₦airaland Forum

Good one Fashola. Borrowing a leaf from Rochas. Whether it is federal or internationally sponsored, the truth is that Rochas came up with the idea, Others are encouraged to borrow it refine it and if possible get foreigna ssistance towards it.

On this thread: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-794225.0.html, Many here who could have encouraged Rochas or suggested ways of making it better outrightly condenmed  or ridiculed it. Now that other states or international organisations are running with it,we see tongue-in-cheek rationalisations. SMH at Nairaland prejudices.

dayokanu:
^^What forum rule has he broken?

NO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT OR HATEFUL CONTENT
Please do not post any pictures, multimedia content, or writing that is sexually explicit (lewd, suggestive, bawdy, dirty, love-related, filthy, gross, hard core, immodest, indecent, indelicate, lascivious, licentious, naughty, obscene, off-color, pornographic, X-rated, smutty, suggestive). We will also not allow any comments that promote hatred, violence, or murder against any race, ethnic or religion group, gender, intimate orientation, person, et cetera.

The way he and a few others roam around the forum making sexually explicit ,hateful and disrespectful comments against other ethnic groups and continously escape ban really tends to lend credence to the poster's query. As much as I commend the mods for trying to bring sanity to the place, I still see them submit sometimes to certain unacceptable judgements and intimidations by some posters. Please wield you sticks as much as necessary to keep the place going.

CyberG:
Good talk! Unfortunately, your president is too STOOPID and all you need do is look at his face to know he is a dumboe! Yar'adua was go slow, this one is a dead stand still sharing cassava bread at FEC while Boko Haram is deploying its bombs. It is quite plausible that as Ironsi in 1966 due to his actions and inactions helped to bring death to several thousands, this Odeshukwu president will do the same. He is so inept that shouting from now till tomorrow might do nothing until someone feeds him the bullet. Instead of providing leadership, he is tied to the apron strings of Okonjo and foreign influences to removed fuel subsidy, grow corruption to a fatter cow, bring back toll gates, refuse to get the refineries working at full capacity rather than refining crude in Ivory Coast (a stone throw away from Naija), cower down in Aso Rock like on Independence Day in utter fear of BH. . .and the list is inexhaustible. Naija, una go hear am o!

Is this GEJ -psychosis or what? Jonathan's presidency is really making some folks go bonkers. Dont they have any other meaning -full thing they can contribute on this forum? It is not a must to post.

If the cost of keeping Nigeria together is this daily spilling of innocent blood, it is no use. As things unravel, It really appears that Boko Haram is actually going to achieve what Aburi and Gideon Okar could not.

Writers like this are really the problem of Nigeria. You wonder why we are really one Nation when such ideas are rife. He may not be representative of the Northern muslim  but he is of a large portion of it possibly a majority of it. Why should the raproachment between SE and SS cause him concern? Why should the SW becoming a qausi state be a problem to him? Why should true federalism be a problem to the North? Is this not afederal republic? Why wouldn't the Northern Christians and minority see the mulims as their problem whenthe Beroms, Jos and Boko Haram stare them in the face daily? Untill the Northern Muslims get born again in their thinking and see raproachment between zones as a positive, they will not go out to try to befriend other zones. untill they see the SW move towards themselves as positive, they will not start looking inwards economically and stop depending on the blackgold from the  N delta and start developing the huge agricultural potentials in the North.

Hakeem should stop hounding ACF or the organisers of the conference by accusing them of selling out but rather be born again in his thoughts and get rid of all these centuries- old anachronistic ideas of many northerners for Nigeria to move forward. Else the North will continue being seen as the region holding Nigeria back.

Lasinoh:
What an articulate dude.
It least he was honest with his ethnocentric sentiments.
The reason I love Northerners. . . NO PRETENCE.
Unlike the other 'dum tufu dum cho' tribes we know around Nigeria.
Give me a Northerner any day. . . YOU ALWAYS KNOW WHERE THE STAND.
Unlike awon 'On Aburi We Stand And Dance'!

So many toddlers on Nairaland. SMH.

