oyatz:
If you want to be honest you ought to have known that the Civil War did NOT start suddenly but gradually over months.



As Biafrans were leaving Nigeria, they withdrew their all their money which Ojukwu collected from them and gave them Biafran Pounds in exchange.

Many enthusiastic Biafrans even donated their money (in Nigerian currency) to buy weapons.

After the war, BiafranPounds became worthless as no country was ready to accept it as a legal tender but Chinua Achebe and other Biafran propangadists wished Nigeria should have just accepted the Biafran Pounds and gave the Biafrans one Nigerian pound in exchange for each Biafran Pound.

This is very similar to a trader asking you to give him #500 MTN card while he pays you back with #500 NITEL card in 2020 when NITEL no longer exist and no Telecom company will accept their cards.



# The ways the Biafrans blamed and still blaming the Nigerians for their loss of the civil war is childish.

It's like a wrestler blaming his opponent for his defeat in a boxing match.

SciLab:


yoruba muslims do it more.

Northerners do not need to stress themselves knocking heads together, when we all know that Igbo and yoruba can never work together until yoruba decides to start embracing equity and apologize for all the lies and propaganda they've told against the east for many decades in many of their newspaper which are now moribund.

yorubas have a lot to gain with the chaos they want to create by trying to demonize Igbos in the eyes of the SS and other tribes who today do not currently align with yoruba political interests.

helinues:


Oga, this is NL not Afagwu village discussion.

So you think the few countries that supported Biafra during the war did it for free? So those knockouts banger is what you called manufactured Biafra weapon ?

The funniest part of it, Israel was selling few ammunition to Biafra while selling the large chunk to Nigeria government

Smoke55:
your dumbness is raised to power 4! so all the chinese,americans,britains and co are all seeking for greener pastures in nigeria? is nigeria better than their country?! oga have you heard any thing like business exploit? your tribes men are simply lazy simple, they live all their lives in their parents house,so they cant travel out of their region,just admit it,you wont die.

gwafaeziokwu:


Chinua Achebe again!

The man that released the last truth (missile) that is pricking Yorubas like sharp pointed needles till date.

The man that unmasked the fake pretenders agenda for all generation to see.

He said it as it was. Only cowards deny their actions when faced with the repercussions. Your Lord and personal saviour Awolowo killed 2 million Biafrans children with his unconventional blockade during the civil war.

He also went further to impoverish us by handing out £20 pounds to all Igbos that have account with the bank.

That is history and it can't be changed. Deal with it.

Smoke55:
wow! so in summary south west is condusive,and have many business opportunities,to an extence that they dont need to travel to other region? hahahahaha how does that sound in your ear? great i guess...still ekiti,ondo and oyo top the list of top 10 poorest states in nigeria,how you guys lie with passion still amaze me..those guys looting breads and indomies in ikorodu,are they also part of wealthy SW?

Smoke55:
you probably dnt have any thing to say,you kept contradicting your self,i cant continue runing roud the circle with you....when you said that south west is condusive and dnt need to travel out from their village or region that was when i knew you have nothing more to say.

oyatz:

You just justified my statement.



It wasn't Awolowo's (a Nigerian) duty to ensure that Biafra succeeded.


This is like blaming your opponent for your defeat.

oyatz:
Actually, you have a point.

This was the true experience of some people especially in the volatile areas of core-North but the vast majority planed for their new Country.

MinorityOpinion:
Ever thought of how the Igbos transform themselves from 20 Nigeria pounds to become one of power house of Nigeria economy?

Here we are going to evaluate the truth and lies of 20 pounds myth.

First of all, what led to the whole scenario of 20 pounds? Your guess is as good as mine, NIGERIA CIVIL WAR.

The 20 pounds accusation was championed by Chinua Achebe, he accused the Federal Government of Nigeria of incapacitating and impoverishing all the Igbos after the war by not allowing them to have access to their pre-war savings in Nigeria bank.

The twenty pounds was as a form of RECONCILIATION GESTURE not compensation.

For those who were too young to remember, the Civil War did not start in a sudden manner. There were days, weeks and months leading to the civil war when people from different regions were packing and moving to their homelands. At such time of uncertainty, no one could predict what was going to happen and common sense would dictate that each and everyone would be in control of his or her resources to be able to survive when the war broke out. This would mean that before an Igbo man would leave Kaduna, Lagos or Ibadan, he would have withdrawn all his money before crossing into Biafra. This would not just be dictated by common sense, survival instinct would have also required and demanded it too.





