General C. Odumegwu Ojukwu may have been the Biafran Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Biafran Armed Forces but it was Dr. Akanu Ibiam who provided the ultimate moral anchor for the Biafran nation. At Independence in 1960, Dr. Ibiam was appointed the Governor of former Eastern Region, the position which he held until the 1966 bloody coup d’etat that swept the military into power. During the ensuing crisis that quickly degenerated into the 30-month Civil War, Dr. Ibiam pretty much stayed out of public view and played an advisory role to the military administration in Enugu.

Like any other Easterner, Dr. Ibiam was incensed by the horrors of the pogroms that Ndiigbo were subjected to in Nigeria, especially the North. When it became clear that General Gowon and the junta in Lagos were not interested in seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis that gripped Nigeria at the time, all Eastern political leaders, including Dr. Ibiam, came out and threw their weight behind the founding of the Republic of Biafra. Apart from a stellar medical career since he became a doctor in 1936, Dr. Ibiam was a devout Christian who held many leadership positions in international church organizations, even after he became Governor of Eastern Nigeria. In the colonial era, he received international recognitions, including British knighthoods and honors like (K.C.M.G., O.B.E. and K.B.E.).

But Dr. Ibiam’s conscience was not bought. He remained fiercely devoted to the service of his God and people throughout the dark days of Biafran struggle. He was particularly irked by the fact that ex-colonial master, Britain, the founder of the Christian order which Dr. Ibiam served faithfully as a missionary doctor for more than 30 years, was the major backer of the Moslem-dominated military junta in Lagos in its genocidal war to subdue Biafra.

Bewildered by the callousness of the British government’s calculated abandonment of Christian Biafra in the heat of a survival struggle to resist a Moslem-inspired invasion for conquest, an enraged Dr. Ibiam snapped and repudiated Her Majesty’s government as he returned all his British imperial awards to Queen Elizabeth II of England with these words: “For these great honors and special recognitions, I am humbly grateful to Your Majesty and Your Majesty's Britannic Government. They are a happy reflection of the importance of Africa and her people before God and man. Howbeit, I must renounce all of them at this time. I do so to register the strongest protest at my command against Your Majesty's Government of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for supplying military equipment and arms to Nigeria which has waged a senseless and futile war of aggression against my country, the Republic of Biafra. My objection and protest are directed solely and entirely to the British Government because I believe that the staunch British friends of Africa, particularly the CHURCH, and informed British public opinion will deplore this unkindly act of the British Government to the Republic of Biafra. With the highest sense of responsibility, therefore, and bearing clearly in my own mind the moral issues which are at stake, and my own stand thereat, I return the Insignia and paraphernalia of my title to Your Majesty's Britannic Government through the British Deputy High Commissioner who is resident here in Enugu - the capital city of the Republic of Biafra.”

The angry and defiant Ibiam concluded his missive to the Queen thus: “In the circumstance, Your Majesty, I no longer wish to wear the garb of the British Knighthood. British fair play, British justice, and the Englishman's word of honor which Biafra loved so much and cherished have become meaningless to Biafrans in general and to me in particular. Christian Britain has shamelessly let down Christian Biafra.”

In these immortal words from one of the great sons of Africa, Dr. Akanu Ibiam has forever established and entrenched a moral yardstick which present and future generations of Ndiigbo must inculcate and utilize to defend our honor and dignity in face of overwhelming odds.

EzeUche:

General C. Odumegwu Ojukwu may have been the Biafran Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Biafran Armed Forces but it was Dr. Akanu Ibiam who provided the ultimate moral anchor for the Biafran nation. At Independence in 1960, Dr. Ibiam was appointed the Governor of former Eastern Region, the position which he held until the 1966 bloody coup d’etat that swept the military into power. During the ensuing crisis that quickly degenerated into the 30-month Civil War, Dr. Ibiam pretty much stayed out of public view and played an advisory role to the military administration in Enugu.

Like any other Easterner, Dr. Ibiam was incensed by the horrors of the pogroms that Ndiigbo were subjected to in Nigeria, especially the North. When it became clear that General Gowon and the junta in Lagos were not interested in seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis that gripped Nigeria at the time, all Eastern political leaders, including Dr. Ibiam, came out and threw their weight behind the founding of the Republic of Biafra. Apart from a stellar medical career since he became a doctor in 1936, Dr. Ibiam was a devout Christian who held many leadership positions in international church organizations, even after he became Governor of Eastern Nigeria. In the colonial era, he received international recognitions, including British knighthoods and honors like (K.C.M.G., O.B.E. and K.B.E.).