Arent there nearby bridges they can use? I do think that the federal ministry of works locate bridges at certain intervals. Probably the ministry may revisit that policy and shorten the intervals between bridges in certain areas due to usage or population density.

Hit them hard Naija.

What really is the problem the powers that be have with the name University of Nigeria? They tried changing it to Ziks name while he was still alive but the late sage said no . At every little oportunity they are desperate to change it. Why? If the University of Nigeria must be in Abuja, then rename UNN University of Biafra - Its wartime name.

Eze( Elect) OnlyTruth biri kwa o. I join in sending my heartfelt congratulations and wish you a beautiful and successful reign and in the pursuit of your vision of a resurgent Igbo Nation.

Folks may take this AS A JOKE BUT I DEFINITELY DO NOT. We must make efforts to get our ideas, visions, decisions etc down to Ohaneze, WIC, MASSOB, SE Governors and stakeholders. We must join in discouraging internal betrayals, sabotage and efuleful ism in Igboland especially as the 2015 Igbo presidency project beckons. We should be in the vanguard for this and rally other online forums like the village sqaure. The Boko Haram and fulani cattle herdsmen issues demand an Igbo militant body even if it is just a defensive one. We cant fold our hands till push gets to shove before we start running around. Dear Eze- elect, I hope that these and other issues I will share via the new email will receive urgent attention from you.

Finally Eze-elect, Please do look into the idea of getting NL Igbo physically rallied not just online. I know your role has been restricted to an online leadership but I think we need more than that wrt the things facing us today. Of course it will be completely optional for those who want to be involved. But if this proposal is accepted, liason officers for different regions will be needed. Thank you and God Speed. We need it.

jason123:
Na today?!!
Its only MEND, OPC,the MB alliance and BH can do such defiance. Any other group will be rounded up and NL will be jam-packed with stories . Yet, the formers are still saboteurs,cowards and slaves; respectively!
SMH!

And your point with this post is,

This is scripture being fullfilled before our eyes: Romans 1 18-32

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

[b]21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to intimate impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.[/b]


DEPRAVITY INDEED IS PROGRESSIVE.

Now we are talking.

Jarus:
Keep nominating, only the Top 3 will slug it out at the poll.

Meanwhile, as was stated in the rules, only the first one was considered for those that nominated more than 1.

Did you mistakenly miss out my nomination of Boko Haram as my first nomination to the hall of shame or don't they qaulify?

Good job PointB of rallying Ndigbo on NL. I split my votes. I voted for Andre for Eze Ndi Igbo on Nl but nominated Onlytruth as politics poster of the year on the other thread. Those are two able Igbo youngmen.Point B try rallying Ndigbo also to nominate and eventually vote on that thread. Nomination is still in progress there but it appears few folks visit that thread.

Beaf:
We need to be real. The Midwest was suddenly invaded and captured without any consultation.
They looked for all the top men to execute them, my own father was almost killed, but he was saved by our driver.

WHO LOOKED FOR ALL THE TOPMEN TO EXECUTE THEM AND WHY? IS THIS A PROVEN FACT OR ONE OF THE PROPAGANDA SPURN TO JUSTIFY THE ASABA, ETC MASSACRES WHERE ALL THE MEN WHERE LINED UP AND SHOT IN THE BACK IN FRONT OF THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN. IF IT WAS SO WAS IT A BIAFRA POLICY OR THAT OF SOME PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT THEY  COULD USE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET ONE UP ON THEIR ENEMIES? THESE THINGS NEED TO BE FOUND AND SPOKEN BECAUSE STORIES HAVE A WAY OF DEVELOPING A LIFE OF THEIR OWN. DID BANJO OR OKONKWO REALLY TRY TO ROUND UP MID WESTERN ELITES TO KILL THEM AND IF SO WAS IT ON OJUKWU'S INSTRUCTIONS? HOW WOULD THAT HAVE HELPED BIAFRA? NEED FOR SOME RATIONALITY HERE PLEASE.

