WHAT THEY NEVER TOLD YOU ABOUT OJUKWU AND BIAFRA.
By Laa Pulga Prince
Colonel Ojukwu didn't just wake up one morning and decided to go to war with Nigeria.
After the 1966 northern counter coup where Aguyi ironsi was betrayed by his own head of security guard and murdered in Abeokuta.
The key players in this northern coup were Murtala Mohammed and Theophilus Danjuma ( the head of security of Ironsi).
After this northern coup, things escalated and it became a public brawl. The igbos were now been killed in the north WITHOUT A REASON and they all began to run back to the east.
They were recieved by the military Governor of the east who Ironsi has appointed, his name was LT. COLONEL CHUKWUEMEKA OJUKWU.
Ojukwu made his stance to Lagos that he was unhappy with the events but that there won't be a reprisal attack from the igbos.
As at this time in Nigeria, there had been a previous coup it was bloody. So it was expected that the igbos would make a reprisal one, since this northern coup was already a counter coup in the first place.
Now, in Ikeja , the British (who would later go on to support Nigeria during the war) were having a meeting with the northerners and decided to hand over the reins of affari to the HIGHEST RANKING NORTHERN OFFICER IN THE MILITARY. A man called Lt- Col Gowon.
Murtala Mohammed never forgave GOWON for this and this would lead to the coup which overthrew GOWON many years later.
This isn't our focus for now.
Now this was part of the problem.
This is Nigeria, you want a military leader to lead.
You should get the highest ranking Nigerian military officer not the highest ranking NORTHERN officer.
That move alone, heightened the tension.
That was how Gowon became the head of state then.
Now there were igbos example OJUKWU who had a higher ranking than Gowon.
The highest ranking military man was Brigadier Ogundipe who in the eyes of OJUKWU should have been the head of state.
When Ojukwu rejected the appointment of GOWON. This brought about a personal hatred for Ojukwu by GOWON.
But the northerners with the support of the British took power for themselves.
And then Gowon turned a blind eye to the igbos been massacred in the north.
Sounds familiar to what is happening today with Buhari and the herdsmen?.
This angered Ojukwu. His brothers/sisters were been killed and GOWON the head of state pretended as if nothing was going on.
GOWON then was 31.
GOWON was a Christian by religion.
But in matters of ethnicity, loyalty isn't shared.
Ojukwu asked a famous question at an interview in Enugu, the capital of the eastern government.
The Question was.
"At what stage do this killings become a genocide?".
The killing of the igbos started well before the war.
Northerners were having a Field day killing the igbos.
Ojukwu found a way out or thought he found a way out.
He approached Obafemi Awolowo who was still in prison then and the most influential Yoruba person at that point.
He asked Awolowo to take the yorubas out of Nigeria, so he too can take the igbos out of Nigeria.
Then the northerners can have Nigeria to themselves.
Awolowo thought and considered the idea for a moment.
Problem was, oil had been discovered in the south and east and they knew the wealth it would bring to that region.
The north approached Obafemi and gave him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Obafemi immediately after his release, was to announce the secession of the Oduduwa republic ( yorubas) from Nigeria.
So as OJUKWU can do same with Biafra and leave the north in Nigeria alone.
Instead, he accepted a top position as the highest ranking civilian in Gowon's regime, essentially creating a north and west alliance, leaving the east out in the cold.
It was ironical that Awolowo who was one of those that fought for an independent Nigeria would support a GOWON regime that was bent on wiping out igbos from the earth's surface.
The British kept quiet, Awolowo supported GOWON.
And this emboldened GOWON the more.
And OJUKWU couldn't fold his hands and do nothing.
Britain has a part of blame in the Biafra war.
" He who sits on the fence in the face of abuse, has inadvertently taken the side of the abuser".
Igbos were suffering and most of them already displaced were encouraging Ojukwu to take them out of Nigeria and declare Biafra.
GOWON had threatened that if Ojukwu tries it, it would be seen as an act of treason and police action would be taken- a euphemism for war.
How can your people be killed indiscriminately and you are asked to seat and do nothing?.
Whose father would seat at home and see his sons killed like fowls and fold his hands?
OJUKWU remember was the military Governor of the eastern province.
And this pained him a lot.
Ojukwu still wanted diplomatic reasonings to things.
And he threw the final dice to ensure a diplomatic ending to the fights.
It was ABURI
ABURI, GHANA.
In a bid to avoid hostilities, both sides decided to meet on a neutral ground.
So they met in ABURI, Ghana in January 1967 as guest of General Joseph Ankrah for peace talks.
In that meeting, a declaration was announced that the use of force as the means of settling the present crisis in Nigeria should be stopped.
That the killing of igbos should be stopped.
And also that revenues and allocations be shared equally.
And also that positions in government should be given factoring all three provinces.
The ABURI accord did not see the light of the day.
Factoring the fact that oil has been found in the Niger-delta.
The killings of the Igbos had not stopped and to make matters worse on May 5 1967, GOWON divided the 3 Nigerian regions into 12 states.
The North-western state, North- Eastern state, Kano State, North- central state , Benue-plateau state, Kwara State, western state, Lagos State, mid-western state, Rivers State, southern-east state and east-central state.
What does that tell you?
The north was given six states, the west given 3 states and the east given 3 states.
Now remember there was already an unofficial alliance between the north and the west.
So it was basically a 9 against 3.
You had oil and someone wants to share with you and proceeded to give you the least
So the east had the oil, but from the very onset of time since the GOWON regime, the north had always had a bigger share of the revenue coming from the east.
At this point, it was too much for OJUKWU to take.
Igbos were still been killed.
Now , igbos were subjugated and were now getting little of their own resources.
OJUKWU had no choice than to take the igbos out of Nigeria.
This happened 5th of May and by end of May Ojukwu had declared the independence of the republic of Biafra and war had broken out.
Remember the same Britain who kept quiet when GOWON was running amok.
Same British supported Nigeria in arms and aids.
Same Britain watched and saw millions of children killed because of starvation.
Same Britain who is forming moral standard in the world today were enablers of that Biafra war.
It was only France that came to the aid of Biafra.
It's been 50 years and what our schools has succeeded to let us know was that Ojukwu woke up one morning and decided to go to war.
HE HAD NO CHOICE.
Prominent Nigerians who fought against OJUKWU includes.
Shehu Musa Yar'Adua
Ken saro-wiwa
Muhammadu Buhari
Ibrahim Babangida
Benjamin Adekunle
Olusegun Obasanjo.
All went on to play important roles in Nigeria.
4 of them becoming head of state/president.
You see why they think it is their right to ruke Nigeria.
I hope we never get to see wars again.
I hope Biafra comes diplomatically.
Ozoemena.

Op, e sure for you

Until hear the other side of the story thank God Gowon is still alive I have nothing to say for the now