But Dr. Ibiam’s conscience was not bought. He remained fiercely devoted to the service of his God and people throughout the dark days of Biafran struggle. He was particularly irked by the fact that ex-colonial master, Britain, the founder of the Christian order which Dr. Ibiam served faithfully as a missionary doctor for more than 30 years, was the major backer of the Moslem-dominated military junta in Lagos in its genocidal war to subdue Biafra.

Bewildered by the callousness of the British government’s calculated abandonment of Christian Biafra in the heat of a survival struggle to resist a Moslem-inspired invasion for conquest, an enraged Dr. Ibiam snapped and repudiated Her Majesty’s government as he returned all his British imperial awards to Queen Elizabeth II of England with these words: “For these great honors and special recognitions, I am humbly grateful to Your Majesty and Your Majesty's Britannic Government. They are a happy reflection of the importance of Africa and her people before God and man. Howbeit, I must renounce all of them at this time. I do so to register the strongest protest at my command against Your Majesty's Government of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for supplying military equipment and arms to Nigeria which has waged a senseless and futile war of aggression against my country, the Republic of Biafra. My objection and protest are directed solely and entirely to the British Government because I believe that the staunch British friends of Africa, particularly the CHURCH, and informed British public opinion will deplore this unkindly act of the British Government to the Republic of Biafra. With the highest sense of responsibility, therefore, and bearing clearly in my own mind the moral issues which are at stake, and my own stand thereat, I return the Insignia and paraphernalia of my title to Your Majesty's Britannic Government through the British Deputy High Commissioner who is resident here in Enugu - the capital city of the Republic of Biafra.”

The angry and defiant Ibiam concluded his missive to the Queen thus: “In the circumstance, Your Majesty, I no longer wish to wear the garb of the British Knighthood. British fair play, British justice, and the Englishman's word of honor which Biafra loved so much and cherished have become meaningless to Biafrans in general and to me in particular. Christian Britain has shamelessly let down Christian Biafra.”

In these immortal words from one of the great sons of Africa, Dr. Akanu Ibiam has forever established and entrenched a moral yardstick which present and future generations of Ndiigbo must inculcate and utilize to defend our honor and dignity in face of overwhelming odds.

[b]
POWERFUL! [/b]This shows you in plain view why up until this day, the British fear an Igbo-led country and works behind the scenes to prevent it.

EzeUche:

General C. Odumegwu Ojukwu may have been the Biafran Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Biafran Armed Forces but it was Dr. Akanu Ibiam who provided the ultimate moral anchor for the Biafran nation. At Independence in 1960, Dr. Ibiam was appointed the Governor of former Eastern Region, the position which he held until the 1966 bloody coup d’etat that swept the military into power. During the ensuing crisis that quickly degenerated into the 30-month Civil War, Dr. Ibiam pretty much stayed out of public view and played an advisory role to the military administration in Enugu.

Like any other Easterner, Dr. Ibiam was incensed by the horrors of the pogroms that Ndiigbo were subjected to in Nigeria, especially the North. When it became clear that General Gowon and the junta in Lagos were not interested in seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis that gripped Nigeria at the time, all Eastern political leaders, including Dr. Ibiam, came out and threw their weight behind the founding of the Republic of Biafra. Apart from a stellar medical career since he became a doctor in 1936, Dr. Ibiam was a devout Christian who held many leadership positions in international church organizations, even after he became Governor of Eastern Nigeria. In the colonial era, he received international recognitions, including British knighthoods and honors like (K.C.M.G., O.B.E. and K.B.E.).

But Dr. Ibiam’s conscience was not bought. He remained fiercely devoted to the service of his God and people throughout the dark days of Biafran struggle. He was particularly irked by the fact that ex-colonial master, Britain, the founder of the Christian order which Dr. Ibiam served faithfully as a missionary doctor for more than 30 years, was the major backer of the Moslem-dominated military junta in Lagos in its genocidal war to subdue Biafra.