From: "pro@canuk.org.uk" <pro@canuk.org.uk>
To: pro@canuk.org.uk
Sent: Friday, 25 November 2011, 3:50
Subject: Your Invitation to the Reception in Honour of Pastor Agu Irukwu next Tuesday, 29th November at the Nigeria High Commission


On behalf of the Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK), I have been directed to invite you to a special reception in honour of Mr Agu Irukwu, recently voted as the Most Inspirational Black Person in the United Kingdom.


This reception will be hosted by His Excellency, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida CFR:


On: Next Tuesday, the 29th of November 2011
Time: 5.00 to 7.00pm prompt
Venue: Banking Hall, Nigeria High Commission, 9 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BX (nearest stations Charing Cross and Embankment)


Kindly note refreshments will be provided.


This event is organised by CANUK and the Nigeria High Commission to appreciate a very distinguished Nigerian and we will be obliged if you are able to honour us with your attendance.


Many thanks.


Shola Ogunseitan
Publicity Secretary

Stay in touch with CANUK through:


Post: Manage Aid Incorporated, Suite 49, St.Olav’s Court, City Business Centre, 25 Lower Road, Canada Water, London SE16 2XB
Email: enquiries@canuk.org.uk
Facebook: Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK)
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nigeriansinuk
Website: www.canuk.org.uk

Hall of Fame:[

b[b]]1/ Dim chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu[/b]. [/b]

For winning post- humous global aclaim

2/Rochas Okorocha

For using people power to upset the entrenched evil government of Ohakim and the Imo cabal of Arthur Nzeribe, Iwuanyanwu,etc and having brought in revolutionary ideas into governance in Nigeria

3[b]/ Bola Ahmed Tinubu[/b]

For ebulliently pushing out PDP in the SW and enthroning his ANC in most of the SW and beyond

4/ Goodluck Jonathan;

For defeating the Northern mafia and becoming the first elected President from SS against all odds and continuing to eyeball them despite all intimidations.

Hall of Shame:

1/Boko Haram
For leaving their religious goals and becoming political and continuing to take innocent lives to further their political goals

2/ Fulani Cattle Rearers

For taking innocent lives all over the federation particularly in plateau State

3/Lamido Sanusi.

For Bringing unnecessary tension into the polity with his Islamic Banking project

I nominate OnlyTruth.

Congratulations Sir. Nigeria is coming.

Agu Irukwu


UK-based Nigerian anti-gay pastor wins Britain's poll


November 7, 2011 04:27PM
print email



A UK-based Nigerian anti-gay Pastor, Mr Agu Irukwu, has been voted Britain's Most Inspirational Black Person.



Irukwu, a former investment banker and a senior Pastor of Jesus House (a Pentecostal church) in London since 1994, has been under a series of attack from gay rights campaigners for his outspoken views on homosexuality.

Similarly, British Prime Minister David Cameron has threatened to cut aid to African countries that do not respect gay rights.

Irukwu won 54 per cent of votes in a competition organised by the Mayor of London, Mr Boris Johnson and Metro Report, a local Newspaper.

He was picked from a shortlist that also included U.S. President Barack Obama, former South African President Nelson Mandela and late U.S. human rights activist Martin Luther King.

Other Nigerians also shortlisted were Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, UK-based Nigerian news broadcaster, Ronke Phillips and writer/radio presenter Dotun Adebayo.

Irukwu, in his reaction, said it was humbling to be voted as the most inspiring person.

``In no way do I consider myself to be a hero; certainly not of the calibre of iconic figures such as Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama, for whom I have great admiration, and others who have made indelible marks on the sands of history.

``I believe that those votes were not for me personally, but an acknowledgement of the values of Jesus Christ which I stand for, strive to live by and teach.''

In a congratulatory message to Irukwu, the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (CANUK) described him as an ``energetic, hard working and pragmatic Nigerian''.

``This award is symbolic of what postive things we (Nigerians) can do as a people in any part of the world.''

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5747228-147/uk-based_nigerian_anti-gay_pastor_wins_britains.csp

That will be the day.

