zendy:


This long epistle just for you to make no point. You are saying that Ojukwu was alive when the Igbos were massacred in 1945 and 1953? What did you expect Ojukwu who was then a teenager to do in a time that Nigeria was still a British colony? Even Zik, Dr Okpara and Dr Akanu Ibiam who were great Igbo nationalist were still championing one Nigeria (for reasons best known to them) and you are talking about Ojukwu who at the time had no political clout? Laughable. I said that Ojukwu as a Soldier was subject to Ironsi who was his superior but but not subject to Gowon. Awolowo on the other hand was not a Soldier and was subject to nobody. Awolowo willingly accepted to serve under Gowon when he could have declined the offer and rallied the Yoruba nation to seek their right to self determination in the face of the massacre happening. Yet Awolowo chose to serve them. To this very day, the Yoruba man will always run to Northerner for political expedience. How Awolowo could have witnessed genocide on such a scale after Nigeria had achieved self rule but still went for 'one Nigeria' under the same people commiting the same atrocities. You said that Ojukwu should have resigned because of the massacre that happened under Ironsi? Go and read Philip Effiongs book "Biafra:My story" and you will know that Ojukwu vehemently protested the killing of easterners to Ironsi's face during the Executive meetings. One more thing, Military officers are not allowed to resign. The Military has its own rules that different from civilians. A Military officer can apply to be discharged for reasons such as health, incapacity or incompetence but they are not allowed to resign. If Ojukwu had resigned, he would have been arrested , detained and court martialed and jailed. That would not have helped him or anyone so that idea of yours is nonsense. The same Ojukwu you are talking about went to Ghana to sign an agreement with Gowon to keep Nigeria one and maintain the peace despite thousands his people being massacred. Does that look like man who only cares about power and not his people? Why did you not blame Gowon for breaking the agreement? As for Boro, what Boro did was stupid. Anyone can go to a market square, read some form of independence statement and take some men with guns into the Bush to start causing problems. That is not secession. Secession is declaring independence from Nigeria, not declaring independence from Igbos. I'm not even sure Boro knew who he was declaring free? His fellow Ijaws or who? In Ojukwus case, he declared Biafra after his belief in Nigeria had been shattered, amist wholesale slaughter of his people, the breaking of the binding Aburi agreement and after due consultation.

And your own epistle is short and makes sense? You have only regurgitated your earlier self contradictions
I thought you earlier said Ojukwu was not in a position whatsoever to challenge Ironsi? Now you claim Ojukwu once protested to Ironsi's face over the killing of Igbos in the North. Which do we now believe? You are neither coherent nor stable in your opinion.
You obviously lack an appreciation of figurative expressions or else you would not have misconstrued my submission that Ojukwu was alive to mean that I expected him to do something as a teenager regarding the murder of Igbos in 1945 and 1953. I only meant he knew of this by hindsight but still continued to root for one Nigeria after becoming an Army Officer and adult. What else was that if not insanity?
Only a lawless person would argue that Awolowo was not subject to Gowon while he served under him as finance minister. It is like saying NOI was not subject to the GEJ who appointed her as part of the executive arm of government which GEJ was the overall head of.
You goofed again by claiming Ojukwu was afraid of imprisonment by Ironsi if he resigned, and that the Army Law does not permit such. I have a neighbour who was sponsored for medical course in US and after completion of the course he resigned from the Nigerian Army and commenced practising as a lecturer over there in University of California Los Angeles, and he visits Nigeria frequently without anyone arresting and locking him up despite he even enjoyed Army sponsorship and therefore morally obliged to remain in the army. If your theory is true, then why did Ironsi not jail Ojukwu for protesting against his docility over Igbos massacre? Was imprisonment by Ironsi even too much for Ojukwu as a price to pay for resigning in protest to Ironsi's indecision towards Igbos massacre as HOS? Must you lie to justify Ojukwu's hypocrisy?
Your Aburi Accord story still does not cut it. If Ojukwu truly initially believed in confederacy which he later demanded at Aburi, then why did he not protest against Ironsi's unification decree far before Aburi issue came up? Thank God you yourself has just said he protested against Ironsi face to face over Igbos massacre. Aburi Accord was an afterthought on Ojukwu's part. The agreement was broken by both Ojukwu and Gowon. So spread your blames fairly.

