Former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon stirred the hornet’s nest at the weekend when in his reaction to the death of the former Biafran leader, Dim Odimegwu Emeka Ojukwu stated that the former Biafran warlord should not have led his people to secede from the country.
Reacting to his comments this morning, prominent Igbo leaders in Nigeria condemned Gowon’s comments, describing it as nonsense and a dredging up of old wounds.
Gowon had in his condolence message to the Ojukwu family at the weekend said it was unfortunate that the late Biafran warlord took up arms against Nigeria, saying that if Ojukwu had been in his shoe, he would have defended the nation with zeal.
Speaking with P.M.NEWS this morning, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife said Gowon “is talking nonsense. Ojukwu agreed to go to Aburi in Ghana to broker peace but Gowon broke the agreement. He should not be saying this.”
Mr. Joe Igbokwe, Publicity Secretary, Action Congress of Nigeria, CAN, Lagos State and prominent Igbo leader blasted Gowon, saying if he had been in Ojukwu’s shoes, he would have taken the same position.
“Ojukwu was compelled to take the decision by his people. Gowon had sufficient time to have made this comment since 1970 when the civil war ended, why now? He is talking rubbish. He should allow Ojukwu to rest in peace.
“At the Aburi accord, all attempts to bring sense into the situation failed. Now, we have not been able to solve this same problem. Look at how they killed several youth corps members in the North.
“Gowon should allow sleeping dogs lie. If Gowon tries to stir up another controversy, there will be problem. The issue discussed 43 years ago in Ghana are still staring us in the face. Gowon should have averted that Civil War but he was arrogant,” he stated.
According to Igbokwe, the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late Moshood Abiola would have led to the Yoruba breaking away from the country, if not that the situation was well managed. “What is Gowon saying? He should go and talk to his people in the North. If Southern Nigeria had been a state, it would have contested with Europe today in terms of development. Gowon and his people are holding us hostage. He should address this and not remind us of past wounds,” he added.
In his own reaction to Gowon’s statement, the leader of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Dr. Ralph Uwazuruike said whatever Gowon said about Ojukwu was of no consequence now.
“Whatever Gowon said is of no consequence. We are mourning. We have tears in our eyes and we are preoccupied with how to give Ojukwu a befitting burial,” he stated.
Current Secretary General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nduka Eya who said he fought in the civil war and retired as Major, said those alive can say whatever they like. “People alive can say whatever they like. Gowon should know and admit, even though they labelled Ojukwu a rebel leader, Ojukwu was not a rebel leader. They should know that what caused the war was the northern programme against south easterners,” he explained.
Another Igbo leader, Barrister Eze Eluchie lambasted Gowon over the statement and described him as a poor student of history.
“Ojukwu did not break away from the nation but took the decision because several Igbo were being killed in the north.
“The Aburi accord tried to usher in peace but Gowon proved stubborn. Ojukwu’s move was to serve his people. Gowon’s statement is most hypocritical and uncalled for. The ideal thing is for Nigeria to sit down and discuss what led to the war properly and prevent another war.
“Things are going worse in this country and this time, it might not be the Igbo that will try to break away, it might be another group trying to break away,” he said.
Another prominent Igbo leader, Chief Chris Igwillo condemned Gowon over the statement. “That is his opinion. Okukwu was pushed to the wall over the maltreatment of the Igbo nation, a situation where the Igbo were being killed in Kano.
“The Aburi accord failed and he had no choice than to break away. We have no regret for trying to break away. Gowon can’t say that because there was no other option for him to take. Gowon is on his own,” he said.
A top member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Emma Saint George Ekeh, took a swipe at Gowon for making such a statement at this critical period. “I am still holding the former Head of State responsible for the security crisis in the country, especially the carnage in Jos, Plateau State,” he stated.
According to him, Gowon was at the head of the country’s governance when the Igbo were massacred in the north.
Recalling what he described as heinous crime against humanity, he said pregnant Igbo women and children were slaughtered on the streets of various regions of the country. He also recalled the killing of such pregnant women by troops led by the late Murtala Mohammed in Asaba on the orders of General Gowon.
“There is a way war is fought. You can see that NATO and the International War Tribunal are querying why Col. Muammar Gaddafi was killed’’.
“People have erroneously tagged the Aguiyi Ironsi coup as an Igbo coup forgetting that a coup is a coup and does not have ethnic affiliation and this was part of the reason the Igbo were massacred in the north. But I can tell you that some northerners were part of that coup, yet pregnant women had their tummies ripped open and children and innocent men were killed by the northerners.
“Gowon says he has repented but I leave him to God to judge the level of his repentance,” he said.
He maintained that the current security problems facing the country were foreseen by the late Ojukwu and that this was part of the discussion at the Aburi accord between the government and Biafra.
“If as Head of State, he didn’t renege in the agreement, these security crises would not be happening now. Up till now, I still hold him responsible for what is happening in the country,” he said.
Presidential aspirant in the April general elections, Barrister Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia, described Gowon’s statement as ill advised and inappropriate at this period of mourning.
“It exudes cowardice because while Ojukwu was alive, Gowon never made such a statement. I also believe that as Africans, we are not suppose to speak ill of the dead. So rather than make critical comments that would open up old wounds, he should be more mature with his age.
“He should also have looked at issues that led to the war and join the government to address them because they are still the issues on the front burner now,” he stated.
He said Gowon’s statement was unfortunate and borne out of insolence and that it was provocative. He described the late Ojukwu as a hero, among the Igbo people and the entire country.
“The issues he fought against are currently happening in the country where our people are killed at every opportunity. I am from Asaba and I can tell you that the area is almost a no-go area now.
“At this period of mourning, the best thing to do is to sincerely commiserate with the people and family instead of this cowardly statement,” he said.
Uche Ezechukwu, Journalist, who was a P.A. to Ojukwu in the 80s said.
“I don’t agree with him. To say that Ojukwu took the Easterners out of Nigeria is to indulge in the most falsification of history. Rather it was Gowon and his fellow officers of the northern origin who drove Ndigbo and their ilk out of Nigeria.
“At the time that Igbos were being slaughtered like rams all over Nigeria by soldiers led by Danjuma and Murtala Muhammed, Gowon took the reins of power and declared that the “basis of Nigerian unity no longer exist.”
“It was the people from all walks of life that mandated Ojukwu to declare Biafra. He didn’t have a choice in the matter.



