What is this?

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[size=15pt]Under One Roof?[/size]


On Saturday October 10, at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, soldier, who led Biafra during the Civil War, administrator, politician, a man of immense intellectual fecundity, will deliver the paper, What On Earth Are We Doing Here?

Other members of the cast are -
General Yakubu Gowon, former Head of State, leader of Nigeria during the conflict with Biafra, political scientist, who lately runs the NGO, Nigeria Prays, would be Chairman of the occasion.
Alhaji Shehu Shagari, former President of Nigeria, former teacher, possibly the only Nigerian politician who treated power as nothing, is Special Guest of Honour.
General Ibrahim Babangida, the only military President of Nigeria, the man who claims a deep knowledge of Nigeria and how we got where we are, is Special Guest of Honour.

Professor Dora Akunyili, Minister for Information and Communication, is Special Guest of Honour.
When these eminent Nigerians gather, under one roof what would they say? When next would they be under one roof?
What would Nigerians want them to talk about? What questions would you want them to answer about their role in the Nigerian condition?
Please join the fiery exchanges on www.vanguardngr.com – it is possibly your only chance to get these Nigerians to hear you, maybe not under one roof. The debate is on, please do not miss it.

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Here are some of the comments

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sola Ola says:
October 7, 2009 at 6:41 pm
when the Ibos on this site are talking, they will be talking about resources countrol, what is the quantity of oil in Igbo land? You are only thinking of the South South, they are not Ibos and they will never follow the Ibos or allow the Ibos to control them, so what the Igbos has in plan is to forcebly take over the resources that does not belong to them.
what special resources do the Ibos has before the Civil war apart from agricultural produce?
You people should be real, the most untrustworthy tribe in Nigeria is not Yoruba but Ibos,even an Ibo man knows this but only pretend in the name of argument, when it comes to money CAN YOU TRUST IBOS? CAN IBOS TRUST THEMSELVES WHEN IT TURN FINANCIAL? CAPITAL NO

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justice says:
October 7, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I watched this program called open accesse with MINAJI then when CHUKWUDI OKOLI UGBAJA ask the opc leader fedrick fasheun the meaning of YORUBA nd the he said is recalcitrant nd chukwudi ask him to elaborate more so that he can understand it very well nd he said again that is somebody whom u can not trust meanwhile somebody like DURO ONABULE a YORUBA man said on sun tabliod 23 dec.2005 that it will take more than 2000 years for YORUBA people to become full human beings. Somebody like sola ola well i can blame him because his father
AWOLOWO pass this gene of recalcitrant in him since he knows the truth
that IBOS did not fight oil war as he was trying to put it , i also want to tell him that JAPAN have no oil.I also believe that south south people ve known
better today nd they ve also learnt their lesson from the hands of YORUBA people nd i bet u that the likes of sola ola nd his ppl can not decieve south south again now or the likes of GOWON. The south south is now wiser than b/4 to know the real ppl who fight to take their belongings. It has been proven that AWOLOWO advice GOWON to reject the ABURI ACCORD nd declare war on easterners including southsouth for them to enact laws that
will give them power to take over their LAND nd SEA if possible their air. Recently IBB is calling for regional government may be he ve seen reason with OJUKWU, as for GOWON,AWOLOWO,sola ola must ripe what they sow for fighting the IGBOS for just no cause.

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Seidu says:
October 8, 2009 at 10:02 am
I’m a Yoruba man and i had read all ur comments. I am very ashamed at what u guys are writing here. We have definately washed our dirty linen in public
.
We should look decisively at the ideology of our great founding fathers: CHIEF NNAMDI AZIKWE, PA OBAFEMI AWOLOWO, ALHAJI AHMADU BELLO, PA ANTHONY ENAHORO. These leaders laboured relentlessly for our liberation and indepence from the imperialist( colonial master )…, INSTEAD OF PEOPLE LIKE: ODINMEWU OJUKWU, OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, IBRAHIM BABANGIDA AND GENERAL YAKUBU GOWON. These later leaders as nothing to offer us except deception and division in us.
We should be seen as an engine to drive our nation forward, instead we allowed the mistakes of our past leaders to drive us. Gentlemen, we cannot achieve anything by doing this.
In this context and to put stop to all these occurences, i support the regionalise of our nation. I think regional government will minimise if not put a stop to all these.
All our hands must be on deck to fight for regional government……Our notion naow should be REGIONAL GOVERNMENT NOW……
MAY THE WORK OF OUR FOUNDING FATHERS( NOTE: NOT ALL LEADERS ARE HEROES ) NOT BE IN VAIN……

