₦airaland Forum

[quote author=Dudu_Negro link=topic=879407.msg10280777#msg10280777 date=1330311756]I believe you once said that you studied political science. . . . . ., with these questions I hope not!

Look, Gowon was attending OAU meeting at, I think, either Entebbe or Addis Ababa when he was overthrown. Murtala knew before hand what was to happen and do you know what Murtala did? He told the coupists he would not participate but he would be available to save their necks if it failed. He thought Gowon might take him along on the entourage to OAU meeting, which might then put him in wrong position either way the coup went, so he distanced himself from the plotters and their target. How did he achieve that? He excused himself early and went on a trade mission to England. Soon as Joe Garba went on air announcing the success. . . .Murtala took the next plane back home.

So the position that Zik had an alibi for why he was not killed or that he wasnt involved. . . save that for someone else!

If Ironsi was on the list why was he not hit? You could find Ironsi quicker than you could Okotie Eboh and yet they assassinated Okotie but not Ironsi. In West they gunned down Akintola in a brutal face off. In North they gunned down Ademulegun and subsequently Maimalari.

The coup started the night of Jan 14, by the morning of 15th. . . .a number of Yoruba and Hausa top officers and political leaders and a Mid Westerner were dead. . . .not a single ibo military officer or political leaders had lost blood.

Under the times we are talking about, there was a declared state of emergency in West which had yet to be lifted. . . . due to political riots, but yet, the President of the Nation was out of country, the GOC of the Army was at a party on a boat and that explained why they were not hiy. Let me tell you, Maimalari was missed the first time they went looking for him because he escaped. . . .but they tracked him down and eventually killed him. Why did they not track Ironsi like they did Maimalari, if indeed they meant to kill Ironsi?

After the coup, Nwafor Orizu, Senate President, installed Ironsi as head of government. Let me remind you that the same Orizu had earlier removed Eyo Ita as Premier of Eastern Nigeria and installed Azikiwe before Independence and Zik became President. So this Orizu guy, an ibo man, knows how to install his own people and reward them into positions they did not earn.


I like this part of your response. those positions were cleansed specifically for the purpose to install ibo officers to begin the rule over Hausa and to handicap Yoruba. The Hausa officers were promoted only as an afterthought and in fear of heated disagreement already brewing from Hausa officers who, after the gun fire had stopped and the smoke cleared, took a tally of the dead and realized the ibo conspiracy. Was any Yoruba promoted? Yet when Danjuma came to kill him, it was a Yoruba man that sacrificed his life in attempt to save him.

This is why sometimes I dont understand my own brothers in their die-hard love for other people. People that wont die for you do not deserve dying for. Ojukwu intended massacre on Yorubaland and to rule over it yet we have our governor honoring him in death. . . I can never understand that logic, never ever![/quote]interesting - so Zik pretended to have a lung infection in order to have a suitable alibi just in case the coup failed ?

Okotie Eboh was a platinum plated criminal who most people were relevied to see the back of - even the british jubilated when they heard of his demise.

Akintola was a traitor who stabbed Awo in the back and who was responsible for the chaos and turmoil that erupted in the western region in 1962 - i'm suprised you are now raving about him -most yorubas during that period hated him as he was a stooge of the sardauna of sokoto.

Ademulegun - another lackey of the sardauna who could not be trusted

You are blinded by tribalism and cant see the wood for the trees hence your desperate attempt to paint known criminals as saints - Nzeogwu will forever be remembered as a detribalised nationalist who put the needs of his country before selfish myopic tribalists

as for the igbo officers in the army needing to handicap the yoruba - they were already handicapped as they were vastly outnumbered by igbos and northerners with regard to officer positions.

You've got an excuse for everything - if Ironsi wanted to neutralise the northern dominance at officer level why would he promote Gowon to Chief of Army Staff? were there no igbo officers who could fill that position? why promote Murtala Muhammed to such an important positon as inspector of signals - a position that enabled him to mobilise soldiers very easily and launch a counter coup why promote T Y Danjuma another northerner who eventually murdered him ?

surely the best thing to do would have been to retire all northern officers in sensitive positions and surround himself with igbo officers?

YOu make me laugh when you say you dont understand why your people have this die hard love for other people - let me ask you a question - who would have been the main beneficiary of this coup had it succeeded? the yorubas or the igbos? The plan orchestrated by Ifeajuna was to release Awo from prison and install him as the president - this was one of the most selfless acts that a group of detribalised nigerians have ever done in this country - I dont blame you -you have no clue about your own history and have preferred to resort to tribalistic rubbish to distort the facts - Now that your people decided to join forces with the north where did it get you - did Awo realise his lifelong ambition of becoming president?