P.M.NEWS NIGERIA

Am trying to tell this small kids in NL to grow up, this is from real people in Nigeria is not a joke,you better find your levels

ak47mann:

Former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon stirred the hornet’s nest at the weekend when in his reaction to the death of the former Biafran leader, Dim Odimegwu Emeka Ojukwu stated that the former Biafran warlord should not have led his people to secede from the country.
Reacting to his comments this morning, prominent Igbo leaders in Nigeria condemned Gowon’s comments, describing it as nonsense and a dredging up of old wounds.
Gowon had in his condolence message to the Ojukwu family at the weekend said it was unfortunate that the late Biafran warlord took up arms against Nigeria, saying that if Ojukwu had been in his shoe, he would have defended the nation with zeal.
Speaking with P.M.NEWS this morning, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife said Gowon “is talking nonsense. Ojukwu agreed to go to Aburi in Ghana to broker peace but Gowon broke the agreement. He should not be saying this.”
Mr. Joe Igbokwe, Publicity Secretary, Action Congress of Nigeria, CAN, Lagos State and prominent Igbo leader blasted Gowon, saying if he had been in Ojukwu’s shoes, he would have taken the same position.
“Ojukwu was compelled to take the decision by his people. Gowon had sufficient time to have made this comment since 1970 when the civil war ended, why now? He is talking rubbish. He should allow Ojukwu to rest in peace.
“At the Aburi accord, all attempts to bring sense into the situation failed. Now, we have not been able to solve this same problem. Look at how they killed several youth corps members in the North.
“Gowon should allow sleeping dogs lie. If Gowon tries to stir up another controversy, there will be problem. The issue discussed 43 years ago in Ghana are still staring us in the face. Gowon should have averted that Civil War but he was arrogant,” he stated.
According to Igbokwe, the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late Moshood Abiola would have led to the Yoruba breaking away from the country, if not that the situation was well managed. “What is Gowon saying? He should go and talk to his people in the North. If Southern Nigeria had been a state, it would have contested with Europe today in terms of development. Gowon and his people are holding us hostage. He should address this and not remind us of past wounds,” he added.
In his own reaction to Gowon’s statement, the leader of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Dr. Ralph Uwazuruike said whatever Gowon said about Ojukwu was of no consequence now.
“Whatever Gowon said is of no consequence. We are mourning. We have tears in our eyes and we are preoccupied with how to give Ojukwu a befitting burial,” he stated.
Current Secretary General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nduka Eya who said he fought in the civil war and retired as Major, said those alive can say whatever they like. “People alive can say whatever they like. Gowon should know and admit, even though they labelled Ojukwu a rebel leader, Ojukwu was not a rebel leader. They should know that what caused the war was the northern programme against south easterners,” he explained.
Another Igbo leader, Barrister Eze Eluchie lambasted Gowon over the statement and described him as a poor student of history.
“Ojukwu did not break away from the nation but took the decision because several Igbo were being killed in the north.
“The Aburi accord tried to usher in peace but Gowon proved stubborn. Ojukwu’s move was to serve his people. Gowon’s statement is most hypocritical and uncalled for. The ideal thing is for Nigeria to sit down and discuss what led to the war properly and prevent another war.
“Things are going worse in this country and this time, it might not be the Igbo that will try to break away, it might be another group trying to break away,” he said.
Another prominent Igbo leader, Chief Chris Igwillo condemned Gowon over the statement. “That is his opinion. Okukwu was pushed to the wall over the maltreatment of the Igbo nation, a situation where the Igbo were being killed in Kano.
“The Aburi accord failed and he had no choice than to break away. We have no regret for trying to break away. Gowon can’t say that because there was no other option for him to take. Gowon is on his own,” he said.
A top member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Emma Saint George Ekeh, took a swipe at Gowon for making such a statement at this critical period. “I am still holding the former Head of State responsible for the security crisis in the country, especially the carnage in Jos, Plateau State,” he stated.
According to him, Gowon was at the head of the country’s governance when the Igbo were massacred in the north.
Recalling what he described as heinous crime against humanity, he said pregnant Igbo women and children were slaughtered on the streets of various regions of the country. He also recalled the killing of such pregnant women by troops led by the late Murtala Mohammed in Asaba on the orders of General Gowon.
“There is a way war is fought. You can see that NATO and the International War Tribunal are querying why Col. Muammar Gaddafi was killed’’.
“People have erroneously tagged the Aguiyi Ironsi coup as an Igbo coup forgetting that a coup is a coup and does not have ethnic affiliation and this was part of the reason the Igbo were massacred in the north. But I can tell you that some northerners were part of that coup, yet pregnant women had their tummies ripped open and children and innocent men were killed by the northerners.
“Gowon says he has repented but I leave him to God to judge the level of his repentance,” he said.
He maintained that the current security problems facing the country were foreseen by the late Ojukwu and that this was part of the discussion at the Aburi accord between the government and Biafra.
“If as Head of State, he didn’t renege in the agreement, these security crises would not be happening now. Up till now, I still hold him responsible for what is happening in the country,” he said.
Presidential aspirant in the April general elections, Barrister Chris Mustapha Nwaokobia, described Gowon’s statement as ill advised and inappropriate at this period of mourning.
“It exudes cowardice because while Ojukwu was alive, Gowon never made such a statement. I also believe that as Africans, we are not suppose to speak ill of the dead. So rather than make critical comments that would open up old wounds, he should be more mature with his age.
“He should also have looked at issues that led to the war and join the government to address them because they are still the issues on the front burner now,” he stated.
He said Gowon’s statement was unfortunate and borne out of insolence and that it was provocative. He described the late Ojukwu as a hero, among the Igbo people and the entire country.
“The issues he fought against are currently happening in the country where our people are killed at every opportunity. I am from Asaba and I can tell you that the area is almost a no-go area now.
“At this period of mourning, the best thing to do is to sincerely commiserate with the people and family instead of this cowardly statement,” he said.
Uche Ezechukwu, Journalist, who was a P.A. to Ojukwu in the 80s said.
“I don’t agree with him. To say that Ojukwu took the Easterners out of Nigeria is to indulge in the most falsification of history. Rather it was Gowon and his fellow officers of the northern origin who drove Ndigbo and their ilk out of Nigeria.
“At the time that Igbos were being slaughtered like rams all over Nigeria by soldiers led by Danjuma and Murtala Muhammed, Gowon took the reins of power and declared that the “basis of Nigerian unity no longer exist.”
“It was the people from all walks of life that mandated Ojukwu to declare Biafra. He didn’t have a choice in the matter.