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Chike Afanna (USA) says:
October 8, 2009 at 1:23 am
@Abdul
“Yoruba’s are cowards and can not be trusted. believe me folks that yorubas are the cause of all nigerian problems. Let me explain: At least we all know that the Hausa’s have sold their souls to saudi Arabia, but can anyone tell me what the yorubas are up to apart from causing problems and following the highest bidder. After the war the Igbo got their properties back from the northerners but the yoruber and Ijaw cowards siezed all the properties belonging to the Igbo’s till this day.”
*************************************************************************
In some cases Abokis (Northerners) not only preserved fleeing Igbo properties but went as far as collecting rents on behalf of Igbo homeowners. Igbos who moved back North got back on their feet a lot faster than else where in Nigeria.

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http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/10/07/under-one-roof/comment-page-23/#comments

[size=18pt]Why are we a country again?[/size] 

The 1st commentator-Sola Ola is the least intelligent. He does not know the ethnic composition of the south south belt. I here by use this medium to tell him that NdiIgbo is the largest ethnic group in that block.

@seidu, Thanks 4 ur input, with people like u around i feel there is hope 4 The black race. I wish all the other posters will refrain from ethnic hate that is so prevelant amoungs we black people. This hate will not develop Africa nor make the rest of the World treat us with respect.

I wish some Ibo`s were not so full of hate against Yoruba and Hausa people. The Biafran war was sad and too many Ibo`s lost thier lives, but hate cannot change the fact of history, but it can make History repeat itself.

I would like to know y Gowan and ojukwu didn`t sit down and come up with a security plan to protect Igbo`s that were being killed in the North , Y did we have to go to war because of it? Today, Southern Nigerians still get killed based on ethnicity in the North, but we have not gone to war becuase of it,instead the government sends in the army to bring peace. Y was this not the case in 1966.

^^ It was so unfortunate that the Igbo officers who led the first coup chose the path of tribalism by killing other regional leaders and leaving the eastern leaders.

Its so unfortunate that Ironsi as head of state did not take decisive actions against coup plotters like Ifeajuna and Nzeogwu.

Its so unfortunate that Igbos in Northern Nigeria decided to make posters depicting Ironsi standing on the Head of Sardauna

Its so unfortunate the Biafra army decided to attack the South West before they were stopped at Ore.

Unfortunate unfortunate

dayokanu:

^^ It was so unfortunate that the Igbo officers who led the first coup chose the path of tribalism by killing other regional leaders and leaving the eastern leaders.

ha this is partially true.


lol@IBB being special guest of honor.

dayokanu:

^^ It was so unfortunate that the Igbo officers who led the first coup chose the path of tribalism by killing other regional leaders and leaving the eastern leaders.

Its so unfortunate that Ironsi as head of state did not take decisive actions against coup plotters like Ifeajuna and Nzeogwu.

Its so unfortunate that Igbos in Northern Nigeria decided to make posters depicting Ironsi standing on the Head of Sardauna

Its so unfortunate the Biafra army decided to attack the South West before they were stopped at Ore.

Unfortunate unfortunate

Finally, its unfortunate that your stupidity and ignorance knows no bound.

^^ Can you just bring out a point instead of showing how hollow you are.

dayokanu:

It was so unfortunate that the Igbo officers who led the first coup chose the path of tribalism by killing other regional leaders and leaving the eastern leaders.

Who, like Philip Effiong?

dayokanu:

^^ Can you just bring out a point instead of showing how hollow you are.

