₦airaland Forum

naptu2: One of the great things about democracy is that each person is free to hold his/her own opinion. We can't all agree and sometimes we have to agree to disagree (one man's meat is another man's poison).

Are you the editor of the monthly newspaper called historical ........ Cant remember the other name now

There can never be peace in that family.

Ask me why?

KARMA

So who is telling the truth now?

DerideGull: Sometimes, it is proper to call out patented fools. It is amazing that most Nigerians are intellectually lazy and retired to peddling innuendoes. How did the poster of above crap feel when regurgitating deliberate falsehood by feel-happy bastards who wanted favor from their northern masters? Most of panhandling bastards from southern region of Nigeria have been since shamed on the issue of “Ewu Nebe Akwa”. The artist of the song was not Igbo.

What could be more conjectural than the idiocy displayed by the poster of above junk as he/she was very unable to differentiated seeds from chaffs as in the case of silly insinuation that Agaiyi appointed Mr. Trout who was Head of Special Branch (an expatriate), MD Yusuf and Isa Adejo to investigate the January 15, 1966 coup?

In fact, the best answer to market dunces is mute. I really do not blame the poster but fiddlers such as Nowa Omogui and host of other armchair historians bent on currying favor from their northern masters.

I am particularly shocked that you wrote what you just did. I could guess where you are from and your upbringing. I am sure you are from the tribe of the people who eat stone without drinking water. Kindly write your own truths or the ibo recycled chinua achebe "truths". Read my post again, I did not say an ibo man recorded the song, but the song became the "ibo national anthem" after your boys had killed Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa and the four most senior northern officers.

I would not join words with you uncouth people like you, so who were those appointed to the investigate the January 15, 1966 coup? Lt. Colonel Conrad Nwawo I guess.

You malign the person of Nowa Omoigui because what he wrote is different from the propaganda emeka ojuwku and chinua achebe fed you with. Nowa Omoigui seeking favour from their northern masters? Do you have facts?

IGBO-SON:
So you were banned eh?......no surprises there then.

I just knew your juvenile nature couldn't resist having the last word, even when you have nothing more to say......shows you still have some growing up to do!

You had ample time (close to a week) to seek answers (and help ) to some of the questions i asked you earlier, and this incoherent rambling, heresay, them-say-them-say, abuse, and sidestepping of the issues is what you present as your rebuttal? Dude you fall my hand walahi!

Anyway, i've moved on since my last post on this thread (maybe until i feel the need to school you again), so let's just agree to disagree shall we?

To summarize our discussion: i dislike Awo because he killed my people......you hate Ojukwu because you say he killed my people ; both of us dislike the coupists.....i dislike both '66 and '67 counter coupists for taking life, and you dislike only the '66 coupists but like the '67 ones for revenging the blood of their and your kinsmen; you hate or dislike Igbos for reasons you stated implicitly and explicitly in your posts on this thread......i don't dislike Yorubas and don't believe one should use the action/s of a few to label a whole race; you reckon Awo is infallible and long overdue for sainthood.....i reckon he was a deeply flawed man; we both agree Ikemba made mistakes. This pretty much sums up our discussion doesn't it?

Now go get a life!

Cheers.

@ Igbo-son

I would not want to join issues with you, I had wasted the better part of my time trying to put issues in perspective and trying put the records straight but obviously the history we read is different from that of the ibos. I must say congratulations to chinua achebe, biafra's head of propaganda, biafran war general alias the cantankerous coward (na ibo man and im in-law call that name no be me oh) and other revisionist like you called such people in your earlier post. The propaganda was damn effective.

I cant remember the question you raised in your earlier post, besides you never provided answers to my questions but resorted to abuse and show boating but I wouldn't be provoked. We are noble people and I don't have to respond to the insults of people who wake their fathers with a kick to the groin.

You need to school me? chinua achebe and emeka ojukwu must be feeling smug in their grave right now, obviously they knew they led gullible people. I'm particularly shocked that this people fooled your grand-fathers, fathers to their deaths in a war they knew they could not win and with the undiscerning attitude you portray they will still fool your unborn children. What a pity and shame in the 21st century.