P.M.NEWS NIGERIA

TRUTH MUST BE TOLD
you cant hide the truth.

let me hear this lairs talk rubbish again.GOWON you are a fool mumu sorry for the pain you are now going through.

Pastor Gowon is a pretender anyway.

Gbam

Gowon is a freaking goat. lol

Effiong son na professor? Very good.


The Creation and Mutilation of Biafran Refugees
When Gowon’s administration decided to enforce Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s philosophy
of utilizing starvation as a legitimate instrument of war, Biafra’s socioeconomic reality made it
fairly easy for the policy to be implemented. Prior to the war, a serious refugee problem had
already begun to develop when thousands of Easterners (mostly Igbos)
1
were forced to flee the
North following the mob massacres that took place there in May, June, July, August and
September, 1966. Alluding to the September scenario, which involved participation by Northern
troops,
2
Major-General Alexander Madiebo, Commander of the Biafran Army, recaptures the
aftermath graphically:

1
Although distinctions are made between “Igbo” and “Ibo,” in this paper I will keep things simple by using “Igbo”
throughout to represent the people and their language. I regret if anyone is offended by this decision.
2



The resumed killings brought with it an influx of refugees into Eastern Nigeria from all
over the Federation of Nigeria. They came back…in pathetic and shocking conditions.
Most of them had one or the other part of their bodies either broken or completely
missing. Thousands of children arrived, some with severed limbs and others emasculated.
The adults bore the full brunt of the killings….Those whose limbs were not severed,
brought them back shattered and had to be amputated anyway. Many others had their
eyes, nose, ears and tongues plucked out. The highlight of this horror was the arrival in
Enugu of the headless corpse of an Ibo man! Women above the age of ten were raped and
many of them came back in stretchers. The remaining Eastern Nigerian soldiers in
Lagos…arrived either naked or in their underpants and the big gashes on their bodies
showed that they had been thoroughly beaten and tortured. There was hardly a single
family in Eastern Nigeria which did not suffer a loss through these massacres.
3
If those who took part in the slaughter of thousands of Easterners were not directed by the
July 1966 coup plotters, they were certainly motivated by their actions. Gowon’s new regime did
nothing concrete to stem the wave of violence; in fact, it didn’t even condemn the killings. The
regime’s subsequent actions essentially reinforced the anti-Eastern aggression as it implemented
a series of policies that deliberately sought to further marginalize, degrade and suppress
Easterners. Those who couldn’t find their way back to the East were compelled to register and
carry passes in Lagos and other parts of the country where they lived.
4
Clearly, they had lost their recognition and rights as citizens of the country. By October of the same year, government
enforced a food and economic blockade of Eastern Nigeria by air, land and sea (which continued
throughout the impending war), and denied issuance of Nigerian passports to people of the
region. Even postal, telegraphic and transport services between other parts of Nigeria and the
East were put to a stop by Gowon’s regime.
5
The above measures demonstrate deliberate and
callous efforts to deprive Easterners tenable legitimacy and to exclude them from the larger
Nigerian federation. This is very critical, especially for those who are quick to lambast Biafrans
for attempting to tear Nigeria apart. It is evident that the people were not simply trying to break
away for self-seeking reasons, but were succumbing to ruthless forces that had repeatedly
expressed an unwillingness to tolerate and coexist with them.
The dire situation and plight of Easterners was exacerbated as the war gained momentum
and the enemy made considerable inroads into Biafra, leading to the constant relocation of
civilian populations that lost shelter and the basic means to fend for themselves. The relatives
and friends that initially catered to the needs of returnee Easterners in 1966 soon found
themselves in desperate need of accommodation, sustenance and security. A refugee crisis was
imminent and soon became a major burden for the young, ailing nation. Starvation was indeed
proving to be an effective weapon (even if not a moral one) and the calculated economic
blockade of Biafra impeded sufficient relief supply from abroad. Perhaps this blockade was most
sadistically demonstrated on June 5, 1969, when an International Red Cross Plane, a DC-7, with
a mixed crew of Swedish, American and Norwegian citizens, was shot down by a federal MiG
war plane.
6
Throughout the war, relief planes flying into Biafra’s Uli Airstrip from Sao Tome
faced the real threat of being shot down by enemy planes and antiaircraft weapons.
Economic blockade and attacks against relief planes were just a few of the methods used
to ensure that Awolowo’s starvation policy was fully realized. All resources, institutions and
facilities that were considered potential sources of food and nourishment soon fell victim to the
enemy’s bombing onslaught, including refugee camps, hospitals, villages, farmlands and
marketplaces. The prime victims were not just civilians but women, the elderly and children,
since Biafran males from roughly ages 13 and up typically enlisted in the army or were
forcefully conscripted, hurriedly trained and sent off to the warfront. Apart from the reports on
these air raids, I know them to be true because on many occasions I witnessed and sought shelter
