Debates about the civil war of 1967-1970 is a very common topic on NL. This debates degenerate into hateful, tribalistic, ethnocentric and racist exchanges in no time! This may drive traffic to the website but is NOT helpful if it promotes hatred, curses and tribalism. Now, one question that comes to mind is: how many people actually were alive, old enough, fought or were involved in the WAR? (I want ANSWERS!)

My uncles and dad have been in Nigeria's forces for a long time. One of my uncles, who I am close to, has seen action in many conflicts and was high up in the top echelon of the Army before retirement. One thing he does not talk about is war, what happened, etc and while these topics are of interest to me, he rarely makes references to them. The reason is after seeing several thousands of humans die worse than animals, untold suffering, and every possible evil, I am not surprised he doesn't want to remember or talk about it.  I have read books on the civil war, second world war and seen documentaries of almost every major human conflict since the first world war. I don't consider myself an expert because I only got information that was provided. So, why is it that people who have never quelled a riot, seen or participated in aluta while in university (I went to Ife, BTW), are the experts and everyone MUST agree with them? So, if you were not in the civil war, did not fight, did not see any action all your life (not even university aluta), have not come out from a serious armed robbery attack, have not had a gun pointed at your head (point blank) but have absorbed a lot of "Goebbels" type propaganda, it is time to SHUT UP and sit your as.z down! So, if you are at least 56 years old (meaning you were 12 in 1967), then you may really have any sort of credibility otherwise, your infantile rants are totally useless!

Dede1 witnessed it and that is why he despised Awolowo,Adekunle and Obasanjo so much !

No nlers witness the war. Most of them are coward, they're the first to run away when a war break out.

Yes!
I was 1 yearzzzzz old hiding with my Nyamiri momma married to my randy Edo poppa in one Bush in Benin-City called 'Yoruba' Street!!!
My akamu was SEVERELY rationed those days and my 'nappy' had to rewashed, since no 'disposables' were sold. One safety pin almost pierced my spine!
So, I can be as bigotted as I wanno be.
Any further questions?

Well, if he did I hope he comes here to tell us himself and then maybe he can find some maturity to be more convincing in marshalling his points rather than cursing and e-fighting all the time. If he is 56 or older, it is not good if he commands no respect that younger people keep spanking him on his head. We need to respect elderly people but they should remember they need to earn that respect or at least not squander whatever they might have by reason of their age.

See for example this thread: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-796866.64.html#msg9488618

Getting owned by anyone publicly is hardly a way to command any respect!

BootyOnMe:

Yes!
I was 1 yearzzzzz old hiding with my Nyamiri momma married to my randy Edo poppa in one Bush in Benin-City called 'Yoruba' Street!!!
My akamu was SEVERELY rationed those days and my 'nappy' had to rewashed, since no 'disposables' were sold. One safety pin almost pierced my spine!
So, I can be as bigotted as I wanno be.
Any further questions?

LOL. . .funny! Are you joking because this is a funny response!? How did you know if a pin even touched you let alone know where the spine was at 1?

It's funny how people who never witnessed ordinary riot go about the pages of internet chanting war songs. These same people will be the first to cross seme border when kasala burst.

afam4eva:

It's funny how people who never witnessed ordinary riot go about the pages of internet chanting war songs. These same people will be the first to cross seme border when kasala burst.

@Post

I was in my mother's womb then, so you see why I burst veins when I post about the war.

afam4eva:

It's funny how people who never witnessed ordinary riot go about the pages of internet chanting war songs. These same people will be the first to cross seme border when kasala burst.

But average ibos on NL talk as if they witnessed the war !

BootyOnMe:

Yes!
I was 1 yearzzzzz old hiding with my Nyamiri momma married to my randy Edo poppa in one Bush in Benin-City called 'Yoruba' Street!!!
My akamu was SEVERELY rationed those days and my 'nappy' had to rewashed, since no 'disposables' were sold. One safety pin almost pierced my spine!
So, I can be as bigotted as I wanno be.
Any further questions?