By far the most important strategy of the Biafrans in their quest for foreign exchange, was the conversion of their holdings of Nigerian currency. There have been differing reports as to the amount of Nigerian currency in circulation at the time of secession, but when Nigeria’s Finance Commissioner announced on 30 December 1967 that the new Nigerian notes would replace the current notes in circulation between 3 January and 22 January 1968, he also stated that some £37 million had been seized by the rebels in the east. The Biafrans, on the other hand, claimed that by the end of January 1968 they had collected more than £53 million. However, yet another estimate stated that £30 million were circulating in Biafra at the point of secession, with further reserves of £40 million being held in the bank vaults of the Central Bank in Enugu and Port Harcourt. Whatever the actual amount was, following secession large amounts of currency were quickly taken to Europe where they were added to a further £6 million that had been transferred prior to secession, and steps were taken to convert these Nigerian bank notes into foreign exchange.

Where did all the money went?



The Igbos were given the money out of the RECONCILIATION GESTURE of the Government. It would be outrageous and can lead to the bankrupt of Nigeria if we had exchanged our Nigerian pounds for worthless Biafran pounds.

Instead there was a policy reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of 20 Nigerian pound despite the fact no Biafran kept their money with Nigeria before the war.

The perfect comparison is this.



In conclusion, the Nigeria government owes no one money, afterall 20 pounds was RECONCILIATION GESTURE which the Biafrans were not entitled to in the first place.


#minorityOpinion

MinorityOpinion:


How did ezeogwu, kalu and others soldier of Igbos tribes escape from kaduna before the start of the war?

helinues:


Where did Ojukwu get the money for the arms and ammunition ?

oyatz:

You just justified my statement.



It wasn't Awolowo's (a Nigerian) duty to ensure that Biafra succeeded.


This is like blaming your opponent for your defeat.

gwafaeziokwu:


That is the fact I want you to swallow.

You deployed the tactics of killing 2 million children of your opponents in order to force their hand and win the war ( however unconventional it was) , and then declared that all is fair in war.

Why do you lots then have problem with Chinua Achebe writing the obvious in his last bullet to a failed nation.

Why the summersaults of denials and name callings till this day. What exactly are you afraid of.

You needed to starve 2 million children to death in order to win the war fine, why don't you own up to that tragedy.

The truth is that you lots were beginning to get away with the borrowed pretentious robe of saints with no hand in the tragedy against Igbos between 1966 -1970. Until Achebe jolted everyone to reality.

oyatz:
If you want to be honest you ought to have known that the Civil War did NOT start suddenly but gradually over months.



As Biafrans were leaving Nigeria, they withdrew their all their money which Ojukwu collected from them and gave them Biafran Pounds in exchange.

Many enthusiastic Biafrans even donated their money (in Nigerian currency) to buy weapons.

After the war, BiafranPounds became worthless as no country was ready to accept it as a legal tender but Chinua Achebe and other Biafran propangadists wished Nigeria should have just accepted the Biafran Pounds and gave the Biafrans one Nigerian pound in exchange for each Biafran Pound.

This is very similar to a trader asking you to give him #500 MTN card while he pays you back with #500 NITEL card in 2020 when NITEL no longer exist and no Telecom company will accept their cards.



# The ways the Biafrans blamed and still blaming the Nigerians for their loss of the civil war is childish.

It's like a wrestler blaming his opponent for his defeat in a boxing match.

Louder

LegendHero:


Have you seen any country that is giving food to her enemies during a war? Do you think war is chicken and salad?

During the USA civil war, the union army laid a blockade against the rebels and the rebels were only able to survive because the south is fertile for land. But yet they still suffered some casualties.

You Igbos like hitting on the wrong person. Instead of you to blame the foolish Ojukwu that went to war without the required logistics and means to procure food for his people. You’re here blaming your enemy for not showing you love during the war.

Yes Awolowo exterminated you guys because he justified the saying of all is fair in war. If you like wail from now till eternity, it doesn’t diminish the late Awo’s glory and his impact on the sands of time.

If you need any sympathy for your loss in the war, you will get NONE from the Yorubas. So grow up and stop all this emotional bullsh*t about Awo not giving you food.

SLAP44:
"This would mean that before an Igbo man would leave Kaduna, Lagos or Ibadan, he would have withdrawn all his money before crossing into Biafra."

I stopped reading at this point, I have never read such hogwash in all my life

I have a question for the OP, in the days leading to the mile 12 massacre of Yorubas by Fulanis in Lagos in 2015, how many of you withdrew all their money before fleeing all the way to Mowe and walking to Ibadan on foot?

Answer Me First

madridguy:
Brilliant article. Good job @ OP

helinues:


People had pre knowledge about the war..

Who started the unnecessary attacks? Was is not your boyscott Biafra army?

helinues:


Choi, I really love this kind of thread that exposed una lies..

helinues:


Where did Ojukwu get the money for the arms and ammunition?

gwafaeziokwu:


That is the fact I want you to swallow.

