53 Years after Biafra:You committed evil against Igbo, Frederick Forsyth attacks Britain, his own country.
By Ademola Adegbamigbe

On Monday, 6 July, 2020, it will be exactly 53 years since the Nigerian civil (Biafra) war started. One of the foreign journalists and writers who witnessed it was Frederick McCarthy Forsyth, the English journalist and author, who will be 82 this year. He was born on 25 August 1938. At such age when a man is moving closer to his grave or Maker, his conscience becomes sharper, his propensity for remorse gets greater. He tends to make all past crooked ways straight. He confesses his sins or does so vicariously- that is, on behalf of his clan or community or country.

That is exactly what Frederick Forsyth has done, blaming his country, Britain, for its bias against the Igbo during the Nigeria-Biafra war that spanned three years, 1967 to 1970.

That war would have been averted, but the Aburi peace accord between Emeka Ojukwu and Yakubu Gowon failed. Read that story here

Another Briton who became contrite was Harold Smith, a colonial officer who admitted that Britain deliberately made the North to dominate the South here in all ramifications, using well choreographed policies of demography, appointments and politics.

Forsyth is a household name in the
Commonwealth countries and beyond for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil’s Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan, The Cobra, The Kill List, The Biafra Story and others. According to William Okugo Okereke: “This is the Man who has the true history of the 30 months genocide against Biafrans. He is not an Iboman! His books on Nigeria/Biafra are Emeka and The Making of an African Legend.”

It was when he covered the war in Nigeria as a BBC correspondent that the bias of Britain became clear to him. He revealed this in a recent article in The Guardian of London: “Buried for 50 years: Britain’s shameful role in the Biafran war.”

It was for this reason that the writer walked away from the BBC, narrating, “Six months later, in February 1968, fed up with the slavishness of the BBC to Whitehall, I walked out and flew back to west Africa. Ojukwu roared with laughter and allowed me to stay. My condition was that, having rejected British propaganda, I would not publish his either. He agreed.”

In the article, Forsyth reveals the sins of Britain: “I arrived in the Biafra capital of Enugu on the third day of the war. In London I had been copiously briefed by Gerald Watrous, head of the BBC’s West Africa Service. What I did not know was that he was the obedient servant of the government’s Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO), which believed every word of its high commissioner in Lagos, David Hunt. It took two days in Enugu to realise that everything I had been told was utter garbage.

“I had been briefed that the brilliant Nigerian army would suppress the rebellion in two weeks, four at the most. Fortunately the deputy high commissioner in Enugu, Jim Parker, told me what was really happening. It became clear that the rubbish believed by the CRO and the BBC stemmed from our high commissioner in Lagos. A racist and a snob, Hunt expected Africans to leap to attention when he entered the room – which Gowon did. At their single prewar meeting Ojukwu did not. Hunt loathed him at once.

“My brief was to report the all-conquering march of the Nigerian army. It did not happen. Naively, I filed this. When my report was broadcast our high commissioner complained to the CRO in London, who passed it on to the BBC – which accused me of pro-rebel bias and recalled me to London.

“What is truly shameful is that this was not done by savages but aided and assisted at every stage by Oxbridge-educated British mandarins. Why? Did they love the corruption-riven, dictator-prone Nigeria? No. From start to finish, it was to cover up that the UK’s assessment of the Nigerian situation was an enormous judgmental screw-up. And, worse: with neutrality and diplomacy from London it could all have been avoided.”

Like Forsyth, Harold Smith, an accomplice in the lopsidedness of Nigerian politics, confessed (as quoted in thenigerianvoice)

“Despite seeing vast land with no human but cattle in the north, we still gave the north 55 million instead of 32 million. This was to be used to maintain their majority votes and future power bid. The West without Lagos was the most populous in Nigeria at the time but we ignored that. We seriously encouraged the north to go the military.

We believed that the south may attend western education, but future leaders will always come from military background. Their traditional rulers were made influential and super human. The northerners were given accelerated promotions both in the military and civil service to justify their superiority over south. Everything was to work against the south. We truncated their good plan for their future. ‘I was very sorry for the A.G.: It was a great party too much for African standard. We planned to destroy Awolowo and Azikiwe well, the west and the east’.

And sowed the seed of discord among them. We tricked Azikiwe into accepting to be president having known that Balewa is the main man with power. Awolowo has to go to jail to cripple his genius plans for a greater Nigeria”

Below is Forsyth’s article on the bias of Britain against the Igbo, entitled:

“Buried for 50 years: Britain’s shameful role in the Biafran war.”