from them in bushes and/or bomb shelters.
7
[b]I clearly remember the first bombing of Ikot Ekpene
in 1968 and the almost ceaseless strafing of Umuahia and its environs, also around 1968, when
we resided there. Some other notorious air raids have been well documented and took place on
the following dates (circa) and locations, resulting in several deaths and injuries:
 March 3, 1968: Saint Mary’s Hospital, Urua Akpan, current Akwa Ibom State (two
killed, 21 injured)
 March 5, 1968: Villages in Dere near Port Harcourt, current Rivers SState (20 killed,
several injured)
 April 5, 1968: Shopping center in Aba, current Abia State (26 killed, several injured)
 April 16, 1968: Village in suburbs of Arochukwu, current Abia State (42 killed, several
injured)
 April 21, 1968: Church in Owerri, current Imo State (60 killed, several injured)
 April 22, 1968: Aba, current Abia State (120 killed, several injured)

7
In 1968 my mother almost lost her life when bombs were dropped in the vicinity of the Umuahia market. She had
gone to the market in the company of Mrs. Ironsi, wife of the former head-of-state. In another such bombingincident a friend of my parents, Mrs. Nkele, was killed.

 April 23, 1968: Aba, current Abia State (75 killed, several injured)
 April 25, 1968: Umuahia, current Abia State (180 killed, hundreds injured)
 April 27, 1968: Aba, current Abia State (148 killed, several injured)
 May 3, 1968: Okigwe township and Orodo village in Owerri Division, current Imo State
(36 killed, 75 wounded)
 May 6, 1968: Church missionary school, Assa in Ngwa Division, current Abia State (94
refugees killed, 65 wounded)
 May 7, 1968: Eleme near Port Harcourt, current Rivers State (19 killed, several injured)
 May 9, 1968: Umumasi and Umukoroshe (now Rumuomasi and Rumukoroshe) near Port
Harcourt, current Rivers State (87 killed, several injured); Mbawsi and Okpuala, current
Abia State (60 killed, 140 injured)
 May 11, 1968: Obehie market near Aba, current Abia State (27 killed, several injured);
Ibiono, current Akwa Ibom State (four killed)
 May 12, 1968: Port Harcourt Shell BP residential area and Elelenwa near Port Harcourt,
current Rivers State (120 killed, 250 injured)
 June 13, 1968: Abonnema, current Rivers State (45 killed, over 100 injured)
 September 2, 1968 (circa): Hospital at Ihiala, Current Anambra State (75 killed, 270
injured)
 September 6, 1968 (circa): Hospital and marketplace at Ihiala, current Anambra State
(130 killed, 60 injured); hospitals at Ozubulu and Nnewi, current Anambra State (several
killed)
 October 12, 1968: Leper Colony in Uzuakoli, current Abia State (47 killed, 102 injured)8
 December 13, 1968: Streets, markets and fields in Umuahia, current Abia State (27
killed, 100 injured)
 December 21, 1968: Umuahia, current Abia State (43 killed, several injured)
 December 22, 1968: Three churches in Umuahia, current Abia State (28 killed)
 February 7, 1969: Afor Umohiagu village near Owerri (more than 300 killed, several
injured)
 February 20, 1969: Umuahia, current Abia State (60 killed, several injured)
 February 21, 1969: Clinic at Amokwe Item, current Abia State (five pregnant women
killed)
 February 24, 1969: Red Cross headquarters, hospital, clinic for convalescence and market
place in Umuahia, present Abia State (several killed and injured); market in Eziama
Mbano village; current Imo State (17 killed)
 February 26, 1969: Ozu Abam market and Ohafia Street in Umuahia, current Abia State
(over 250 killed, several injured)
 March 2, 1969: Umuahia, present Abia State (five killed, eight injured)
 March 8, 1969 (circa): Urua Akpan and Ikot Umo Essien villages in Annang Province,
current Akwa Ibom State (98 killed, 62 injured)
 March 11, 1969: Marketplace and town, Umuahia, current Abia State (35 killed)
 May 3, 1969: Umu-Ovaha, current Abia State (18 killed, 40 injured)
 September 8, 1969: Clinic in Ojoto, current Anambra State (16 killed)
September 17, 1968 was one of the bloodiest and gruesome days of the war. On that day, bombs
were dropped on a marketplace, a clinic for kwashiorkor patients and a church in Otuocha
Aguleri, killing an estimated 510 and injuring over a thousand.
There were also a series of non-bombing incidents, like the killing of civilians through
cannon fire on roads and farms in Ikot Ekpene (current Akwa Ibom State) on March 6, 1968 (25
killed, several injured). On August 16, 1968 Nigerian soldiers massacred an estimated 2000
people at Owaza and 300 in Ozuaka, two villages lying between the Imo River and Aba town.
On the same day in Awka, current Anambra State, Nigerian soldiers opened fire on refugee
camps, slaughtering up to 375 refugees. Later that month, on August 27, civilians were murdered
at Ogwe, near Aba, purportedly instigated by one Lieutenant Macaulay Lamurde. The next
month, on September 10, 47 men were lined up and shot at the Afoagu market near Udi in
current Anambra State for apparently refusing to declare their support for the enemy. A similar
scenario was played out in Lokpa Village, Okigwe, present Imo State, when 60 individuals were
lined up and shot in cold blood by Nigerian soldiers. These attacks were premeditated, merciless
and anything but humane.
8
How the enemy could reconcile its declarations of unity and “one Nigeria” with such
sadism is as paradoxical as it is farcical. In the words of Raph Uwechue, “By bombing hundreds
of civilians to death and destroying the homes and property of hundreds of thousands more, the
Federal Government can hardly justify its claims to be protecting and liberating the very same
people.”
9[/b]




