Ejoor was a Northern slave. He was one of the 5 signatories of the Aburi agreement. But when that agreement was broken, he along with Adeyinka Adebayo accepted their slave status. Both men started saluting their junior, Yakubu Gowon. Only Ojukwu refused to be made a slave by the North

kingzizzy:
Ejoor was a Northern slave. He was one of the 5 signatories of the Aburi agreement. But when.that agreement was broken, he along with Adeyinka Adebayo accepted their slave status. Both men started saluting their junior, Yakubu Goeon. Only Ojukwu refused to be made a slave by the North

Efewestern did Ejoor sign the Aburi accord.?

I spotted him on a wheelchair at MMIA at the turn of the new year. Never knew he was probably dying at the time. RIP.

Nigeria will become an Eldorado when Gowon, Obasanjo, Buhari, Babangida, Abdusalam, TY Danjuma go to join Ejoor. Thank God one of our problems is gone. Yeepee....

Warship:


Efewestern did Ejoor sign the Aburi accord.?

Yes he did, along with Ojukwu, Gowon,Katsina and Adebayo. He signed the agreement as Military Governor of the Mid-West Region

See Gowon and Ejoor, they had a lifetime opportunity to turn this country into an Eldorado but instead choose to be slaves under the so called Sokoto Caliphate

kingzizzy:


Yes he did, along with Ojukwu, Gowon,Katsina and Adebayo. He signed the agreement as Military Governor of the Mid-West Region

Efewestern will never talk because his hero renegade on a signed agreement.

Warship:


When you fight for a country that ended up being a failed state, aren't you a traitor to your people's progress.?

It's amazing how those of you from the East who fought against the actualization of a Niger-delta republic can so swiftly accuse others of being traitors. Were ojukwu and Aguiyi ironsi traitors to the Niger-deltan people for having dissimilar opinions from ours? Your guess is as good as mine

Warship:


Efewestern did Ejoor sign the Aburi accord.?

Yes Ejoor signed it, But he was neutral until his region was invaded and the invaders were asked to bring him dead or alive, he had no other option than to align with the central government.

So why did they ask for his head?

kingzizzy:
Ejoor was a Northern slave. He was one of the 5 signatories of the Aburi agreement. But when.that agreement was broken, he along with Adeyinka Adebayo accepted their slave status. Both men started saluting their junior, Yakubu Goeon. Only Ojukwu refused to be made a slave by the North

Ejoor wasn't a slave, what happened then could have been resolved diplomatically instead of using force on him, he had no other option than to align with Gowon. You guys hardly take responsibility for your actions.

For the record straight, Ejoor had warned both parties not to bring their battles to mid-west, in fact he was angry with the central government because they withdrew all the military men posted in mid-west, he was left with few men.

The greatest mistake then was the attempt to kill him, that brought too many groups who were neutral to side with Gowon.

Efewestern:


Ejoor wasn't a slave, what happened then could have been resolved diplomatically instead of using force on him, he had no other option than to align with Gowon. You guys hardly take responsibility for your actions.

For the record straight, Ejoor had warned both parties not to bring their battles to mid-west, in fact he was angry with the central government because they withdrew all the military men posted in mid-west, he was left with few men.

The greatest mistake then was to attempt to kill him, that brought too many groups who were neutral to side with Gowon.

Bros, aburi agreement or no aburi agreement. Ojukwu couldn't have just lumped the Midwest which used to be under the West, to biafra without seeking our opinions via a consensus or referendum. It's not like we share cultural similarities with the igbos in the first place.. he should have just ended his quest for succession in asaba or agbor.

Efewestern:


Ejoor wasn't a slave, what happened then could have been resolved diplomatically instead of using force on him, he had no other option than to align with Gowon. You guys hardly take responsibility for your actions.

For the record straight, Ejoor had warned both parties not to bring their battles to mid-west, in fact he was angry with the central government because they withdrew all the military men posted in mid-west, he was left with few men.

The greatest mistake then was to attempt to kill him, that brought too many groups who were neutral to side with Gowon.

He commanded a group of officers whose loyalties lied with the east and himself and other non-igbo Midwest officers like ogbemudia were targets. Ojukwu was bent on installing a loyal governor in the Midwest

Mystiquefia:


Bros, aburi agreement or no aburi agreement. Ojukwu couldn't have just lumped the Midwest which used to be under the West, to biafra without seeking our opinions via a consensus or referendum. It's not like we share cultural similarities with the igbos in the first place.. he should have just ended his quest for succession in asaba or agbor.

