems to be one of the most articulated posters on Niger Delta issue after maybe Ono, but for him to fall so flatly on his his face on this important issue is very disheartening.
Until we get to a point where some people would openly and bravely say" I was wrong", we would never really move on as people God created on the eastern side of the Niger in Nigeria.
"Celebrating" the lives of traitors like Adaka Boro in an attempt to re-write history is exactly the wrong move towards reconcilliation.

You could not be more right.

Still waiting for Ibime to come back from his sabbatical, and blow us away with his research findings

@ Naijaking and @ Dede1

I feel irritated each time I see Biafra fanatics like you blaming the Ijaws for your misery. First and foremost, we are not your Igbo brothers as you guys keep claiming. Our dialects are not the same, our cultures are very different so what unites us? Oil/petro dolllars  abi?

For your info, its the oil and the access to the seas we had that was key to the Biafran project! Biafra without the Niger Delta is a landlocked country existing within the confines of the Nigerian state so the crook Ojukwu really needed the minorities at the time MORE than they needed him. You asking the Ijaw to support the Biafran state was like asking them to change slave masters.

Isaac Adaka Boro is a hero. Ojukwu is a coward. After killing thousands of innocent igbos especially women and children in his mad quest for power, Is it not the same man who wanted to split Nigeria that has been fighting to rule the very country (NIGERIA) he fought to split for years. And you call Boro a criminal, then OJUKWU is worse and desrves to be hanged.

The Ijaws were very clever and smarter than you guys folks, because they knew where their priorities lie and what they wanted. You guys keep talking about BIAFRA as if it would have been heaven. What the militants and Niger Deltan activists have been fighting for is VERY MUCH different to OJUKWU's philosophy till date. It might take years but we would get there.

I know it is people lyk you guys that have been foolishly lining Nwazuruike's pocket over the BIAFRA dream he hopes to project in recent times. That guy lives in my area and has lots of houses today in Lagos thanks to d BIAFRAN project. I get tired of seeing Igbos roam the street of Lagos shouting BIAFRA, BIAFRA yet they have no single business investments in their regions.

What the militants are preaching today is simply resource control. Stop the MILKING of the wealth of the NIGER DELTA region to feed the fat cow called NIGERIA. Let all states generate their incomes with the rsources they have and spend from it. This is simply different from the Politics of leadership that ojukwu decided to play by cooking up Biafra.

The Ijaws are not Igbos so please stop grouping us together. They are the 4th largest tribe in Nigeria today and are not looking for masters so ari beebe mene teri (simply means keep quiet in Ijaw).

At a checkpoint at what used to be the middle of the runway,

heavily armed and grim-looking soldiers search passing vehicles and

people for weapons and signs of membership of the Movement for the

Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, which since 1999

has been trying to revive the campaign for independence in

south-eastern Nigeria.Flights into the Uga air strip, deep in a

forest belt, helped sustain for 30 months the first, failed attempt

by the main Igbo ethnic group of this region to create an

independent Biafra Republic between 1967-1970.Between one million

and three million people are estimated to have died, mostly through

starvation, in a war that drew international attention.Even today,

"Biafra" and "hunger" are linked in the minds of many around the

world who may not even know where the fighting took place.STRIKING

A CHORD MASSOB, led by 48-year-old lawyer Ralph Uwazurike, has

struck chords among many Igbo - but most of them are too young to

have witnessed the horrors of Biafra.Clashes between federal

security forces and MASSOB militants, though, have rekindled fear

among Igbos who remember the war.Igbos claim they have been treated

like second-class citizens and discriminated against since their

defeat in the civil war."It is not an accident that no Igbo man has

been at the top in the military or security services since the end

of the war despite our large population," said 25-year-old MASSOB

activist, Uche Okpala."Everything done in Nigeria by the powers

that be is done to our disadvantage," he said."So we might as well

have our separate country since we're not wanted in

Nigeria."President Olusegun Obasanjo's government has not hidden

its concern at the growing influence of the estimated two

million-strong MASSOB, among the most vociferous of several

separatist movements increasingly questioning the unity of Africa's

most populous country.Uwazurike was arrested last year and, along

with other ethnic and militia leaders, currently faces trial for

treason.Uwazurike's followers have grown increasingly militant

since his arrest.Street clashes with the police have grown more

frequent across south-eastern Nigeria, claiming dozens of

lives.Witnesses have reported the emergence of arms-bearing cadres

of MASSOB in recent times despite the group's claim of

non-violence.Troops were ordered in against the group in July as

violent clashes between the separatists and police in the city of

Onitsha spilled over into surrounding rural towns, including

Uga.Soldiers working with police have restored a semblance of order

following what rights groups and residents described as a

heavy-handed crackdown.But tension remains high as the soldiers fan

out into rural communities like Uga in search of MASSOB

members.ETHNICITY Igbos are one of the three biggest of Nigeria's

more than 250 ethnic groups.The Igbos, the Hausa-Fulani of the

north and the Yoruba of the southwest number each number more than

40 million in a country cccprone to cracking along ethnic and

religious lines.When military officers, most of them Igbo, toppled

a northern-dominated civilian government six years after

independence in 1966, it set off a bitter, ethnic power struggle.In

the political violence that followed an estimated 50 000 Igbos were

massacred in northern cities and the Igbo military officer leading

the government was toppled and killed by northern

officers.Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, who had been appointed military