In September 1969, at the Addis Ababa Summit of the Organization of African Unity
(OAU), President Julius Nyerere pushed the case for Biafra’s sovereignty. He seized the
opportunity to recount the macabre conditions that Biafran civilians were subjected to:
The break-up of Nigeria is a terrible thing. But it is less terrible than that cruel war.
Thousands of people are being shot, bombed or seeing their homes and livelihood
destroyed; millions, including the children of Africa, are starving to death. (It is estimated
that possibly more people have died in this war in the last two years than in Vietnam in
the last ten years.)
10
Even though the US demonstrated a largely lukewarm attitude to the gruesome war crimes that
were being committed, one of its presidential candidates at the time, Richard Nixon, spoke out
and observed that “genocide is what is taking place right now, and starvation is the grim reaper.
This is not the time to stand on ceremony.”
11
He then called on President Lyndon Johnson to
urgently invest ample time and energy to help alleviate the crisis and suffering. Though some
could argue that Nixon’s comment was more political than sympathetic, he spoke the truth. The
large scale carnage endured by Biafran civilians eventually captured the conscience of the
international community and this was shockingly demonstrated on March 30, 1969 when a
woman in Paris, France burned herself to death near the Nigerian Embassy to protest the
genocide. A similar action was carried out by a Columbian University student, the 20 year old
Bruce Mayrock who, on May 30 of the same year, burned himself to death near the United
Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York while carrying a placard that read: “You Must Stop
Genocide – Please Save Nine Million Biafrans.”
12
The more they were decimated along with their communities, homes, businesses and
means of livelihood, the more civilian populations became helpless and turned to refugee camps
for sustenance. Yet, Biafra’s refugee crisis, as taxing as it was, also exhibited the resolve and
indomitable survival spirit of its people, thanks to the countries that supported (or at least
sympathized with) the Biafran cause, including Portugal, Gabon, Tanzania, Sao Tome, the Ivory
Coast, Zambia, Ireland, France and Haiti. Within a year after the war began, refugee camps were
hurriedly established throughout Biafra and were largely sustained by humanitarian
organizations like Caritas International, Holy Ghost Fathers of Ireland (now Spiritans), the
World Council of Churches, Joint Church Aid, Concern Worldwide, Catholic Relief Services,
the Salvation Army and the International Red Cross among many others. All available space and
amenities were employed for that purpose, whether they were makeshift, bamboo-constructed
buildings or former school and government buildings. The grim reality; however, is that the
refugees could not be guaranteed permanent shelter and were constantly itinerant as they had to
seek safety from a persistent and merciless enemy that continued to make tremendous inroads
into Biafra. Recounting her role as Reverend Sister and pediatrician in Biafra in 1968, Pauline
Dean recalls the fall of Port Harcourt to the enemy and the initiation of fresh, bleak refugee
problems:
A Father they met said there were STREAMS of refugees out of PH last week walking
the 60 miles to Owerri. One woman delivered a baby at one village – got up and walked
and delivered the twin at the next village. One twin died…. One woman delivered triplets
– she and all the babies died. They were being strafed along the way.
13
Dean goes on to describe her visit to a refugee camp set up in Ikot Ebok, also in present Akwa
Ibom State. Though brief, her story conveys the overwhelming sense of anguish, lack, futility
and despair that sometimes typified the camps and the refugees:
The children with kwashiorkor are terrible and are not getting better. Two people died in
the camp yesterday. The women are very marasmic – scabies is epidemic. Water is a