By Frederick Forsyth

It is a good thing to be proud of one’s country, and I am – most of the time. But it would be impossible to scan the centuries of Britain’s history without coming across a few incidents that evoke not pride but shame. Among those I would list are the creation by British officialdom in South Africa of the concentration camp, to persecute the families of Boers. Add to that the Amritsar massacre of 1919 and the Hola camps set up and run during the struggle against Mau Mau.

But there is one truly disgusting policy practised by our officialdom during the lifetime of anyone over 50, and one word will suffice: Biafra.

This referred to the civil war in Nigeria that ended 50 years ago this month. It stemmed from the decision of the people of the eastern region of that already riot-racked country to strike for independence as the Republic of Biafra. As I learned when I got there as a BBC correspondent, the Biafrans, mostly of the Igbo people, had their reasons.

The federal government in Lagos was a brutal military dictatorship that came to power in 1966 in a bloodbath. During and following that coup, the northern and western regions were swept by a pogrom in which thousands of resident Igbo were slaughtered. The federal government lifted not a finger to help. It was led by an affable British-educated colonel, Yakubu Gowon. But he was a puppet. The true rulers were a group of northern Nigerian colonels. The crisis deepened, and in early 1967 eastern Nigeria, harbouring about 1.8 million refugees, sought restitution. A British-organised conference was held in Ghana and a concordat agreed. But Gowon, returning home, was flatly contradicted by the colonels, who tore up his terms and reneged on the lot. In April the Eastern Region formally seceded and on 7 July, the federal government declared war.

Biafra was led by the Eastern Region’s Oxford-educated former military governor, “Emeka” Ojukwu. London, ignoring all evidence that it was Lagos that reneged on the deal, denounced the secession, made no attempt to mediate and declared total support for Nigeria.

I arrived in the Biafra capital of Enugu on the third day of the war. In London I had been copiously briefed by Gerald Watrous, head of the BBC’s West Africa Service. What I did not know was that he was the obedient servant of the government’s Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO), which believed every word of its high commissioner in Lagos, David Hunt. It took two days in Enugu to realise that everything I had been told was utter garbage.

I had been briefed that the brilliant Nigerian army would suppress the rebellion in two weeks, four at the most. Fortunately the deputy high commissioner in Enugu, Jim Parker, told me what was really happening. It became clear that the rubbish believed by the CRO and the BBC stemmed from our high commissioner in Lagos. A racist and a snob, Hunt expected Africans to leap to attention when he entered the room – which Gowon did. At their single prewar meeting Ojukwu did not. Hunt loathed him at once.

My brief was to report the all-conquering march of the Nigerian army. It did not happen. Naively, I filed this. When my report was broadcast our high commissioner complained to the CRO in London, who passed it on to the BBC – which accused me of pro-rebel bias and recalled me to London. Six months later, in February 1968, fed up with the slavishness of the BBC to Whitehall, I walked out and flew back to west Africa. Ojukwu roared with laughter and allowed me to stay. My condition was that, having rejected British propaganda, I would not publish his either. He agreed.

But things had changed. British covert interference had become huge. Weapons and ammunition poured in quietly as Whitehall and the Harold Wilson government lied and denied it all. Much enlarged, with fresh weapons and secret advisory teams, the Nigerian army inched across Biafra as the defenders tried to fight back with a few bullets a day. Soviet Ilyushin bombers ranged overhead, dropping 1,000lb bombs on straw villages. But the transformation came in July.

Missionaries had noticed mothers emerging from the deep bush carrying children reduced to living skeletons yet with bloated bellies. Catholic priests recognised the symptoms – kwashiorkor or acute protein deficiency.

That same July the Daily Express cameraman David Cairns ran off a score of rolls of film and took them to London. Back then, the British public had never seen such heartrending images of starved and dying children. When the pictures hit the newsstands the story exploded. There were headlines, questions in the House of Commons, demonstrations, marches.

As the resident guide for foreign news teams I became somewhat overwhelmed. But at last the full secret involvement of the British government started to be exposed and the lies revealed. Wilson came under attack. The story swept Europe then the US. Donations flooded in. The money could buy food – but how to get it there? Around year’s end the extraordinary Joint Church Aid was born.

The World Council of Churches helped to buy some clapped-out freighter aircraft and gained permission from Portugal to use the offshore island São Tomé as a base. Scandinavian pilots and crew, mostly airline pilots, offered to fly without pay. Joint Church Aid was quickly nicknamed Jesus Christ Airlines. And thus came into being the world’s only illegal mercy air bridge.

