The True Story Of Isaac Adaka Boro


During the Biafran-Nigerian civil war, there were a few Biafran sons and daughters, who were used and killed by the Hausa and Yoruba controlled Nigerian Government. Some of them were made to believe that Biafra was dominated by Igbos and would seize all the resources in Biafra lands. Isaac Adaka Boro was among the the prominent sons who were misguided.

And he paid dearly with his life for betraying the Biafran Republic. And for more than fifty years, his tribe have suffered the nemesis of his mistakes because he was misled and betrayed by his Hausa and Yoruba friends.

The storie of Isaac Adaka Boro is a great lesson for contemporary and potential betrayals of the renewed movement for the restoration of Biafran Republic.

Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, from Kaiama (in present day Bayelsa State), was born in September 10, 1938 in Oloibiri. Isaac Boro, while studying Chemistry at University of Nigeria Nsukka became the Student Union President of the University.

Despite the support and political patronage he got from his Igbo brothers at the university, Boro led the first revolution of resource control in Nigeria few months after Aguiyi Ironsi became the Head of State of Nigeria.

He formed the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), the first armed militia of only Ijaw extraction. On February 23, 1966, Boro and his NDVF declared the Niger Delta Republic. This was the first time any part of Nigeria tried to secede. He believed that the Ijaw people deserved a reasonable share of proceeds of the oil wealth than they were getting from the Federal Government.

For twelve days Boro and his militias battled the Federal forces before they were finally defeated by the far superior Federal firepower. Isaac Boro and some of his men were convicted of treason and sentenced to death, but Ironsi out of mercy decided to jail him instead of killing him as demanded by the law.

On the eve of the Biafran-Nigerian war in May 1967, then Nigerian Head of State Yakubu Gowon granted him amnesty and drafted him into the Nigerian Army. He was afterwards commissioned as a major in the Nigerian Army. With his army of 1000 Ijaw soldiers. He fought alongside Col. Benjamin Adekunle, who was heading the 3rd Marine Commando Division of the Nigerian army.

With deep knowledge of the Niger Delta creeks, Boro and his men fought along-side the Nigerian troops to push back the Biafran soldiers of the region.

Isaac Boro was betrayed by the Nigerian forces he trusted. On May 16, 1968, after a successful gun battle against Biafran forces at Ogu (near Okrika) in Rivers State, Boro was ambushed by what many of his men then believed was a unit sent by Col. Adekunle. In a brief and fierce battle, Adenkunle’s men gunned him down.

His death went down in history as mysterious as there was no conclusive evidence on who assassinated Boro. Strong allegations pointed to treacherous Col. Adekunle, envied by Boro’s rising prominence in the Nigerian Army, Ordered the assassination of Boro in order to seize the glories which Boro enabled the 3 Marine Commando Division to achieve.

Subsequent to Boro’s death, Adekunle took all the credits of the achievements of the division.

A Regimental Sergeant Major under Boro was quoted saying "Boro did not die in the heat of battle with the Biafran forces". He said, the area had already been captured and secured by their troops and Major Boro was on an inspection tour when they came under fire. The type of gunfire that erupted during the gun battle that killed Boro was completely different from what the Biafrans were known to use in that area of the war. This confirmed to them that it was one of the federal troops units that carried out the ambush. As soon as Boro died, his 1000 band of soldiers was disbanded.

According to Olusegun Obasanjo in his book My Command, Adekunle’s post-war political ambition pushed him into assassinating Boro, as he was using the war to building a ‘formidable’ name for himself. Obasanjo stated that “Col. Adekunle, at this point saw the war not only in terms of crushing a rebellion, but also as a means of building himself up for any future political position or responsibility which he might wish to seek, I knew of people of Western State origin who had felt politically victimized and who saw in Col.Adekunle a saviour and told him so, and he believed them.”

What Boro fought and died for had eluded his people for years. Niger Delta has remained impoverished despite the huge revenue it has continued to generate for the country. Oil fields and mining leases have been allocated to northern oligarchs and friends.