LOL

afam4eva:

It's funny how people who never witnessed ordinary riot go about the pages of internet chanting war songs. These same people will be the first to cross seme border when kasala burst.

thank you,

afam4eva:

It's funny how people who never witnessed ordinary riot go about the pages of internet chanting war songs. These same people will be the first to cross seme border when kasala burst.

@Afam. . .that is very true! But I will tell you honestly that I am surprised at your candour regarding this topic!

I have two experiences which I have gotten away from; which anyone will pray they never experienced. One was an armed robbery attack in Kogi State while going to Abuja. Do you know that a military guy (in his uniform) was in the vehicle at that time and guess what? He opened the door while the vehicle was still in motion and jumped out! If I remember well, I think he lost his belt or so in haste. Our get-away was frantic and only what you would see in an American movie!

The second one was having a pistol pointed at my head while escorting my cousin home at night by an armed robber - who claimed he was a cop! My cousin (a lady) is all I could think about and getting her to safety was the only thought in my head through this ordeal. I know that pistol very well, it was a Browning .45 Caliber - my dad had a very similar pistol and I have played with it and many other guns as his guards played with us as kids and let us play with the guns - without ammo. So, these are some of my real life experiences - not even war or close to it! Can anyone make a claim or attack another based on stories they were told, which true as it may, is heavily biased?

Nice thread!
I wonder how many NLers are 56 and over anyway? I don't think there will be more than a handful, and as the OP rightly inferred, we need to reach out to these handful of wise heads for direction when it comes to fundamental issues like the civil war.

Posters logic is funny.The truth is that some of us have 1st hand info on that war.My father fought as a child soldier while my Grand father fought as a full soldier.The history from my family's point of view is what I believe.Most Igbos fought that war as war of survival and not war of secession as being claimed by many reports I have come across.

Okay, NO ONE has so far admitted to seeing the Civil War for themselves. Does it mean that "Goebbels" type propaganda is what has fuelled most of the e-fights on NL till date?

PS. Read about Joseph Goebbels here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Goebbels

Abagworo:

Posters logic is funny.The truth is that some of us have 1st hand info on that war.My father fought as a child soldier while my Grand father fought as a full soldier[b].The history from my family's point of view is what I believe.Most Igbos fought that war as war of survival and not war of secession as being claimed by many reports I have come across.

[/b]

. . . and when Biafra surrender, did Nigeria wipe Igbos out No! So, what "survival" are you talking about? The truth is, it was a war of secession. There is no point hiding it.

Nope I didn't,not old enough but got first hand narration by my father and bullet marks to reinforce them.
Joined in at the middle when Westerners were being co-opted.

Abagworo:

Posters logic is funny.The truth is that some of us have 1st hand info on that war.My father fought as a child soldier while my Grand father fought as a full soldier.The history from my family's point of view is what I believe.Most Igbos fought that war as war of survival and not war of secession as being claimed by many reports I have come across.

There is no notion of logic here - in case you misunderstood the post. It's a question: Did YOU see action in the Civil War?

I have told about my experiences, what I have read and what I have been told too by people who have seen ACTION in Nigeria and outside. You can believe any point of view like any other person, BUT only if YOU actually saw action, stand-up and be counted otherwise, read and learn like a lot of young people have to.

Eziachi and GenBuhari(didnt knw He is Igbo)

jason123:

. . . and when Biafra surrender, did Nigeria wipe Igbos out No! So, what "survival" are you talking about? The truth is, it was a war of secession. There is no point hiding it.

You weren't there to know if Abagworo's folk were fighting for survival or not, so what claims are you making? This is the very sort of sensational bunkum the OP is kicking against. It occurs on both sides.

While we are still waiting for people who are 56 and older, AND who saw ACTION, it's refreshing to see some honest opinions. Some people were 1 year old then, a lot of others (including myself) were not even born then.

