South-South, South-West vindicate Gen. Emeka Ojukwu
By Duro Onabule
Friday, December 23, 2005

It was both amusing and disgusting reading the purported communique of Monday’s historic meeting of Southern political leaders at Enugu. But at the same time, it is quite pleasing that God in His mercies (has) preserved the life of General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (never mind recent speculations on his health) to see himself vindicated thirty-five years after the end of the civil war throughout which Southern political vultures, opportunists and scavengers portrayed him (Ojukwu) as the devil.

Some of these vultures and scavengers were among the delegates of South-South and South-West at last Monday’s political gathering at Enugu demanding resource-control and threatening confederal set-up if not break-up of the federation.

First of all, there is no sincerity of purpose among the participating zones. Historically, there is no love-lost between the South-West and South-East, a sad situation dating back to January 1952 when through desperate resort to group tribal solidarity, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was robbed of electoral victory to prevent him from becoming leader of government business in the defunct western region.

In the 1951 general elections, Zik and the other four NCNC candidates cleared the five Lagos seats to western house of assembly (Lagos was then part of the old western region) despite that, his political rivals in western region employed ethnic solidarity to prevail on successful Yoruba NCNC Lagos members not to support Zik as the leader of the party to fill the slot allocated to Lagos in the then Nigerian Legislative Council. Late Bola Ige in his published diary in 1992 expressed reservation about that particular political mischief by his party leadership.

This hostility once again was displayed in the build-up to the civil war which was virtually prosecuted by South West against South East.
Where is the love between the South South and South-East? What was the role of South-South against the South-East during the civil war? Even since the return of politics in 1979, South-South has never supported South-East.

Northerners might have a point that the pattern of the January 1966 coup caused them a heavy toll to warrant the July 1966 counter-coup. But the common conclusion is that the magnitude of the casualties savoured of over-reaction. Even then, unlike the South-South and South East, there is today better co-operation and understanding between the North and South-East largely because the North has gone some if not a long way to heal the wounds. Hence today, be it in marriage, business, the professions, politics, indeed every sphere, there is more co-operation between the North and South-East. Can the South-South and South-West claim such rapprochement with South-East?

These are the same people deceiving themselves on an alleged new beginning which is as assuring as any South-West zone governor on assumption of office claiming that “… As from today, health and education are free in this state.” South westerners know better.

With their utterances especially their communique last Monday, the new but in reality fragile southern political block (now) give the impression of a gang-up against the North. Yet, within the out-going year, South-South is on record as signing a pact (political alliance) with the middle-belt. So, the pact has been abandoned without the courtesy of consultation or information.

The South-West is equally on record as having shaken hands across the Niger with South-East. How many times? The same South-West has an agreement with Middle Belt. So, which North is this southern bloc planning to cut to size?

How genuine is the new found friendship among the southern bloc? What are the prospects of survival of the new friendship? The level of (lack of) sincerity can be gauged from the absence of four southern state governors. What is more, only two of the thirteen governors who attended spoke –the host governor Nnamani who formally had to make the welcome remarks and his Akwa Ibom counterpart Victor Attah who read the communique.

It is the very communique that is very nauseating. Going through it stirs inevitable questions. How old is each participant? How much of Nigeria civil war does each of them know? Do they not realise that with that communique, they exposed themselves perhaps unconsciously to public ridicule?

The like of Yoruba Council of Elders, Kunle Olajide, AD’s Olu Falae, Governor Attah, PDP’s Bode George, etc. belong to my generation and are living witnesses of the civil war. Others like Tony Anenih, Reuben Fasoranti, Joe Irukwu are even older, with deep knowledge of the war. Otherwise the rest, especially the governors, are more of eaglets, totally ignorant of our past political history ala confederation and resource control.

South-East may not openly declare but till today, the zone distrusts the South-West. Can’t these people detect the booby-trap being set for them? That is to instigate them against the North and thereby sneak in Obasanjo for the third term. The truth is that at any time, only the North can stop Obasanjo in whatever form.

Another point in their communique which is beyond all understanding is the threat to boycott 2007 elections unless the constitution is reviewed and the zones are granted resource control failing which they will declare a confederation.

Are these people ignorant or they have no sense of history? Here then are the facts to acquaint them with the futility of their plan. Neither the 2002 electoral act nor the yet to be reviewed Nigerian constitution makes provision for election boycott. To dampen their ignorance, there is this 1965 landmark judgement on the barren exercise of election boycott.

