₦airaland Forum

^^^^^
Run to Abidjan or London?!

What for?

So you will constitute a grave danger to your ex-wife to the extent that she flees into exile for the fear of her life.

Why would you want to terrorize your ex?

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

I want Yoruba folks to ruminate on this statement

I've been scanning through the readers comments for the past 30mins at TE website. So I figured out that it will be nice to share some with NL users. In the course of my flick through, one funny revisionist made the most impression on me. At first, he was bullying and trampling on everybody in the debate. But when he got boxed into a corner, he complained of being too busy to post, later - headache. That dude behaves just like NL's KATSUMOTO. I love the way he got some kick on his buttt


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jayudoka Dec 1st 2011 17:39 GMT
as an ibo man i have being itching to see what TE will write on
ikembas obituary.this goes to show the arrogance and lack of
understanding from the brits TE included.how do you negotiate
or even reach a civil understanding with a people that realy
wish death upon you.gowon was a christian and thats the big thing
that realy made him think like that.if it was a muslim we would
all be dead by now.the brit helped to creat this disaster called
nigeria and until the brits are ready to support the break up
of this fake nation,noting will be solved.and you will continue
to get all the crime and awful things that is emanating from
nigeria.

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Kim77 Dec 1st 2011 17:41 GMT
Victim of a pig-headed tendency by European colonialist powers to keep their former holdings intact and in one piece. As were millions of Africans.

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Romney.Schield@yahoo.co.uk Dec 1st 2011 18:34 GMT
The author wrote "Biafra’s failure to redraw colonial boundaries by force put an end to most further attempts. If any change is to be made now, it must be by consent, as in Sudan."

Unless the earth was created a this year and our memories with it,
South Sudan did have a war.
And Eritria did, by force, withdraw and be independent.

Was this article written without an editor older than 16?
Or are the editors agreeing to this?

14 years ago I claimed to all that the Economist was the best source of new.
Frankly, it seems more and more like the news from the novel 1984.

I feel like an old man who's whole life was just a dream, with the Economist advocating state socialism for billionairs and denying the existence of reality as I know it.

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typingmonkey Dec 1st 2011 21:34 GMT
"Biafra’s failure to redraw colonial boundaries by force put an end to most further attempts. If any change is to be made now, it must be by consent, as in Sudan."

And what if consent is never to be granted? Must the Ibo and those like them suffer forever? No, the “cautionary tale” here is not for Africa, it is for Britain. After bleeping your colonies over for hundreds of years, don’t screw them for a thousand with your careless, moronic, malignant borders. Britain bears responsibility for Kashmir too. And Palestine. And for the ever problematic border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Economist seems to have successfully forgotten this legacy, and we should not let them. Too many have suffered too much, and too many will suffer still more.

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femi Dec 1st 2011 23:09 GMT
An absoloutely balanced obituary by TE,although perhaps still partial to Ojukuwu in some respects.What is galling though is that the lives of millions could have been spared if Ojukwu had surrendered earlier.Indeed if he had been wise instead of clever,it is just possible that the civil war might have been avoided altogether.At the Aburi conference to which this piece alludes,Ojukwu clearly trumped all the other officers who were there to negotiate a peace settlement with him.He could, if he were not so arrogant and stubborn, have negotiated an advantageous deal for the Ibo people,but he chose to blow it.Had he grasped the opportunity to do this he would have gone down in history as a saviour and champion of his people.Arrogant,he certainly was and it is open to question as to whether he suffered from some sort of psychopathy.It would be interesting to see what psychoanalysts make of his personality but he certainly came across to all who met him as clever but flawed and perhaps somewhat unhinged.

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femi in reply to jayudoka Dec 1st 2011 23:26 GMT
jayudoka,I am Nigerian and half Ibo,but I am sorry I totally disagree with you.I was in Nigeria during the civil war and as TE rightly reports the federal troops behaved impeccably.There is no debate here, all the relevant information you would need to disabuse your mind is out there on the internet.We are now Nigerians and the issue of tribal or ethnic diffrences should no longer apply in the modern world.Everyone else sees us as black African and not as members of some ethnic or tribal group etc.Rather than hanker after some reversion to a nation based on tribe,we should all work together to forge one strong nation devoid of tribal affiliation based on tribe.You may not think that way,fortunately the younger generation do think that way, and it is this thinking which is going to build the Nigeria of the future.
But do leave the 'Brits' out of this and let us tackle our problems without needless diversion.If you read this piece carefully and really know the history of Nigeria you would be compelled to conclude that TE have done a brilliant job within the limited space of the obituary.Be charitable enough to give TE credit where this is due,as in this case.Have a good evening.