LucaBrasi wrote:
well seeing as the topic under debate is the intent behind prof sam aluko's interview,what sources again is required?i have read the interview from top to buttom hence the reason i posted a retort to your comment

It may not be possible to prove the intent of a man so that is not my concern here. My concern is this and I quote:

the issue here is The analysis of Aluko's interview about an alleged tight friend which he kept till he died. Since his tight friend is not here to agree with or refute his claims, morality lays a burden on us ,the living ,to surgically analyse it to see whether it stands or falls. Nobody is hounding him but since he has thrown his gauntlet down, it has to be accepted. He did not provide any recorded evidence nor written proofs so it is just his words and dont you think that after 44 years and at the age of 84, some details may have got mixed up or recast in a way not entirely true. Analyses attempt to recover the truth in the story.

Again saying that you do not require to cite sources to back up your retorts is so unscientific that I am tempted to drop this dialogue entirely. Are we just going to be going on back and forth only on your opinions and that of Aluko? HE PROVIDED NO SOURCES. YOU HAVE MADE NO ATTEMPT TO PROVIDE ANY. So how can we continue? It will be an endless discussion without any fruits. I will only leave you with this. Aluko in his interview made three historically false assertions among others 1/ That Biafra was declared before Aburi conference. 2/ That NPN lost only one senatorial seat in the East in 1983 (Ojukwu's seat) 3/ That Russia and Britain originally supported Biafra. These are enough to throw away the story as hogwash.
These are verifiable falsehoods.

Since you do not want to be scientific with this dialogue by bringing sources to prove his other assertions but to rely on stories about Danjuma, Zik, Ajuluchukwu, Bishop Okonkwo , Liberia, Eritrea, George Bush,,and completely digressing on civil war being about SS oil, Igbos not having oil, Igbos not haven smelt the presidency, Nzeogwu etc  I will leave for other pursuits. Probably folks like Katsumoto will come up with sources to back up the prof who by the way is wellknown and does not need to be googled.( My favourite definition of economics in secondary school was not that of Adam Smith but Aluko's which said that Economics is simply common sense made difficult) However this is not Economics but politics. And here whatever you try to define will be subjected to thorough analyses.

Regards to your boss Don Corleone,the other caporegimes and of course Mario Puzzo.

lucabrasi:
houvest
Posts: 987

Offline

Re: What Ojukwu Told Me Before, During And After The War —sam Aluko
« #61 on: Yesterday at 10:25:07 PM »
Interesting Reading. However there are a number of fallacies and loads of prejudice and the fact that all these came out after the death of the other party leaves a lot of question marks. 1/ Biafra was not forced on Igbos, It was a survival measure.

@houvewest
in a situation such as this,it is the leadership who will make the decision to secede,in this case ojukwu in concert with his advisers,they were forced/pressured into making the decision to secede due to a number of incidents that happened where ojukwu reasoned that the igbos were no more safe in nigeria.

I wonder how soldiers trained to defend themselves and their people after seeing tens of thousands of their kit and kin massacred in the North will tell Aluko that they did not want to fight when actually the civilians were begging Ojukwu to give them guns and even matchets to go and fight.( Ojukwu nye anyi mma, nye anyi egbe outcry) If Aluko was really in the East then I am surprised that he did not understand the anger in people's heart then.

@houvewest
its easy for people like you to say,because you have not witnessed ordinary secret cult clashes where blood is shed talk less of a war, ask anyone who has been involved in a war and they will tell you that the strongest fearless become little babies, at this time you are glibly saying your igbos were shouting for more weapons,they were demoralised,hungry,hounded by nigerian soldiers a blockade against food ,medical supplies even the western powers deserted them living in bushes there were even reports of cannibalism going on and in your own reasoning they will still be crying to fight more??


[b]
2/ To say that the people of Cross River and Rivers were anti Biafra ab initio is historically false. Certainly there were antagonists like Elechi Amadi , SaroWiwa,etcas there were a handful also among Igbos eg Asika Ukpabi but they were also in the minority but grew as things started looking south and especially after the states creation by Gowon. But up to the end of the war many non Igbo Biafrans were pro Biafra. I still remember as a toddler the many Ijaw people that ran to my village in Imo as refugees and lived in our house with us. It is unfortunate that the antagonists gained the upper hand through anti-igbo propaganda especially the then Rivers and was able to sway the others and even dragging the Ikwerres their way to the extent of being able to perpetrate one of the most inhumane treatments to their Igbo brothers post civil war infamously called the abandoned property saga. The matter of voting for the hausas were all part of the continuation of the war after the war. Before the war ,Ziks ncnc always swept the votes in all those areas.After all, Eyo Ita from Cross River was the Governor of Eastern Nigeria before the infamous western cross- carpetting made Zik leave Ibadan for Enugu to replace him. Much bad blood rose between the Efik/bibios and Igbos from that but not to the point of fearing the Igbos more than the hausas who killed them eqaully as the Igbos.
[/b]