Kindly read what I wrote, their was no where I said I like the July 29, 1966 coup and the more I listen to the crap and half-truths undiscerning people post, the more I feel the July 29, 1966 was justified. The northerners committed mass murder and if not for anything they killed my people too. God bless Adekunle Fajuyi, the first Nigerian Army Officer to win the Military Cross award for an act of exemplary bravery, who laid his life for Aguiyi Ironsi . I don't dislike ibo people I have always said that, but their attitude like the one you are putting up riles me. If I had made allusions about the January 15, 1966 being an ibo coup was because of the actions and inactions of the ibo leaders. Nnamdi Azikwe definitely knew about the coup , Arinze Ifeajuna and Donatus Okafor after killing Tafawa Balewa had breakfast with Michael Okpara, Nwafor Orizu the acting president and senate president refused to hand over power Dipcharima but handed over to another ibo man (Aguiyi Ironsi) who should have been eliminated but who was not at home when the coupist came calling. And the one that infuriated the Northerners the most, Aguiyi Ironsi never punished those boys. The ibo people never complained, they were now in power and Aguiyi Ironsi allocated the juicy positions and promotions to ibo officers to the exclusion of other ethnic groups. You must agree with that the ibo leaders were culpable by theirs acts of commission and omission.

The infallibility of Awolowo? He was human anyway and I was too small to know him. All I could remember about Awolowo was the day he was being buried and it rained cats and dogs. Then I read emeka odimegwu ojukwu's book and the tears came flooding, WHAT A GREAT MAN.

On me getting a life, kindly lend me 15 billion biafran pounds, so that I can rent a life.

Best of luck.

IGBO-SON:
@debetmx:

If you can't figure out who i was referring to as your 'father' in my last post then na your wahala be that. You say Igbos are disrespectful to their fathers?; what makes you say that......is it b'cos you don't see them dogbale for elders like your people do?

Nowhere in my last post did i say you blamed the entire Igbo for the 1966 coup; is a basic understanding of english beyond your capabilities? Go back again and re-read my last post, and this time try and relate it to the guy you were responding to.

I agree with you that the actions of ALL who carried out the first coup are condemnable seeing as they overreached themselves by going on to kill; if not for your dislike (let's leave out the word 'hate' ) for Igbos, you'd have seen the coup for what it was -a reprehensible action by certain individuals- and not use it as an excuse to tar an entire people as being complicit......which you've invariably done by making an issue of where majority of the coupists are from.

You said: "It is record that ibos openly celebrated and mocked the northerners who lost their lives because they were not their own people, the same reason Ifeajuna killed Tafawa Balewa but sat down to drink tea with Dr. Michael Okpara". This is interesting! You have links or 'independent' records of such celebratory gatherings.....and how widespread was it? I'm really curious to know, because if it did happen, not only were the celebrants insensitive, but they were downright stupid as well......and say whatever you want about my people, but you'd have to agree with me that 'insensitive' and 'stupid' are tags that just doesn't fit.

Like i've always said, like monday morning armchair football critics, we now have the luxury to pluck holes in Ikembas war strategy with the benefit of hindsight and all that; but we should not lose sight of the fact that there's a wide gulf between any errors that may have been made in the heat of the moment, having seen the blood of your brothers and sisters spilled, and with no guarantees for the pogrom to stop, and on the other hand, making a wilful and conscious decision to support and oversee acts that lead to the death of millions, in the name of 'all being fair in love and war', and using the lives of women and children to make the 'pesky and stubborn' enemy combatants surrender since normal conventional warfare didn't seem to be making much headway; the latter is what you don't have a problem with, hence my earlier assertion that you're the true son of your 'father'.

You said: "I (we) don't share ojukwu's delusions and ambitions because how do you undertake a military expedition that you know is bound to end in defeat". You're allowing your dislike for the man becloud your sense of reasoning. Do you honestly think that Ikemba -on a whim- led Biafra to declare secession from the 'mere geographical expression' that is Nigeria because he was ambitious, or do you think he did it after realising the duplicitious and two-faced nature of the people he was dealing with, whom -after having agreed on the way forward at Aburi- now went ahead to chuck their own copy of the agreement in the waste bin on Gowons return? Do you reckon his actions were also guided by the utterances of Awo (whom he obviously saw as a gentleman) that if Biafra was allowed to secede the Yoruba race would leave as well, hence his belief that Awo and Yorubas didn't believe in 'one Nigeria' as well and would remain neutral. Do you believe that the Aburi accord which today everyone (including your kinsfolk) are saying we should revisit was not the right way forward and hence shows that Ikemba had the best interests for his people and Nigeria at heart?