[quote author=Dudu_Negro link=topic=879407.msg10279432#msg10279432 date=1330288098]Nagoma, Zik knew about the coup before hand, Ironsi knew about the coup before hand, Ojukwu knew about the coup before hand, Nzeogwu's motive for the coup was to install his tribes men in the top echelon of military and civil service power. He needed to eliminate all the people he knew would oppose and block his vision from coming true. These were non-igbos. [/quote]Dudu Negro - do you care to tell me why the following non igbo officers were involved in the January 66 coup?:

Major Ademoyega
Captain Adeleke
Lieutenant Fola Oyewole
2nd Lieutenant John Atom Kpera

nagoma:
@Dudu Negro

Good , enlighten them, educate them , expose them.

@Cap28

I am really surprised that you still believe that Sardauna should have allowed Igbos to rule the north just because they had some western education by 1960. You keep forgetting that the British came to the north and met with stiff resistance , faught and defeated the Caliphate before they could rule. The Igbos didn't come from Europe. If they really wanted to rule the north why didn't they come and fight us ? Did they not know the direction of the north? Why wait for the British? The second point is . Did you notice that there is no single British colonialist in pensionable employment of the northern states ? Would it have been the same if the Igbos were given a freehand as the so called educated people? Education is not enough my friend , you have to get rid of your ignorance as well.

Oh i get you, so the issue you have with igbos is that we didnt deserve to take up prominent positions in the northern civil service  becasue we did not go to war with you and  defeat you like the British did.

why would we do that? we had no reason to.

We were victims of british imperialism just like you were.

Given that we were both victims of a foreign invading power it would have made more sense if the Sardauna had formed some sort of alliance with the igbos against the british rather than accept the subservient positon of a british lackey and embark on a genocidal mission to wipe out igbos.

There may not be any british colonialists in pensionable employment in the northern civil service but the British still dictate to you by way of Shell BP, also the americans are now very much in the picture and they control nigeria's economy by way of the IMF,  World bank  and US AFRICOM - so what have you gained by selling out to them?

[quote author=Dudu_Negro link=topic=879407.msg10279432#msg10279432 date=1330288098]Nagoma, Zik knew about the coup before hand, Ironsi knew about the coup before hand, Ojukwu knew about the coup before hand, Nzeogwu's motive for the coup was to install his tribes men in the top echelon of military and civil service power.  He needed to eliminate all the people he knew would oppose and block his vision from coming true.  These were non-igbos.  

They wanted to kill off contending senior officers so that there would be no officer senior or close in rank and service to compete with Ironsi.  

Ademulegun, Shodeinde, Madiebo, Maimalari were all in Kaduna at time of January 66 coup.  Except for Madiebo's name, the other three were mapped for execution.   They had premeditated plan to install Ibos as head of Nigerian Government.   Did you not notice the rank they gave to Ironsi?  SUPREME COMMANDER!  lol. . . .they were power hungry and their hunger and greed is what they are still suffering from till today in the Nigerian political arena.  

What was started by Nzeogwu was reinforced by Ironsi when he promoted ibo officers and skipped over other tribes. . . . skipped over senior ranked civil servants to appoint ibos in junior ranks to head departments.  The scheme was super imposed by Ojukwu invading other people's land with the sole intent to actualize their greed and corruption geographically.  

Look, I will tell you what. . . .Ill be right back with what that criminal Nzeogwu did.[/quote]Zik was out of the country at the time of the coup because he was suffering from a lung infection - his trip was even authorised by Tafawa Balewa - there is no evidence whatsoever that he knew anything about the january 66 coup

all of the prominent igbos in nigeria at that time were all fluent hausa speakers and identified more with hausas than igbos - ie Zik, Nzeogwu, Ojukwu and Aguiyi Ironsi

Nzeogwu stated in an interview that he conducted shortly after the coup that Ironsi was on the hit list - why would he do that?

also if Ironsi was part of the plot why did he appoint three northeners to investigate the coup?

read Nzeogwu's opinion of Ironsi in an interview with Dennis Ejindu in which he insulted Ironsi referring to him as a clerk and when asked what he thought of Ironsi as a solider responded by saying "no comment" - is that the type of response you would give about a co conspirator ? would you even trust someone who you disrespected to join you in a coup plot?