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femi in reply to jayudoka Dec 2nd 2011 0:13 GMT
jayudoka,presumeably you have got your Biafran passport all dusted up ? Nigeria is not a fake nation,and I fail to see how you can rationalise 'crime and awful things that is emanating from nigeria' with a call for 'the brits' to assist you and your ken with the 'break up of this fake nation'.Are you really being serious, or have you perhaps had too much Gulder and isi ewu tonight ?

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Zik Azikwe Dec 2nd 2011 2:24 GMT
RIP Ojukwu. Inspirational leader.

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femi in reply to Zik Azikwe Dec 2nd 2011 4:15 GMT
Even the late Namdi Azikiwe along with other eminent Igbo leaders like Dr.Akanu Ibiam,Professor Ndem etc advised Emeka not to embark on the disastrous war he was hellbent on engaging in, knowing, as every right thinking person could see at the time,that there was absoloutely no prospect of winning the war,then you say 'inspirational leader',have you really got your facts right ?

If any lessons are to be learnt from Ojukuw's life, they would be the following : -

1.Listen to your elders,this could spare you a great deal of trouble.He could have learnt this lesson from Yakubu Gowon who although far less educated and from a much more humble background was wise enough even in his youth to listen to his elders and who consequently reaped the rewards of obedience.Even today Gowon remains a respected elder-statesman,respected throughout the world.Emeka would love to have earned similar recognition,regard and respect,but he chose to blow his chances.Poseur to the very end, he never had the courage to face the reality of his failings and failures.
2.The fact that you are clever does not mean you are not mad.In fact the two [ often ] go hand in hand.I have always questioned Emekas mental balance,but I would leave that to psychiatrists and psychoanalysts,I am not one.
3.Hubris often leads to disaster.
4.Young men thrust into positions of power and authority often get carried away by delusions of their omnipotence - Lybia's Saif al Islam Gadaffi is one recent example.Young men in similar positions to that in which Emeka was thrust into, in the 1960's, would do well to exercise great care, caution and humility.
5.No amount of education can substitute for true wisdom,which is an innate characteristic of the individual; you either have it or you don't.You cannot force wisdom.Cleverness you can acquire from books and learning,wisdom you are born with,it is a gift from God.You could be uneducated and wise,there are numerous examples of such people,look around you and you would find them.Ilodibe the founder of the transport company Ekene dili Chukuwu was one of them, as was [ alas ] Emeka's own father.You would have thought he would have grasped this fact.

Lastly had Emeka not studied history at Oxford,you would perhaps have excused and forgiven him for not appreciating the consequences of the cause he was embarking on when he chose to secede from Nigeria.He must have know what the full consequences would be,nevertheless he choose pig-headedly to plunge an entire people headlong into the ruin and disaster from which some families, to this day, have not recovered from.
I wish Emeka peace and repose in death,but we cannot shy away from his legacy and the consequences of the disastrous decisions he took at a fateful junture in Nigeria's history.The facts,thanks to the internet are there,let everyone read them and make up their minds.

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The Angler Dec 2nd 2011 4:27 GMT
As a teenager then, I well remember the human that befell Biafra. I would like to have known more about Emeka Ojukwu's life since then, these last forty years. TE is strangely silent about this period.

This one was not up to the TE's usual standard of obituaries. Has the writer been changed?

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The Angler Dec 2nd 2011 4:28 GMT
As a teenager then, I well remember the human tragedy that befell Biafra. I would like to have known more about Emeka Ojukwu's life since then, these last forty years. TE is strangely silent about this period.

This one was not up to the TE's usual standard of obituaries. Has the writer been changed?

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Tokays Dec 2nd 2011 8:22 GMT
Even though i wished that the civil war had not claimed millions of Lives, but it was inevitable. the northerners were intent in committing genocide and we Igbos rightly resisted.

And Femi, what happened in the 1960s is not ancient history. The truth is Muslim north and christian south are two radically different worldview. Chikena!.

Tochukwu

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femi in reply to Tokays Dec 2nd 2011 9:25 GMT
Tokays,I am old enough to remember in vivid detail all the events which occured in Nigeria in the 1960's,I was there,and in the heart of actual events.If it has any meaning for you I lived in Ikoyi at that time.I will not go into detail,however do get your history right before making any comment,fortunately the internet is there if you are so minded.
For a start the first president of Nigeria,Azikewe was Igbo.The first indigenous army general Aguyi Ironsi was also Igbo.The truth is,had Igbo's played their cards well they would no doubt be in a much stronger position in Nigeria today,indeed they could well have had a commanding position,but they lost it.And lest I forget the first military coup in Nigeria was conducted by mainly Igbo officers who made a hash of it.I am half Igbo, so I am not prejudiced against Igbo's in any way at all,however the Igbo people have to acknowledge that they have had the misfortune to have a spate of incompetent and inept leaders of whom Ojukwu is one.
All the actions Ojukuw took to protect Igbos prior to the secession were all in order and he acted prudently,however following the conference at Aburi[ in Ghana ],he totally lost the plot and precipitated the events that almost led to the ruin of the Igbo people in Nigeria, and still casts a shadow on the influence that Igbo people have in the nationl life of Nigeria.What is truly sad is that here you have a gifted people who due to a lack of proper competent leadership fail woefully to live up to their potential.
It is about time Igbo people learn from their mistakes,it is time Ojukwu is seen for what he was, a charlatan and poseur.