If you take the quotes of an emotional C.C Onoh seriously then it says more about the shaky grounds your argument stands on than anything else!

That piece Ojukwu wrote on Awo is quite touching isn't it? The man that wrote this article that you're quick to thrust in my face is the same man you earlier said was callous and heartless remember?; when i now say that you speak from both sides of your mouth, you go come begin dey vex! You know what?; i agree with most of what Ikemba said about Awo (surprise....surprise!): he was good at furthering the interests of his people and Ndigbo would have done better if Zik was a bit more like him. And this is the crux of the issue.....unlike Zik, he was too much of a 'regional' and 'tribal' leader. Does anyone for a second think that Zik or Ikemba would condone what happened to Igbos happening to Yorubas if say the shoe was on the other foot?; you can bet that Ikemba and the entire Igbo race would have stood shoulder to shoulder with NdiYoruba to fight the murderous aggressors! As fellow Christians and liberals, one should know when 'politics' should end, and when standing up for justice and humanity should begin; sadly, not recognizing this fact was Awos' achilles heel!

@ Igbo-son, I was banned but am back at y'all again

Kindly read the first and last paragraph of my earlier post about what I wrote about my 'father' before you expose your ignorance and arrogance. You know pride goes before a fall and I think it applies to your tribe.

You said I hate or dislike the ibos. Ok, from a Yoruba point of view, look at it this way, The January 15, 1966 coupist killed Yoruba people and they left out their own people ? I hate or dislike them, whichever word you think is appropriate. The July 29, 1966 coupist killed ibo people and left out their own people so you hate them. Essentially, the July 29, 1966 coup was more than a coup. It was a revenge coup for the January 15, 1966 coup where your boys killed other people leaders and by coincidence your leaders disappeared and the coup leader even had tea with the premier of the eastern region who was marked down for elimination. The actions of some northern people was crude and wicked you know my friend but as the saying goes "REVENGE IS A DISH BETTER SERVED COLD" and literally the ibos had it "STONE-COLD". Life aint fair my brother.

On the issue of ibos celebrating the January Victory. Did you ever read about the July 1966 coup and what lead to it? Your people singing the song “Ewu Ne Ba Akwa”, wives of ibo officers mocking wives of the northern officers. The Police team appointed by Aguiyi Ironsi led by Mr. Trout who was Head of Special Branch (an expatriate), MD Yusuf and Isa Adejo to investigate the January 15, 1966 coup in their report “The Special Branch Police Report” stated as follows in Paragraph 24;
“24. The execution of the plan was to take place in three areas only, i.e. Kaduna, Ibadan and the Lagos area, although many of the participants believed the insurrection to be nation wide. It is a matter of established fact that no violent action took place in either Benin City or Enugu. It has been suggested that these areas were spared because the plotters found it impossible to recruit reliable co-conspirators in these regions. None of the officers has indicated under interrogation that any efforts to recruit collaborators in either Benin or Enugu were made. Indeed subsequent action of some of the leading officers indicated collaboration with the then Premier of Eastern region”. That is Majors Arinze Ifeajuna and Donatus Okafor with Dr. Michael Okpara
You wrote your people are not insensitive and stupid. The average ibo person is insensitive to other people’s feelings. He hardly cares about how you feel as long as he is comfortable. You mean nothing to him. On the issue of not being stupid, all I know is that the ibo people think they are smartest people on earth.