Bewildered by the callousness of the British government’s calculated abandonment of Christian Biafra in the heat of a survival struggle to resist a Moslem-inspired invasion for conquest, an enraged Dr. Ibiam snapped and repudiated Her Majesty’s government as he returned all his British imperial awards to Queen Elizabeth II of England with these words: “For these great honors and special recognitions, I am humbly grateful to Your Majesty and Your Majesty's Britannic Government. They are a happy reflection of the importance of Africa and her people before God and man. Howbeit, I must renounce all of them at this time. I do so to register the strongest protest at my command against Your Majesty's Government of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for supplying military equipment and arms to Nigeria which has waged a senseless and futile war of aggression against my country, the Republic of Biafra. My objection and protest are directed solely and entirely to the British Government because I believe that the staunch British friends of Africa, particularly the CHURCH, and informed British public opinion will deplore this unkindly act of the British Government to the Republic of Biafra. With the highest sense of responsibility, therefore, and bearing clearly in my own mind the moral issues which are at stake, and my own stand thereat, I return the Insignia and paraphernalia of my title to Your Majesty's Britannic Government through the British Deputy High Commissioner who is resident here in Enugu - the capital city of the Republic of Biafra.”

The angry and defiant Ibiam concluded his missive to the Queen thus: “In the circumstance, Your Majesty, I no longer wish to wear the garb of the British Knighthood. British fair play, British justice, and the Englishman's word of honor which Biafra loved so much and cherished have become meaningless to Biafrans in general and to me in particular. Christian Britain has shamelessly let down Christian Biafra.”

In these immortal words from one of the great sons of Africa, Dr. Akanu Ibiam has forever established and entrenched a moral yardstick which present and future generations of Ndiigbo must inculcate and utilize to defend our honor and dignity in face of overwhelming odds.

Can you please post his strongly worded apologies to the people of the North, on behalf of the ibo vermins who killed the Sardauna of Sokoto and the ones who were dancing on his death pictures.

ibos are either notoriously unable to make connection between two events or they are just plain dumb.

r. e. s. p. e. c. t.

Even egyptian pilots were used to man the russian supplied bomber jets that killed the igbos in thousands on behalf of nigerian government during the war.But then,i we have to move on and chart the cause of peace for the good of all.

word!!!!!

Can u guys just listen 2 yrsef What this guy (Dr Ibiam) is spewing makes no sense, so because Britain a secular country didn't support what would have been mass fratricide, he takes umbrage. He can go to hell, no one is losing sleep over him (The Queen is unaware that someone has stripped himself of his awards). Good riddance.

kildran:

Can u guys just listen 2 yrsef What this guy (Dr Ibiam) is spewing makes no sense, so because Britain a secular country didn't support what would have been mass fratricide, he takes umbrage. He can go to hell, no one is losing sleep over him (The Queen is unaware that someone has stripped himself of his awards). Good riddance.

Great Britain is responsible for most of the problems in the world with their colonial practices. Let us go through the list

Israel-Palestine
Iraq
Afghanistan
Pakistan-India
Nigeria

Dr. Ibiam was right. Great Britain should have stayed out of the conflict. Thousands of Christian Igbos were being slaughtered and the British were helping these people kill us. Of course Dr. Biam had every right to do this. Would you support a nation that is helping to slaughter your people?

So shut the helll up!

EzeUche:

Great Britain is responsible for most of the problems in the world with their colonial practices. Let us go through the list

Israel-Palestine
Iraq
Afghanistan
Pakistan-India
Nigeria

Dr. Ibiam was right. Great Britain should have stayed out of the conflict. Thousands of Christian Igbos were being slaughtered and the British were helping these people kill us. Of course Dr. Biam had every right to do this. Would you support a nation that is helping to slaughter your people?

So shut the helll up!

Will you ever take responsibility for anything? It's always other people's fault. You would have taken the first step towards redemption, the day you accept ibos are not infallible.

Ezeuche

You don't even know what you are saying, where is the logic in asking a country to support a war on religious grounds, when the country is a secular state. The logic in the statement is flawed ( I am not saying Britain should have intervened or otherwise), but please if you want to give a reason for a country to take sides in a war or not give good reasons. We need good premises before drawing conclusions.  Obviously Dr. Ibianu has a jaundiced view of the world, where he divides it into xtian and Muslim states, please let's be factual this guy doesn't know what he is saying.