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femi in reply to typingmonkey Dec 2nd 2011 9:52 GMT
Great Britain should be very proud of itself.If they can go around screwing everyone around and have done it for centuries,perhaps there is something that can be said for them as victorious warriors.If all you can do in response to plunder and pillage is to complain,frankly I think if I were British I would continue doing the same.Remember in Chinua Achebe's 'Things fall Apart'where the mother harrier kite asked her fledgling how the hen reacted when she swooped down and grabbed one of her chicks ? When the fledgling replied to it's mother and said the hen had done nothing,the mother harrier asked her fledgling to return the chick immediately,since she was sure that by not protesting the hen must have had an awfully sinister plan in mind for the fledgling.On the other hand when the fledgling came back with a chich and told it's mother that the hen from whose brood she had just grabbed a chick had protested vociferously,the mother harrier told her fledgling not to take notice of all the sound and fury,but to go ahead and devour the chick in peace.There is a moral here.
Those who are not prepared to do anything while Britain goes ahead to loot,plunder and violation should either put up or shut up.

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omooba Dec 2nd 2011 10:03 GMT
Part of the apparent and real inertia of most African countries is due to the current structure of most African countries. Very few few of them operate Federal structures that reflect the diversities of their people due to a combination or either of ethnic hegemony or local elite consensus. Lack of an incentivizing and sustaining commonness that is immediately adoptable to the African (language, custom, religion)to give him a sense of nationhood and community will ensure that we continue to operate in parallelism and brief occasional heat for time to come.

It is good to note that there are people within the former Biafra who are helping to consolidate the Nigeria project. Ironically, the ones who led to forge Nigeria geographical unity in the civil are the ones who do most to undermine a common sense of Nationhood. Hence calls for a redraw of the country seems to hold a very high quality of reason especially if you are faced with the everyday reality of the average Nigeria (Note: the average Nigeria is not an Economist reader, and is probably less concerned about issues of Unity or not).

Ojukwu may have made a poor judgement in taking his people to war, but the consequences of Britain not doing enough to Federalize the nation and recognizing need for minority protection in the clauses of the constitution lent credence to suspicions of tacit support for a northern-Nigeria led government reminiscent of English hegemony on Britain. Whatever the case may be, I live in Nigeria and I face the everyday reality of a poorly structured polity which even a constitutional review or Sovereign conference will do little to assuage now.

Maybe the British did not owe our people that obligation, but they owed it to their own legacy, and that failure will ever remain one of the many goofs around the world of the British Colonial Office turned the self-styled "world's best international diplomats".

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femi in reply to omooba Dec 2nd 2011 10:31 GMT
Britain colonised Nigeria for a much less shorter period than Britain was itself colonised by the Romans,but you don't hear the British blaming all their problems on their colonial masters.We Nigerians should stop moaning,roll our sleves up and get on with the project of nation building.I am sick to the back teeth of hearing Nigerians blame all their woes on the British.The British colonised almost half the world at one time with their twenty and thirty year olds,they inevitably made mistakes,but on the whole given the resourcs at their disposal I think frankly they did a good job.It is our responsibility as Nigerians to repair whatever damage they did and to build from the abundance we undoubtedly have.One thing is for sure, the British owe us no obligation to come and fix our own country or indeed to fix any other country,they have enough problems of their own and like any mature people are making an effrot to resolve these,we should do the same.

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Tokays Dec 2nd 2011 11:05 GMT
All said and done, Nigeria is essentially a failed state. Ojukwu is my hero and he will ever be. Femi, you may disagree with him on some of the position he took, but that does not make less of a hero. He is brave, bold and decisive. Non-igbos may choose to interpret it however they wants:they have the right to, after all we have freedom of thought and expression.

So, Femi,on Late Dim Ojukwu's burial day be sure i will be there to pay my last respect to an igbo man, a Nigerian and an African.

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Motmaitre in reply to The Angler Dec 2nd 2011 12:24 GMT
I agree. This was a poor obituary by The Economist's usual standards. Too much was made of the war, and little of Emeka's life before and after it. Also nothing of his personality and how it influenced his behavior and leadership. An obituary for a 78 year old that focuses on only 3 years of his life is not much of an obituary.