My grand pa was blown out of his bed in one place called called Otu-Ogwu!
My momma and grand momma ran to Benin. NA BINI PEOPLE SAVE MY MAMA O!
My parents were sooooooooo jobless, they kept phocking and phocking. . . THEREBY PRODUCING 5 CHILDREN IN LESS THAN 4 YEARS! I think only 10 months and 2 weeks separated sibling #2 from sibling #3! My poor mom did not see a period for ALL 4 years! NO PADS! My last sibling was born in 1971! Then they stopped!!!

I suspect the native doctors had opened up their 'abortion' clinics to help my parents out. . . MY MOMMA WAS A STAUNCH CATHOLIC(STILL IZZZZ). . . EWWWW!!!

Thank God one of us quench! (Not my portion sha. . . na boy!)
My 5 uncles ran to Biafra land and were eating dead people and smoking Igbo endlessly with Ndi-Igbo across the Niger!
Thank God ALL of them are still alive and well.

Nor be small tin o!

^^^ are you serious or just messing around?

My papa witness am, as i can represent.  

Relax101:

Eziachi and GenBuhari(didnt knw He is Igbo)

GenBuhari that old? I don't believe, that guy loses his rag too quickly and obsesses to much (aside from becomerich, thats the only guy on the planet, known to single-handedly take a thread to several pages).

Ileke-IdI:

^^^ are you serious or just messing around?

The truth and nothing but the truth!
When I relive the horrible stories my poor uncles told us during the war huh, when they came back from that BIAFRAN JUNGLE OF A PLACE HEHN? I dunn wanno have ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING IGBO!!!

Lai lai!
My husband and children na the ONLY exception because I cannot change that!

BootyOnMe:

My grand pa was blown out of his bed in one place called called Otu-Ogwu!
My momma and grand momma ran to Benin.
My parents were sooooooooo jobless, they kept phocking and phocking. . . THEREBY PRODUCING 5 CHILDREN IN LESS THAN 4 YEARS! I think only 10 separated sibling #2 from sibling #5! My poor mom did not see a period for ALL 4 years! NO PADS! My last sibling was born in 1971! The they stopped!!!
I suspect the native doctors had opened up their 'abortion' clinics to help my parents out. . . MY MOMMA WAS A STAUNCH CATHOLIC(STILL IZZZZ). . . EWWWW!!!
Thank God one of us quench! (Not my portion sha)
My Nyamiri uncles ran to Biafra land and were eating dead people and smoking Igbo endlessly with Ndi-Igbo across the Niger!
Thank God ALL of them are still alive and well.

Nor be small tin o!

Bruv, you are swimming with the tides of madness.

@OP

It is unfortunate you have such a downcast mindset about the tales of the war. Let me remind you that rarely do warriors narrate full detail accounts of battles during the war. The reason is simple because one soldier can not participate in all the battles within all the sectors at the same time. In fact only the sector commanders and personals at HQ knew as much about the war as reporters.

If anybody really wants to know the gist of the war, he or she must remain at the rears with imbedded news hunters. I can understand why your father or uncle does not want to talk about war with you because their knowledge of battles is limited to ones they participated. In fact, researchers could tell more detailed stories about war than field commanders.

BootyOnMe:

My grand pa was blown out of his bed in one place called called Otu-Ogwu!
My momma and grand momma ran to Benin.
My parents were sooooooooo jobless, they kept phocking and phocking. . . THEREBY PRODUCING 5 CHILDREN IN LESS THAN 4 YEARS! I think only 10 separated sibling #2 from sibling #5! My poor mom did not see a period for ALL 4 years! NO PADS! My last sibling was born in 1971! The they stopped!!!
I suspect the native doctors had opened up their 'abortion' clinics to help my parents out. . . MY MOMMA WAS A STAUNCH CATHOLIC(STILL IZZZZ). . . EWWWW!!!
Thank God one of us quench! (Not my portion sha)
My Nyamiri uncles ran to Biafra land and were eating dead people and smoking Igbo endlessly with Ndi-Igbo across the Niger!
Thank God ALL of them are still alive and well.