United Progressives Grand Alliance (UPGA), a marriage of convenience between a faction of the Action Group on one hand, and the NCNC well entrenched in the East and remnant in the West. The boycott was totally effective in the East but not in the West, except Lagos where an independent candidate, T.O.S. Benson scored less than six hundred votes and was declared the winner.

An election petition by the official NCNC candidate against Benson’s election was dismissed on the ground that the electoral law did not recognise election boycott. Benson accordingly retained his seat in the House of Representatives in Lagos with less than six hundred votes and indeed was re-appointed a federal minister on January 14, 1966, eve of the first military coup.

Clearly the Enugu gathering of the southerners are either ignorant of the above or they have forgotten.
There was of course the threat of confederation and resource control along the various zones. Confederation was dangled all along as a threat to landlock the North. To think that the North will be caught unprepared for such eventuality is to underestimate Northern Nigeria.


These desperados in the South and their predecessors were the same people who conspired against General Ojukwu’s achievement of regional resource control after the 1967 meeting at Aburi Ghana with General Yakubu Gowon under the chairmanship of the late General Ankrah, then, Ghana’s head of state.
Let them get Aburi report by both General Ojukwu and General Yakubu Gowon, published for Nigerias especially Niger Deltans to read.

It is an irony that South-South in particular as well as South-West is demanding confederal set up and resource control both of which General Ojukwu brilliantly secured at the 1967 Aburi conference.
Contrary to the falsehood over the years, General Ojukwu’s achievement on resource control and confederal set up at Aburi conference was not scuttled by the North or the military. Rather the Aburi report was scuttled by the present South southerners and South Westerners in the civil service for the sake of occupying civil service posts abandoned by fleeing South Easterners, the same South-Southerners and South Westerners serving in Gowon’s cabinet, in the armed forces, the equivalent elites and intellectuals on varsity campuses.

Tony Enahoro, Edwin Clark, Diette-Spiff, Amachree, and their like dare not today speak on this issue.
Tony Enahoro, as Commissioner for Information/Culture in Gowon’s cabinet campaigned all over the world against confederation, and regional resource control achieved by General Ojukwu at Aburi.
Left for Gowon, all he wanted was one Nigeria. Indeed, in his address to the attempted constitutional conference in August 1967, confederation was one of the options he placed before the delegates.

When Gowon returned from Aburi, the Enahoros and other Niger Deltans around him as well as South Westerners all urged him (Gowon) to throw Aburi report “to the dogs.” Otherwise, at least Edo and Delta states as Mid-West region will today, be controlling their resources, courtesy General Ojukwu’s foresight at Aburi.

Ojukwu had no choice at that time than to publish the entire Aburi proceedings for Nigerians and Biafrans to read. The man should please today do Nigeria a major public service by once again releasing the Aburi report to let Niger Deltans realise that their real enemies are not northerners but Niger Delta leaders of that time.

General Gowon should also release his own side of the unedited version of his own account and Nigerians, especially Niger Deltans can then know their enemies/exploiters.
Electronic and print media today are dominated – ownership wise – by Niger Deltans.
The Guardian, This Day, Vanguard, Independent, Channels Television, AIT, Silverbird Television, Tell magazine, Newswatch magazine are either substantially or wholly owned by Niger Deltans who may be ignorant of the role played by South southerners and South westerners in throwing aside the Aburi report which in 1967 offered them resource control and confederal set up on a platter of gold.

To turn round today and be blaming the North or the military is both unkind and nauseating.
Let the proponents of resouces control and confederation realise that whoever controls or captures the capital has the upper hand. The capital today is no longer Lagos but Abuja which is nearer North than the South.  How did it move from Lagos to Abuja, it was through the help of the same today's noise makers from South South and South West.

it was very true that the niger delta leaders in that period sold themselves for a bowl of porridge, ala the various positions they wanted to occupy after the south east left. it is quite clear that we as a people have very short memory, that,s why the the types of enahoro with all respect and clark can still stand before people and solicit for what was handed to them on a platter( even though gowon was never going to follow tru on the agreements). these are some of the reasons this leaders and elders have loose face among the youths in nd today, nobody listens to them, they will rather listen to people who were not involve in that adventure, by the time that whole generation is gone i hope there will be more unity btw the south east and south south, don,t know about the south west.