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omooba in reply to femi Dec 2nd 2011 12:37 GMT
I'm sorry Femi, but you do not seem to understand the enormity of the trap a typical citizen finds himself in a modern African country finds itself, which explains why the last paragraph of the TE article is instructive.

You equate my observation to whining, even though you opined that Ojukwu Somersault as foolish, whereas if you look at the basis for armed secession in Nigeria, the issues underlying their cause were rightly or wrongly never addressed and yet the options the protesters had were few. Unfortunately they also end up losing the right to have a voice too eventually.

Your impression of the Nigerian problem is very summary and lacking of depth on the real issues which predates independence. Despite the intrigues that led to the war, some - if not majority - Ibos feel aggrieved (check out various Nigerian forums for a start, MASSOB, meanwhile, is pursuing a real cause for which government attends to it with force). While Gowon declared a "no victor and no vanquished" policy, it is a dagger-in-cloak in reality, and the hegemonization has been so far fetched that even young northerners (actually Hausa-Fulanis) still harbour a blind sense of a right to rule without consideration of even a democratic process, part of which led to the death of 11 university graduates operating as electoral officers this year.

I believe Nigeria is a good project. But if it cannot be run with consideration of the diversity and preferences of its inhabitants, I don't understand why we should be moping for a potential in perpetuity when there is only one life to live, the average value of which is less than some wild animal in some other part of the world.

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femi in reply to omooba Dec 2nd 2011 14:47 GMT
Omooba,I do sympathise with you,to the extent that you clearly don't understand Nigerian history correctly,or if you have any understanding,you choose to give it a spin favouring your own apparent prejudices against 'northerners'.I would start by saying that had I been a nortnerner in 1966 there is a good chance that I would have justified the reaction in the north to the events earlier in the year in response to the abject failure of Major General Aguiy Ironsi to bring those who were responsible for the failed coup to justice.For historical reasons much of the northern parts of Nigeria have had less access to western education than the south , and as such right from the beginning the southern part of Nigeria has had significant advantages over the north ; that is still the case.Left to the south,the north would clearly have been marginalised much more than it has been.In any case I do agree that there are significant diffrences between various parts of Nigeria,that is true for all large countries.My argument - if you like,is that Nigerians as a people are much stronger together than they would be if the country [ heaven forbid ] were to disintegrate.I know that many Nigerians unfortunately still see themselves as belonging, at best, to a particular region of the country and tend to have allegiance to a tribe or an ethnic group,but such parochial allegiances ultimately do not serve the long term interest of the the individual units that make up Nigeria today.We do need to strengthen the ties that bind the various ethnic groups instead of creating fissures and calling for the breakup of the country.Outside of Nigeria,Nigerians are seen as one people, and few foreigners would pay much attention to the ethnic groups.It will be difficult,I admit,but frankly I hardly see a way out.Today for instance we see modern states like Germany or Italy as strong unified states without realising that these powerful modern states are also artificial creations, in the same way as Nigeria it could be argued is an artificial creation.We should go beyond short term convenience and work to preserve what we have rather than call for a 'divorce' which is inevitably acrimonious and expensive.Tensions still exist in Nigeria,but these are not insurmountable and it can be said that for all these tensions we [ together ] are still a wonderful people.Have a good afternoon.


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Tokays in reply to femi Dec 2nd 2011 14:56 GMT
Femi, here is a quick quiz:

A marriage joined by force and the man physically abuses the wife continuously, what do do you think should be the best solution to resolve the problem? Bearing in mind the man sees nothing wrong in what he is doing.

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femi in reply to Tokays Dec 2nd 2011 15:04 GMT
Tokays,with respect,may I correct you.Nigeria is not a failed state.Yes,it does have problems,but it is not a failed state.If you want to see examples of failed states,perhaps you want to visit the so called Democratic Republic of Congo,Somalia,Sierra Leone,Liberia,Southern Sudan or Afghanistan.Travel around to some parts of the world, then Nigeria, bad as you would like to describe it, would seem ,in comparison, a well ordered place,I am sure you would then drop on your knees and be thankful.

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femi in reply to Tokays Dec 2nd 2011 15:07 GMT
Tokays,your analogy is well taken,but it does not apply in the case of Nigeria.However in direct response to your question,of course the couple should be divorced in order to protect the woman and her dignity.But again the example does not apply to the situation in Nigeria.

* Is your Gulder in the freezer ? Have a nice weekend !

