nwabobo:



You felt betrayed when you left Biafra?

Ehm, I have always refused to pass judgement on those that I left behind. During a war the situation changes very rapidly. At the time I was leaving there was absolutely no reason for surrender. But then, in six hours, something could have happened. I don't know. It is possible in a fluid situation and given the unequalness in this conflict. I left ostensibly because the situation was bad, to seek, ehm, and support of France through the intermediary of the Ivory Coast. We had hoped that what would happen would be that France would contact England and we would probably arrive if not to cease, I mean ehm we expected to have a ceasefire at least, then to go on negotiating the type of settlement that was acceptable. And at that time the one thing that was not acceptable was capitulation without guarantees for the lives of our people.

Why did you leave?

It was decided that because of the urgency of the situation, that the only person who demanded immediate audience and got (it) outside, was myself.

Was that a consensus or you had to agree?

I had to agree because the original team did not include me. And then after the cabinet came back again at different points and finally, it was in fact not at all, ehm, it was almost, well it was not a consensus because I was the only dissenting voice.

PhysicsMHD:

It's obvious that he left to try and continue the Biafran struggle, not for personal safety. I've never understood how the whole Ivory Coast thing has been twisted into some sort of act of cowardice.

PhysicsMHD:

It's obvious that he left to try and continue the Biafran struggle, not for personal safety. I've never understood how the whole Ivory Coast thing has been twisted into some sort of act of cowardice.

eku_bear:

@PhysicsMHD: Re-read pages 396-399 of the John de St. Jorre book and tell me if you still have the impression.

Dude fled.

eku_bear:

@PhysicsMHD: Re-read pages 396-399 of the John de St. Jorre book and tell me if you still have the impression.

Dude fled.

EzeUche_:

He did not flee. By most accounts, he was look for more help from France, since we all know the British was giving tons of support to the Nigerian Federal Government to keep their Nigerian experiment alive. Point BLANK!

Trying to peddle more lies, I see. My people are not known to flee. We die where we stand. Better to die on my feet than live on my knees.

eku_bear:

I have stuff to do today, so hopefully someone else will type up the relevant sections from that book.

Long story short though, looks as if Ojukwu is being a bit disingenuous.

T9ksy:

@ bolded . . . . . . . 4 Real!!! He fled like a thief in the night ,@ 03:00, to be precise.


Below is an excerpt from  a book by one of Ojukwu's last "Peace mission"(sic!) member to IC;



Source: The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran war. By General Alexander A. madiebo. (Biafran Army Commander) pp. 372-373.

PhysicsMHD:

It's obvious that he left to try and continue the Biafran struggle, not for personal safety. I've never understood how the whole Ivory Coast thing has been twisted into some sort of act of cowardice.

alj harem:


watin you dey talk, so when he came back to nigeria after so many years did he join massob or did he make a political party

sometime i doubt if you know you history brother,.,. very disappointing

if he really wanted to contiune the struggle, he would be calling igbos to order but now he is even collecting pension from the government he fought against,., talk about cowardice and defeated mentality,.low self esteem

sorry bro but you lost it here

PhysicsHD:

(I don't have de St Jorre's book with me at the moment @ eku_bear)

Let's look at this logically:

1. Would Gowon, pursuing a "no victor, no vanquished" philosophy, have done anything against Ojukwu?
2. Could Gowon have done anything to Ojukwu? Would Azikiwe, Effiiong, etc. have let anything major be done to Ojukwu?


So if he was "fleeing," what was he fleeing from?


He could have surrendered and not left.

That he left must be precisely because he was unyielding in trying to see Biafra actualized. In another thread I already posted an excerpt from de St. Jorre's book that showed how Ojukwu's unwillingness to compromise was one of the key things that pushed Zik to the federal side.

Surely you guys have heard of governments-in-exile? Does the name General Charles de Gaulle ring a bell? What did he do in WW2? Flee out of "cowardice"?  