Its also unfortunate that I dont engage idiots like you in any form of debate. . . . .get a life

There is no need 4 insult, if there is a point to be made lets make it without abuse. We are here to debate and discuss issues with reason. If u cant make a point then move on and admit it instead of resulting to abuse to cover ur lack of debating skills.

I can understand Ojukwu and Gowon's presence but Ibb and Shagari .People like Mohhamed Shuwa,Adekunle should be there.

@okunoba,

Some people when they dont have any point to make just resort to insults.

@ezeagu,
When the coup plotters were planning the killing of Sardauna, Balewa, Akintola and Okotie Eboh, they should have killed Azikwe or the Eastern region premier too. But they chose the path of tribalism and that got us where we are today.

D.Kanu
How do you kill those who were not in Nigeria that period. Remember, the coup plotters aim was not to kill them but to get them arrested. They refused arrest and the consequence of that was to blow off their brains. This is typical in military commands.
What do you think would have happened to Shagari and Ekwueme if they had resisted arrest in December 1983?.

Was the coup really an Igbo coup? Are Ademoyega and Victor Banjo (whom we now know knew about and helped plan the coup) Igbos too?

dayokanu/IGWE

Please calm down. You should not start another civil war. I believe we should be civil in these
matters. The war is over. Any review of past mistakes must take the honest truth into
perspective. Some of us feel squeamish. Let us accept them for what they are- facts, and learn
never to repeat them.

^^ Me I no dey fight.

Andreh Uweh,
Its simply not done in a multi ethnic country like Nigeria for a part of the country to lead a coup, Kill other regional leaders and spare theirs. That is a perfect recipe for war.

Imagine I saw 5 kids fighting including mine, I beat all of them breaking their arms and left mine alone. If you are to be one of the parents I can only imagine what would happen.

If the other leaders were not in the country what happened to logistics of coup planning? They accused other regional leaders of being corrupt and spared all Igbos.

The Political and Spiritual head of the North Sardauna was killed, The Prime Minister a Northerner was killed, The Premier of the west was killed the finance minister from Mid west was killed and NO Igbo politician.
I guess all IGBO politicians travelled at the same time when the coup plotters struck. Ridiculous right?

That given, what was Ironsi's treatment of the coup plotters when he was ruler?

Ademoyega +Victor Banjo=Igbo?

dayokanu:

^^ Me I no dey fight.

Andreh Uweh,
Its simply not done in a multi ethnic country like Nigeria for a part of the country to lead a coup, Kill other regional leaders and spare theirs. That is a perfect recipe for war.

Imagine I saw 5 kids fighting including mine, I beat all of them breaking their arms and left mine alone. If you are to be one of the parents I can only imagine what would happen.

If the other leaders were not in the country what happened to logistics of coup planning? They accused other regional leaders of being corrupt and spared all Igbos.

The Political and Spiritual head of the North Sardauna was killed, The Prime Minister a Northerner was killed, The Premier of the west was killed the finance minister from Mid west was killed and NO Igbo politician.
I guess all IGBO politicians travelled at the same time when the coup plotters struck. Ridiculous right?

That given, what was Ironsi's treatment of the coup plotters when he was ruler?

Your just picking at something that has nothing to do with anything, and wasn't even what caused a war in the first place. What is your argument? That some people decided to go and kill 'leaders' and therefore a state should be blamed for the killings? The reason why the 'minorities' fought against Biafra is because of what their leaders were telling them, you can guess where the income of these leaders was coming from and who they held as their superiors.

You are just hiding from the truth if you said that was not what lead to the war.

The coup brought in Ironsi, Ironsi's poor handling of the coup lead to pogroms in the North or do you think the Hausas just decided to start killing Igbos one morning?
The Pogroms lead to Aburi and Aburi lead to the civil war.

The genesis was still the tribalistic way the coup was executed by Igbos

I don`t understand y some Igbo`s find it difficult to be objective any time the issue of Biafra and events that led to it is discussed. It`s a fact of history that the majority of the 1966 coup plotters were Igbo, Yes they had few non Igbo`s , but that doesn`t take from the fact that it was mostly Igbo officers running the show.
It`s also a fact of history that not a single Igbo top brat was killed during the coup, while the North lost alot of their top politicians and military officers and so did the west and midwest.