Isaac Boro remains a lesson for future revolutionaries in knowing where to pitch their tent.


https://www.nairaland.com/5871827/true-story-isaac-adaka-boro

BiafIntel:


You can die if you like. Fact remains that both OPOBO and UBANI/BONNY island are Igbo areas and peoples.

https://www.nairaland.com/2468393/people-opobonkoro

Continue deceiving yourself.
Come and change the culture and language na.

Sea root kee una there

RobbStark:



Continue deceiving yourself.
Come and change the culture and language na.

Sea root kee una there

Which language and culture are you changing in Opobo?

Deep story

Ariani:


Stop writing nonsense.

When Boro entered Bonny and Opobo, the people were speaking Igbo and Boro got angry and lined up everyone of them who would not give up their Igbo affinity and wasted. Even Asari Dokubo spoke of the Massacre that happened in his native Buguma town when Boro troops arrived. His grandfather had to go on exile and vacate his throne because he was pro Ibo/Biafra.

No where in history before 1970 was Opobo or Bonny addressed as Ijaw towns.
If you say otherwise, bring colonial reports that addressed Bonny or Opobo as Ijaw towns.

The Boro story had to be revisited because recently some unscrupulous Ijaw elements has been going about writing stupid long essays about how Igbos betrayed and killed Boro.

When in truth, it was Boro who Betrayed Eastern region, a Region that gave him free education.
He connived with Gambaris to bring mayhem in the region and when his Gambari masters died in Nzeogwu coup, he became more desperate and started causing trouble in his hometown, looting and killing non indigenes and had to be arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.
History had to be set right! Because when lies are left unchallenged for long, it starts taking the form of the truth.

You hit the nail! Nothing but the truth

ivolt:
See them hypocrites trying to destroy Adaka Boro's image.
They are calling Boro thief, looter and insurrectionist while worshipping at the stable of the runaway coward Kanu.
Some are even saying that Boro's father did not support him when Kanu's father attributed his outbursts to mental illness.

Which yeye image. Come to Rivers state and listen to objective info about Boro. Isaac Boro was no hero, dude committed genocide against a lot of communities. From Bonny, Opobo, Okrika, Kalabari. I’m not even talking about his native Bayelsa, where the Nembe King had to flee to Ukwuani to escaped being killed by Boro’s marauding brigade. The Amanayabo of Opobo King Jaja 3rd and the Amanayabo of Kalabari King Amachree all ran to the hinterland as Boro came for them.

Like the Scottish would say, history is written by the victors. Boro’s war crimes were swept under the carpet by the victorious Nigerian army.

The same Opara that claimed his greatest mistake was not working with Awolowo after squandering his goodwill with Northers as usual.

My Greatest Political Blunder - Dr Michael Okpara

BiafIntel:

Another afonja LIAR. Under Michael Okpara, the then Easter Nigeria has the fastest growing economy in the whole world and budgeted its 45% GDP on education alone. Adaka Boro the saboteur was himself a benefactor of Easter Region scholarship.

Of course, you saw the agenda but that did not stop Zik from aiding them instead of forming a Southern Agenda.
Zik's ill-fated attempt to finish off the West (which was his benefactor and he backstabbed) ended in him being outplayed by the Fulani (aided by the British).
How did the Igbo aid them? They fought for the 13% through militancy and it was given to them by Obasanjo, a Yoruba man .
Stop being so proud and arrogant over nothing.

BiafIntel:
Adaka boro is what anyone can describe as a daft and dumb moronic, jealous little slowpoke that was used and later dumped and rightfully killed by his fulani masters. We Igbos saw fulani and their agenda way earlier before all of you slowpoke nigerians. Come to think of the fact that Igbos made it possible for these ungrateful elements to be getting the 13% oil derivative they are being paid today.

Op, thanks for excellent article, well researched, correct with dates.
This should be taught in our schools, oh, they banned history in our schools. They can't ban facts, thank God.