Igbo officers in senior positions did not increase in number after january 66 - all that happened was that Ironsi moved a few igbos into posts that had suddenly become vacant , however many northern officers were also promoted by Ironsi eg: Gowon promoted to Cheif of Army Staff, Murtala Muhammed - inspector of signals, Majors Shuwa and Akahan were also promoted to senior positions - most glaringly Ironsi did not promote himself.

nagoma:
Cap28

You are very much confused especially with the origins of the qouta system and whether it applied in the army. It is true that British colonialist found northerners generally more trustworthy and capable of being soldiers at levels of all ranks available for " natives". I do not take this as a complement , just the views of Lugard and his team as you will find in his memoirs. The sardauna emphasized representation from all parts of the federation and not quota system and this purely political and I support that. We can't tolerate people with fake certificates and degrees to rule over us or to be the only senior officers in the army because of that. In any case by January 15 th 1966 the most senior officer in the army - ironsi was a major General who rose thru the ranks and not an officer thru the much claimed education. The next most senior officer Zakariya Mamalari also a major general was an officer much more educated than ironsi. Of course you know that maimalari was one of the first targets of the Igbo majors even though his boss ironsi was spared and protected. There is noway you or anybody can absolve the Igbos from ethnic cleansing objective in their January 15th coup and that was the beginning of all the trouble we have been in , the one we are in now and the future. Our people were not ready for self government and were honest enough to say so and request a year or 2 of more training. Your people claimed that they had it all and would rule the north for us. Can you hear that, does it make sense to you.
As for Ojukwu it was the failure of the genocide by the Igbo majors that resulted in the his misery and the misery of his people. He proclaimed a repulic of a tiny enclave half the size of the present day Keats state. In the 30 months of turmoiltuos existence only 3 other tiny countries recognized it in the word. The military emperor was ravaged by a self inflicted war and the population was decimated by famine. The dictator fled for dear life, his life and left what remained to perish. After 10 years as a refugee he returned to present his own surrender and receive a perdon. For God sake how can anyone celebrate such a man ? Unless you all are psychotic masochists , and the golden casket and roman general uniform explains a lot.

I'm not confused at all - i'm just stating facts which you are finding very hard to accept.

As at 1960 the north was educationally backward and not on the same footing as the south, as a result many igbos were occupying govt posts in the north because there were no qualified northerners to fill those positions. This is why the sardauna introduced "federal character/quota system". The sardauna was definitely not a federalist as you claim but a tribalist and only interested in advancing the interests of the north at the expense of the rest of the country - at one point he even threatened secession if the north were not given a majority in the post independence parliament.

The northerners were so fearful of igbos that they preferred to place expatriate whites in any available vacancy in northern civil service positions rather than an igbo simply becasue there was a general fear that igbos were swamping the north and taking over. The sardauna was actually a very shrewd man as he was responsible for creating an educated class of northerners who would become the future ruling elite of nigeria - in a way i can understand what he was trying to do but that does not change the fact that he put the interests of the north before the overall interest of nigeria.

The british preferred the northerners to the igbos (and the yorubas) as far as leadership was concerned because the northerners were more submissive - this is a known fact - therefore you are right in not taking their preference for northeners in leadership positions as a compliment.

the british were looking for compliant and submissive collaborators not independent minded leaders.

with regard to education in the army one thing i will say is that the british were not really concerned about how educated the soldiers that took control of the nigerian army were - the objective was to find compliant collaborators that would never bite the masters hand - as a result Ironsi - who was seen as compliant having served in the Congo with honours (helping put down the Congolese uprising against the belgians) was seen as a "safe pair of hands" . the idea being that such a man would remain loyal to the british to the end (which he was).

Like most tribalists you have refused to see the bigger picture - the bottom line is not about igbos trying to hijack power from northern puppets appointed by their masters in london - the bottom line is that a nationalist movement headed up by courageous igbo majors was crushed by the british who were shrewd, cunning and intelligent enough to understand that nigerians for the most part are easy to manipulate - all they did was play the tribalism card and 99% of nigerians including yourself fell into their trap.

If the north was not ready for self governance - what were they ready for - a continuation of colonialism under the british? I find it really odd that an african leader like the sarduana would prefer to be ruled by white oppressors who had nothign to offer his people other than exploitation and suffering rather than be ruled by an igbo of the same race as him - this is why the white race are ahead of us - do you think a white man would tolerate beign ruled over by an african rather than a fellow european?

Now that the northerners have made their decision to remain the lackeys and houseboys of britain and america - where has it got them? is nigeria not still regarded as a basket case nation by europe and america?