13
Dean, 24.12
problem as no one has come to fix the well. The stream is 3 miles away and many are too
tired and weak to walk there. We brought a long rope for the bucket but it wasn’t long
enough to get water from the bore hole…. On a mat lying turned to the wall was a sick
man. Dying – cold. I asked what was his name – no one knew….Pulse down to 40. No
one knew how long he had been sick or what his symptoms were. All we could do was to
baptize him.
14
Luke Aneke documents the massive problem of “severe protein malnutrition”
(kwashiorkor) that had to be dealt with at a hospital run by the Holy Rosary Sisters in Emekuku
near Owerri. According to a New York Times report of the children’s wards, “All the children
had yellowish, almost golden hair, scaling skin, body sores, swollen ankles and legs, diarrhea,
lack of appetite, and an apathetic, lethargic look.”
15
Another New York Times description of
famine conditions in Biafra states that, “Death strikes everywhere: in hospitals, in mission
stations, even by the roadside. At the Okpala Mission…Rev. Ken Doheny is close to weeping as
7,000 children assemble at dusk, their bony hands outstretched.” But there isn’t nearly enough to
feed them.
16
Although I had been aware of and observed the horrors caused by air attacks and the
rapidly growing food and health problems, nothing prepared me for the misery and agony I
witnessed at Ifakala, a large village at the time in Mbaitoli in modern Imo State. Umuahia had
just fallen to the enemy and we relocated to Ifakala where we were temporarily accommodated
by the family of my father’s first aide-de-camp.




By Philip U. Effiong, Ph.D.

Biafran Refugees: A Tale of Endurance and Brutality

So really what are you guys driving at here?

Nothing concrete or surprising in what all those who commented on Gowon's statement said. seriously. So is ak47man trying to give it a shock value? Or a justification for his own lies like all I have been saying which are ethnically biased are true

But if you wanna get to that, non of those commentators said anything about Igbos being massacred by Yorubas did it? Yet if you guys want to form an alliance, it's with a party that is controlled by "Northerners". Yet if you guys throw a stone, you pray it hits a Yoruba

Get it out your system. The war is over and Igbos can peacefully secede granted the brain and will not "strength". The Igbocentric lies of then still persist till today and it gives your people a sense of pride which is not based on reality instead on emotions and wishes.

Do not over hype your people else you will end up believing in the hype and will make wrong decisions for your people if you ever get the chance to lead them. Understand their realities instead of creating a hype for them, (An advice you will never get elsewhere),

@ olumide- how do ANY of the points or posts have any bearing on yoruba people. I think you did not read what the OP posted. If you did then can you tell what it has to do with your yoruba vs igbo idea. Secondly your ppl were not at the receiving end of the war so you don't have any moral basis to tell the OP or anybody pissed at gowon's two faced, hypocritical yarn to as you said "get it out of their system". Please show a little respect

nku5:

@ olumide- how do ANY of the points or posts have any bearing on yoruba people. I think you did not read what the OP posted. If you did then can you tell what it has to do with your yoruba vs igbo idea. Secondly your ppl were not at the receiving end of the war so you don't have any moral basis to tell the OP or anybody pissed at gowon's two faced, hypocritical yarn to as you said "get it out of their system". Please show a little respect

The post has nothing to do with Yoruba vs Igbo idea you folks have been promoting here. It has everything to do with Gowon saying rubbish but the op is trying to make the post something to justify his lies against Yorubas with.

Yorubas also suffered loss of military personels during the coup but Igbos didn't, Yorubas were already planning to leave this damned nation before senseless killings started in the coup which killed may soldiers who are not of Igbo extraction and when the Northerners wanted to revenge, Yorubas again lost our fine soldiers. So don't say Yorubas were not on the receiving end. All our plans to leave this doomed ride failed because of the war. Infact, the "North" wanted to leave after the coup. They planned their exit first before biafra, Yorubas never wanted to be a part of this nation but Azikiwe made our land a capital, and said supported "one" Nigeria against Awolowo's wish and even the Northen leader then said, "let us understand our differences first before forming a nation together". But no! Azikiwe was too pumped for one Nigeria and wasn't having it and wanted a nation as soon as possible.

Seriously, our plan was to win a majority and secede democratically even before the senseless and inhuman killing of our Igbo fellow southerners started. Ojukwu's undoing was thinking he could annex the entire south into Biafra. He should have seceded and save his people alone instead of thinking of middle belt etc,  and west.

Seriously nothing went as planned for everyone in Nigeria then and now. To avoid a new blood bath, we have been calling for SNC for ages but the drunk fisherman got there and declared  a SNC is not possible wth??

Where is this yorooba man coming from? Cave ofcos

“The issues he fought against are currently happening in the country where our people are killed at every opportunity. I am from Asaba and I can tell you that the area is almost a no-go area now.

I dare any non-igbo idiot to go to the east,rivers&delta and make any unwarranted statement (for all those deceiving themselves that Asaba/portharcoth is not igbo.please keep living in delusion.

There are many Igbo sleeping lions, i didn't know.

Dear Gowon,

It is obvious that you have turned your face away from your own people while they are being butchered in the fathers land. Then it was the Igbos, now it is the Berons. I sympathise with your kith and kin not only for their sufferings but also for having elders who are at home while a goat is giving birth.

Ojukwu did not turn his face away when his people are being butchered.