@houvewest
if you read through your own comments,you have already contradicted yourself, while you disagree with prof alum's assertions that the cross river and rivers e.t.c were against biafra,you have also admitted in the same comment that there were some bad blood going on,
how did you come about your own figures that it was only an handful??
so your account of only an handful should be believed and that of prof aluko should be swept aside because you are igbo??
the man made an assertion,you confirmed his assertion in your comment yet you say he is uttering fallacieslooooool
if you agree the matter of voting for the hausas was all part of the continuation of the war,thereby validating prof alum's assertion what then are you on about?


The fact people forget about Biafra was that it was a survivalist option no matter how faulted people can make of it with the benefit of hindsight. The Eastern Consultative assembly had representatives from all nooks and crannies of Biafra and voted overwhelmingly for Ojukwu to pull out Biafra. The Republic of Biafra :

@houvewest

the eastern consultative assembly did not conduct a general consensus amongst the generality of the igbos to ask if they wanted to pull out or not neither did ojukwu.the fact that they supported it does not translate to them wholeheartedly supporting it,
the british,french,americans all made a point of protesting against the iraq invasion in britain we even had the largest anti war demonstration,this didn't stop tony blair,george bush/nato alliance forging ahead anyway, after the criticisms,the half truths discovered e.t.c the people had no choice but to support the soldiers waging war so you are now saying that come 20/30/40/50 yrs from now a brit or french man can stand up and say that the country fully supported the invasion??
RElli!

on a last note,I'm surprised none of you ethnic jigoist mentioned anything about zik's betrayal of ojukwu and biafra, so zip is an angel in spite of abandoning you to join nigeria and opposing ojukwu,yet professor aluko who stated an unbiased and objective account of what he witnessed is a traitor,enemy and all sorts, even if ojukwu was dead are many of the people mentioned not alive to corroborate or disagree?

the man said he has not seen ojukwu in years because he moved to enugu or wherever,do you know the man's age?so you expect him to drive or look for ojukwu to validate his own accounts of what happened did ojukwu himself finish his war memoirs before he died if it was that easy.

Thanks for your efforts here to engage me constructively but probably you need to read through Aluko's interview before you try to defend him because your attempt here does not appear thorough and your points are just your opinions. You cited no authorities to back them up

Notice the following my first point was this:1// Biafra was not forced on Igbos, It was a survival measure. Notice your rebutal.www

'in a situation such as this,it is the leadership who will make the decision to secede,in this case ojukwu in concert with his advisers,they were forced/pressured into making the decision to secede due to a number of incidents that happened where ojukwu reasoned that the igbos were no more safe in nigeria.e'

What point were you actually trying to make? Was it not a survivalist move? Are you saying that Ojukwu forced it on Igbos or what?



The decision to secede was a result of so many things. The main reason was survival. In a nation where 30,000 of your people had been massacred and the federal govt not only did nothing  about it but rather appears to be in support. The final impetus was the renegeing on Aburi. The Aburi accord was the best chance of solving the issues and still is but as soon as they came back from Aburi, Gowon reneged on the agreement thus leaving the Eastern Side high and dry. It was then that the Eastern Consultative Assembly which was like the legislative body passed the resolution for secession not Ojukwu.

The Republic of Biafra : Resolution by the Eastern Region
Consultative Assembly.