Hmm. Na wa o! Everything has happened in Nigeria just to stop the Igboman. I never knew that leaders of south south actually worked against resource control. So what is all the hoopla in the creeks about? Where is Ibime?
Where is Sapeleguy? Where is na_so?

I knew that the Yorubas worked against implementation of the Aburi Accord, but the deltans too? I now understand why MEND can never make a real head way on this resource control thing. The real enemy is actually within the delta. As a matter of fact the only real supporter of resource control might be south east, though I doubt that the Igbos will allow a repeat of history.

WELL, ALL THOSE NOISEMAKERS FROM ND SHOULD GO AND

TREAT THEIR CRAW CRAW AT HOME AS DI TING DON ENTER BLOKOSS!!!

YOU KNOW WHAT TO CALL THIS- constructive total loss -

OUR ELDERS HAVE FAILED US .ON OUR PART, WE HAVE TO FIND

A WAY OF FORGIVING EACH OTHER FOR THE DAMAGE WE HAVE

DONE TO EACH OTHER DUE TO THE MANIPULATIONS OF THESE agbayas.

There are bundle of miscreants from the old blocks roaming freely on this board. These young morons are worse than their deluded forbearers.

I'm still waiting for Sapeleguy or Ibime to respond to this. This one shocked me o!

Onlytruth:

I'm still waiting for Sapeleguy or Ibime to respond to this. This one shocked me o!

Don't be shocked yet, no until you read every single minutes of the Aburi conference, not just the agreement they signed.
Especially when Ojukwu rose and asked General Ogundipe to take over as the most senior since the north had murdered Irosi and how the man was shaking with fear and said no, that they are happy with a far lower officer in rank Gowon to be their commander-in- chief.

A northern delegate, Usman Katsina openly dared Ojukwu to secede with Biafra can go if that is what their people wants so that the rest can go on as Nigeria.
so despite the killing of our people and Ironsi, all the behind the scene sword stabber were actually the South West and south south south and not the north as we are meant to believe many times.
But funny enough, Enahoro and co are the ones calling for national conference to discuss what was given to them on a plate 40 years ago by Ojukwu and they killed it in the name of greed and hatred of their own brothers.

I am praying that one day the whole truth will be told and that is why those shameless people from both zones wanted one Nigeria by all means, not because of the genuine love of Nigeria but for the fear of their past deeds, because once they are isolated with their own people alone, some hard questions will be asked and they're scared stiff

Lol theres no friends in politics just temporary alliances.

When Awo asked Zik to evade from the North before oil became a big factor, he sided with them for One Nigeria.
What do you expect people(southwest and north) to do with Oil money at easy access, leave? OF COURSE NOT
What about the south south you think they would want to join Biafra?

you guys are so directionless and unrealistic, its funny

Or Zik decided to become boy-boy for the North when Awo stood alone.

If Zik hadnt traded the South east for ceremonial presidency and his clansmen contented with being Vice presidents behind Hausas maybe things woulda been different.

Zik chose to queue as assistant behind Balewa When Awolowo stood alone
Ekwueme chose to queue as assistant behind Shagari While Awolowo had a Hausa VP
Sylvester Ugo chose to queue as assistant behind Bashir Tofa while MKO brought Kingibe under him
Okadigbo chose to queue as assistant to Buhari while OBJ took Atiku under him as VP

They say if you sell yourself for cheap (VP), you cant be taken seriously again

@Eziachi, U promote ethnic chauvinism.  Ibo`s are great and perfect, while the rest of us are selfish, greedy and all the rest of it. Comments like this will only bring mistrust and hatred, we should be bridging the gap not widen it.  

Ojukwu as got to take some responsibilities 4 leading so many innocent people to their death. If Ojukwu refused to bow down to Gowan a junior officer then it`s obvious the Biafran War was more personal, it had nothing to do with the Igbo`s that were being killed in the North. It was a power struggle between him and Gowan in which over a million people lost their lives. Today southerners still get killed in the North, but we haven`t gone to war because of it, rather the govt sends in the  army to bring peace. The same thing could have been done if that was his real reason 4 declaring Biafra. When Ironsi changed our system of Govt to give all powers to the centre, y did Ojukwu not fight 4 a confederation then, is`t because Ironsi was an Ibo man, after all Gowan was only carring on with the same  system Gen Ironsi put in place.   To move forward we have to be fair and objective in our analysis of Nigerian History regardless of ethnic affiliation.

okunoba you are very right and thank you for using your brains unlike those whose forebears put sh__it in their brains,and shey you remember who move the bill for independence ENAHORO, respect the man he achieved more than all of onlytruth's worthless heroes brought 2geda. I asked a kid near my home a few questions about our history, i asked about zik, the kid knew his name, I asked about Awo, i know his name the kid tells me, when i asked about enahoro surprise!surprise!!surprise!!! the kid said he'd never heard that name.