You say that biafra was a tiny enclave - what about haiti - how large is haiti , didnt tiny haiti headed up by former slave Toussaint L'ouverture defeat the combined military effort of Great Britain, Spain and France? Haiti will go down in history as the only black nation to date that succeeded in defeating its former racist oppressors therefore your argument that biafra was too small to embark on such an exercise does not make sense, my anger with Ojukwu is that he embarked on a mission without putting in place a proper strategy to defeat the enemy.

this man is an old fool - does he think everyone is as dumb as he is - i'm glad the senegalese people humiliated the hell out of him - fool.

quote from bakila:

Traitor? You fool, sardauna is prevented southerners frm joining the armed forces so the ibo should kill him and control the armed forces? You see you self, Nzeageu was the traitor who commited treason, followed by opportunist ojukwu who killed most of the coup plotters when he did his second treason of seceding from nigeria.
The action of nzeagwu led to the bleep up by ojuku, which makes  the foolishness of put a rebel forgiven by nigeria even though he stupidly led to the death of his people, laugable. He is not a hero but a zero.

you are blinded by tribalism and therefore you are incapable of making sound judgement - i never said that the sardauna prevented southerners from joining the army i said that he invented the quota system or federal character.  He insisted that the entry requirement for northern soldiers be lowered to make it easier for them to get into the army so that even those northerners who were not intellectually capable were enlisted to officer ranks - he did this by stipulating that the army lower the acceptance criteria for northeners and middle belt soldiers while insisting that the entry requirement remain high for southerners - this is why the army was full of semi illiterate northerners  and middle belt soldiers who for most intents and purposes were basically thugs.

I find your ignorance really tragic - how is it that you can accuse Nzeogwu of treason - a man who sought to free nigerians from neo colonial enslavement to the british when traitors like the Sardauna actually stated in 1959 that nigeria was not yet ready for independence and begged the british to physically remain in nigeria - have you no understanding of your own history?

if i am to go by your crazy logic,  nigeria is better off being ruled by a corrupt puppet cabal put into power by the british rather than a group of young detribalised nationalist majors.  Libya and Egypt were liberated by the late Muammar Qadaffi and Nasser who were both nationalists and both countries benefitted greatly from these honorable men, but in the case of nigeria the british together with their tribalistic stooges in the north fooled you into beleiving that the January 66 coup was an igbo coup.  Divid and rule tactics combined with tribalism is a tool that nigeria's ruling elite have been using on ignorant nigerians for decades and its still working.

Ojukwu's fundamental error was that he recklessly led the igbos into a suicidal war that he knew he could never win and when the inevitable happened he failed to make the ultimate sacrifice for the igbo people despite the millions of igbo lives that were lost as a result of his mistake.  

Ojukwu's decision to secede was not properly thought through - my position on that is that you don't secede unless you are militarily capable of seeing it through to the end.  The real traitors are the ones who think its right to collaborate with foreigners to keep their own people in perpetual bondage like the Sardauna, Balewa, Zik and other traitors.

Nigeria is a creation of the British Empire and was not designed to serve the interests of any one other than the british empire - this is why Biafra was crushed - that and the fact that Ojukwu was tryign to secede along with the oil wells in the south east - why do you think the first thing the british did was to launch an amphibious invasion of port harcourt ? - cant you see that all the british cared about was securing the oil wells  - they dont give a damn about unity or democracy in nigeria and neither did the Sardauna and all those first republic politicians that you foolishly idolise.

bakila:
Pls if you guys want to bury the Ibo coward just do dat in a silly platinum or gold casket. Why everybody is commenting her is that that act of like roman general in a golden casket is dumb and downright silly.
Sardauna corrupt that was why he was killed? That show the desperation of ibo to defend their hero. The was no oil allocation to share in those day Sardauna left the word without thinking of himself, you liar have no proof of Sardaunals corruption. Nzegwu and people like ojuku were criminals who committed treason simple. There acts are what makes this country sick. Do the wrong thing and your people would cover. Ojuku is a criminal by his joining the coup, by seceding and a coward by running away.
Your guys murdered balewa and sarduanaand ademelegun and others it is still reverbrating up to today. You Ibo celebrating ojukwu shod reflect. If you want to remain bigots or fools enjoy yourself.

I'm actually not defending Ojukwu - I'm defending Nzeogwu who was a true nationalist and hero.  
The Sardauna was a traitor and a collaborator who was merely a lap dog and lackey for the British.  He was responsible for what we now know as quota system and federal character  which enabled more northeners to be enlisted in the army than southerners thereby ensuring that power would forever remain under the control of the north (whoever controls the military controls the country)- to describe him as corrupt is actually an understatement.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro link=topic=879407.msg10273472#msg10273472 date=1330201376]Cap,

whether he failed or succeeded, Nzeogwu was a criminal! He eliminated so called corrupt politicians and by his action introduced indiscipline into an erstwhile disciplined corps of military officers by eliminating certain senior officers in an aim to install his tribe man. He created a corrupt model which military officers have used ever since as excuse for wiping out one regime of corruption in order to install another of even more corrupted persons. He, Nzaogwu, an igbo man, destroyed and damaged whatever promising opportunities Nigeria had for evolving into unity. By his action of Jan 66, the political destiny of igbos was capsized.[/quote]Not at all - before the January 66 coup nigeria was in a state of near anarchy - why was a state of emergency declared in the western region by Balewa in 1962?