He even had no reason to attack the region, the region wasn't a hostile one, worst is the fact that he didn't meet with the locals, or even agree to work with the kings, for example during the invasion, there was a rumour going on that the Oba of Bini was being kidnapped by the Biafran troops, how then do you expect such a people to work with you? again I still see no reason why he wanted Ejoor dead.

His claim was that he never wanted to conquer Midwest, he wasn't diplomatic and it's over 40yrs after the war, same mistake is still being played out till date.

rabzy:


He commanded a group of officers whose loyalties lied with the east and himself and other non-igbo Midwest officers like ogbemudia were targets. Ojukwu was bent on installing a loyal governor in the Midwest

What stopped him from talking things out with him, Not that Ejoor was even working for Gowon, Ejoor was just after the safety of his people and region, Supporting Ojukwu would have dragged the mid-west into a battle that wasn't theirs, so the best way was to abstain and see how things played out, I see no reason why people should fault him.

Every leader is after the safety and interest of their people. Invading Midwest was a big mistake!

Wow..

$$$$$

Efewestern:


What stopped him from talking things out with him, Not that Ejoor was even working for Gowon, Ejoor was just after the safety of his people and region, Supporting Ojukwu would have dragged the mid-west into a battle that wasn't theirs, so the best way was to abstain and see how things played out, I see no reason why people should fault him.

Every leader is after the safety and interest of their people. Invading Midwest was a big mistake!

And who told you they never talked? He made his choice and died seeing the fruit of the choice, do you think he died a happy man seeing what Niger Delta became under one Nigeria?

Efewestern:


What stopped him from talking things out with him, Not that Ejoor was even working for Gowon, Ejoor was just after the safety of his people and region, Supporting Ojukwu would have dragged the mid-west into a battle that wasn't theirs, so the best way was to abstain and see how things played out, I see no reason why people should fault him.

Every leader is after the safety and interest of their people. Invading Midwest was a big mistake!

The invasion of the Midwest Region and by
extension, Western Nigeria, which was punctured
at Ore, was never an error on the part of the Yeebos, but a deliberate military subterfuge by the Yeebos to shift the 'theatre of war' from their enclave and isolate their territory from a tragedy they willingly invoked on themselves. You can imagine the war extending from Ore to Ijebu-Ode, all in Western Nigeria and the war being fought by both parties around that axis.
The Yeebos thought they had the military might and strategy to sustain the war at that level but alas, they were proved wrong especially, with the military and political masterstroke of Chief Awolowo, who refused supplying food to the Igbo rebels thereby causing hunger, deprivation and starvation in the land of the Yeebos����.

Efewestern:


Major General David Akpode Ejoor ( rtd ), one of Nigeria’s finest military officers , took his final salute on February 10 , 2019 , when he breathed his last. The General whose courage and patriotism approximated that of the Biblical David was a grand old man of eighty - six when he answered the final call. General Ejoor was born of Ovwor - Olomu and Ebor- Orogun parentage . A paragon of Urhobo intelligence , industry and foresight , Ejoor braved odds to go to Primary School which eventually led him to the portals of Government College Ughelli , ( GCU ) in 1948 . Ejoor was outstanding at GCU where he won a scholarship .

His Principal was the legendary V . B . Powell who described him on graduating in 1953 as “ a thoroughly nice boy in the best sense …” He was among early Nigerians trained at the Royal Military Academy , Sandhurst . Ejoor graduated from Sandhurst in July 1956 , and returned to Nigeria on 2 nd January 1957 as a Lieutenant . After serving in Kaduna and Ibadan between 1957 and 1959 , the lot of securing Nigeria ’ s border with Cameroon fell on him .

At independence in 1960 , Ejoor had the historic honour of commanding the Army Guard at the dawn of 1 st October . That event foreshadowed the significant roles he was to play in the survival of Nigeria . Ejoor was in the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in the Congo . On returning to Nigeria , he again had another rare privilege of designing the Nigerian Army cap badge and rank insignias . The turning point in Ejoor ’ s career took place on 15 th January 1966 when the first military coup swept away the first post - independence government.

Ejoor , then a Lieutenant Colonel and Commander of the Army Battalion in Enugu, was in the forefront of the offensive that foiled that coup. Fate saw him appointed as the Military Governor of the then Midwest Region , by virtue of which he became a member of the Supreme Military Council ( SMC) .

Ejoor had hardly settled down when the counter coup of July 1966 took place . The July coup led by Northern soldiers led to the death of many officers from the then Eastern Region . Soon the tension bred by the coup degenerated into a full blown Civil War . Ejoor , more than any other Nigerian military officer suffered from the war .