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ENYIOHA in reply to femi Dec 2nd 2011 15:25 GMT
FEMI, YOU LOST ME IN CLAIMING OJUKWU FAILED TO NEGOTIATE AN 'ADVANTAGEOUS DEAL FOR THE IBO PEOPLE, BUT HE CHOSE TO BLOW IT' IN ABURI WHEREAS 'ON ABURI WE STAND' WAS THE SLOGAN IN EASTERN NIGERIA WHEN GOWON STARTED REPUDIATING SAME.YOU APPEAR TO ME AS SOMEONE OUT TO CONTINUE ANTI OJUKWU PROPAGANDA BY APPROBATING AND REPROBATING AT THESAME TIME. THIS FORM OF MISCHIEVIOUS OBFUSCATIONISM DEVOID OF ADDRESSING THE HEART OF THE MATTER CAN NEVER SHOW AN ENDURING PATH TO THE NIGERIA OF YOUR DREAMS.WHAT THE CIVIL WAR BURRIED UNDER THE CARPET HAS RESURFACED WITH VENOM AND MAY CONSUME THE COUNTRY IF NOT ADRESSED URGENTLY.YOU APPEAR TO BE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE FUTURE WHILE DENYING THE PAST FOUNDATIONS OF OUR CURRENT FAILINGS.THE IGBOS HAVE BEEN OUT OF POWER RECKONING FOR 45 YEARS AND EVEN THE RICH AND POWERFUL ARE CRYING.SO WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF IT?

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omooba in reply to femi Dec 2nd 2011 15:52 GMT
Your response ignores the fact that I called pre-civil matters intrigues in order to avoid the intricacies that led to the war.

Your argument gracefully ascended from there only to obfuscate into the dreamy possibilities of a great Nigeria. If you look at the various other people who respond to you, you will realize that as a result of not addressing the issues of our Nigeria fair and square, even those who precipitated the events that led to the war do have begun to claim greivance of a sort.

Until justice is seen to be done, the Nigeria we dream about cannot be achieve on creaky and distorted foundation built to favour a section of the country (I have no grouse with northerners whatsoever. I have them as friends but I do not pretend that we have differences about how we should co-exist)to the detriment of another.

I think you need to check - the Aburi accord initially agreed to is much better for Nigeria than the various constitutions the Hausa-Fulani led military handed over to us in 1979, 1989 and 1999.

The crux of the matter was initially corruption (quoting Nzeogwu). How did it culminate into appropriating the various rights of regions to their rights to self determination as existed in the 1960 and 1963 constitutions.

I put it to you that Ojukwu may have hoped that the world would buy the argument and request for a return to status quo. Unfortunately, Britain would have none of that, and today, you and I are hoping that the Nigeria of great potential can come to pass in our lifetime,

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femi in reply to ENYIOHA Dec 2nd 2011 16:19 GMT
Let us not quibble or debate the conference at Aburi.You are on the inrernet,Google Aburi,all the minutes of the meeting are there for all the world to see,so what are we debating about ? If you have any difficulty interpreting the documents ask any of your friends who is a barrister or solicitor to interpret the documents for you.
Besides I can remember this conference very well.What really are we then debating ? I am very busy right now but if you are on-line at about 23.00 hours GMT,when I would have settled down to my Becks beer and pepper-soup,I will give you a more comprehensive response to the matters you have raised,meanwhile have a good evening.

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ENYIOHA Dec 2nd 2011 16:43 GMT
It could be recalled that late Akanu Ibiam of the World Council of Churches renounced his Knighthood and returned his paraphenalia to the Queen in protest agaist Britain's ubabashed support of pogrom and genocide against the Igbos. It is a historical fact that killing of Igbos started in Jos - Northern Nigeria in 1945, moved to Kano in 1953 before the waves of pogroms of May 29, July 29 and September 29, 1966.It was the BBC that dubbed the January 1966 coup an 'Igbo Coup' which generated anti Igbo hysteria whereas all Igbos never met to organise it and inspite of the non Igbo participants while Igbo Officers countered and ensured that it failed.

For the Economist to echo the BBC almost 46 years after is not only callous and unfortunate but also mischievous.

Portraying the victim as the villain,the indisciplined as the insulted,the repudiator of an accord because he had might as beeing right,and the better negotiator as beeing clever are all means of papering over an otherwise unconscionable crime against hummanity for which Britain was complicit.If Ocampo were arround then, it is most likely that Gowon and his henchmen including Murtala Mohammed who massacred over 2000 defenceless civillian boys and men in Asaba would have bagged life sentences in the Hague.
The antics of the then British High Commissioner Sir Cummings- Bruce(who doctored Gowon's August 1, 1966 speech from 'araba' to 'Go On With one Nigeria') in Lagos and the Harold Wilson Government in London were well documented by history and their machinations to substitute western oil interests in the Niger Delta for the Eastern leg of Nigeria's geopolitical tripod by making the civil war inevitable.
Apparently, since indirect rule failed woefully in the East, the Igbos needed to be politically emasculated for unfettered access to oil in the Niger Delta such that Wilson's Government was so exasperated for inability to 'crush' Biafra sooner than later.
Britain was even more clever because as it is, the Nigerian Generals with the bigger battalions were unwittingly, mere pawns for Britain's proxy war.However, the victory has been nothing but pyrric.Has the truncated Aburi Accord not resurfaced as Sovereign National Conference, Conference of Ethnic Nationalities,Resource Control,BOKO HARAM,MASSOB,OPC,APC,etc and the despoilation of the Niger Delta by the oil majors not given rise to OGONI, MEND etc while both have combined to generate monumental corruption, political precipitate economic dysfunction and near failure of Nigeria as a state?