Call him a rebel if you like, but he is our hero.

noblezone:

Dear Gowon,

It is obvious that you have turned your face away from your own people while they are being butchered in the fathers land. Then it was the Igbos, now it is the Berons. I sympathise with your kith and kin not only for their sufferings but also for having elders who are at home while a goat is giving birth.

Ojukwu did not turn his face away when his people are being butchered.

Call him a rebel if you like, but he is our hero.

oga u know nothing about plateau so just keep quiet. And who told u that beroms are the only natives of plateau? I.ve said this many times, plateau people aint lying and watching the hausas butcher them. For every no of casualties u hear or read on the papers (some us live in jos so we know better), there are more hausas. And even among the christians, there are igbos and other southerners. So if u always get excited when u hear casualties in plateau crisis, thinking it's only Gowon people, then i'd say sorry for ur ignorance.

surely someone must have a copy of these passes people were forced to carry.

have you ever seen one

azikiwe did not make anywhere capital that is inaccurate

@Emmke,
It is not about how many Hausa/fulani Berom people can kill in return, the real issue here is the idea of being massacred in your own country for flimsy reasons.

That is what the Biafran war was about. And this unfortunately has not changed. Nigeria is still stuck in the 60s; another war seems imminent if adequate care is not taken.

He then called on President Lyndon Johnson to
urgently invest ample time and energy to help alleviate the crisis and suffering. Though some
could argue that Nixon’s comment was more political than sympathetic, he spoke the truth. The
large scale carnage endured by Biafran civilians eventually captured the conscience of the
international community and this was shockingly demonstrated on March 30, 1969 when a
woman in Paris, France burned herself to death near the Nigerian Embassy to protest the
genocide. A similar action was carried out by a Columbian University student, the 20 year old
Bruce Mayrock who, on May 30 of the same year, burned himself to death near the United
Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York while carrying a placard that read: “You Must Stop
Genocide – Please Save Nine Million Biafrans

i wish i was born then! no doubt i will do double of muttalab if i ever have my way to see gowon

PointB:

@Emmke,
It is not about how many Hausa/fulani Berom people can kill in return, the real issue here is the idea of being massacred in your own country for flimsy reasons.
That is what the Biafran war was about. And this unfortunately has not changed. Nigeria is still stuck in the 60s; another war seems imminent if adequate care is not taken.

Exactly what i want to pass thru on NL and real live! but people keep oh God, if im not safe in my house, where else am i?

emmke:

oga u know nothing about plateau so just keep quiet. And who told u that beroms are the only natives of plateau? I.ve said this many times, plateau people aint lying and watching the hausas butcher them. For every no of casualties u hear or read on the papers (some us live in jos so we know better), there are more hausas. And even among the christians, there are igbos and other southerners. So if u always get excited when u hear casualties in plateau crisis, thinking it's only Gowon people, then i'd say sorry for your ignorance.

Sad. So the issue is now who gets killed more. So sad. The fundamental problem stares us in the face and if Gowon's folks are being killed in their land even if your argument is that they are killing more of their traducers, does it not occur to you that heaven is telling Gowon to quit the hipocrisy,arrogance and lies by bringing home to him what ojukwu and Ndigbo suffered then so perhaps he can be in the vanguard for the campaign for SNC or/and a just and safe Nigeria or Nigerias instead of still living like an ostrich in 1966-75 and his civil war propagandas. It is sad that after his apologies since his spiritual rebirth and His prayer crusades, he seems not to really know the correct prayer requests to make or the right campaign to embark on. The sufferings of his people still have not woken him up from his delusions of gradeur. May he not allow the tragedies to get to apersonal or family experience before he knows the right thing to do or pursue.

Next tme when you kill other regional leaders remember to kill yours too for equality

God Bless Benjamin BABAMAJA ADEKUNLE wherever he is for wrecking havoc on the Biafran heartlands

emmke:

oga u know nothing about plateau so just keep quiet. And who told u that beroms are the only natives of plateau? I.ve said this many times, plateau people aint lying and watching the hausas butcher them. For every no of casualties u hear or read on the papers (some us live in jos so we know better), there are more hausas. And even among the christians, there are igbos and other southerners. So if u always get excited when u hear casualties in plateau crisis, thinking it's only Gowon people, then i'd say sorry for your ignorance.

What a logic. So it is about kill me, I kill you? In any case, there are 40 million +/- Hausa Fulani and there are 1 million +/- Beroms. Let's see whose population gets wiped out at the end of the slow but steady killings going one. Shame on Gowon under whose watch his people are being decimated by the same masters he served. In the end, the hausa/fulani will likely win the Jos war because it is a matter of number. Fortunately for them, you are not more sophisticated than they are in terms of weaponry and bombs. I dey laugh ohh!!

@nchara,
How is that a laughing matter. Do yo really understand the Nigerian Issue at all? Do you even knownthe real enemies of the igbos? The civil war was unfortunate.people fought without a clear understanding of what they were fighting for. Not just Gowon, middle belt, or hausas.Niger deltans, yorubas and the whole of Nigeria fought the igbos. But today, there is a new challenge before us. It is not Gowon that is the problem or his people. You need to find out who the real problem is from your history.I won't tell you who it is, but it is definitely not Gowon my friend.Shine your eyes.