A fellow gave the excuse that Igbo leaders or leader was not in the country, but as Dayokanu rightly wrote, did all the Igbo leaders leave town and if that was the case they must have been warned of the coup and fled town making the coup look more sectarian.

It`s also a fact of history that an Igbo man Gen Ironsi who took over power after the coup refused to execute the Igbo army officers responsible 4 it. Knowing dam well that the Northern leaders wanted the coup plotters to be executed 4 murder and treason which was the law of the land at the time 4 such crimes.

Another person gave the excuse of resisting arrest as the reason y the Northern leaders were killed, but that excuse doesn`t hold, when u resist arrest even in that jungle we call Nigeria what happens is that u are over powered and hand cuffed, u don`t get killed 4 that.

If we wanted to be fair and objective Igbo`s should be asking the same question must Nigerians have been asking, y did the coup plotters only killed non Igbo`s, y did Gen Ironsi refused to execute the coup plotters who should have been killed according to the law of the land.

Another key point is Y did Igbo`s in the North celebrate the killings of Northern leaders especially when they were living in their mist.

All these said nothing can justify the senseless killing of poor Innocent igbo people who had nothing to do with the first coup and the killings that came with it. I think the North owes the Igbo people an apology 4 the mas secare and we Yoruba`s also owe them an apology 4 the action or inaction of some us our leaders before the war and after. The Yoruba leaders being the neutral ones in the conflict should have done alot more to force the government to protect the Igbo`s in the North. Awolowo`s decision to give just ten naira to every igbo bank depositor, regardless of what they had in the bank before the war, was cruel and inhumane, this single act of Awolowo to me is unforgivable. At the same time the yoruba race can`t be held responsible 4 the action of one it`s son`s, the same way that the average igbo man in the North shouldn`t and couldn`t have been held responsible 4 the action of a few crazy igbo officers who decided to eliminate non Igbo political leaders of the day.

The ringleades of the Jan 1966 coup were still in jail when Ironsi was murdered. When there is a coup in Nigeria, people are not hurriedly murderd or else, Oladipo Diya and uncle Segei would not have been alive today. It was wrong for the north or Nigeria then to expect Ironsi to turn things around within a month or two.
The ringleaders did not have ethnic sentiments in mind and it should not be seen as an Igbo coup. When Abacha died, Nierians irrespective of tribe celebrated his demise. This was the situation in Jan 66 because a corrupt regime and corrupt officials have been ousted from positions. It was not only Ndigbo that jubiliated but all the Nigerians.
My brother, Igbo people are innocent so take it or leave it.

^^^^ LOL

What about ojukwu who was bed mates with abacha?
And i say this because MANY igbos feel that he is their leader, so when the people exault him as their leader, that generally shows their consensus.
______________________________________________________________________________
If Yorubas are the problem why dont they just exit and leave Igbos and Hausas together? sounds simple to me and it favors the igbo presidency and more Oil money for them to share.
They have always been partners from Zik and Balewa, Ojukuwu and Abacha, Shehu and Alex, Orjis personal dealings with northers etc,

@Andre Uwe, u can`t be more right, Igbo people are not responsible 4 the stupid act of some Igbo officers, it`s also true that most Nigerians usually celebrate coups, the only coup I can think of which was not celebrated was the Murtala Mohamed one.

Where I have difficulty is how u cannot see any ethnic sentiment in the coup especially when all the people killed were non Igbo`s and the majority of the coup plotters were Igbo`s.

I also disagree in your assessment of Ironsi`s action or inaction regarding the coup plotters. When Dimka staged a coup which resulted in the death of Murtala the head of state at the time, he was put on trial with his fellow conspirators and executed within a month, Ironsi had six months to do the same. Obasanjo and Diya did not kill anybody or stage a coup, they were only accused of planning to stage one, completely different situation from the first coup where the prime minester and many top politicians were killed. Ironsi could not have been oblivious to the consequences of his in-action knowing dam well what was at stake.