One would expect an otherwise respectable Journal like the Economist to do much better than this shallow obituary on a great man who saw tomorrow, gave a blueprint for unity in diversity and had the conviction and courage to fight for self preservation and against injustice still bedevelling Nigeria.

But since 'the cause of the problem' has passed away, it will be quite interesting to read the Economist's recipie for Nigeria's renaissance moreso since Gowon who won the major civil war is alive to see what Nigeria has become and witnessing a mini civil war in his own middle Belt Region.

The Economist must reinvent and redeem itself or lose credibility - the blatant lie about Southern Sudan cries to high heavens!

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fergl Dec 2nd 2011 16:43 GMT
You failed to mention Britain's disgraceful complicity in the Biafran War. Many Muslims in Northern Nigeria also wanted out of the federation. However, Harold Wilson's Government demanded that Nigeria, a creation of the British Empire, stay together. They provided diplomatic support to Nigeria and were the main supplier of arms to the Nigerian Army. I have started an e petition calling on the British Government to apologise. If you agree, you can sign it at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/4662

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guest-iijsmwm Dec 2nd 2011 17:24 GMT
If the western countries knew the arbitrariness of Nigeria as a country, why did they not support Biafra's secession? The Russians provided their Migs manned by Egypt and other Arab countries, France supplied arms to both Nigeria and Biafra and Harold Wilson, the then Biritish Prime Minister, failed to honour the promise he made to Ojukwu that Britain would be neutral. Indeed Wilson gave tacit approval to the blockade of Biafra, which did more harm than bullets. Ojukwu should be criticised for failing to see early in the course of the war that he had no chance whatsoever of succeeding.

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ENYIOHA in reply to femi Dec 2nd 2011 17:31 GMT
[b]FEMI, I THOUGHT THE SUBJECT IS VERY DEAR TO YOUR HEART AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU BECAME BUSY!THE WAY TO PERSUADE A CRITICAL AUDIENCE LIKE THE READERS OF THE ECONOMIST IS NOT BY JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS WITHOUT PROPERLY LAID OUT PREMISES AND SYLLOGISM. BEING HALF 'IBO' AND LIVING IN LAGOS DURING THE WAR DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN AUTHORITY AND ORACLE WHOSE WORD IS FINAL.I MAINTAIN THAT INDEED YOU MAY JUST BE AS PARTISAN AS THE WAR PROPAGANDISTS AND I WONDER WHAT MAKES YOU AN AUTHORITY IN LEADERSHIP - PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE- TO ASSERT THAT WHAT THE IGBOS ARE LACKING IS LEADERSHIP.IN CASE YOU DO NOT KNOW,INJUSTICE IS A UNIVERSAL BLIGHT WHILE JUSTICE IS A UNIVERSAL VIRTUE.IF YOU WISH INJUSTICE TO OTHERS, DO NOT BE SURPRISED WHEN IT COMES KNOCKING ON YOUR PERSONAL,FAMILY, EXTENDED FAMILY, UP TO TRIBAL DOORS.YOU APPEAR TO WANT PROGRESS FOR NIGERIA BUT REFUSE TO ADDRESS THE IMPERATIVE OF GENUINE PEACE(NOT PEACE OF THE GRAVE YARD OR JONAH IN THE BELLY OF THE WHALE)WHICH CAN NOT HOLD WITHOUT JUSTICE.FEMI, YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN OBSCURANTISM AND REVISIONISM.[/b]

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Kofi-E Dec 2nd 2011 17:57 GMT
The rise of Boko Haram and Islamic terrorism aided and abetted by some of the northern muslim elite; aimed at turning Nigeria into a Sharia-centered governance, makes me wish that General Ojukwu had succeeded in his quest.

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ENYIOHA in reply to guest-iijsmwm Dec 2nd 2011 18:15 GMT
[b]GUEST, MUST YOU BE SURE OF SUCCESS BEFORE GOING TO WAR? WAS WINSTON CHURCHILL SURE TO DEFEAT HITLER BEFORE EMBARKING ON THE SECOND WORLD WAR?IF USA HAD NOT COME TO BAIL OUT BRITAIN,HITLER MAY HAVE SUCCEEDED BUT THE VICIOUS PHILOSPHY OF THE THIRD REICH ABOUT RACIAL SUPERIORITY,POGROM ON THE JEWS AND GYPSIES,TERRITORIAL EXPANSIONISM, BLACK SUBJUGATION ETC WAS UNTAINABLE IN THE MODERN ERA.THE VICES OF SLAVERY,INJUSTICE AND POGROM SHOULD NOT BE CONDONED BY HUMMANITY. INSTEAD OF BLAMING THE WORLD WITHOUT CONSCIENCE, YOU PREFER TO BLAME THE VICTIM.