I am surprised you are comparing a football contest with war. War is not mortal kombat where after you die you can still keep on re-playing. May be your people had extra life, I wouldn’t know. The pogrom had stopped in September 1966 and ojukwu declared secession in May 1967. That's a period of Eight months. Remember ojukwu only declared secession when Gowon created 12 states on May 27, 1967 and divided the eastern region into three states namely; East Central State comprised of the ibo people, the South Eastern State which comprised of the present day Cross River and Akwa Ibom state and the Rivers State comprised of the present day of Bayelsa and Rivers State. There is a Yoruba proverb which says “The witch cried yesterday, the child died today, who does not know it was the witch that killed the child". I know you can figure out what I mean. Gowon the "witch" created 12 states yesterday; ojukwu the "child" declared secession today. Do you make decisions to go to war on the spur of the moment of anger? Yes He could when he knew he could run away with his own family members after wasting 3 million lives. I don't have any two words for ojukwu but COWARD. For example hired assassins kill your parents before you, so there and there you will attack the assassin when you don't have weapons to fight back. Obvious you want to commit suicide. There is Yoruba proverb which says "A child does not ask what (who) killed his parents till he is strong enough so that he does not suffer a similar fate" I am more surprised that the ibos would allow 33yr old man lead them to their deaths by telling them to fight a war he knew they could win and sending them to war fronts without weapons. About 'all being fair in love and war', I would advise you read "STUPID WARS" by ED Strosser and Michael Prince. Also read about the Liberian war then you would know that the biafran war was child's play. Would I feed my enemy so that he can kill me? HELL NO. Did ojukwu look under fed or did ojukwu or achebe's children go hungry or suffer from kwashiorkor during the stupid war? BLOODY HELL NO. I guess that answers that. During the pogrom they lost 60,000 lives, after the war they lost 3 million lives. I swear ojukwu should be charged post-humously before the ICJ for "REVERSE POGROM".

There is no way I would like a man who gambled with the lives of 3 million people. Yet the cantankerous coward ran into exile with his family members. Yes ojukwu was ambitious and would not want to take orders from a Lt. Colonel like him. I have always said the biafran war was a personal war between Gowon and ojukwu. ojukwu only declared secession when his powers were reduced to the newly created Eastern Central State. Did ojukwu conduct a referendum among people in the old eastern region or even among his own ibo people if they wanted to be administered in another country the republic of biafra? When Adaka Boro declared secession of his people from the Eastern Region by declaring Niger Delta Republic what did Aguiyi Ironsi and emeka odimegwu ojukwu do? I NEED AN ANSWER PLEASE. On Aburi, you and I know Ojukwu was more educated and came better prepared than the other Nigeria officers who came to meeting in Aburi. Every proposal put forward by him were adopted unanimously without understanding the implication of what they were signing so you can’t blame them for being malicious or treachery. Notwithstanding do you go to war with everyone who fails to fulfill his own part of an agreement? Besides, Brigadier Hilary Njoku, the first GOC of the biafran army who advised ojukwu to accept it since he got at least go 90% of what he was asking for, was put in jail throughout the duration of the biafran war. Everyone who disagreed with him on biafra were either killed or imprisoned. It is only a selfish and inconsiderate man that does not care about the other party that comes to reconciliation table and gets 90% of what he wants but keeps insisting on 100%. “If any Region secedes, the Federation as we know it shall cease to exist and Western Region shall, automatically become independent and sovereign”. Awolowo tried to broker peace at his considerable personal risk between the Federal Government and ojukwu but the coward remained obstinate. Did the eastern region leave the Federation? No, so the Yorubas could and would not leave the Federation.
According to a broadcast to the German people on Bayerischer Rundfunk Muchen(Bavarian Broadcasting, Munich) on 11 September 1967, The German west African correspondent of the service for many years, Klaus W. Stephan said Ojukwu “had determined to alter the political constellation of power in Nigeria by means of the army one day. He sympathised with the January 1966 plot-makers but was careful enough to avoid any overplayed attachment to them. Ojukwu told me later that it had being him who had requested General Ironsi to crush the coup, and that he had stopped the General from being arrested.” On 8 April 1967 in Enugu, Ojukwu told Suzanne Cronje, the author of The World and Nigeria: The Diplomatic History of the Biafran War, 1967-1970 : 'On January 15, I was the one who advised Ironsi to stand as the Head of the Army, call for support and then organize the various units that would immediately support, so that the rebels who were bound to be few and already committed would suddenly find that the whole thing was phasing away.” “Obviously on the grounds of thankful feelings, the General made him Military Governor of the Eastern provinces,” Stephan continues on air in Germany. “I know Ojukwu as a man of more than average intelligence, extraordinary versatility, high eloquence and remarkable personal charm. But there are two characteristics in that man that are not realised by many people for a long time: his greed for power and his ability to charm and enchant the masses: a demagogue.” Need I remind you that Awolowo told the Yorubas to support the Federal Government after the invasion of Neutral Mid-West after committing numerous atrocities by the biafran soldiers and hurtling down to Ore on their way to liberate (Occupy us) the Yorubas. Hear Awolowo “The Yorubas have never set out to dominate others, but have always resisted, with all the energy in them any attempt however slight or disguised, by others to dominate them.… Indeed it is for these reasons that they must now be ready to resist any attempt by the rebel forces from the East and the Mid-West to violate their territory and subjugate them.… To these ends, therefore, all Yoruba people, particularly those in the Western and Lagos States which now face the threats of invasion must not only be as vigilant as ever, but must also lose no time and spare no efforts in giving every conceivable support to the Federal troops in defence of their homeland, and of the Fatherland.”