PhysicsHD:

Read the book Emeka by Forsyth, to get an idea of how Ojukwu's perspective and attitude changed.

I'm talking about Ojukwu's motivation for leaving in 1970 and you're talking about what Ojukwu decided to do after 1982.  

Onlytruth:

Solid points which was corroborated by Col Joe Achuzia's last comment on Biafra that Biafra simply decided to stop fighting, hence the interviewer's question to Ojukwu about whether he felt betrayed by those he left behind.

Intelligent folks can easily follow these things but don't hang your hopes on dumb fellows like alj harem.

Some guys here wanted Ojukwu to travel openly and conspicuously when he could have been ambushed and killed by Nigerian forces or even a targeted air strike.

So, if Ojukwu didn't travel which a giant target mark on himself, he must be a coward! LMAO.

Thanks Physics!

PhysicsHD:

(I don't have de St Jorre's book with me at the moment @ eku_bear)

Let's look at this logically:

1. Would Gowon, pursuing a "no victor, no vanquished" philosophy, have done anything against Ojukwu?
2. Could Gowon have done anything to Ojukwu? Would Azikiwe, Effiiong, etc. have let anything major be done to Ojukwu?

PhysicsHD:

So if he was "fleeing," what was he fleeing from?


He could have surrendered and not left.

PhysicsHD:


That he left must be precisely because he was unyielding in trying to see Biafra actualized. In another thread I already posted an excerpt from de St. Jorre's book that showed how Ojukwu's unwillingness to compromise was one of the key things that pushed Zik to the federal side.

Surely you guys have heard of governments-in-exile? Does the name General Charles de Gaulle ring a bell? What did he do in WW2? Flee out of "cowardice"?  

Katsumoto:



He was fleeing from death, capture, shame, uncertainty. Was Nzeogwu not captured alive? Did that stop Charles Chandler from killing him in cold blood? He could have been captured and killed or humiliated. A lot of things could have happened.

Is it a coincidence that he fled a day after OBJ's 'operation tail-wind' which captured the last Biafran town? He fled because there was no where else to run to in Biafra.


Please let this matter rest; Ojukwu fled, plain and simple.

My protest was actually against what I considered the wrong direction, the fragmentation of Nigeria. I went into the army against regionalisation of Nigeria. [/b]I looked to give my service to the only viable federal institution. [b]I couldn't become a prison warder or a policeman. The only one that was left was the army and I went for it.

alj harem:

to be honest, i have not read this book and i do not need to read it,.,. history will tell us the truth,. no matter any book

now brother , you say he wants to actualize biafra so he ran to ivory coast so as to get killed right!!!

do you ask yourself how he intended to do that because according to my igbo brothers, 3 million biafrans die,.,., if 3 million biafrans die where will he get the man power

my biafran brothers said england and co helped nigeria but after losing how does he intend  to get weapon to start another war.

how many years did he plan to wait for before he starts again

also remember the ibibio, ijaw and ikwerri and others are now against igbo thus was he planning to fight with them or against them when he clearly killed there leaders before the war.

this are question we should ask ourselves

i know he ran away because he did not want to die from the nigerian army,.,.,., no book can change that

it is obvious he wanted to change history for him to look good.

hope i have not sounded rude,.,. if so i am sorry but try and think about my post above

You joined in protest against regionalisation and ended up becoming the leader of a region?

It did not really matter where it led, either against my own personal interest and the perceived wisdom of the day; I knew that my duty lay in the protection of the people entrusted to me.

abadaba:

Mallam suicide bomber, do you mind going back to the zoo and share peanuts with your fellow monkeys instead of chatting bollocks here. At what time did Ojukwu kill Ibibio, Ikwere etc?. Beast of no gender

T9ksy:

@ bolded . . . . . . . 4 Real!!! He fled like a thief in the night ,@ 03:00, to be precise.