governor of the southeast after the first coup, refused to

recognise the new, northern-dominated military government.Backed by

aggrieved fellow Igbos, he declared an independent state of Biafra,

named after the Bight of Biafra, the Atlantic bay in the region's

south.While Ojukwu's secession was declared in the heat of the

passion that followed the events of the 1960s, Uwazurike's MASSOB

began with non-violent protests against perceived

discrimination.Despite government promises of national

reconciliation, no Igbo has risen to the top of the military or the

police since the Biafra war ended and the region appears to have

benefited less from infrastructure development when compared to the

north and the southwest.Uwazurike, the MASSOB leader, considers

Ojukwu his personal hero and inspiration.There are Igbos who fear

the separatist stance stirs the suspicions of other ethnic groups,

and could bring military reprisals."Anybody who is talking of

Biafra needs to have his head examined," said Sylvester Obi, a

62-year-old retired civil engineer and resident of Uga.During the

war, Uga was the target of daily air raids by the Nigerian air

force.In Onitsha, the entire Fegge district, considered a MASSOB

stronghold, was emptied of its estimated 30 000 residents for

several weeks in August following rumours the military planned to

bombard the place after repeated clashes there with

separatists.People only returned after the local governor went on

radio and television to reassure them of their safety, said Fegge

resident Emeka Ahurudike."When some MASSOB members attempted to

reopen their office in Fegge they were attacked by an angry mob,"

said Ahurudike.Two separatists were killed by the war-weary mob, he

said.The separatist unrest feeds into other volatile currents that

have been heating up across Nigeria in recent years.The nation is

even more unsettled these days because general elections planned

for next year mean politicians are more likely to play up ethnic

and other divisions in hopes of building support.VOLATILE In the

nearby Niger delta oil region, militancy is growing among the Ijaw

ethnic group.Attacks on oil installations and hostage-taking

targeting oil workers have cut more than a quarter of Nigeria's oil

production this year.Oil had partly fuelled the civil war in the

late 1960s after then rebel leader Ojukwu included the delta's oil

fields in Biafra.But the ethnic minorities in the delta, fearing

Igbo domination, did not back Biafra.Now, both the majority Igbo

and the minority groups of the entire oil-producing southeast,

including the Niger Delta, share a common feeling of having been

oppressed by federal might.Demands in the southeast range from

greater local control of power and wealth to outright

secession.MASSOB claims the entire oil-rich Niger Delta as part of

its proposed Biafra territory.Ojukwu, an Oxford-trained historian,

spent 13 years in exile after the war and returned after a pardon,

publicly committed to a united Nigeria.He leads the All Progressive

Grand Alliance, a political party that has been successful in the

region.While often stressing he is not a member of MASSOB, the

72-year-old Ojukwu does not distance himself from its

aspirations.He told reporters recently: "Biafra is always an

alternative

MASSOB claims the entire oil-rich Niger Delta as part of its proposed Biafra territory.
That is a big problem which can and will never happen.

@informed
You're so uniformed. For the many Ijaw people who fought to defend their eastern Nigerian homeland, just like the Igbos, they're brothers. For people like you and Adaka Boro the hangman's noose await you at the hands of Ndigbo or better still at the hands of your Hausa brothers.

bombay:

MASSOB claims the entire oil-rich Niger Delta as part of its proposed Biafra territory.
That is a big problem which can and will never happen.

Are you confusing Igbo people with MASSOB? This organization was not there in the 1960s, so how could they have influenced Biafran affairs

@ Informed,

Pls tone it down.

naijaking1:

@Ibime
The question or evidence I asked you is not about the creation of the 12 states, or Gowon wartime strategies, it's an evidence that Ojukwu singled out Ijaw people, disrespected them and drove them into betraying their people. So far , nothing from you, you smart researcher

Your problem is that you reason with your emotions too much. This is politics my friend, so no need to blackmail Ijaws with an "us" vs "them" scenario. You claim Ijaw betrayed their region, but if you had known anything of politics at the time, you would know that Ijaws, Ogonis etc saw the region as a political contraption, much the same way as we see Nigeria as a contraption today. . . . . it was in the interest of these minorities to break off the shackles of Enugu and its something they have been agitating for since 1960. . . . The British Government advised Gowon to finally accede to agitation for creation of states. . . . this is what the Ijaw wanted. . . . of course, it is disrespectful and politically naive of Ojukwu to dismiss these agitations. . . . and remains the sole reason for some minorities defection to Nigeria because their interests and Ndigbo interests did not converge.

Now the war itself was not an emotional question of "protecting Igbo lives", but happened after a series of breakdown of talks lasting almost a year as to the nature of Nigeria going forward i.e. should Nigeria be a federation, confederation or unitary system? That is the main reason for the war, so do not blackmail anyone into thinking that Ijaws etc should be forced to pick the Biafran side because they and other Easterners were slaughtered in their thousands in the progroms. . . . not so. . . . the war was a calculated fight to allow devolution of power to Ndigbo, not necessarily an emotional reaction to ethnic genocide. . . . and of course, Niger Delta was the prize for the winner of the war.