the truth is that the newly elected govt were a complete failure and the masses actually welcomed the January 66 coup. the real criminals were the first republic politicians.  
Nigeria was never designed to be a united nation - nigeria was a creation of the british who placed power in the hands of the northeners who they trusted more, the objective beign to keep them in power forever (provided they didnt turn against their masters)

To blame Nzeogwu for the failure of nigeria is simply proof that you refuse to face up to reality - Nzeogwu recognised that Nigeria had been set up to fail by the british and he stepped into try and save nigeria.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro link=topic=879407.msg10273443#msg10273443 date=1330200982]. . . . what was he doing in Ademulegun's house with soldiers and loaded weapons?  If Ademulegun was not on his list of people to eliminate, why was he in the house?  He killed Ademulegun and his wife. . . . and it's insulting to say the wife was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  No, the wife was in her own house.   Nzeogwu was in the wrong place, he had no business in there unless invited, which he wasnt!  What was he doing in that house, what was his motive in there with bullets and guns?[/quote]He wasnt in Ademulegun's house - the soldier who shot ademulegun was Nzeogwu's colleague Major Onwuatuegwu and it was done in self defense as Ademulegun was reaching for a gun.  I just think you're splitting hairs over this - this may sound cold but people die during revolutions - that is the nature of them.  Ademulegun was not to be trusted because of his close association with the Sardauna.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro link=topic=879407.msg10273359#msg10273359 date=1330196236]. . . . was Ademulegun a part of that corrupt stooges determined to keep Nigeria in backwardness?  Was Alhaja Ademulegun, his wife, one of the corrupt stooges?  What was their crime that he had to put bullet through their bodies?  Remember he visited them in their house to terminate their lives. . . nit that he ran into them on the street.  Which means they were on the elimination list. . . .and that he had premeditated plan to execute them.   How does that not make him a criminal?[/quote]Nzeogwu was not directly responsible for the death of ademulegun and his wife - besides ademulegun was a very close associate of the sardauna of sokoto who was very corrupt  - his wife unfortunately happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

had Nzeogwu and the other majors succeeded with the revolution as Fidel Castro did - you would never remember Ademulegun and all the other casualties, you would have been praising him as the leader of a successful revolution.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro link=topic=879407.msg10273290#msg10273290 date=1330195242]we know what he did, but what was he trying to do?[/quote]he was trying to purge nigeria of all the corrupt stooges that were intent on keeping nigeria in a state of permanent backwardness - sadly he failed and today nigeria remains a basket case whereas Castro succeeded and Cuba boasts of a literacy rate of over 98%, free health care and free education all accomplished despite a 53 year trade embargo imposed on it by the United States and some european countries.

[quote author=isale_gan2 link=topic=879407.msg10273169#msg10273169 date=1330193683]Cap, you know I think you're awesome.  But this is so not fair to Ojukwu nor to history.  I have previously disagreed with you about Nzeogwu, who I am convinced was an arrogant sociopathic cold-blooded murderer.

We are now going to disagree about Ojukwu.  How does it manifest to you that he did not care for his people or that he was simply power-hungry?  How many children of the richest Nigerians or any other people join the armed forces?  Would it not have made more sense if all he cared about was status and wealth for him to behave differently and choose life paths that exposed him to less danger (at every turn)?  I think this can be discussed ad infinitum, touching on numerous aspects of the man and events in Nigeria/Biafra history.  I think even if many have reservations about his hero status, the man's effect on history and the intense feelings most of his people have for him confers an undeniable uniquely special status on him.[/quote]Sis - i always think it is better to analyse history from an objective and disspassionate viewpoint, many of us chose to let tribalism and emotion cloud our judgement.

Ojukwu did not join the army as a poor recruit -his education and wealthy background ensured him a swift rise through the ranks so he was not doing badly in the army at all.  He may not have been keen on going into business like his father and preferred a more unconventional career but the truth of the matter is that he was not a man of the people.  He had all the characteristics of someone who loved power and status, i beleive he became power hungry when he realised the amount of power that the military in nigeria had.  Im not sayign that his initial intentions were not genuine (ie in protecting the igbos from the pograms that were happening in the north) im merely saying that his subsequent decision to go down the secession route was based on his own selfish desires, he knew as a military man that biafra could not defeat the north without external military assistance - why did he still pursue the secession knowign this?  didnt he understand that even more igbos would lose their lives?  

what is the difference between what Nzeogwu did and and what Fidel Castro of Cuba did?

Castro executed all former accomplices of theBatista's corrupt regime and then went on to become Cuban leader for over 40 years whereas Nzeogwu failed and ended up being villified by people who never understood what he was trying to do.

alj harem:
Gbammmmmmmmmmmmm. God bless you

Not only did he want the oil but also some Important cities. He wanted Ondo, Lagos and Ogun part of Baifra and wanted Oyo, Ekiti and co out of biafra effectly spliting the country, Bakalizing the SW, Midwest and making them weak. Not even to the benefit of the Ndi igbo but to his friends.