Regardless of all these nothing justifies the killings of so many innocent Igbo people, The whole of Nigeria and that includes Igbo leaders, owe the descendant of these people an apology 4 not doing enough to protect them in their hours of need. The leadership at the time failed us as they have continued to fail us.

^^^^^ what igbo will admit that leaders who are igbo were wrong and have double crossed ndigbo time and time again?
or how many? close to none.

As Nigerians everyone should not shelter leaders because of their tribes.

okunoba:

@Andre Uwe, u can`t be more right, Igbo people are not responsible 4 the stupid act of some Igbo officers, it`s also true that most Nigerians usually celebrate coups, the only coup I can think of which was not celebrated was the Murtala Mohamed one.

Where I have difficulty is how u cannot see any ethnic sentiment in the coup especially when all the people killed were non Igbo`s and the majority of the coup plotters were Igbo`s.

I also disagree in your assessment of Ironsi`s action or inaction regarding the coup plotters. When Dimka staged a coup which resulted in the death of Murtala the head of state at the time, he was put on trial with his fellow conspirators and executed within a month, Ironsi had six months to do the same. Obasanjo and Diya did not kill anybody or stage a coup, they were only accused of planning to stage one, completely different situation from the first coup where the prime minester and many top politicians were killed. Ironsi could not have been oblivious to the consequences of his in-action knowing dam well what was at stake.


Regardless of all these nothing justifies the killings of so many innocent Igbo people, The whole of Nigeria and that includes Igbo leaders, owe the descendant of these people an apology 4 not doing enough to protect them in their hours of need. The leadership at the time failed us as they have continued to fail us.

okunoba:

I don`t understand y some Igbo`s find it difficult to be objective any time the issue of Biafra and events that led to it is discussed. It`s a fact of history that the majority of the 1966 coup plotters were Igbo, Yes they had few non Igbo`s , but that doesn`t take from the fact that it was mostly Igbo officers running the show.
It`s also a fact of history that not a single Igbo top brat  was killed during the coup, while the North lost alot of their top politicians and military officers and so did the west and midwest.

A fellow gave the excuse that Igbo leaders or leader was not in the country, but as Dayokanu rightly wrote, did all the Igbo leaders leave town and if that was the case they must have been warned of the coup and fled town making the coup look more sectarian. 

It`s also a fact of history that an Igbo man Gen Ironsi who took over power after the coup refused to execute the Igbo army officers responsible 4 it. Knowing dam well that the Northern leaders wanted the coup plotters to be executed 4 murder and treason which was the law of the land at the time 4 such crimes.

Another person gave the excuse of  resisting arrest as the reason y the Northern leaders were killed, but that excuse doesn`t hold, when u resist arrest even in that jungle we call Nigeria what happens is that u are over powered and hand cuffed, u don`t get killed 4 that.

If we wanted to be fair and objective Igbo`s should be asking the same question must Nigerians have been asking, y did the coup plotters only killed non Igbo`s, y did Gen Ironsi refused to execute the coup plotters  who should have been killed according to the law of the land.

Another key point is Y did Igbo`s in the North celebrate the killings of Northern leaders especially when they were living in their mist.

All these said nothing can justify the senseless killing of poor Innocent igbo people who had nothing to do with the  first coup and the killings that came with it. I think the North owes the Igbo people an apology 4 the mas secare and we Yoruba`s also owe them an apology 4 the action or inaction of some us our leaders before the war and after. The Yoruba leaders being the neutral ones in the conflict should have done alot more to force the government to protect the Igbo`s in the North. Awolowo`s decision to give just ten naira to every igbo bank depositor, regardless of what they had in the bank before the war, was cruel and inhumane, this single act of Awolowo to me is unforgivable. At the same time the yoruba race can`t be held responsible 4 the action of one it`s son`s, the same way that the average igbo man in the North shouldn`t and couldn`t have been held responsible 4 the action of a few crazy igbo officers who decided to eliminate non Igbo political leaders of the day.