FOR THOSE WHO REFUSE TO LEARN HISTORY, IGBOS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE BLACK MAN FOR CENTURIES. THEY RESISTED THE SLAVE MASTERS IN THE MIDDLE PASSAGE,JUMPED OVERBOARD SLAVE SHIPS,ORGANISED SLAVE REVOLTS IN THE AMERICAS,JOINED THE UNIONIST FORCES TO DEFEAT THE CONFEDERATES IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR TO REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM AND ORGANISED TO DEFEAT NAPOLEON'S ARMY TO LIBERATE BLACKS AND DECLARE HAITI AS THE SECOND COLONY AFTER THE US TO BECOME INDEPENDENT.SO THE IGBOS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THE LIBERATION OF THE BLACK MAN WHILE THESAME BLACK MAN IS FIGHTING THE IGBO AS PROXY FOR THE WHITE MAN. WHAT A SHAME ON THE BLACK RACE.FOR THOSE WHO CARE TO READ, JUST PERUSE OJUKWU'S 'AHIARA DECLARATION'FOR A START OF REAL EDUCATION ON YOUR PLACE ON EARTH,[/b]

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Jenọma Dec 2nd 2011 18:27 GMT
Please, the correct spelling of the ethnic group is 'Igbo', not "Ibo".

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femi in reply to ENYIOHA Dec 2nd 2011 19:09 GMT
ENYOHA,believe me some of us have to work for a living.

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femi in reply to guest-iijsmwm Dec 2nd 2011 19:13 GMT
Thank you guest-iijesmwn at least we can get some facts and common sense into this discussion.

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Damian90 in reply to femi Dec 2nd 2011 19:16 GMT
Femi, I would like to point out a few things to you:
The very fact that you have to assert every few sentences that you are half igbo is suspect. It almost seems like you are apologetic/embarrassed for being half igbo. It is also a fact that witnessing issues first hand sometimes leaves a permanent bias, I am not from your generation, but I have studied the facts, you are probably ignoring these facts for what they are (FACTS), and holding on to a preconceived notion. Your innuedos at Ojukwu's (who you intermittently refer to as 'Emeka' to make him seem ordinary) mental ineptitude are also quite unfortunate, this is not the time or place for that, #Just Saying.

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femi in reply to ENYIOHA Dec 2nd 2011 19:25 GMT
O.K., in and earlier posting I promised I would be back at about 23.00 hrs.GMT.,however I do have a headache now, so I think I am going to hit the Becks a bit earlier than I had planned.In any case I am getting rather bored of this subject and if I am still awake at 23.00 hrs. I'll most likely be reading something else and responding to some more intelligent conversation if I can manage it.Have a good evening chaps, and may the soul of Odumegwu Ojukwu rest in peace.

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TRUTHTELA Dec 2nd 2011 20:01 GMT
@ Femi, your PERCEPTION about Nigeria is far from the REALITY. I will like to engage you on some of the FUNDAMENTAL FLAWS that the first republic politicians inherited from the Brits. Unfortunately, the politicans played the OSTRICH by not addressing them. Consequently, Nigeria is the FAILED state Brits wants it to be. Until you come back.

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Uchek:
Gowon has not started regretting. For him to confess his regret now shows that he has harboured this regret for long. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

You will regret usurping power and destroying the espirit-de-corps and army seniority rule which would have allowed Ogundipe, Adebayo, Ejoor etc to take power after the muder of Ironsi.

You will regret the massacre of Ibos in the North before the outcome of civil war without anybody brought to punished or victims punished.

You will regret the Aburi Accord betrayal which will have given us the framework to address out multi-ethnic problems and establish the foundation of Nigeria economic growth

You will regret your myyopic economic policies of your 9-year rule which encouraged wasteful importation and elephant projects which appeared to be developmental projects because of the oil boom.

You will regret that you will pass on to meet your God in frustration and pain from the knowledge that Nigeria is a failed state ( and may never attain its potential) and your future generatio and (your tibe) will be pay for your visionless and mediocrity.

God bless the womb that gave birth to you

Katsumoto:
You have goofed again. Go and read St. Jorre's book 'Brothers at War' and you will realise that he wrote the book from a Biafran standpoint. Frederick Forsyth was also British; was he writing from the British/Nigerian point of view or the Biafran/Ojukwu point of view? Britain may have supplied Nigeria with weapons but that is not enough to characterise every Briton. It seems that is all you ever do. You will not accept responsibility for your actions or hold your leaders to account; instead you blame everyone else but yourselves.

