Two lies as Biafra turns 40 9/7/2007

BY SAM OMATSEYE

NATION

For those of us who were little in the early days of Biafra, the world suddenly robbed us of our innocence. Gunshots replaced a mother's soft lullaby at night, guns displaced toys, bloodshed spilled instead of a donut's sweet jelly. We wondered why people ran like clueless hens, scampering under cover while booms sounded from above. The plane should have been a mere contraption to toy with, but it scared everybody. So we too ran, sometimes too slow to catch up and sometimes some of us died and disappeared. Some of us died because we were unlucky to be cradled by a mother or father or even sympathetic stranger who ran into a rat-at-at of bullets or the poisonous shrapnel of bombs.
For those of us who were mature, we fought, unleashing bullets either on the side of Biafra or on the other side, skulking the enemy, afraid now, bold now. Or we were policy makers and strategists, or were just plain folk caught in the ominous politics of our leaders.

What of those who were not born, but heard of the woes of those years spun by parents. What of those like the new literary sensation, Ngozi Adichie, who had to suspend time and relive those moments as she did in her award-winning novel, Half of a yellow sun? People of her generation have to rely on the imagination, which is all they have. But it is sometimes eminently potent as she has demonstrated. Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

Forty years on, all three sets of people still focus on that big stain on our history, a period of pride and prejudice, intrigues and
turmoil, love and hate, fear and daredevilry, champagne and blood.

Yet, we cannot let that period go without a reflection on what went wrong and how they impact on today's Nigeria, especially the meaning
of federalism, the ethnic question, what with the remorseless rumbles in the Niger Delta. What focused my mind was the claim by
the Biafran leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, whose views continue to remain dim. Hear him on the anniversary of that war:

"When you have death knocking at your door, you have only two alternatives, either you allow your head to be chopped off or you fight back. I am happy, proud of the fact that we (the Igbo) chose to fight back. That is what we did for as long as we could."

From Ojukwu's assertion, there is a presumption of Igbo innocence in that dark and fratricidal drama. In the same breath, other narratives tend to play up Hausa-Fulani heroism. All the other ethnic groups were just there for the ride. War and innocence are two alien ideas, although sometimes one thrives on the other. That was the point the Ikemba wanted to make. But I am not buying. There is no such thing as an inevitable war. Historians know this.

By Ojukwu's assertion, the Igbo woke up one morning, and the pogrom raged into being. Igbos fell to slaughter in the thousands everywhere, especially in the north. Historians know that the immediate cause of the war was the tendentious nature of the coup led by Nzeogwu that preserved Igbo leaders while northern and southwest leaders fell. Even after that, Gen. Ironsi who was never touched formed a unitary system, especially in the civil service resented for being under Igbo control.

[b]This stirred more discontent, as the feeling was rife among many other ethnic groups that the Igbo saw this as an opportunity to dominate the country for good. That was the reason for the pogrom, which also led to the now familiar series of negotiations that precipitated the war. Ojukwu led his people to a failed and meaningless war when eminent Nigerians wanted a cessation of hostilities and reconciliation. Ojukwu saw his time. He wanted to lead a nation. He envied Gowon's position. That's the truth. He conflated his ambition with that of the Igbo people. The tragedy was that the Igbo people let him have his way.

The war was preventable. We deny this truth only if we want to be self-serving. The reaction to the fear of Igbo domination was puerile. It could have been addressed in other ways than the resort to the bloodshed that turned innocent Igbo citizens into carrion flesh. The killings exposed a deep resentment, especially among the Hausa-Fulani part of the country. They too sought the same kind of
dominance.[/b]

Even the execution of the war exposed Ojukwu and his Biafran forces. If all he wanted was to excise his people away from the persecuting
neighbours of Nigeria, why did he plot his way into Midwest, conniving with all the senior officers who were of the Igbo stock. When in the Midwest, they treated the locals like an underclass -despoil, looting and rapine became the hallmark. The Midwesterners saw them as an army of occupation, hence an underground resistance reminiscent of the French example during the Second World War.