You deployed the tactics of killing 2 million children of your opponents in order to force their hand and win the war ( however unconventional it was) , and then declared that all is fair in war.

Why do you lots then have problem with Chinua Achebe writing the obvious in his last bullet to a failed nation.

Why the summersaults of denials and name callings till this day. What exactly are you afraid of.

You needed to starve 2 million children to death in order to win the war fine, why don't you own up to that tragedy.

The truth is that you lots were beginning to get away with the borrowed pretentious robe of saints with no hand in the tragedy against Igbos between 1966 -1970. Until Achebe jolted everyone to reality.

LegendHero:


Have you seen any country that is giving food to her enemies during a war? Do you think war is chicken and salad?

During the USA civil war, the union army laid a blockade against the rebels and the rebels were only able to survive because the south is fertile for land. But yet they still suffered some casualties.

You Igbos like hitting on the wrong person. Instead of you to blame the foolish Ojukwu that went to war without the required logistics and means to procure food for his people. You’re here blaming your enemy for not showing you love during the war.

Yes Awolowo exterminated you guys because he justified the saying of all is fair in war. If you like wail from now till eternity, it doesn’t diminish the late Awo’s glory and his impact on the sands of time.

If you need any sympathy for your loss in the war, you will get NONE from the Yorubas. So grow up and stop all this emotional bullsh*t about Awo not giving you food.

Cherez:

Foolish Ojukwu for standing against injustice and insisting a pogrom of thousands of humans in the North should stop?
You guys must be crazy or insensitive.
I don't just understand some of you guys here and I wish most Igbos here should stop replying thes stupid comments here.
A pogrom even non-Igbos like Soyinka spoke against?
A pogrom that started after Ironsi (I believe it was a just retaliation on IRONSI) was killed but what justified the murder of millions of Igbos up North?
If it happens again today, I will still go to war.
Yeah, the North would have no fear today to kill in such a manner again if that war didn't happen.
Ojukwu never opted for war as seen in his willingness to negotiate going back and forth to Aburi, Ghana but the masses in the East were done with the killings and really urged for a fight back.
Shebi, herdsmen are killing you guys too?
Why Amotekun?
Noooo, na your "foolish" governors wey carry Amotekun come na dem we suppose blame?
In a military regime, Amotekun would have been stifled by same North.
Well I leave you guys cos the world knows better

LegendHero:


In all this, rather than face the North that caused the misfortune on Igbos during those dark time, you guys will be blaming the Yorubas.

You ganged up and killed Western region premier and other Yoruba top military guys. The North retaliated and massacred a lot in their domain while the Yorubas chose not to do that. You Igbos were safe in the west during those period but YET Yoruba is your enemy.

Col. Banjo fought for Biafra and led the advance that captured mid-west. Just because he was not able to advance through Ore axis, Ojukwu had to frame him up and ended his life. Yet Yoruba is the enemy.

After the war, the people you call brothers in Port-Hacort seized your houses while the Yorubas in the West gave you back your properties and even collected some of the house rent and gave it to the owners after the war. Yet, Yoruba is the enemy.

Hear this, the time of being politically correct has ended and the Yorubas will no more care about other people feeling. I don’t care what happened in that war and I will still say Ojukwu did not plan well before declaring that war. Even if the war is inevitable, he should at least plan well and gather the required alliance and supplies to prosecute that war. Rather he resorted to chest beating and telling the international press that he will crush Nigeria in few month. The same fake boasting the Igbos always do till now.

Why will a leader use propaganda to lead his people to the slaughterhouse? His strategy is wack. He depended on the stolen Nigeria pounds and he forgot the fact that the Nigeria side can change their currency. After that, he failed to secure a route for food for his people knowing well that the SE can’t feed itself in that war. He willingly kill his people coz of ego.

It got to a point where Azikwe has to severe ties with him and even started calling Ojukwu a rebel in the international press. Coz the young Ojukwu was busy wasting the life of his brethren in a war that was already lost. He later ran off after all those atrocities and still came to contest for the presidential election of a nation he fought against. Where is the honor in that?