Until this geneation tell ask their father to tell them the truth, you will continue to be slaves in your own land. Someone mentioned Ekwueme and Sylvester Ugo positions as VP as cueing behind, while foget to use the same word o describe Kingibe or Atiku. But also forgot that despite Sylvester Ugo being our son, we voted enmass for Abiola, even in Ugo's town off Mbaise.
Tell me any election in Nigeria where the yorubas had ever voted for a non Yoruba candidate when a Yoruba person is a candidate even if he/she is just a goat?



According to the BRITTISH election result, NPC won the vote but no enough majority to for govt and they formed the govt with NCNC that came second which Azikiwe belong, as NPC is the bigger partner, it is the norm all over democratic world that they will provide the prime minister, hence Balewa.

What happened wasn't out of ordinary. NCNC went into allaince to form a govt with NPC and not Azikiwe as a person. And what some young people like you forgot was that NPC though a northern dominated party had southern elected members of parliament like Melford Okilo, Alvan Ikoku an few others.
It is the same scenario today in Italy, German, Japan, where no single party won a majority, more than one parties had come together to form a govt and not about one personality. Azikiwe is not th owner of NCNC.

What you have just read that was making you to accuse me all sorts wasn't written by me but written by a Yoruba man (Duro Onabule)who was an eye witness. It's just that many pople hate to hear the truth, especially when it burst their self made believes.

I HAVE JUST PUBLISHED THE MINUTES OF ABURI CONFERENCE, IN THE POLITICS SECTION OF NAIRALAND, PLEASE READ IT AND JUDGE FOR YOURELF

@Eziachi, u are so wrong about yoruba people, we are diverse poeple. Abiola was voted 4 by region because 4 a change, Nigerians saw in him some sort of hope, though in my personal opinion it was a false on. Nigerians would vote 4 anyone who is able to demonstrate that same trust that most Nigerian from the 4 corners had 4 Abiola. Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Kanuri, etc, we all just want someone that can make things better in Nigeria. Remember Yoruba`s didn`t vote 4 Obasanjo. If we find an Ibo governor that can transform his state the way people feel the governor Fashola of Lagos state is doing, i promise u not only yoruba`s will be voting 4 him but the whole country just like the whole country voted 4 Abiola. Please stop this ethnic hate it will get us nowhere, it will only perpatuate the same old hate and mistrust that led to Biafra of which we are still suffering from today.

dayokanu:

Or Zik decided to become boy-boy for the North when Awo stood alone.

If Zik hadnt traded the South east for ceremonial presidency and his clansmen contented with being Vice presidents behind Hausas maybe things woulda been different.

Zik chose to queue as assistant behind Balewa When Awolowo stood alone
Ekwueme chose to queue as assistant behind Shagari While Awolowo had a Hausa VP
Sylvester Ugo chose to queue as assistant behind Bashir Tofa while MKO brought Kingibe under him
Okadigbo chose to queue as assistant to Buhari while OBJ took Atiku under him as VP

They say if you sell yourself for cheap (VP), you cant be taken seriously again

Do you know whom Orji Kalu's VP candidate was in 2007? A northerner
Do you know whom Ojukwu's VP were in 2003 and 2007? Northerners
Do you know whom the VP will be in 2007 when the presidency comes down south (SE or SS)? A northerner
Did Obasanjo put himself there? No, he was put, at least in 1999, by the North
Would Abiola had won the election if he had selected a Yoruba or a southerner as VP? No.

Mischief! See the article for exactly what it is; an attempt to break the friendship between the ND and Igbo's at a time when the hegemon adversary is weak.

The hegemon is not happy with the new strength of the Niger Delta, talkless of an alliance with the Igbo.
It is very unsettling for them to witness the strengthening of the friendship between two dissenfranchised regions in the country, the SE and SS; two groups that share common pains and desires.