I am sure most people did not know Enugu click Ojukwu had.

thank you my brother.

look, the way to determine the mindset of a man is to look at how he acts not at what he says.

many igbos are confused about Ojukwu's real objective during the civil war - they think that his reasons for calling for secession were based on securing self determination of the igbo people - actually it was all about the power and control over the oil reserves- the thing is power has to be fought for with guns and troops - he didnt have enough of either but pressed on in a suicidal mission regardless then bailed out at the last minute - what sort of hero is that?

all those years he was in exile - how did he survive? who catered for his family?  these are the questions so many delusional igbos can not answer.  if the west wanted him dead he would never have made it out of nigeria alive but miraculously he did - how come?

he was all about power and status - he wanted control over the oil wells in the south east but he didnt have the military might to defeat the british and their northern stooges - the british showed him that they didnt become an empire for nothing - its either he was extremely naive or blinded by enormous arrogance or both.

Dnaz:
Ojukwu was wise in Running away. Yess d roman generals did commit sucide when dey loose battles cos dat was d easiest choice 4 dem. In ojukwus case sucide was d most foolish thing to do. I cannot in anyway as a christain commit sucide when I know dat d punishment 4 dat was eternal damnation in hell. In iboland sucide was an abomination, ur body ll be cast into d evil forest and u ll not have a proper funeral. Aside d tradition, ojukwu was also a christain he will not condemn his own soul. D Romans didn't believe in any of these hence dey resorted to sucide. D oda option was a no go area. Dere was no way he wuld surrender himself to d british government spoon fed federal military govt whom he was head above shoulders higher dan to humiliate n ridicule and den mutilate his body to d chagrin of d biafran nation. Dat wuld have hurt d pride of the biafran nation. No he wuld not give d FMG dat opportunity to Ridicule our pride. With his wisdom he chose d best option depart biafra den handover to effiong who wuld surrender(to d british cos d FMG was inept in d war)in so doing he saved d pride n honour of dose who fought n died so that we deir children wuldnt suffer genocide n extermination. He gave biafra hope,he was still more useful to us dead dan alive.he gave us strength he was our IKEMBA.alas d FMG neva conquered biafra, britain did . Ojukwu was everytin u can find in a hero. Everybody here sayin any derogatory comment knows dis n r only jealous dey wuld neva attain his feat igbaodun my med colleague is drunk with envy n hatred for d igbos n I laff cos he might soon die of arteriosclerosis if he isn't careful cos since after d war d ibos have continued to rise n rise to d chagrin of people like him. Dey tot we were dead n finished but God was with us,as he always is. Nobody can take away ojukwus greatness from him cos it was given to him from above so haters u can only try but u won't succeed.try instead to improve urself n see if u can b of any relevance to d society. As 4 ikemba his name shall be written n d book of Kings n thousands of years from now children wuld sing of his valor n bravery. He was a Legend n his story shall be heard from generation to generation. Rest in peace d Eze ndi igbo gburu gburu. Even d heavens herald d death of Princes

you see this is what i hate about some delusional igbos - you guys hate facing up to the truth.

okay can you tell me what use Ojukwu has been to the igbo people since his return to nigeria from exile in the ivory coast in 1982?

didnt he join forces with these same northeners who he claimed were his enemies?

didnt he switch sides and start scrambling for power within this same corrupt entity called nigeria that he claimed he was trying to secede from?

you talk about him being a christian - is it a christian act to lead millions of people into a war that you know very  well that you can never win?

i beleive that after he graduated from oxford he became very confused - he probably thought he was now on equal footing with those english aristocrats he went to school with and came back to nigeria thinking he could challenge their authority - unfortunately enough for him - he didnt realise that despite his oxford education the white man still looked at him as an inferior who must bow to them.  this is why he underestimate their power and tried to challenge their control over nigeria.

but i beleive that they are the ones who saved him from certain death - after all his father had friends in high places amongst the british colonial elite.

noiseless:
So what, and what has it got to do with you that he will be buried with whatever gasket his family or widow chooses to bury him with?   The igbo are so "brainwashed" but not suicidal brainwashed enough like you bunch of boko haramajiris that go on a bombing rampage for the fun of it in return for 72 virgins from mohamed,now whose brains are full with maggot? answer now fool,who is claiming to be igbo.

you are not making any valid point here - just ranting unecessarily. I am not a northerner but i can still see that Ojukwu was bad news for igbo people.  He did not lead by example.  If you say that you are a man of the people and that you are fighting injustice you should be ready to give up your life for those poeple but Ojukwu chose to give up every body's life except his own - how can such a man be someone to emulate - cant you see that he was a coward?

ak47mann:
cap 28

i have i little respect 4 u but you will lose it if you don't respect your useless self

why do you respect this man?  He never cared about you or any of your people - i lost many relatives in that war if you dont know.  