@Ibime
Are you saying that, because Ojukwu did not accept Gowons wartime strategy to destablize his region, it meant he disrespected Ijaw people?
Bye the way, Ojukwu's problems with people during the war was common knowlwedge. Apart from Col. Njoku and people from the Owerri area, his clash with Onitsha people like Ifeajuna and Zik was also common knowledge.

Yes, maybe I do get emotional about the state of things in the former eastern Nigeria, how couldn't you?
Listening to Rex Lawson last night, I remembered so many things about my childhood. I didn't even know that many of those songs were not in Igbo. I could have sworn I bi Na Bo was an Igbo title, because my father and uncle sang them in Igbo.

I wish I was discussing Cardinal Rex Lawson and other greater Ijaw personalities, than what's his name?

Told me that youre doin wrong
Word out shockin all alone
Cryin wolf aint like a man
Throwin rocks to hide your hands

You aint done enough for me
You aint done enough for me
You are disgustin me, yeah yeah
Youre aiming just for me
You are disgustin me
Just want your cut from me
But too bad, too bad

Look who just walked in the place
Dead and stuffy in the face
Look whos standing if you please
Though you tried to bring me to my knees

Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it

Hell all up in hollywood
Sayin that you got it good
Creepin from a dusty hole
Tales of what somebody told

What do you want from me?
What do you want from me?
Tired of you haunting me, yeah yeah
Youre aiming just for me
You are disgustin me
You got blood lust for me
But too bad, too bad

Look who got slapped in the face
Its dead and stuffy in the place
Im right back where I wanna be
Im standin though youre kickin me

Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it

Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it

(rap: shaquille oneal)
Lifes about a dream
Im really undefeated when mj is on my team, theme
Reality brings forth realizm
Its the man of steel organizm, twizm
Not from the prizm, take charge like manilla
Nine five shaq represent with the thrilla
Grab my crotch, twist my knee, then Im through
Mikes bad, Im bad
Who are you

(michael)
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it

Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it
Why dont you just scream and shout it
Too bad too bad about it

Michael Jackson 2 Bad

Bombay, thanks for posting articles from my website here. But please give credit/attribution to the author when you copy and paste my work elsewhere. Many thanks.

http://maxsiollun./2008/08/02/isaac-adaka-boro-and-niger-delta-militancy/

naijaking1:

@Ibime
Are you saying that, because Ojukwu did not accept Gowons wartime strategy to destablize his region, it meant he disrespected Ijaw people?
Bye the way, Ojukwu's problems with people during the war was common knowlwedge. Apart from Col. Njoku and people from the Owerri area, his clash with Onitsha people like Ifeajuna and Zik was also common knowledge.

Yes, maybe I do get emotional about the state of things in the former eastern Nigeria, how couldn't you?
Listening to Rex Lawson last night, I remembered so many things about my childhood. I didn't even know that many of those songs were not in Igbo. I could have sworn I bi Na Bo was an Igbo title, because my father and uncle sang them in Igbo.

I wish I was discussing Cardinal Rex Lawson and other greater Ijaw personalities, than what's his name?

Ibime is a poster who commands a lot of  my respect here. I tend to see his point very easily, though I may not agree with him.
Nevertheless, I also think you hit the nail on the head here. Anytime I listen to Cardinal Rex Lawson, I get shivers! Most of us simply knew him as a Cardinal. His song called us to a common purpose. He remains immortal! It is interesting that apart from Ojukwu, that most active Biafran operators were from Ijaw or Ibibio and Annang. They were fiercely Biafran. I never knew that until recently.

otukpo:

As if this crude oil will not finish one day.

This oil that makes some pple make unnecessary statements.

The day oil finishes is the day Nigeria's problems gets solved, because only then will true friends and true associations emerge, not ones based on greed and envy. Even then, the Igbos and Ijaws will remain neighbors. For good or for ill.

Don't forget Okoko Ndem---- the great Biafran broadcaster and war booster.

I challenge anyone to show me the difference between this Ijaw group here in the video and any Igbo music, dance and cultural reality. Any Igbo from Abia can dance this song the exact same way. The lies against these two tribes won't last long. Just wait!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KcjjmoYG-k

watch the video first, then comment.

naijaking1:

Don't forget Okoko Ndem---- the great Biafran broadcaster and war booster.

Yes, whilst you are at it, Don't forget Ukpabi Asika, Ike Nwachukwu and others.

@Willy willy as long as you chose to hang the Yorubas in your dirty mouth you I am sure you will not move!
You don't even know God and you say God will not forgive your entire race? oh,you are so STUPID!!

SapeleGuy:

Yes, whilst you are at it, Don't forget Ukpabi Asika, Ike Nwachukwu and others.

I am not sure where you're going with this, a play on antithesis, maybe? Ukpabi Asika and Ike Nwachukwu were considered traitors. Ike Nwachukwu's alleged involvement in the Asaba massacre nailed the coffin.