C. C Onoh was a distinguished ibo man and Nigerian and for you to cast aspersion his person says a lot your character and may be that of your people.

You wrote “when I now say you speak from both sides of your mouth, you go begin dey vex” Kindly explain how I spoke from both sides of my mouth? I still maintain what I said of ojukwu’s character and am sure you are educated enough to understand that there is a difference between someone’s character and his opinion about a person or an issue. The main problem I have with ojukwu is him starting a war he knew his people were ill equipped to fight then running in the middle of night dressed like a woman. Any way he was not the first ibo man, Ifeajuna had 419ed his fellow Majors to execute a coup then goes for a cup of tea with the premier of the eastern region then runs into exile (bit. ach move) . When Nwobosi shot SLA he didn’t know he was a fellow Christian, when Onwutuagwu shot Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun and his pregnant wife he didn’t know he was a fellow Christian, when Nzeogwu shot Sergeant Oyewole, he didn’t know he was his fellow Christian to say a few. Kindly leave religion out of the biafran war. To me, it was a war between two Christians, Gowon and ojukwu. Listen to yourself you want the Yorubas to lay down their lives for the ibos? You seem to forget during the January perpetrated by ibo boys that they killed Yoruba people too. Is that the kind of people you want to lose sleep over? Hell No, the ibos should fix their problems themselves. The Benjamin Adekunle you all cast aspersions on, almost lost his life when he volunteered to escort ibo officers back to the eastern region. Even during the July 29, 1966 coup some northern officers who protected ibo people were almost killed. People like Katsina and Shuwa had to run into hiding. As Lt. Col Hassan Katsina put it at Aburi, “I have seen an Army mutiny in Kano and if you see me trembling you will know what a mutiny is. ………… for two good days I saw a real mutiny when a C.O. of Northern origin commanding soldiers of Northern origin had to run away.“ When your people invaded the neutral Mid-West and committed numerous atrocities including killing innocent people by fleeing biafran soldiers in the name liberation, your people didn’t understand when standing up for justice and humanity should begin; sadly this fact was the beginning of that coward rebel leader’s problem with the Yorubas.

GenBuhari: Biafra Propaganda ended with the war, all that is left is history.

Need I remind you that chinua achebe's book "There was a Country" was all part of the continuation of biafra propaganda. Good luck

GenBuhari: The person calling Ojukwu a coward, has he demonstrated that he has more courage than Ojukwu?

The Igbos know Ojukwu, we suffered with him in our bid to establish Biafra and he has become our hero. He attained this unshakeable status in Igbos' hearts the moment he had the courage to declare Biafra - which was what his people asked him to do.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqPZP-NYV0U

"How can a man die better than having faced the fearful odds for the ashes of his Fathers and the temples of his Gods" - Ojukwu

I have think got to take some lessons from biafra's propaganda machinery, so effective.

IGBO-SON:
^^^You've obviously fallen for his baiting haven't you? Any discerning mind would understand you don't blame a whole ethnicity for the sins of a few, and would know which posts are worth responding to.

However, as a Yoruba man, if you feel that Ifeajuna betrayed Ademoyega, you have every right to be miffed and express so accordingly; but if you feel Ikemba betrayed Biafra, i'd say -being the Igbo hating scum that you are- your 'protestations' would amount to no more than shedding crocodile tears and crying more than the bereaved. The knob of your argument is: 'hey, forget about Awo and his dealings during the period......that's besides the point; your Ikemba shouldn't have led a fight back even though your peoples numbers were being decimated in the north and the so called federal gov't could not guarantee their safety; you all should have smiled and taken the killings like a man!'