This man was all about protecting no 1 - himself

why would a man of the people lead millions to their death knowing full well that he could never win?

why would a man abandon these same people at the eleventh hour ?  that means that every thing he claims to have stood for was a lie.

a word is enough for the wise  

alj harem:
gbammm thank you !!!!

I always tell myself the truth even if my people don't like it. This is not the first time I have been calledme a bastard on Nairaland and real life but the truth must come out.

I have said times without number to both Northerners and Westerners that Nzegowu actually had good intentions and indeed if we had followed his Idealogy, like of OBJ, IBB etc would have been long gone and Nigeria would have been great.

The killing of Nzegowu was one of the biggest mistakes Nigeria had ever made after the amalgamation. If you follow Nzegowu properly, you would notice that he was void of tribalism and wanted a corrupt free Nigeria.

The problem started with his officers that tipped Okpara, Azikwe and co about the coup. That was the big issue if not, Nigeria might have been great.

Enough of all this bitter past, I am happy there are still people like you. Thanks

many igbos are so brainwashed that they can't see the bigger picture - Ojukwu was never a man of the people - by virtue of his upbringing his outlook on life was totally different - dont forget that he had already been brainwashed with a western education that had created an identity crisis in his mind - this is the reason he respects roman generals rather than african generals - a sign of inferiority complex - the british actually respected Awo more than Zik or any other nigerian during that era because they saw Awo as an independent minded african who did not bow to westerners - this is why they framed him for treason and dumped him in prison on trumped up charges. As far as the likes of Zik were concerned they saw him as arrogant, self absorbed and easy to manipulate due to his vanity - i see Ojukwu as that kind of person - a person with an enormous ego - a person who puts selfish desires before the needs of his people - Kaduna Nzeogwu a detribalised igbo man is my hero. this man understood who the real enemy was.

alj harem:
thank you. i hope u are igbo urself

In my culture and Indeed all the cultures of the world, from Africa to Europe to Asia, When a warlord leads his people to a war and they do not win, They make sure they die on the battlefield or commit suicide because of the shame.

Igbos and Ojukwu on the other hand ran away  and spends government money till the day he passed on. What a hero

I would give you examples.

1. During the Napoleon war in England vs France, the Soldiers/generals stood their to the very last person was killed, They did not run back neither they they give up, the very last person stood his ground. He was not a coward

2. In the Yoruba culture, the Arono kakafo would rather die or commit suicide instead of coming back home. The Oba would rather allow himself to be killed than his people as the case of Sango.

3. In the Benin culture, the Oba was arrested by the british and could have easly ran to Ile ife or Ekiti but He stood his ground.

4. The Japanese Samuria were known to commit suicide once they loss a battle. It is seen as dishonour.

5. Hitler rather commit suicide than go back to Germany.

6. Samson in your Bibles rather commited suicide but killed thousands of others with him instead of facing ridicule.

7. Rahib of the Borno empire rather died than allow his people to fall to the french in 1900.


etc

My Igbo brothers, it is different, 3 million wasted just like that

you make very valid points which i agree with and yes i am an igbo but not a brainwashed one.

i beleive that ojukwu was just another power hungry igbo megalomaniac who didnt give a damn about the igbo people - this is why he was able to risk the lives of 3 million people knowing full well that he could never win this war against the western backed north.

the real hero was Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu who was a nationalist - his only negative trait was that he was politically naive without a deep understanding of the people he was up against.- in the end he was betrayed by those closest to him.

If Ojukwu had succeeded with the secession i beleive he would not have been a good leader - just another dictator. - dont forget that his father was very close to the former governor general of nigeria (a known racist) Ojukwu was an elitist and was only interested in power - you have to ask yourself how he was able to escape to ivory coast - as you know very well - nothing happens in africa without the authorisatino of the western nations - they aided and abetted his escpae - why? because he did a deal with them - that should tell you that he was not for the people because a true leader does not cut deals with the enemy - check all revolutionary leaders in the world - che guevara, thomas sankara, fidel castro - did they cut deals with foreign powers? even mandela had to spend 27 years in prison and was only allowed out when he chose to cut a deal with the western powers - that is the reason Ojukwu's life was spared - he agreed to cut a deal with them and then come back to join forces with them.

compare that to those who refused to cut deals - are they alive or dead? (Qadaffi, Sankara, Lumumba?)

so many brainwashed (igbo) fools on this forum.

ojukwu was not a hero.