On a side note, please Britain did not colonize Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Don't blame Britain for trouble spots in the world (at least furnish us with facts before screaming).

kildran:

Ezeuche

You don't even know what you are saying, where is the logic in asking a country to support a war on religious grounds, when the country is a secular state. The logic in the statement is flawed ( I am not saying Britain should have intervened or otherwise), but please if you want to give a reason for a country to take sides in a war or not give good reasons. We need good premises before drawing conclusions.  Obviously Dr. Ibianu has a jaundiced view of the world, where he divides it into xtian and Muslim states, please let's be factual this guy doesn't know what he is saying.

On a side note, please Britain did not colonize Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and  Afghanistan. Don't blame Britain for trouble spots in the world (at least furnish us with facts before screaming).

Are you saying that British colonialism did not impact Israel, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan? lol You must be kidding. Have you heard of the Palestine Mandate and the Balfour Declaration. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire when World War 1 ended, the British took control of many Ottoman provinces. Just watch Lawrence of Arabia and you will understand. The British interfered in the Palestine Mandate in which after World War II and the remaining Jews had were coming out of hiding since Nazi Germany was defeated, the British felt sorry for the Jews and gave them land in Palestine which would now become known as Israel. The Jewish settlers arrived in Israel under the auspices of the British and kicked the Palestinians out of their land and this is where you got the friction. Iraq and Afghanistan was also under the control of the British. Please know you history before you talk about things you do not understand.

Wherever the British were, they impacted the people in many profound ways. There is no reason why there should be an India and a Pakistan since Pakistan was once a part of India, until the British made the Muslims in India mad at the Hindus which forced them to create their own country. And do not get me started on British colonialism in Africa which created states that have no business being together. Who would have thought of putting the Igbo together with the Hausa who have more in common with Niger than the rest of Nigeria or the Yoruba who have more in common with Benin than the rest of Nigeria.

Mr Ezeuche

I haven't said that the British were not involved in the Israeli-Palestine conflict, but not as colonial forces (The Israeli situation was supported by NATO), we all know that the British were more sympathetic to the Arabs, but because America lent its voice to The Jews, they later supported the Jews. The issue of the Indian subcontinent is a unique one and we cannot blame the British for this as they had left India before it disintegrated (On the flip-side people like you supported the India-Pakistani situation as ideal a few months ago).
You have actually raised issues that may be argued, quite unlike Dr. Ibiam who based his arguments along the line of religious sentiments (He is evidently misinformed, because unlike Americans, Europeans are largely Agnostics or Atheists). To think they or any sovereign state would shun reason and caution on the basis of ethnic sentiments is laughable. Even Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and a few enlightened Arab states will not toe that line.

Akanu ibiam was one of the most respected igbo leaders. A man of integrity and peace.Adieu big uncle!

akanu was a great biafran!

Aigbofa:


Will you ever take responsibility for anything? It's always other people's fault. You would have taken the first step towards redemption, the day you accept ibos are not infallible.

hausa puppets why dont you vamoose or go and ask ademoyega that silly question besides i thought delta ppeople are not igbos.

kildran:

Mr Ezeuche

I haven't said that the British were not involved in the Israeli-Palestine conflict, but not as colonial forces (The Israeli situation was supported by NATO), we all know that the British were more sympathetic to the Arabs, but because America lent its voice to The Jews, they later supported the Jews. The issue of the Indian subcontinent is a unique one and we cannot blame the British for this as they had left India before it disintegrated (On the flip-side people like you supported the India-Pakistani situation as ideal a few months ago).
You have actually raised issues that may be argued, quite unlike Dr. Ibiam who based his arguments along the line of religious sentiments (He is evidently misinformed, because unlike Americans, Europeans are largely Agnostics or Atheists). To think they or any sovereign state would shun reason and caution on the basis of ethnic sentiments is laughable. Even Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and a few enlightened Arab states will not toe that line.

but the egyptians airforce that were bombing biafra saw it as a christian vs muslim war that is why they bombed everything they see from church to redcross to civilian homes

This should be circulated to every Biafran son and daughter! All this talk against Biafra, but when I tell non-Nigerians, whether they be black american, white or asian to read about the history of Nigeria and Biafra. They all SAY THE SAME THING, THAT BIAFRA SHOULD BE A COUNTRY. They all say that they will support Biafra, NOT ONE has said othereise. You know what the most shocking thing to them when they read about it. That during the COLD WAR on that USSR (SOVIET UNION) and UK were on the same side. The US remained silent supporter and everybody knows that whatever the UK does the US is in agreement with and vice versa. But we will hold our heads high, those that died will never be forgotten. Some of the truest words ever spoken by a great man.