We, the Chiefs, Elders and Representatives of Eastern Nigeria,
gathered at this Joint meeting of the Advisory Committee of Chiefs
and Elders and the Consultative Assembly do solemnly declare as
follows:
Whereas we have been in the vanguard of the national movement for the
building of a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria where no man will
be oppressed and have devoted our efforts, talents and resources to
this end;
Whereas we cherish certain inalienable human rights and state
obligations such as the right to life, liberty and pursuit of
happiness; the right to acquire, possess and defend property; the
provision of security; and the establishment of good and just
government based on the consent of the governed;
Whereas in practical demonstration of these beliefs, our people
settled in other parts of Nigeria, served their country in many
capacities, and contributed immensely to the growth and development
of Nigeria;
Whereas we are living witnesses of injustices and atrocities
committed against Eastern Nigeria, among which are the premeditated
murder of over 30,000 of our innocent men,
women and children by Northern Nigerians, the calculated destruction
of the property of our sons and daughters, the shameless conversion
of two million Eastern Nigerians into refugees in their own country,
all this without remorse;
Whereas in consequence of these and other acts of discrimination and
injustice, we have painfully realized that the Federation of Nigeria
has failed, and has given us no protection;
Whereas in spite of these facts, the Government and people of Eastern
Nigeria have persisted in their efforts to find a practical and just
solution that would preserve the continued existence of Nigeria as
one corporate unit and restore peace and confidence as demonstrated
by the initiative of our Military Governor in getting all the
military leaders together at Aburi, Ghana;
Whereas the hopes which the Aburi Agreement engendered have proved to
be misplaced and have been destroyed by a series of acts of bad faith
and distortions and finally by a refusal on the part of the >Lagos
Government= to implement these and other Agreements notwithstanding
the fact that they were freely and voluntarily entered into;
Whereas the Federation of Nigeria has forfeited any claim to our
allegiance by these acts and by the economic, political and
diplomatic sanctions imposed against us by the so-called Federal
Government;
And whereas the object of government is the good of the governed and
the will of the people its ultimate sanction;
Now, therefore, in consideration of these and other facts and
injustices, we, the Chiefs, Elders and Representatives of all the
Twenty Provinces of Eastern Nigeria, assembled in this Joint Meeting
of the Advisory Committee of Chiefs and Elders and the Consultative
Assembly, at Enugu this 27th day of May, 1967, we hereby solemnly:
a. Mandate His Excellency Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,
Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, to declare at the earliest
practicable date Eastern Nigeria a free, sovereign and independent
sate by the name and title of the Republic of Biafra.
B. Resolve that the new Republic of Biafra shall have the full and
absolute powers of a sovereign state, and shall establish commerce,
levy war, conclude peace, enter into diplomatic relations, and carry
out, as of right, other sovereign responsibilities.
C. Direct that the Republic of Biafra may enter into arrangement with
any sovereign unit or units in what remains of Nigeria or in any part
of African desirous of association with us for the purpose of running
a common services organization and for the establishment of economic
ties.
D. Recommend that the Republic of Biafra should become a member of
the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of African Unity and
the United Nations Organization.
E. Recommend the adoption of a Federal Constitution based on the new
provincial units.
F. Re-affirm His Excellency's assurance of protection for the persons,
properties and businesses of foreign nationals in our territory.
G. Declare our unqualified confidence in the Military Governor of
Eastern Nigeria, Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, and assure him
of our unreserved support for the way and manner he has handled the
crisis in the country.

So help us God.

Note from this resolution that the declaration of Biafra pwas predated by Aburi Accord and was cited here as a reason for the declaration but Aluko in his interview turned it the other way round. He said Ojukwu first declared Biafra and then turned around and told him that we can still talk whereby he now recommended Aburi. This historical falsehood is enough to throw away the whole interview. But let's continue



Your second rebuttal was this :'its easy for people like you to say,because you have not witnessed ordinary secret cult clashes where blood is shed talk less of a war, ask anyone who has been involved in a war and they will tell you that the strongest fearless become little babies, at this time you are glibly saying your igbos were shouting for more weapons,they were demoralised,hungry,hounded by nigerian soldiers a blockade against food ,medical supplies even the western powers deserted them living in bushes there were even reports of cannibalism going on and in your own reasoning they will still be crying to fight more?'