Seriously, you guys need to spend more time researching this subject before making ignorant statements and embarrassing yourselves.

I still maintain my stance that John de St. Jorre works for the British intelligence service.

John de St. Jorre was born in London and educated in Britain and Singapore.

His father came to Britain from the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean where the family had settled after leaving France in the 18th century. His mother was English, the daughter of a London policeman.

After (British) military service in Malaysia and reading history at Oxford University, [size=15pt]de St. Jorre embarked on a varied career that began with five years in the British Foreign Service[/size], most of it in embassies in Africa.

He later studied Arabic in the Lebanon and then resigned to become a journalist.

Returning to Africa, he became the London OBSERVER's correspondent there and went on to assignments in Paris, the Middle East and New York.

Among other wars and revolutions, he covered the Nigerian-Biafran civil war, the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict and the Islamic revolution in Iran.

I must remind you once more that you are an ethnic bigot. You can quote anything to support your partisan stance. If you have good knowledge of the civil war and its actors. What prevents you from writing a book about the events surrounding the war? If you've already published a book; do drop your email so that I can forward the contact of 5 intellectuals that can objectively critique your work. You only come to nairaland to bully kids with your skewed version of history. Why come here to spew your bold-faced lies? If you want to engage in intellectual discussion, NL is not the place for you. It's not enough to be NL professor of history. You are a propagandist.

^^^^
Truely, tribalism runs in the vein of every yorobaman. BTW,war is sweet if you are using your opponent as a target practice. But bitter if you are used as a target practice. Someday it will be the turn of another tribe to be invaded, with a drug addict leading the assault

Katsumoto:
Indeed the Biafran delegation to the peace talks in Kampala walked out on May 31st, 1968. In support of Ojukwu’s position, another unnamed Biafran officer told the British journalist, John de St. Jorre,



“If you gave us the choice of 1000 rifles or milk for 50,000 starving children, we’d take the guns.”


http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?25442-Nigerian-Army-blunders-during-the-civil-war-Part-1

You are a very funny dude Katsumoto. Indeed you are funny. Every tom , di.ck and harry knows that Britain was in active support
of FGN during the war. So it has come to the point of quoting an obscure mi5 agent to reinforce your bigoted position. How low
can you descend? The whole world know that Britain went to a great extent to mis-characterize Biafra and their struggle.
Quoting an mi5 reporter denotes your desperation.

I will still come back to point out instances where you assumed Yoruba tribalist posture.

Katsumoto:
lol  

All bold faced lies, factual inaccuracies, and myths will be busted with 5 page epistles.  

Initially, I followed your comment on this forum religiously. My respect for your opinion knew no bound. I used to believe your point of view without questioning. But now I know better. Your fact are twisted to serve your tribalistic purpose. You are just another ethnic bigot around the corner. You have lost your objectivity and neutrality. You have never taken position against Yoruba tribe. Your version of history and arguement are ALWAYS skewed to present Yorubas as angels and perhaps spotless.

Katsumoto, you are a shameless tribalist. You can't even show some respect for Ojukwu and wait till he is buried before spewing thrash from your keyboard. I have been monitoring some sensible Yorubas like Ekt-bear, Seun, Jarus etc. Their comments have been positive or at worst - neutral. But yours is just the opposite.

Sense of respect, decorum and decency warrants that an educated person should lie low or take a neutral position at times like this. No sensible Igbo person on this forum will have respect for you after this period. Your co-debater like Dede1 has largelly kept quiet all these while. You are so keen on presenting Awolowo as innocent and blameless, while Ojukwu is the guilty party. Just like Onlytruth once said, "you are a hardcore tribalist and bigot, masquerading as an objective poster". You are on the same platform as Bluetiith, Eko ile, Dayokanu, Aigbofa etc. Shame on you tribalist Katsumoto.

I used to have respect for Awolowo. But I've lost all that. This man is a pathological liar. He might deny all the roles he played in the
civil war, but history will incriminate him. The man is a monster.

I saw a friend of mine @ our centre who left our med sch after 1st year (reasons best known to him). After exchanging greetings, I asked him what he was doing here and he answered, "I am here on elective postings! I am now a final year med std in Ukraine!!" I was like 'wow WTH!'

I dey fear Russian & Ukrainian Drs like mad. When they talk, am amazed. I keep wondering if they drank from the same cup we drank from in med sch. One of them here said Staph is the commonest aetio agent implicated in Bronchiolitis. My Consultant remarked that the lady must go back to Russia. Appears some ppl have been defrauded in the name of easy foreign medical education. My Prayer I sing # Oh God, Save their Patients,