Below is an excerpt from a book by one of Ojukwu's last "Peace mission"(sic!) member to IC;


Quote
As Isu and Nkwerre began to evacuate, I moved down to Nnewi to see the Head of State once more and brief him on the situation. At last and for the first time during the war, he appeared terrified, He wondered if we had not left our departure rather too late and if we would still make it. He advised me to come to the airport with my full escorts because he had been reliably informed that certain people were planning to stop us leaving Biafra. For that reason I went to the airport with more escorts than I ever used throughout the war. At that stage, I was no longer sure of our “peace mission”; my doubts had been confirmed and I realised that we were escaping Biafra for good.


By 2000 hours, the threat to Uli Airport was such that no one was sure it could be used again. While alternative arrangements were being made for a possible use of Uga Airport, the Biafra Air Force confirmed that Uli could still be used.



As a precautionary measure, General Ojukwu travelled incognito (like a sexy maiden with his full beard, . . .lol) in a Peugeot 403 car to the Airport while someone else who could pass for him in darkness, travelled in his official car. Ojukwu’s Peugeot was parked in a nearby jungle for over five hours until the plane was ready to take off at 0300 hours on the 11th of January.



Source: The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran war. By General Alexander A. madiebo. (Biafran Army Commander) pp. 372-373.

Dede1:


I would have wondered aloud where you picked up these fallacies you posted. However the moment I read the footnote that indicated the source of the craps, I decided to allow you to wallow in your usual impish manner. It was the same book that gave wrong account of battle of Owerri in 1969 and branded a 68 brigade under Major T I Atumaka as battalion. Subsequently, every essay written on the battle of Owerri had referred to 68 as a battalion whereas such formation did not exist or participated in the battle for Owerri in 1969.

PhysicsHD:

(I don't have de St Jorre's book with me at the moment @ eku_bear)

Let's look at this logically:

1. Would Gowon, pursuing a "no victor, no vanquished" philosophy, have done anything against Ojukwu?
2. Could Gowon have done anything to Ojukwu? Would Azikiwe, Effiiong, etc. have let anything major be done to Ojukwu?


So if he was "fleeing," what was he fleeing from?


He could have surrendered and not left.

That he left must be precisely because he was unyielding in trying to see Biafra actualized. In another thread I already posted an excerpt from de St. Jorre's book that showed how Ojukwu's unwillingness to compromise was one of the key things that pushed Zik to the federal side.

Surely you guys have heard of governments-in-exile? Does the name General Charles de Gaulle ring a bell? What did he do in WW2? Flee out of "cowardice"?  

Katsumoto:

Was Gowon, as head of state, able to stop the pogroms which led to the murder of innocent civilians and soldiers? What power did Zik and Effiong have to prevent anyone from the victorious side killing Ojuwku on the battlefield?

He was fleeing from death, capture, shame, uncertainty. Was Nzeogwu not captured alive? Did that stop Charles Chandler from killing him in cold blood? He could have been captured and killed or humiliated. A lot of things could have happened.

Is it a coincidence that he fled a day after OBJ's 'operation tail-wind' which captured the last Biafran town? He fled because there was no where else to run to in Biafra.


You have got to be kidding trying to use de Gaulle as an example. When de Gaulle left France, there were still many french forces capable of fighting in the South of France, troops that were evacuated at Dunkirk, and in French North Africa. By escaping to Ivory Coast, what Biafran troops were outside that Ojukwu could have commanded? Or was he going to command French or Ivorian troops in the invasion of Nigeria?

alj harem:

guys you need to read this book

http://books.google.com/books?id=smUuAQAAIAAJ&q=why+ojukwu+coward&dq=why+ojukwu+coward&hl=en&ei=LO5iTe7IIJKp8QP2qLTxCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBw

just shows how pathetic this man was

the whole world knows ojukwu as a coward it is only in Igboland he is celebrated as a hero,.,.,. why