Now note what Aluko said that I tried to dispute:


'But I was going almost every month to Enugu, Nnewi or Onitsha to see him. What worried me, as I told him, was that whenever I was going from Onitsha to Enugu or Onitsha to Nnewi, soldiers who are eastern soldiers would say: “Doctor, please tell Governor we don’t want to fight. We have suffered enough. We don’t want to fight.” So, I will always tell him: “Emeka, the people you say no power in Africa can stop, are not willing to fight. They are not with you 100 per cent. This is what they tell me.” He said he knew but there was no going back and that he had secured the confidence of the French, British, the Americans and some African countries. I said: “Don’t rely on Western powers. They are talking to you now because you are controlling the oil. Immediately there is war and they take the oil from you, they will desert you. It is because the oil is in the East and you are military governor in the East. But with what I see, immediately those in Rivers and Cross Rivers desert you and they link with the Federal Government and the Federal Government take those places from you, Britain, America and France will leave you,” which is what they did.

So from this can you not see that at this point the shooting war had not started? So your rebuttal using  the situation in war-torn  Biafra is moot. If Aluko had said this happened sometime after the shooting war had started and the suffering in Biafra had started, It will have been more believable.

Now your next rebuttal was the following:


'if you read through your own comments,you have already contradicted yourself, while you disagree with prof alum's assertions that the cross river and rivers e.t.c were against biafra,you have also admitted in the same comment that there were some bad blood going on,
how did you come about your own figures that it was only an handful??
so your account of only an handful should be believed and that of prof aluko should be swept aside because you are igbo??
the man made an assertion,you confirmed his assertion in your comment yet you say he is uttering fallacieslooooool
if you agree the matter of voting for the hausas was all part of the continuation of the war,thereby validating prof alum's assertion what then are you on about?


That question should be asked Aluko because he made the assertion. The onus of proof lies with the person who makes an assertion not the person trying to deny it. Please google this: semper necessitas probandi incumbit ei qui agit. I gave evidence to support my denial of Alukoassertion but he gave nothing for his assertion except that it was what he saw as he moved around in the east. Is that enough proof? But I told you that  1/a cross river man was at one time the  governor of Eastern Nigeria not an Igbo man. 2/Effiong a, across riverman was Ojukwus second in command. 3/All parts of the eastern region had representatives in the Eastern Consultative Assembly that passed the resolution  for the declaration of Biafra and fought for it. 4/Refugees from Ijaw ran to us and lived with us inour village house when their area fell to Nigeria. They ran to Imo instead of defecting to the Nigerian side. This shows you that they were not all against Igbos or Biafra as Aluko tried to paint. I let you know that there were also some against it even among Igbos so the qustion is what are you on about? I showed you that voting for hausas was post civil war not before the civil war and that was only during the second republic. Before the war they always voted for Zik-an Igboman so how could Aluko say those about them. In the 3rd republic they voted for Abiola. In the 4th Republic, they voted for Obasanjo, then Yaradua, then GEJ. So how are they always voting for hausas who also kill them as they kill Igbo as Aluko asserted.


Your next point was this:


'the eastern consultative assembly did not conduct a general consensus amongst the generality of the igbos to ask if they wanted to pull out or not neither did ojukwu.the fact that they supported it does not translate to them wholeheartedly supporting it,
the british,french,americans all made a point of protesting against the iraq invasion in britain we even had the largest anti war demonstration,this didn't stop tony blair,george bush/nato alliance forging ahead anyway, after the criticisms,the half truths discovered e.t.c the people had no choice but to support the soldiers waging war so you are now saying that come 20/30/40/50 yrs from now a brit or french man can stand up and say that the country fully supported the invasion??
RElli!'

Okay now you agree that it was the Eastern Consultative assembly that made the resolution for Biafra not Ojukwu. Ok then. But however did you arrive at what you wrote above. These were representatives of the people voted in by the people. There was no dissent among them. Not one. Did you want them to conduct a referendum before they know the peoples mind. The torn limbs, headless bodies, pregnant women ripped open mothers arriving with their headless infants in their arms, cries of widows widowers and orphans arriving everyday by train from the North with their harrowing tales of midnight visits by the northern mobs, misery, agony written all over them while Gowon was playing russian roulette in complete indifference or even acquiscence all helped to fuel the fury added to the treating of the Aburi Accord with levity by Gowon and his men  was  was all the referendum you needed.