Furthermore, if Ndigbo feel that Awo betrayed them (and have the scars and murdered kinsfolk to back such an assertion) you and your ilk are in no position to tell them to forget it just because you reckon Ikemba did worse than Awo......that's if you even concede that Awo did anything wrong in the first place!

You really are a distasteful nasty character and a true son of your 'father'.

Have a nice day.

Dear Igbo-son,

Firstly, why make reference to my 'father' in either a literal or in a metaphorical sense? Obviously your people have no respect for their elders. After all you wake your fathers with a kick to their groin.

I have never blamed the ibo as an ethnic group for the January 15, 1966. I only said most of the officers who carried the coup were ibo people who were guided by ethnic considerations in their execution of the coup. I don't think I have to repeat details of the coup here again. The actions of some ibo people were disgraceful to say the least. It is record that ibos openly celebrated and mocked the northerners who lost their lives because they were not their own people, the same reason Ifeajuna killed Tafawa Balewa but sat down to drink tea with Dr. Michael Okpara.

Like I have always said, I don't hate the ibos but I hate the attitude, arrogance, lousiness, self- centeredness and the "we are smart, others are foolish " mentality of the average ibo person and blaming others for the mistakes of biafra's leaders. As a human being with blood in my veins, I feel for the people who lost their lives in Biafra, in as much I (we) don't share ojukwu's delusions and ambitions because how do you undertake a military expedition that you know is bound to end in defeat. Yet the wicked man ran into exile with members of his family. Let quote your fellow ibo (Chief C. C. Onoh) who incidentally was ojukwu's father-in-law, wrote about the ikemba;

"Eventually on the 12th of January 1970, ojukwu took flight and told the whole of biafra that he was going in search of peace (SCAM/COWARDICE), little did we know the cantankerous coward had abandoned the cause and was running away".

Obviously the ibo man's definition of a hero/coward is different from that of a Yoruba man. In Yoruba land when a general loses a war, if he does not die in battle he must commit suicide, not run and later reclaim his property and contest an election in the country he waged a stupid war against.

Before the ill conceived biafran war, the ibos lost about 60,000 people during pogrom but after the civil war they had lost 3million people. If ojukwu had not plunged his people in that war, The lives of 2.94 million people would have been saved. With the benefit of hindsight, if ojukwu had conciliated enough with the federal side he would have gotten the best possible concessions for his people. Need I remind you, the pogrom ended in September 1966, ojukwu declared secession in May 1967.

On the issue of Awolowo betraying ndigbo. I don't think or believe he owed ndigbo his allegiance or loyalty. The people he owed his loyalty and allegiance were to the Yoruba people. Do you follow a deluded maniac into a war he is not prepared for? If ojukwu was ready to gamble with the lives of his people, Awolowo had better judgement, experience and reason. Kindly read about the Six Day War, during which Israel fought and defeated Egypt, Syria and Jordan at the same time so don't tell me about a southern front. In your earlier post you raised the issue about the Yorubas being neutral and we all know what happened to the Neutral Midwest by the biafrans soldiers.

Lastly, let me quote what emeka odimegwu ojukwu wrote about my 'father' in his book " Because I Am Involved" Page. 197;

[b]"In political terms, he would be considered an adversary of the igbos given the intense rivalry between him and Dr Nnamdi Azikwe. As a leader of the modern cast, he has left Nigeria standards which are indelible, standards beside which future aspirants to public leadership can be eternally measured. He was firm, articulate, painstaking, and uncompromising. He was, for a long time, the only Nigerian leader who enunciated principles and played down personalities. He was a brilliant political administrator and a most erudite teacher. He not only identified himself wholly with the aspirations of the Yoruba people of Nigeria but also he was able to convince the Yoruba people of Nigeria that he and only he epitomized the highest point of their political aspirations and consciousness. He was loved, he was feared but above all he belonged to the people he professed to lead. At his death I had the singular honour of proposing for him the epitaph that has endured – ‘he was the best President that Nigeria never had’.

Many have wondered what I meant by this, but I believe the statement was clear. Nigeria would have benefited from his presidency because of his inate presidential qualities. Nigeria must continually regret that he never, for many reasons, had the opportunity to serve at the presidential level. Awo was a leader of great stature. He was a leader who was eminently successful. That he did not fulfill a presidential ambition cannot detract from his leadership, and us, poor us, who were not his people, must continue, to regret that our own leaders had not led us as he did his people or achieved for us as he did for his people.