What you said about Awolowo is pure trash. Why would Awolowo not rally to the side of Gowon when Ojukwu was already invading his territory and forcefully taking it over? Were you expecting Awo to fold his arms and watch as Ojukwu entered Ore and imposed an Igbo military officer there. Was that the initial agreement he and Ojukwu had? How would Awo have declared Oodua Republic which Ojukwu was already invading and annexing to Biafra? You claim Awolowo's support for Gowon visited massacres on innocent Igbos yet you conveniently forgot that Igbos like Zik, Okpara, etc assisted the North in causing the Western Region anarchy and chaos which led to the massacre of over 3,000 innocent Yorubas and hounded Awolowo into jail only for Gowon to release him and others like Boro, Enahoro, etc after Ironsi refused to release them for six good months. You think the death of those 3,000 Yorubas is any less criminal and inhuman than the death of the millions of Igbos killed during the war? Whoever sows the wind reaps not the wind but the whirlwind.
Boro declared seccession from the whole of Nigeria including Igbos. As long as you see everything wrong in Boro's declaration but see everything right in Ojukwu's then you remain a hypocrite. The quest for freedom through violence does not have standard procedures to follow. Both Ojukwu and Boro are guilty of violent approach. If Boro was reckless to have declared secession that way then Ojukwu should have opted for referendum and not mere unconstitutional declaration.

Zik was the problem of Igbos as it was he who inspired and misled Ojulkwu, Ironsi, Okpara, etc into believing in one Nigeria when all evidences pointed to the contrary. Blame Zik and leave Yorubas and Hausas alone. Northerners made it clear that Muslims and Christians in nearly equal numbers can't form a peaceful country. Yorubas towed same line but Igbos led by Zik continued to forcefully glue us together and they paid dearly for it. So why not rather blame the blind and stupid Zik?

Deadlytruth:


And your own epistle is short and makes sense? You have only regurgitated your earlier self contradictions
I thought you earlier said Ojukwu was not in a position whatsoever to challenge Ironsi? Now you claim Ojukwu once protested to Ironsi's face over the killing of Igbos in the North. Which do we now believe? You are neither coherent nor stable in your opinion.
You obviously lack an appreciation of figurative expressions or else you would not have misconstrued my submission that Ojukwu was alive to mean that I expected him to do something as a teenager regarding the murder of Igbos in 1945 and 1953. I only meant he knew of this by hindsight but still continued to root for one Nigeria after becoming an Army Officer and adult. What else was that if not insanity?
Only a lawless person would argue that Awolowo was not subject to Gowon while he served under him as finance minister. It is like saying NOI was not subject to the GEJ who appointed her as part of the executive arm of government which GEJ was the overall head of.
You goofed again by claiming Ojukwu was afraid of imprisonment by Ironsi if he resigned, and that the Army Law does not permit such. I have a neighbour who was sponsored for medical course in US and after completion of the course he resigned from the Nigerian Army and commenced practising as a lecturer over there in University of California Los Angeles, and he visits Nigeria frequently without anyone arresting and locking him up despite he even enjoyed Army sponsorship and therefore morally obliged to remain in the army. If your theory is true, then why did Ironsi not jail Ojukwu for protesting against his docility over Igbos massacre? Was imprisonment by Ironsi even too much for Ojukwu as a price to pay for resigning in protest to Ironsi's indecision towards Igbos massacre as HOS? Must you lie to justify Ojukwu's hypocrisy?
Your Aburi Accord story still does not cut it. If Ojukwu truly initially believed in confederacy which he later demanded at Aburi, then why did he not protest against Ironsi's unification decree far before Aburi issue came up? Thank God you yourself has just said he protested against Ironsi face to face over Igbos massacre. Aburi Accord was an afterthought on Ojukwu's part. The agreement was broken by both Ojukwu and Gowon. So spread your blames fairly.