heroes die for what they beleive in: Patrice Lumumba was a hero, Thomas Sankara was a hero, Muammar Qadaffi was a hero - Ojukwu was an opportunist who led 3 million igbos to their death and didnt even have the decency to comitt suicide to show his allegiance for their loyalty.

general my arse - what kind of general does a deal with the west and then comes back to join forces with the same forces who killed 3 million of his own people - its just that igbos are not very bright (and i am an igbo) this man does not deserve the accolades being bestowed on him - he is not a hero.

whteher they  bury him in a gold casket or platinum casket encrusted with diamonds what difference does it make - isnt he still dead?  this woman is as shallow as a 1 ft deep swimming pool, instead of talking about his legacy she's talking about the casket - who cares? (apart from armed robbers)
 what did he stand for? whose lives did he impact ? these are the questions we need answers to bianca not the make up of the casket.

cdoffx:
@cap
i actually understand what it may look like living out there.just 2days ago a friend was telling me he'll want to have his children abroad to claim dual citizenship and have right like the oyinbos i just laughed at him and told him none of my kids will be born outside the shores of Nigeria. i've learnt that you don't need to argue with some people its just like whippin a dead horse.

the only advantage of having dual citizenship (nigerian/european or american) is that you can use the passport to travel all over the world - other than that i cant see what the big deal is - at the end of the day as long as your skin is brown you will still be subject to the same crap.

as far as having the same rights as oyinbo - tell your friend to stop hallucinating and wake up to the real world - even obama faces racism - if we use our vast man power and intellectual ability to develop our country the way the iranians and the north koreans did - why would we be bothering with dual nationality?

we are more than capable of being a black superpower - we have the brains, the manpower and the resources - but we must unite against our enemy - the nigerian ruling class and the west.

Whitney - I salute  you - you came, you saw and you conquered.  RIP angel.


[flash=300,300]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nG3eDUitl4[/flash]

nigeria needs a welfare system that caters for the poor so that these type of incidents stop.

If this girl and her mother had access to a minimum amount of money to keep them from desperation, the hopeless father could not have sunk his dirty claws into his own daughter.

^^^^^

exactly - and instead of being grateful to the people who made him rich he has the audacity to plead ignorance on an issue as important as fuel subsidy removal - what kind of ingrate behaves like this?

what stopped him from showing solidarity with all those people who came out en masse in ojota park to fight for justice? why wasnt he there along with Femi and Seun Kuti, Sina Peters and many other illustrious nigerian musicians who actually care about moving nigeria forward?

honestly this guy is a complete write off.

cdoffx:
what i'm sure is that a new generation of Africans will rise that will liberate Africa and i'm proud to be one of that generation.
as much as i love following cap28 posts right from the foreign affair section but i'm angry at him because he only talk as if you people better find solution to your problem because i'm already out here with no problem. Africa will not be liberated while we sit here posting alone. if evil men have cabal a cabal is also needed to challenge them not just talking

bros you've got me wrong im not like that at all - i seek to open the eyes of my brothers and sisters with knowledge - if only you know what we go through out here in the so called west you will pity us - you guys aare surrounded by people who see you as their brothers and sisters - here they look at us as inferiors no matter our level of education or acheivements in life. I am with you bros and i am coming home soon to be among my people.

queensmith:
^ he's an entertainer. You have to give it to him he is funny. I believe that video was his first official comic attempt.
I used to think i was harsh on dbanj but after that washing your making me feel sorry for him! lol

And to add to your list he is also a razz idlot!

so why doesnt he become a stand up comedian?

funny my arse!

this guy is about as funny as a dead baby

can you play any musical instrument? no

do you have a good singing voice? no

are you a great dancer ? no

can you read or write music? no

so why does this fool call himself a musician?

i read somewhere that this fool was comparing himself to Fela Anikulapo Kuti - first of all Fela satisfied all of the above criteria and even created an entire new sound known as afrobeat - what has this fool contributed to african music - absolutely nothing.

and yet gullible nigerians who have nothing to do with their money buy this idi.ots music.

Look at the kind of sacrifices Fela made for nigerian people using his music - he actually said that music should be used as a weapon of revolution because the african people are not yet liberated from their oppressors - lets compare that to this money hungry, fame obsessed, star struck former area boy.

Instead of showing his solidarity with the nigerian masses who spend their hard earned money buying his rubbish music he had the audacity to get agitated because the interviewer (chika who i think is a brilliant interviewer) asked him questions he didnt want to answer.

NIGERIANS BOYCOTT THIS FOOL'S MUSIC - HE DOES NOT DESERVE YOUR MONEY - PERIOD!

Demdem:
In otherwords GEJ is an a*rsehole

He's worse than an ar.sehole - he is a neo colonial agent.