A plot to railroad its way into the southwest was foiled by Banjo's cold feet and federal troops on the rebound. So the expired warlord
should be careful about painting the innocence of Biafra. He will do well to snuggle with Bianca. Some historians have asserted that Ironsi's declaration of a unitary system was not an act of bigotry but naivety. He wanted to unify the country, they claim. That was a
naïve step taken too far. It cost us peace and many innocent lives.

The story of Hausa-Fulani heroism is often overplayed. Some of the great war heroes of the battle were not from the north. In fact, the
idea that isolated and flushed out Biafra, as noted in a coming book, came from Daniel Omoigui, a helmsman in the Dapartment of
Federal Survey. That was the idea that led to the brave steps of such soldiers of Murtala Muhammed and Benjamen Adekunle, none of
them Hausa-Fulani. Olusegun Obasanjo stepped in as always to receive the flag of surrender as he has always reaped where he did not sow.
This is not to discount the roles of such soldiers as Buhari, Shuwa, etc,. We should realize this was a collective victory. The Western
narrative of the Second World War often paints the colour of an American victory over Germany as though the Soviet Union, which took
charge of the eastern battlefront with huge casualties and high- level soldiery did not matter. But for today, we can see the
reverberations of the Civil War. In the Owu chief's years as president, it is said that the nation did not focus on ethnic
loyalties and chauvinism. This may be true. But the prejudice was merely repressed, not stamped out. The reason is that the historic
forces that created such loyalties, like even distribution of resources, the handling of infrastructure and poverty remained. The
Owu chief supplanted the idol of the tribe with the cult of Babaism, which is now gradually fizzling out.

The Arewa meeting recently served notice that the north is on the rebound to reclaim their position of old at the top of Nigerian politics. Part of it is against the brutal presence of the Owu chief in the thick of Nigerian politics, especially in the National Assembly polls, his roles in ousting Anenih and taking charge of the PDP as well as doctoring the ministers' list.

The northern rebirth may give birth to its counterweights in the southwest with Yoruba and the southeast with the Igbo, those agitations are resound everywhere. But this may not take the power of old when Awo took the west, Zik the east and Ahmadu Bello took the north. So, we shall see how far this Arewa resurgence will go with the present sultan at the head.

But this move, I think, will make the so-called Kaduna mafia happy if it pulls off its sole achievement to ease out the Owu chief from
meddling in Abuja.

So, at 40, a grown adult, Biafra is with us, if in a different guise.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-65106.0.html

jason12345:

i just want to bury this biafra - yoruba betrayal once and for all

See your point.

koruji:

I 'll tell you what you need. Write the word "Yoruba" in large letters on a 5ft x 1ft letters, find a box of slightly larger size and two feet high, perhaps tapering from the middle towards the ends, with flat ends and a lid to match. Apply superglue to the edges of the lid, then quickly put the plate of letters in it, pack all your belongings for the afterlife, get in the box with your belongings and slide it shut with the glue!

That way you will have buried yourself and your concoted "yoruba betrayal" for good

the point i'm trying to make is, the yorubas never betrayed the igbos. we were neutral until ojukwu invaded mid-west.

Can d Mod lock this thread.

@jason12345
Friendly fire. Sorry.

Could you edit the post out of your quote as well - I deleted the original.

jason12345:

the point i'm trying to make is, the yorubas never betrayed the igbos. we were neutral until ojukwu invaded mid-west.

D-sense:

Can d Mod lock this thread.

why?
is it because the truth is gradually revealing itself

koruji:

@jason12345
Friendly fire. Sorry.

its cool .

i want the pro-biafrans to come and iron this out so we can bury the issue

@The poster: This thread has been thrashed out here before.

Una no de tire?!


I just wish u will be ignored.

even when they killed ironsi, they also killed fajuyi ( a yoruba man). but the pro-biafrans will not see this. all they care about is their selfish interest.

for them to come out and defend this, they won't. which only means its the truth

onye_ngbu:

Una no de tire?!


I just wish u will be ignored.

Andre Uweh:

@The poster: This thread has been thrashed out here before.

why are you ignoring it.

but you find it convenient to insult yorubas, call them cowards etc. its a shame. defend the insults that has been rained down on the yorubas, you are all ignoring it.

Jason,

Andrew Uweh is right. This topic has been trashed a million times before.