He perceived his job as leading his people and God his soul. He did a lot for them. Whenever he saw an opportunity for his people, he went for it. He had a dream for the Yorubas and was steadfast in the pursuit of that dream. He knew where he was going and took his people with him without deceit. That is why he will remain immortal in the area of his influence".
[/b]

Balkan: MY fELLOW IGBO MEN AND WOMEN ON NL. I WILL ADVICE YOU ALL NOT TO COMMENT ON THIS THREAD. THIS OILSOUP PEOPLE ARE FUND OF BRINGING THIS KIND OF TREAD. JUST IGNORE THE POSTER AND HIS POST

THANKS

I only responded to what your fellow people from the illusion land of the rising sun (people who eat stone without drinking water) said about us. We have a right of defence who know.

osaxx: YOrubas are known to be betrayals......the truth is better, even awolowo can attest to that...yoruba people owe nigerian many apology for their existence.

Yes did Ifeajuna not betray the Yoruba man (Ademoyega) went he ran away to Ghana?

Did the ikemba not betray Biafra when he ran way with his family members dressed like a woman in the middle of the night?

van bonattel: The definition of bravery is standing up and fighting, the Ikemba fought like a man and will forever be remembered as a hero who was given a presidential burial. MKO was beaten to death by IBB whom Al mustafa allowed in though the back door.

Eventually on the 12th of January 1970, ojukwu took flight and told the whole of Biafra that he was going in search of peace, little did we know the cantankerous coward had abandoned the cause and was running away

There was no cause in the first place, it was the dirty and wicked looking ojukwu's personal and selfish cause against Gowon.

@ Igbo-son:

I agree that there were many revisionist and spin doctors who latched upon any point to buttress their argument such as chinua achebe who consciously or unconsciously still held unto his position as head of propaganda in biafra till he died. Also the biafran leader who ran away with members after wasting the lives of 3 million people.

The last statement I made in earlier post was God bless Awolowo for his foresight and I will and still stand by that statement. Awo made the statement that Nigeria was not a country but a mere geographic expression and am sure the meaning is not lost on you. By implication Nigeria is nation of different tribes brought together for the interests of the British. He made that statement we were not consulted before the British joined us together. Their are statutes which are binding on us and the only way to change or alter them is by an act of parliament or and referendum.

What stand did your people take after the January 1966 coup, mocking the northerners, playing the ewu something song, pasting pictures of Nzeogwu standing over the corpse od the Sardauna, promoting the ibo officers while leaving out the Yoruba officers.

The proper way a part of a country breaks away is by a referendum. It happened during the creation of the Midwest region, the decision of the southern Cameroon to join Cameroon, northern Cameroon to join the northern region in Nigeria and in southern Sudan.

The only way the northern soildiers would have left Lagos was if the capital of Nigeria was moved to Kaduna. They could not have left Gowon behind, guarded by western soldiers in Lagos with the height of distrust, which the ibo officers had created in January 15, 1966. After all, after the July 29, 1966 coup, ojukwu surrounded himself with only ibo soldiers and mobile police officers when he first ran away to onitsha and came back to Enugu when the northern officers had been transported back to their region. You expected us to force Gowon out of Lagos? Obviously, Nzeogwu was a soldier than ojukwu, he stated he never supported secession and that the real power was not in Lagos but Kaduna yet ojukwu ordered biafran soldiers to Lagos.

Its on record that when Awolowo came back from his meeting with ojukwu, he met with senior Yoruba officers and the first question they put to him was if he had weapons and the funds to secede? Awolowo said no. He would never raise the issue again. Contrast that to ojukwu, who never listened to advice from anybody. He wasted 3 million lives and ran away with his family members. Need I remind you what happened to the Neutral Midwest Region?

Like I wrote earlier, the proper way for a group of people to leave a nation is by a referendum. You and I know that the eastern region consisted of not only the ibos. If the ibos wanted to secede what about the other tribes in the eastern region. In 1967, a calabar chief Etang had written a letter to the governor of northern region to rescue them from the eastern region because they did not support secession. Moreover, in February 1966 when the Niger Delta led by Adaka Boro declared secession from the eastern region, what did the ibo rulers (Aguiyi Ironsi & odumegwu ojukwu) do?