The friendship between both regions sends shivers down the spines of the so called newly "Igbo friendly"tufia! Northern oligarchy. They spent 440 billion arming the JTF, only for it to be rudely surprised by MEND, so they have learnt that force will not work. Indeed in all out war, the ND with its oil can arm to a degree that will shame any local opponent. So maybe their new tactic is to spread poisonous apples?
The Igbo are a formidable force in all sphere's, a group of "can do" folk that force milk out of rock; even then, they need the ND as much as the ND needs them.
There is a lot to fear in the friendship, the article mentions the fact that the ND shoots above its weight in the press (also add business, finance and education); well, the Igbo are unrivalled in business and technology. Why wouldn't any evil doer fear an alliance between these progressive groups?

Let's move beyond petty suspicions and look to the bigger picture.
The Igbo fought a just war and lost, the ND attempted a coup against IBB and lost; perhaps, it is time for both sides to put away the past and WIN.

History has it that the Yorubas always for a political party that they follow making them a bloc and not an appendage to the Hausa Fulani party.

Like Action group, Like UPN, they all joined SDP , later AD until the rigging machinery of the PDP took over.

Igbos allied with the NPC (NOTHERN peoples Congress) in the 1st republic.
In the 2nd, they allied with NPN and became second rate
3rd republic According to the June 12 election results released by Nwosu recently,

MKO Abiola won in Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and the Federal Capital Territory. Tofa, according to Nwosu's result sheet, won in Abia, Adam-awa, Bauchi, Enugu, Imo, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Rivers and Sokoto States.

This result was released by an Igbo man Humphrey Nwosu and it shows where the allegiance of the South east lies
Of 4 Igbo states, 3 voted for the Hausa candidate.

Beaf

I think the 1990 coup was more of a minority coup a lot of middle belters were involved. Gideon Orkar was from Benue I think, Mukoro benin, Ogboru Delta

^
Mukoro is from Delta. Middle Belters were employed because ND people don't have much representation in the army (same reason, they hired J5's).

What surprises me most about the article, is the total lack of intelligence. When did the Niger Delta become so powerful, that mere minorities like us could scuttle the Aburi accord?
Boy! The things one hears these days sha!

^^ Because some people are not ready to take responsibility for their misdeeds, Starting a war, attacking other regions.

Yet everyone in this country is resposible for their sons in the army planning a coup to kill other regional leaders and sparing theirs

dayokanu:

^^ Because some people are not ready to take responsibility for their misdeeds, Starting a war, attacking other regions.

Yet everyone in this country is resposible for their sons in the army planning a coup to kill other regional leaders and sparing theirs

Look who crawled out of the woodwork! If it isn't the masquerade himself!
I'll soon change my name to Onlytruth Oladipupo!

Beaf:

Mischief! See the article for exactly what it is; an attempt to break the friendship between the ND and Igbo's at a time when the hegemon adversary is weak.

The hegemon is not happy with the new strength of the Niger Delta, talkless of an alliance with the Igbo.
It is very unsettling for them to witness the strengthening of the friendship between two dissenfranchised regions in the country, the SE and SS; two groups that share common pains and desires.

The friendship between both regions sends shivers down the spines of the so called newly "Igbo friendly"tufia! Northern oligarchy. They spent 440 billion arming the JTF, only for it to be rudely surprised by MEND, so they have learnt that force will not work. Indeed in all out war, the ND with its oil can arm to a degree that will shame any local opponent. So maybe their new tactic is to spread poisonous apples?
The Igbo are a formidable force in all sphere's, a group of "can do" folk that force milk out of rock; even then, they need the ND as much as the ND needs them.
There is a lot to fear in the friendship, the article mentions the fact that the ND shoots above its weight in the press (also add business, finance and education); well, the Igbo are unrivalled in business and technology. Why wouldn't any evil doer fear an alliance between these progressive groups?

Let's move beyond petty suspicions and look to the bigger picture.
The Igbo fought a just war and lost, the ND attempted a coup against IBB and lost; perhaps, it is time for both sides to put away the past and WIN.

Beaf you said most of what I wanted to say. ND people should really know that they have one comitted enemy in Nigeria -Yoruba people!
I might even forgive abokis because one could argue that they don't really know much. But Yoruba is a friend only to the Yoruba. If not that the north made the mistake of July 1966 and the civil war, the whole country would have come to know the Yoruba more. But the day of final reckoning is fast approaching!

;d ;d ;d ;d ;d ;d ;d ;d ;d