His acts of courage and loyalty to Nigeria contributed to Nigeria surviving the war . His predicament stemmed from being the Governor of the Midwest , a small buffer Region with a substantial population of the aggrieved Igbo . His military colleagues in the Midwest with the exception of two were all Igbo . So there was a conspiracy to get rid of him . Help was not forthcoming from the Federal Army, and the invading rebel forces overran his base in Benin .

He survived three assassination attempts . Before and during the early period of the war , Ejoor was the only proponent of one Nigeria among the then four Regional Governors , and military brass hats who saw no need for the existence of Nigeria as one entity . It was for that that the rebel leader , Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu - Ojukwu wanted him dead. The invasion necessitated Ejoor’s flight from Benin the capital of the Midwest .

Ejoor’s escape from Benin , his bicycle ride to Ebor- Orogun , and eventual appearance in Lagos are the stuff military manoeuvres are made of . Yet , it was that rare act of stratagem that Olusegun Obasanjo had in mind when he referred to General Ejoor as a “ bicycle riding fugitive ” . It is apropos to say that better and braver soldiers than Obasanjo , the likes of Generals T . Y . Danjuma and Joe Garba had gone on to adulate General Ejoor as an officer of the highest mettle . The Biafran invasion of the Midwest also meant the loss of Ejoor ’ s post as Governor .

But short and tempestuous as his tenure was , he left footprints that are associated with visionary leaders . He set the tone for the making of the Midwest into the most advanced enclave in Africa . The strides recorded by his successor , Brigadier Samuel Ogbemudia were derived from the template put in place by Ejoor . But this is hardly acknowledged .

How many people know that it was Ejoor who established the first radio broadcasting station in Benin ? Who still remembers that it was Ejoor who began the process that gave birth to the once famous Nigerian Observer , or that he was the one who took the decisive steps which metamorphosed into today’s University of Benin , Benin City? What about other landmark projects like the Delta Steel Company, Ovwian - Aladja, the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun , and the Refinery at Ekpan which he envisioned ? Ejoor arrived in Lagos on the blaze of military glory in 1967 . He became a Director at the Army headquarters and was later assigned the task of getting France , America and India to support the Federal Government during the war .

In 1968 , he assumed duties as the first Nigerian Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy , Kaduna and was saddled with the responsibility of training young officers who prosecuted the war . Ejoor attained Generalcy in 1971 the same year he attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom where he obtained the military equivalent of a PhD .

He reached the apogee of military career when he was appointed as Chief of Army Staff in January 1972 . As Nigeria ’ s Army Chief, Ejoor did so much to reshape the military to fit into the nation ’ s post - war aspiration . The July 1975 coup ended Ejoor ’ s remarkable military career at the age of 43 ! He retired to civvy street .

He was President - General of the Urhobo Progress Union , Nigeria’s oldest socio - cultural organization whose proscription he prevented in 1966 . He drafted Nigeria ’ s Defence Policy in 1982 . His submission on two - party system became a model for Babangida ’ s political transition programme . He received the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR ) and Grand Commander of the Niger ( GCON ).

The governments of Togo , Sudan, Senegal and Belgium also conferred national honours on him . General Ejoor was the author of two books , one of which is Reminiscences which presents the most altruistic account of the Nigerian crisis from 1966 to 1970 .

As General David Ejoor is laid to rest in Ovwor- Olomu, his birth-place, interred with him is a repository of Nigerian history , the nation’s struggle for unity and a still lively hope for nationhood .

Awhefeada teaches literatures at the Delta State University , Abraka.

https://m.guardian.ng/saturday-magazine/transition/general-david-ejoors-final-salute/

Thanks for twisting the facts to create lies here

Template for Ogbemudia? What template?
A soldier who was drafted to be the head of a school during war time is not a soldier but an academician. We were witnesses first hand how Ejoor aided Benjamin Okumagba to cause inter ethnic squabbles in Warri in 1993, leading to son many needless deaths at Okere, Idimusobo, Olomu, Ogborikoko, Ogunu, Ekurede areas in Warri. His residence at Deco Road by Warri Sapele Road was a Depot where he held nocturnal meetings with Otota of Okere Urhobo, the late Benjamin Okumagba... arming Urhobo youth with military styled sophisticated weapons to fight the Ijaws and Itsekiris.

I won't insult the dead but please let this man go face his creator

Stop trying to make a hero of a certified villain, just because he died!

Zane2point4:
See as all of them young late 20s and ruling.
But now it a taboo to see a young man in govt office, or even using a nice ride, even if he genuinely acquired it.

Come to think of it, it might just be because military have a much earlier sense of responsibility and maturity because of their training unlike civilians who are busy with casual affairs and no sound training or preparation.