On a visit to London in spring 1969 I learned the efforts the British establishment will take to cover up its tracks. Every reporter, peer or parliamentarian who had visited Biafra and reported on what he had seen was smeared as a stooge of Biafra – even the utterly honourable John Hunt, leader of the Everest expedition.

Throughout 1969 the relief planes flew through the night, dodging Nigerian MiG fighters, to deliver their life-giving cargoes of reinforced milk powder to a jungle airstrip. From there trucks took the sacks to the missions, the nuns boiled up the nutriments and kept thousands of children alive.

-Read Forsyth‘s full article in the London Guardian

https://www.thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2020/07/04/53-years-after-biafra-you-committed-evil-against-igbo-frederick-forsyth-attacks-britain-his-own-country/amp/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/21/buried-50-years-britain-shamesful-role-biafran-war-frederick-forsyth

It's a long read...but the summary is that the Igbos/Biafrans actually fought against two Nations.. Britain and Nigeria.

On a very good day...the Igbo nation will beat Nigeria, but because Britain was strongly involved in the fight, it became two against one.

Take away the oil from the south and the loudness of biafra will be silenced. Let the oil be in the north and there will be no Nigeria.

War could have been avoided had Gowon honoured the agreement he signed with Ojukwu in Ghana. But Gowon came back to Nigeria and turned his back on the agreement and Ojukwu responded by turning his back on Nigeria and declaring Biafra

It was the insatiable greed of Gowon and his fellow Northerners to be masters of Nigeria that led to war.

Even to this day, not much has changed. Southern Nigeria is still under the North

kingzizzy:
War could have been avoided had Gowon honoured the agreement he signed with Ojukwu in Ghana. But Gowon came back to Nigeria and turned his back on the agreement and Ojukwu responded by turning his back on Nigeria and declaring Biafra

It was the insatiable greed of Gowon and his fellow Northerners to be masters of Nigeria that led to war.

Even to this day, not much has changed. Southern Nigeria is still under the North

Essentially, ojukwu declared the war.

So what's the fuse?

You mean as he declared the war, Gowon should surrender to him or what?

Or Gowon should direct the Nigerian Weapons against the rest of the Nigerians?

Pure truth ,if not for the British heavy involvement
in the war who are Nigerians to defeat the biafrans,but soon Biafra will come and we will be the best in africa not this Nigeria with primitive/backward people.Biafra will be another Switzerland or Japan and we will make it happen

Simplyleo:

Essentially, ojukwu declared the war.

So what's the fuse?

You mean as he declared the war, Gowon should surrender to him or what?

Or Gowon should direct the Nigerian Weapons against the rest of the Nigerians?

Google the Aburi agreement

sylve11:
Take away the oil from the south and the loudness of biafra will be silenced. Let the oil be in the north and there will be no Nigeria.

Oga u think igbos as a people care about $14 billion dollars a year from oil ?

Bros Nestle makes 26 billion from oil ..buying 2.6 billion dollars Coco from Ivory cost

Biafra has always been regional control of resources ...let every people control their resources ...... The likes of ibibio , uhrobo ,efik and ikwere fought it because it would give power to the lesser tribes ...most of those big tribes u hear in the Niger Delta have no little or no oil

Example in rivers state okwerre makes noise but oyigbo , ogonis, egbema and ijaws are the real oil producers ....

In akwa ibom ...annag and ibibo , efik have little or no oil , eket , Ikot abasi , oron are the oil producers yet the big tribes marginalize them

So Bros igbos are not after anyone oil ..we have more than enough ...oyibo , egbema in rivers , .anioma in delta , oil in Nsukka and udi in enugu , oil in imo with very large gas ..oil in anambra ..oil in asa land abia ..we have more than enough ...

Simplyleo:

Essentially, ojukwu declared the war.

So what's the fuse?

You mean as he declared the war, Gowon should surrender to him or what?

Or Gowon should direct the Nigerian Weapons against the rest of the Nigerians?

Ojuchukwu declared Biafra independent ...gowon declared the war Bros

Britain ehhhhhh....

This is why when I see all this evil and wicked Yorubas and Fulani terrorists jubilating over the genocide they committed with the likes of Britain, France and others against Biafrans as if they would have have done much if the fight was sincerely one on one, and they think that 2020 will be like 1967, that's why you hear them making foolish noise all over the places but we promise you hell this time around and that you shall get beyond your imagination, unless you decides to have sense and call for Biafra exit.