Katsumoto:

Jason,

Andrew Uweh is right. This topic has been trashed a million times before.

yes, i even got it from a trend here. i have been reading some nl topics from the past and i see how the pro-biafrans lash out at the yorubas. its annoying.

but i wonder why its convenient for some biafrans to insult the yorubas!!! when we both know ojukwu was at fault.

*Eagerly subscribing*

Where are my Igbo brodas? Let the e-battle begin!

jason12345:

yes, i even got it from a trend here. i have been reading some nl topics from the past and i see how the pro-biafrans lash out at the yorubas. its annoying.

but i wonder why its convenient for some biafrans to insult the yorubas!!! when we both know ojukwu was at fault.

I just hope you have all the facts, otherwise you are going to get sucked into something deep.

Mai Suya:

*Eagerly subscribing*

Where are my Igbo brodas? Let the e-battle begin!

bro, this is not about e-battle.

i want us to iron this out!!! except everyone knows something i don't know,and if they do pls educate me

Katsumoto:

I just hope you have all the facts, otherwise you are going to get sucked into something deep.

do you know something about the biafra that i don't know?

Even I am not interesting in this e-battle.

EzeUche0:

Even I am not interesting in this e-battle. 

my brother ,I don't want an e-battle. all i want to know is if the igbos know something the population (yorubas) don't know. pls explain to me the reason for the insults on yorubas if ojukwu invaded 

@ First Poster.

it seems you have a liking for fomenting trouble. And you are not even Yoruba. I must warn you. you are going overboard.

excanny:

@ First Poster.

it seems you have a liking for fomenting trouble. And you are not even Yoruba. I must warn you. you are going overboard.

excanny, i swear i don't want trouble.
i just want an explaination.

Jason,

seriously, you shouldnt have. I think a lot of Yorubas have stopped caring if we're hated or not.
This is going to foment trouble. . . .even if the truth comes out or remain hidden, nobody cares. Let's get life rolling.

Can't wait for Dede1 to post his usual garbage while feeling funky. I'm out. . . .

excanny:

@ First Poster.

it seems you have a liking for fomenting trouble. And you are not even Yoruba. I must warn you. you are going overboard.

why would i want to disrespect the igbos all i want to know is if what was said above was true and if it is, the why insult the yorubas.

Ileke-IdI:

Jason,

seriously, you shouldnt have. I think a lot of Yorubas have stopped caring if we're hated or not.
This is going to foment trouble. . . .even if the truth comes out or remain hidden, nobody cares. Let's get life rolling.

Can't wait for Dede1 to post his usual garbage while feeling funky. I'm out. . . .

okay, thank you. i did not intend for it to be emotional.

igbos, never mind i am sorry i even asked the question.

This thread will follow thesame path of all anti-Igbo threads.What we should observe is that the war was in self defense at least to the Igbo masses. What conspired amongst the elite is still unknown.The nation woke up to hear that there was a coup during which non-Igbos were killed by the mostly Igbo coup plotters.Months later it was a genocide against Igbos and they had to run en-masse to the eastern region which they thought was safe.

The coup was masterminded by Anioma Igbos who today have some people like "agbotaen" supported by "becomerich" boldly claiming they are not Igbos.

Abagworo:

This thread will follow thesame path of all anti-Igbo threads.What we should observe is that the war was in self defense at least to the Igbo masses. What conspired amongst the elite is still unknown.The nation woke up to hear that there was a coup during which non-Igbos were killed by the mostly Igbo coup plotters.Months later it was a genocide against Igbos and they had to run en-masse to the eastern region which they thought was safe.

The coup was masterminded by Anioma Igbos who today have some people like "agbotaen" supported by "becomerich" boldly claiming they are not Igbos.

thanks for your contribution. i think its best to let the sleeping dog lie. they said i was looking for trouble, so lets just forget i formed the topic

;d ;d ;d

alj harem:

;d ;d ;d

Mai Suya:

The coup was masterminded by Anioma Igbos who today have some people like "agbotaen" supported by "becomerich" boldly claiming they are not Igbos.

jason i hope you saw the disclaimer, you see where the blame has been shifted to? anioma igbos, not igbos. expediency at it,s best.