[quote author=IGBO-SON]^^^Try not to generalize when making assertions; you come off sounding stupid mate!

On bolded (first paragraph): This is where we both agree for the first time.....so in other words, we could also agree on the fact that Awo made a mistake in joining the federal side to sustain 'one Nigeria'? Even if he felt Yorubas were better off in Nigeria, you would agree with me that he made a mistake in not using the opportunity presented to insist on restructuring the country in accordance with the main thrust of the Aburi accord which was confederation. Read Katsumotos post and you'd agree with me that he's invariably making Ojukwus case for him.

Regarding your last paragraph: I think it's childish and wrong to blame a whole ethnicity for the misdeeds of a few individuals.....you're starting to sound like T8sky! You'd never see me say anywhere that what happened during the first coup was right; the culprits should have been made to pay for their crimes, but the hatred and jealousy shown towards Ndigbo (by bigots like you at the time) made thousands of people pay for the crime of a handful of men. Unlike some people, i don't blame every Yoruba for the misdeeds of Awo and Adekunle, and you'd do well (if you're a matured and reasonable person) to take the same stand regarding the coupists of 1966.

Awo made no mistake by joining up with the Federal side. When Awo approached Nnamdi Azikwe to form the Federal Government prior to independence, instead Zik went with the northerners so Awo was not compelled to join up with an fictitious southern front in 1967. There is freedom of association u know. Awo felt the interests and lives of his people would be better protected on the Federal side. Besides, it would have been foolish of the Yorubas to have trusted the ibos after the January 15, 1966 coup where they spared the lives of their own people. After all, ojukwu ran way with his family members. My assertion that Gowon should have allowed the ibos go is just I feel its good riddance to bad rubbish than any particular point. I would rather marry a hausa person than an ibo person because I just don't trust your people.

Are you telling us it was not an ibo coup?
The coupist waited for the arrival of Ahmadu Bello from Mecca, but could not wait for Nnadi Azikwe. Afer all, they tipped him off to run abroad
Aguiyi Ironsi was not at home when they came for him. Which party did he attend after Maimalari’s party?
Ifeajuna and Okafor after killing the PM went for a meeting with the premier of the eastern region who was meant to be killed too. Obviously to give him a situation report
The senate president, Orizu handed power to a ibo man, Aguiyi ironsi
The boys who carried out the coup were not punished against the normal practice.

I don't hate ndigbo but I hate your attitude of blaming others for your problems. After the January 1966 your people where mocking the northerners, instead of commiserating with them. Am more surprised that after killing Ahmadu Bello, Nzeogwu or other ibos took pictures of him standing of the corpse of the Sardauna of Sokoto. You wanted the Yorubas to help you fix your problems while your people forgot you killed our own people too. You must think we are learners. but If you were in the shoes of the northerners what would you do? Please read about the July 1966. From an ibo point of view, Aguiyi Ironsi should never have taken over power. He should have punished the January coupist but he never did. It definitely left the northerners with no choice and it must be said, the actions of some northern officers were despicable to say the least. I sincerely regret the deaths of innocent ibos, They should have killed only the principal officers of the ibo (How I wish they had finished off ojuwkwu but the coward ran off to Onitsha)

What were the misdeeds of Awo? Aligning with the Federal with the federal side instead of Biafra, its called freedom of association. Its one of your fundamental human rights you know. Unless you want to deprive him of it. Adekunle's statement was reckless and not well thought out but he had to do his job. Annibal Achizia did worse things, even to his own soldiers but biafran propagandist would keep quiet about that. Besides, what was the fate of Yoruba officers in Biafra like Banjo and Ademoyega? God bless Awolowo for his foresight

DaLover: I am particularly shocked about your statement that other regions only saw the Igbos as a threat after the jan 1966 coup, nothing could be further from the truth, do you know there was rioting in the north as early as the 1930's or 40's, what do you think was the cause of it?
Have you heard some of the historic speeches of The popular Akintola or Saudana of sokoto about the Igbos, long before the 1966 jan coup? Go and check them out your self, just google them..

They were obviously protecting their interest and that of their people. The arrogance, attitude, selfishness and self delusions that were better than other people was (is) the main problem of the ibos. God, Gowon should have allowed this people go.

That was why you killed other people's leaders and military officers while you spared yours?