Cherez:

Like I said, you know not what you say, "You ganged up and killed Western region premier and other Yoruba top military guys"
So, Kaduna & Ifeajuana from Delta state what you today call the SS &. disagree to be Igbo is now the gang up?
Truly, I'm against Igbos who hold some animosity against the Yorubas with your role in that war but what I hear most (not all) of you guys say here make it hard to stand against. What's your bearing?
SS are not Igbos but you must insist Igbos carried out the first coup.
Yes, Ojukwu wrongly murdered Banjo and I see that as heartless on his part but you are not saying the truth. Bros, Ojukwu murdered both Banjo & Ifeajuana cos they were at a time negotiating with Nigerian authorities then behind Ojukwu which he saw as a threat. He could have just trusted these men who sacrificed a lot but he killed both Banjo & Ifeajuana cos he also believed they were the ones who involved in the coup and might do same to him since they were in talks with NGA govt then

LegendHero:


Have you seen any country that is giving food to her enemies during a war? Do you think war is chicken and salad?

During the USA civil war, the union army laid a blockade against the rebels and the rebels were only able to survive because the south is fertile for land. But yet they still suffered some casualties.

You Igbos like hitting on the wrong person. Instead of you to blame the foolish Ojukwu that went to war without the required logistics and means to procure food for his people. You’re here blaming your enemy for not showing you love during the war.

Yes Awolowo exterminated you guys because he justified the saying of all is fair in war. If you like wail from now till eternity, it doesn’t diminish the late Awo’s glory and his impact on the sands of time.

If you need any sympathy for your loss in the war, you will get NONE from the Yorubas. So grow up and stop all this emotional bullsh*t about Awo not giving you food.

LegendHero:


It was Eastern Region bro and that coup slaughtered majorly people from the Northern and Western Region. It paved the way for Ironsi to take over and some Igbos even went further and mocked the Hausa/Fulanis with the dead picture of their fallen hero in that coup.

Gowon that commanded the war is from the middle belt but yet we always call them Northerner. Infact a large percentage of the middle belt guys fought that war and yet we always term them as Northerner. I’m trying to show you that your argument about Nzeogwu being SS is weak. The main issue is that they killed all leaders of the other zones except the East and Ironsi became the Leader.

The first thing that drove me nuts was how Ojukwu after knowing he took a hasty decision used Awolowo (food rhetorics) as the cover up for his failure. He used Awo as the cover for his failure coz he feared the Igbos will blame him for that loss if they subject that war to critical thinking.

He sold the dummy that we were defeated coz of Awolowo and hence Yorubas are our enemy. He sold the BS to his people that Awo refused to give them food and they do no not question him as to why he depended on his enemy for food in the first place.

I don’t say you shouldn’t celebrate your heroes, but my own grievances is how you guys think you deserve any sympathy from us for what happened. We have none to give and I hope you don’t also show us any sympathy.

That’s fair enough!

gwafaeziokwu:


You are ranting and raving for nothing.

Ndigbo are not interested in the cowardly Afonja leader who found a one in a life time opportunity to payback his political foes with dumb policy that ended up exterminating children.

We won't be blackmailed by history revisionists who suddenly forgot that Gowon not Ojukwu set the ball rolling for a showdown with the east.

I should blame Ojukwu for drawing a line in eastern borders and assuring every Igbo that survived the pogrom from all over the nation of his determination to keep them safe but glorify Awo that made sure that more died from blockade than the pogrom?

There is nothing glorious about a coward that fought a war with children.

Sympathy from Yorubas? Eternal cowards that jump each time they are reminded about the atrocities of their god.

Chinua Achebe 's book drilled a final nail to the coffin of your pretense. Since then the centre could no longer hold. You have realised that Igbos will never forgive nor forget.

Just like he famously said " if you don't like my historic account, write yours!

LegendHero:


Never repeat the bolded again. That rubbish have been trashed forever and any one repeating the stupid narrative that Ojukwu released Awolowo deserves to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

https://www.nairaland.com/5541011/youtube-video-showed-gowon-released

https://www.nairaland.com/5553170/re-more-absolutely-convincing-evidence

The Biafra war is now yesterday’s message, done and dusted. The Igbos rebelled and were defeated in the war. Ojukwu ran away and left Phillip Effiong to surrender to the Nigeria side.

I will leave you to the surrender speech of Effiong. Always remember the pain your forebears went through before taking decision in haste going forward in life.

“ I, Philip Effiong, do hereby declare: I give you not only my own personal assurances but also those of my fellow officers and colleagues and of the entire former Biafran people of our fullest cooperation and very sincere best wishes for the future.

It is my sincere hope the lessons of the bitter struggle have been well learned by everybody and I would like therefore to take this opportunity to say that I, Maj. Gen. Philip Effiong, officer administering the government of the Republic of Biafra, now wish to make the following declaration:

That we are firm, we are loyal Nigerian citizens and accept the authority of the federal military Government of Nigeria.
That we accept the existing administrative and political structure of the Federation of Nigeria.

That any future constitutional arrangement will worked out by representatives of the people of Nigeria. That the Republic of Biafra hereby ceases to exist.”