   

God bless you richly

nigeria would have been a very nice place if we had just 1000 of you.  what frightens me is how we have replaced one set of tribalists with a different set of younger generation who are mostly interested in re-writting every history and events to suit their tribal and ethnic bigotry.

i like your balance and grace in reporting things the way they are.  you should expect NL resident tribalists to attack you though.

dayokanu:

or do you think the Hausas just decided to start killing Igbos one morning?

The Hausa have always loved Igbo people, to add to that love; when the Igbo people actually started working in the North with a stronger work ethic, the Hausa were enthralled at the site.

dayokanu:

The coup brought in Ironsi, Ironsi's poor handling of the coup lead to pogroms in the North or do you think the Hausas just decided to start killing Igbos one morning?

Are you ok? Are you reading your posts back and thinking whether your posts are coherent and reasonable? No offence, because thats what I try to do. This statement give no credit whatsoever to your argument, in fact it deducts from it. How can you say one guy's action in a tense situation justifies the actions of a jealous lynch mob?

dayokanu:

The genesis was still the tribalistic way the coup was executed by Igbos

Tribalist this, tribalist a hat. Can you please tell me when I handled this coup? I would really like to know, because this 'Igbos' was not aware that he handled a coup "tribalistic".

By the way why does everyone think they have a say in what Igbo people do, Igbo people don't bother you guys yet you fell it necessary to debate them about their private issues.

Tribalism isn't the poblem in Nigeria. The problem is bigger than any tribe . . . . . .

sjeezy8:

Tribalism isn't the poblem in Nigeria. The problem is bigger than any tribe . . . . . .

And that is?

The Hausa have always loved Igbo people, to add to that love; when the Igbo people actually started working in the North with a stronger work ethic, the Hausa were enthralled at the site.

I dont know of any history of Hausas killing Igbos in the North before some Igbo soldiers went to kill the spiritual leader of the North.

Let some Shia soldiers kill the Sunni spiritual leaders and watch what would happen.

Are you ok? Are you reading your posts back and thinking whether your posts are coherent and reasonable? No offence, because thats what I try to do. This statement give no credit whatsoever to your argument, in fact it deducts from it. How can you say one guy's action in a tense situation justifies the actions of a jealous lynch mob?

Jealous of what?? They were not jealous before the coup, after the coup, they suddenly became jealous.

Logic on its head.

Tribalist this, tribalist a hat. Can you please tell me when I handled this coup? I would really like to know, because this 'Igbos' was not aware that he handled a coup "tribalistic".

What are you trying to say? Anyone that understands should pls interprete.

@ezeagu, are u scared of people with different opinions on the Biafrian issue and the events that led to it? Y else would u not want those that disagree with u not to make comments.

[/quote]

dayokanu:

I dont know of any history of Hausas killing Igbos in the North before some Igbo soldiers went to kill the spiritual leader of the North.

Let some Shia soldiers kill the Sunni spiritual leaders and watch what would happen.

Okay, your sticking to that reasoning? All in the name of winning an argument? You've accepted jungle justice right? So tell us again why you think your posts on this thread should move us in anyway to make us think?

[quote author=dayokanu link=topic=334634.msg4704277#msg4704277 date=1255153111]
Jealous of what?? They were not jealous before the coup, after the coup, they suddenly became jealous.

Logic on its head.

I really hate when people think they know what their talking about, or worse, when they know that they don't know what their talking about and continue to argue with someone. You haven't even got the decency to go and study what your arguing about. Did the British not deprive the Northerners of education, while the East excelled in all aspects of the modern country? Did the Northerners not resent this? in fact just watch this documentary by the BBC if you don't like reading:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3ReFoFp0Gs

dayokanu:

What are you trying to say? Anyone that understands should pls interprete.

It means the 'danger of one story'.

okunoba:

@ezeagu, are u scared of people with different opinions on the Biafrian issue and the events that led to it? Y else would u not want those that disagree with u not to make comments.

I guess your replying to this:

ezeagu:

By the way why does everyone think they have a say in what Igbo people do, Igbo people don't bother you guys yet you fell it necessary to debate them about their private issues.

Well you obviously couldn't see that it was a question prompting more responses, I guess thats my fault fr not putting question marks, but I don't see where I said no one should disagree. If you disagree you better be right.