Eziokwuegbuozoo:
This is why when I see all this evil and wicked Yorubas and Fulani terrorists jubilating over the genocide they committed with the likes of Britain, France and others against Biafrans as if they would have have done much if the fight was sincerely one on one, and they think that 2020 will be like 1967, that's why you hear them making foolish noise all over the places but we promise you hell this time around and that you shall get beyond your imagination, unless you decides to have sense and call for Biafra exit.

Cant you see Yoruba,Ibo,Efik,Hausa are victims of British evil?The British establishment want us to maim and self destruct each other so they can supply their arms and armunitions for a price and laugh their way to the banks.We can only win them if we destroy their businnesses on our lands.

Golan007:

Even the content says another thing from the headline. That was when the Yoruba's dominated media.

Biafrannuke:
Even the content says another thing from the headline. That was when the Yoruba's dominated media.

In Daily Times of 1956?

Skyfornia:
It's a long read...but the summary is that the Igbos/Biafrans actually fought against two Nations.. Britain and Nigeria.

On a very good day...the Igbo nation will beat Nigeria, but because Britain was strongly involved in the fight, it became two against one.

. Igbo people should move on from whatever happened in the 60s

Ehbos are still licking their wounds, they better bite the dust or bite the bullet.

Kinematics:

I am a useless PORT HARCOURT slum dweller

PORT HARCOURT is the most polluted city in the world. Cry and die hahahaha

Igbochief001:

Oga u think igbos as a people care about $14 billion dollars a year from oil ?

Bros Nestle makes 26 billion from oil ..buying 2.6 billion dollars Coco from Ivory cost

Biafra has always been regional control of resources ...let every people control their resources ...... The likes of ibibio , uhrobo ,efik and ikwere fought it because it would give power to the lesser tribes ...most of those big tribes u hear in the Niger Delta have no little or no oil

Example in rivers state okwerre makes noise but oyigbo , ogonis, egbema and ijaws are the real oil producers ....

In akwa ibom ...annag and ibibo , efik have little or no oil , eket , Ikot abasi , oron are the oil producers yet the big tribes marginalize them

So Bros igbos are not after anyone oil ..we have more than enough ...oyibo , egbema in rivers , .anioma in delta , oil in Nsukka and udi in enugu , oil in imo with very large gas ..oil in anambra ..oil in asa land abia ..we have more than enough ...

. Remove anioma, oyibo egbema in delta and Rivers from your Igbo land pleas Igbo land start and end in the SE.

interesting,one day I saw an Igbo man talking about biafra and I asked him what will happen to his properties worth millions in lagos if biafra is actualized he said he doesn't mind loosing it I was shocked! so much love and patriotism .

I believe The cries of the innocent souls that were wasted in that war is the fuel behind biafran struggle, biafra is beyond logic it's spiritual, the souls of massacred innocent people is what is tormenting Nigeria today the land is cursed unless we beg for forgiveness Nigeria is it its last days.imagine massacring 30,000 people because of a coup done by a few group of people who are power hungry, plus the 3million who died in the after war.
every hand behind the death of the 3.3million will pay Britain today is a toothless bulldog hiding behind USA once world power even China now bullies England.

xcon:
. Remove anioma, oyibo egbema in delta and Rivers from your Igbo land pleas Igbo land start and end in the SE.

just the way Ijebus are not yorubas not Yorubaland starts in oyo state the rest are migrants from sudan and Benin no wonder the allafin of oyo sold them to slavery for mirrow and eyeglass declare oduduwa today and see how divided the land will be no wonder the love one Nigeria like sex.

bigpriik:


just the way Ijebus are not yorubas not Yorubaland starts in oyo state the rest are migrants from sudan and Benin no wonder the allafin of oyo sold them to slavery for mirrow and eyeglass declare oduduwa today and see how divided the land will be no wonder the love one Nigeria like sex.

. I am not Yoruba, I am anioma I believe in Niger Delta republic.

xcon:
. I am not Yoruba, I am anioma I believe in Niger Delta republic.

speak our language first before I answer you If you are sure of yourself.

suo asusu anyi kam nuru hapu be Me.

xcon:
. Remove anioma, oyibo egbema in delta and Rivers from your Igbo land pleas Igbo land start and end in the SE.

Shut up

The atrocities of the civil war on both sides will esp.the Federal side will forever hunt this contraption of a nation.

cocolacec:


Cant you see Yoruba,Ibo,Efik,Hausa are victims of British evil?The British establishment want us to maim and self destruct each other so they can supply their arms and armunitions for a price and laugh their way to the banks.We can only win them if we destroy their businnesses on our lands.

I'm tempted to see reasons with you but the question is, what has been the position and actions of the Yorubas and Hausas in all this?