X-mind:

@nchara,
How is that a laughing matter. Do yo really understand the Nigerian Issue at all? Do you even knownthe real enemies of the igbos? The civil war was unfortunate.people fought without a clear understanding of what they were fighting for. Not just Gowon, middle belt, or hausas.Niger deltans, yorubas and the whole of Nigeria fought the igbos. But today, there is a new challenge before us. It is not Gowon that is the problem or his people. You need to find out who the real problem is from your history.I won't tell you who it is, but it is definitely not Gowon my friend.Shine your eyes.

Duh!!! I am completely ignorant of the Nigerian issue. So please educate me. Thanks. As for the laughter, I guess it is still my right to laff, especially after a good night's sleep.

@Nchara,
Your post is a tard insensitive and borders on gloating. Don't lose sight of the fact that what is happening in Jos has both ethnic and religious undertone. This certainly implied that the ubiquitous Igbo and certainly many southern tribes including Yoruba and Ijaws who are mostly Christians will certainly be affected. For every 4 Berom man downed in this crisis expect a one southern Christians to make up the number. Similarly expect one or two southern muslims (mostly Yoruba) in every 10 - 15 hausa/fulani killed.

What is happening in the North and Jos is a low intensity warfare, and because of the serious interconnect of ethnic groups in Nigeria, this asymmetric welfare is an ill wind that blows no one any good.

The killings must end!

PointB:

@Nchara,
Your post is a tard insensitive and borders on gloating. Don't lose sight of the fact that what is happening in Jos has both ethnic and religious  undertone. This certainly implied that the ubiquitous Igbo and certainly many southern tribes including Yoruba and Ijaws who are mostly Christians will certainly be affected. For every 4 Berom man downed in this crisis expect a one southern Christians to make up the number. Similarly expect one or two southern muslims (mostly Yoruba) in every 10 - 15 hausa/fulani killed.

What is happening in the North and Jos is a low intensity warfare, and because of the serious  interconnect of ethnic groups in Nigeria, this asymmetric welfare is an ill wind that blows no one any good.

The killings must end!

My response was appropriate to the post I responded to. Please go back and read that post and mine in context. Thanks. Moreover, those southerners in Jos have a place to run to, unlike the natives. It is not by force to live in Jos, yes?

X-mind:

@nchara,
How is that a laughing matter. Do yo really understand the Nigerian Issue at all? Do you even knownthe real enemies of the igbos? The civil war was unfortunate.people fought without a clear understanding of what they were fighting for. Not just Gowon, middle belt, or hausas.Niger deltans, yorubas and the whole of Nigeria fought the igbos. But today, there is a new challenge before us. It is not Gowon that is the problem or his people. You need to find out who the real problem is from your history.I won't tell you who it is, but it is definitely not Gowon my friend.Shine your eyes.

PointB:

@Nchara,
Your post is a tard insensitive and borders on gloating. Don't lose sight of the fact that what is happening in Jos has both ethnic and religious undertone. This certainly implied that the ubiquitous Igbo and certainly many southern tribes including Yoruba and Ijaws who are mostly Christians will certainly be affected. For every 4 Berom man downed in this crisis expect a one southern Christians to make up the number. Similarly expect one or two southern muslims (mostly Yoruba) in every 10 - 15 hausa/fulani killed.

What is happening in the North and Jos is a low intensity warfare, and because of the serious interconnect of ethnic groups in Nigeria, this asymmetric welfare is an ill wind that blows no one any good.

The killings must end!

These your posts should not be addressed to Nchara but to the person he was responding to. That post showed that people still have not known why they fought against Biafra and that Gowon's speech shows that he does not yet understand that nigeria still is in trouble and that Aburi or asimiliar conference is needed to solve the Nigerian issue not gloating over his pyrric victory over Biafra

We have to remember that Nigeria was at war.  At the beginning of the war Biafra had the upper hand.  What did they do with it?  The decided to invade the Midwest Region and were heading for Lagos.  Why did Ojukwu's Army invade the Midwest region? If he wanted his Republic of Biafra why did he invade the Midwest region?  I was told that the Biafran soldiers were not good colonial masters when they invaded the Midwest.  They were arrogant and cruel.  I was also told that when the federal forces arrived the civilians were so eager to get rid of their captors that they provided information to the soldiers on where to located them.

If the tables were turned I am sure Biafra would have starved the rest of the country.  Given the massacre waged on Igbos in the North, I am sure that starving the "Almajiris" would have been a popular policy in Biafra.  At the end of the day, we were fighting a war and the Igbos were out-manned and outgunned plain and simple.  If you need your opponent to feed you during a war then maybe you need to surrender. Shikena.

during a war there in no diplomatic way to put it the correct terminology is ENEMY not opponent

T8ksy:


Ojukwu didn't turn his face away whilst his people were been butchered in the north rather he sent

them back to the same north knowing fully well, he cannot vouch for their safety. After which, he led them into a badly-

planned, ill-managed and shambolic war that cost more miseries to his people ONLY for him to "turn his face away" and

ran off (like a thief in the night) to a safe haven leaving his people to their fate.

Ojukwu fought for what he believed in and sent many of his people and others to an early grave BUT he wasn't prepared

to die for his beliefs and the millions who have died responding to his clarion call.

I sure would like to know how the cold-hearted mothaph.ocker sleeps at night.

Probably explains why he couldn't get it up for his whorish young wife and have to rely on his blood relative to do the biz

on his behalf.



Atuntuku e lono orun.

Cowards (like the ikemba) surely dies many times before their eventual demise.

like your wobbly awolowo drank poison cos small boy like ibb wan throw am for jail the third time