What you said about Awolowo is pure trash. Why would Awolowo not rally to the side of Gowon when Ojukwu was already invading his territory and forcefully taking it over? Were you expecting Awo to fold his arms and watch as Ojukwu entered Ore and imposed an Igbo military officer there. Was that the initial agreement he and Ojukwu had? How would Awo have declared Oodua Republic which Ojukwu was already invading and annexing to Biafra? You claim Awolowo's support for Gowon visited massacres on innocent Igbos yet you conveniently forgot that Igbos like Zik, Okpara, etc assisted the North in causing the Western Region anarchy and chaos which led to the massacre of over 3,000 innocent Yorubas and hounded Awolowo into jail only for Gowon to release him and others like Boro, Enahoro, etc after Ironsi refused to release them for six good months. You think the death of those 3,000 Yorubas is any less criminal and inhuman than the death of the millions of Igbos killed during the war? Whoever sows the wind reaps not the wind but the whirlwind.
Boro declared seccession from the whole of Nigeria including Igbos. As long as you see everything wrong in Boro's declaration but see everything right in Ojukwu's then you remain a hypocrite. The quest for freedom through violence does not have standard procedures to follow. Both Ojukwu and Boro are guilty of violent approach. If Boro was reckless to have declared secession that way then Ojukwu should have opted for referendum and not mere unconstitutional declaration.

Zik was the problem of Igbos as it was he who inspired and misled Ojulkwu, Ironsi, Okpara, etc into believing in one Nigeria when all evidences pointed to the contrary. Blame Zik and leave Yorubas and Hausas alone. Northerners made it clear that Muslims and Christians in nearly equal numbers can't form a peaceful country. Yorubas towed same line but Igbos led by Zik continued to forcefully glue us together and they paid dearly for it. So why not rather blame the blind and stupid Zik?

You are just side stepping everything said. A junior officer can protest any injustice he or she feels in front of a superior officer, they are allowed to that. What they not allowed to do is to challenge a direct order from the superior officer. Protest not a challenge. No Military officer is allowed to resign their commission until their alloted time of service is over. Their are some officers on 'short service' who might be allowed to resign earlier due to the nature of their commission but Military officers do not have the luxury of resigning when they want. The best they can ask for is a transfer. Your friend who went for training was probably 'short service' officer who had already completed his mandatory service time and was free to quit. A long service officer like Ojukwu does not have the option of resignation. Awolowo on the other hand could have quit Government whenever he wanted, but he chose not to. He accepted to serve a regime controlled by northerners who superviced the wholesale slaughter of Igbos, all the while, congratulating himself for 'one Nigeria' because it was not his people being massacred. As for Ore, Ojukwu was justified in invading the place on his way to Lagos. Nigeria invaded Biafra and Biafra invaded Nigeria in response. So what is the problem? I don't know much about the 3000 people who died but to best of my knowledge, Yorubas killed themselves. I don't think it was Igbos who went to the west kill anyone. If the Yorubas for whatever reason, decide to kill each other, they have themselves to blame. Before Ojukwu declared Biafra, he sought and recieved the mandate to do so (Google Eastern Nigeria consultative assembly ). Who gave Isaac Boro the mandate to declare a country and who exactly was he declaring a separate state? Anyone can write a declaration and say they are separate from Nigeria but what sort of support do they have to do so? Comparing what Ojukwu did and what Boro did is like comparing a Tiger and a cat.

I don't blame Ojukwu, Dr Okpara or Zik for at one time believing in 'one Nigeria'. The 1945 and 1953 happened when Nigeria was just a British Colony. Dr Okpara did say before he died that people him and Zik believed that an independent Nigerian state would eventually become one of the most prosperous and powerful nations on earth. Times proved them wrong. Even I once believed in Nigerian unity despite the massacred that occurred in the 90's. Now, the unity of Nigeria means nothing to me. We are all human beings and people are allowed to change their mind.

gidgiddy:


You are just side stepping everything said. A junior officer can protest any injustice he or she feels in front of a superior officer, they are allowed to that. What they not allowed to do is to challenge a direct order from the superior officer. Protest not a challenge. No Military officer is allowed to resign their commission until their alloted time of service is over. Their are some officers on 'short service' who might be allowed to resign earlier due to the nature of their commission but Military officers do not have the luxury of resigning when they want. The best they can ask for is a transfer. Your friend who went for training was probably 'short service' officer who had already completed his mandatory service time and was free to quit. A long service officer like Ojukwu does not have the option of resignation. Awolowo on the other hand could have quit Government whenever he wanted, but he chose not to. He accepted to serve a regime controlled by northerners who superviced the wholesale slaughter of Igbos, all the while, congratulating himself for 'one Nigeria' because it was not his people being massacred. As for Ore, Ojukwu was justified in invading the place on his way to Lagos. Nigeria invaded Biafra and Biafra invaded Nigeria in response. So what is the problem? I don't know much about the 3000 people who died but to best of my knowledge, Yorubas killed themselves. I don't think it was Igbos who went to the west kill anyone. If the Yorubas for whatever reason, decide to kill each other, they have themselves to blame. Before Ojukwu declared Biafra, he sought and recieved the mandate to do so (Google Eastern Nigeria consultative assembly ). Who gave Isaac Boro the mandate to declare a country and who exactly was he declaring a separate state? Anyone can write a declaration and say they are separate from Nigeria but what sort of support do they have to do so? Comparing what Ojukwu did and what Boro did is like comparing a Tiger and a cat.

I don't blame Ojukwu, Dr Okpara or Zik for at one time believing in 'one Nigeria'. The 1945 and 1953 happened when Nigeria was just a British Colony. Dr Okpara did say before he died that people him and Zik believed that an independent Nigerian state would eventually become one of the most prosperous and powerful nations on earth. Times proved them wrong. Even I once believed in Nigerian unity despite the massacred that occurred in the 90's. Now, the unity of Nigeria means nothing to me. We are all human beings and people are allowed to change their mind.

My friend was not on a short service but a full service military officer. Nevertheless Ojukwu could have claimed health issues to resign and rally against Ironsi as the end justifies the means.
Neither did Yorubas kill Igbos. Igbos were killed by Hausas repeatedly due to the laxity of Igbo leaders. Yes, Yorubas killed one another over the anarchy caused in the Western Region by Hausa-Fulani in collusion with Igbos. That to me is civility even in violence as they decided to deal with their own traitors who gave outsiders a chance to disorganize their home unlike Igbos who, instead of killing their own traitors like Zik and Okpara who gave Northerners a chance to oppress them, decided to kill the very Northerners and left their own traitors walk free.
Awolowo would have been the biggest ingrate in world history to have quit the government of Gowon (a middlebelter and Christian) who released him and rally support for Igbos who colluded with the Islamist Northern Oligarchy to sentence him to a 10 year prison term on politically motivated charges.
If Ojukwu was truly only targeting Lagos and not on a mission to annex the Western and Midwestern Regions then why could his troops not just simply transit through Benin, Ore, etc to Lagos without capturing and declaring fraudulent independence in these towns and cities? Were the Warri, Auchi, Sapele Igarra, Lampese (which Ojukwu's soldiers also attacked and occupied) along the East-West Road leading to Lagos?
The Eastern Nigeria consultative assembly you talked of was not truly representative of the minorities which were already complaining of being disproportionately Igbo composed. If that assembly's approval to Ojukwu truly represented the minorities wish then why did the same Eastern Minorities later open up the coastlines for the federal forces to penetrate Biafra land? On the other hand Isaac Boro had the support of Ijaws as no Ijaw man or woman openly came out to resist him for declaring NDR. Legislative formality is not same as on-ground reality.
I blame Zik for believing in one Nigeria and inspiring other Igbos to do same. My reason is that Zik read Anthropology in the US, and Anthropology is the scientific study of the cultural evolutions of different peoples with the view to recommending how best different peoples with different cultures would peacefully cohabit without clashes of culture and its resultant bloodshed. To this end Anthropology recommends that in any society with divers peoples living closely together the best way to forestall clash of culture is for each and every tribe to acknowledge, understand and respect the differences between it and other tribes no matter how silly those other tribes' cultures might appear. But the Zik who knew this as an Anthropologist began to advocate for one Nigeria where tribal and ethnic cultural differences will be de-emphasized or even totally ignored in the name of national unity and strength. What sort of national unity is that? Why could Zik not simply apply the tenets of his profession in his reasoning? Given his field of study he was supposed to be the last person to talk of one Nigeria. But he did otherwise. That was too dishonest of him. University courses are meant to be read and the knowledge gained therein applied to practically solve problems in the society. But Zik never applied his professional knowledge to help Nigeria achieve peaceful coexistence among its people. He rather advocated and defended an idea that was not in harmony with his profession's tenets. Was that an indication that Zik was genuinely concerned about the peace thus rapid development of Nigeria?