Nor be small tin o!

Funny! But you missed my earlier question, except you meant this as the answer. LOL @ responses nonetheless!

lucy1:

My papa witness am, as i can represent.  

Good but we have LOTS of us on NL and see how many e-fights, cursing, abuse, tribalism and hate it has brought! So, if we know how much first-hand information we have, it would help tremendously to balance these kind of conversations and eliminate or reduce drastically the negativity on NL.

Never a dull moment!

I always crave for your post like fresh pusssy. Thanks for the laughter.

BootyOnMe:

My grand pa was blown out of his bed in one place called called Otu-Ogwu!
My momma and grand momma ran to Benin. NA BINI PEOPLE SAVE MY MAMA O!
My parents were sooooooooo jobless, they kept phocking and phocking. . . THEREBY PRODUCING 5 CHILDREN IN LESS THAN 4 YEARS! I think only 10 separated sibling #2 from sibling #5! My poor mom did not see a period for ALL 4 years! NO PADS! My last sibling was born in 1971! The they stopped!!!
I suspect the native doctors had opened up their 'abortion' clinics to help my parents out. . . MY MOMMA WAS A STAUNCH CATHOLIC(STILL IZZZZ). . . EWWWW!!!
Thank God one of us quench! (Not my portion sha)
My Nyamiri uncles ran to Biafra land and were eating dead people and smoking Igbo endlessly with Ndi-Igbo across the Niger!
Thank God ALL of them are still alive and well.

Nor be small tin o!

BootyOnMe:

My grand pa was blown out of his bed in one place called called Otu-Ogwu!
My momma and grand momma ran to Benin. NA BINI PEOPLE SAVE MY MAMA O!
My parents were sooooooooo jobless, they kept phocking and phocking. . . THEREBY PRODUCING 5 CHILDREN IN LESS THAN 4 YEARS! I think only 10 separated sibling #2 from sibling #5! My poor mom did not see a period for ALL 4 years! NO PADS! My last sibling was born in 1971! The they stopped!!!
I suspect the native doctors had opened up their 'abortion' clinics to help my parents out. . . MY MOMMA WAS A STAUNCH CATHOLIC(STILL IZZZZ). . . EWWWW!!!
Thank God one of us quench! (Not my portion sha)
My Nyamiri uncles ran to Biafra land and were eating dead people and smoking Igbo endlessly with Ndi-Igbo across the Niger!
Thank God ALL of them are still alive and well.

Nor be small tin o!

Booty on me, lol

Dede1:

@OP

It is unfortunate you have such a downcast mindset about the tales of the war. Let me remind you that rarely do warriors narrate full detail accounts of battles during the war. The reason is simple because one soldier can not participate in all the battles within all the sectors at the same time. In fact only the sector commanders and personals at HQ knew as much about the war as reporters.

If anybody really wants to know the gist of the war, he or she must remain at the rears with imbedded news hunters. I can understand why your father or uncle does not want to talk about war with you because their knowledge of battles is limited to ones they participated. In fact, researchers could tell more detailed stories about war than field commanders.
     

Ha. . .so you are here at last! First, are you 56 or older? Next, there is nothing downcast about a question to elicit a fact, check: answer my first question.

Next: You know nothing about the people you referenced, whether they became historians, writers, pastors or did anything else. Check: You are probably old enough to not to get a smack-down because you are digressing from the objective of the thread. Any human in a war situation has only memory of the ACTION he participated in, and that is all YOU need to tell US if YOU participated in any. If you did NOT, sit down quietly and wait to learn - you should know this at your age!

~Bluetooth:

Dede1 witnessed it and that is why he despised Awolowo,Adekunle and Obasanjo so much !

If I inform you that I saw the war, participated and surrounded, it will not change anything about how you and poster of the thread think about Nigeria/Biafra civil war.