Good that you glossed over and did not try to rebutt what I wrote about the falacies about the 1983 elections, the excuses for reneging on Aburi and his claim that the superpowers supported Biafra ab initio but your parting shot on Zik is noted but the issue here is The analysis of Aluko's interview about an alleged tight friend which he kept till he died. Since his tight friend is not here to agree with or refute his claims, morality lays a burden on us ,the living ,to surgically analyse it to see whether it stands or falls. Nobody is hounding him but since he has thrown his gauntlet down, it has to be accepted. He did not provide any recorded evidence nor written proofs so it is just his words and dont you think that after 44 years and at the age of 84, some details may have got mixed up or recast in a way not entirely true. Analyses attempt to recover the truth in the story.

Thank you.

Great idea.

I just met a man today from Ishagu in Delta State. He ran away from Nigeria few years after the war and had only visited once - when his mother died. I felt like weeping when he told his story. He said he remembers vividly how the Nigerian soldiers came to his village one night and gathered all the men. He said that it is ingrained in his mind how the mothers covered their faces as their uncles and fathers were shot in the back by the Nigerian soldiers  He said the whole village lived in the bush for 3 years and were still scared to go home after 1970 january when the war ended. When one hears such stories  and stories of the Asaba massacre you now wonder why folks like Aluko who claimed to be Ojukwu's friends would come here and say they were telling him that he should stop the war halfway. They forget that the massacres before and during the war would make any group to prefer a war of attrition to an unceremonious or unplanned or unnegotiated surrender to certain massacre. Things people will  peddle around to appear sympathethic or surreptitiously blame their so-called friends. Another thing I find strange with Aluko's naration is the part that Ojukwu called him to tell him it was all over and was discussing where to run to. How could Ojukwu discuss such with somebody he knows relays his discussions to Gowon? Would'nt he have been risking capture. Well these are my thoughts. Only God knows the truth but logic questions such things.

Interesting Reading. However there are a number of fallacies and  loads of prejudice and the fact that all these came out after the death of the other party leaves a lot of question marks. 1/ Biafra was not forced on Igbos, It was a survival measure. I wonder how soldiers trained to defend themselves and their people after seeing tens of thousands of their kit and kin massacred in the North will tell Aluko that they did not want to fight when actually the civilians were begging Ojukwu to give them guns and even matchets to go and fight.( Ojukwu nye anyi mma, nye anyi egbe outcry) If Aluko was really in the East then I am surprised that he did not understand the anger in people's heart then. 2/ To say that the people of Cross River and Rivers were anti Biafra ab initio is historically false. Certainly there were antagonists like Elechi Amadi , SaroWiwa,etcas there were a handful also among Igbos eg Asika Ukpabi but they were also in the minority but grew as things started looking south and especially after the states creation by Gowon. But up to the end of the war many non Igbo Biafrans were pro Biafra. I still remember as a toddler the many Ijaw people that ran to my village in Imo as refugees and lived in our house with us. It is unfortunate that the antagonists  gained the upper hand through anti-igbo propaganda especially the then Rivers and was able to sway the others and even dragging the Ikwerres their way to the extent of being able to perpetrate one of the most inhumane treatments to their Igbo brothers post civil war infamously called the abandoned property saga. The matter of voting for the hausas were all part of the continuation of the war after the war. Before the war ,Ziks ncnc always swept the votes in all those areas.After all, Eyo Ita from Cross River was the Governor of Eastern Nigeria before the infamous western cross- carpetting made Zik leave Ibadan for Enugu to replace him. Much bad blood rose between the Efik/bibios and Igbos from that but not to the point of fearing the Igbos more than the hausas who killed them eqaully as the Igbos. The fact people forget about Biafra was that it was a survivalist option no matter how faulted people can make of it with the benefit of hindsight. The Eastern Consultative assembly had representatives from all nooks and crannies of Biafra and voted overwhelmingly for Ojukwu to pull out Biafra. The Republic of Biafra :

Resolution by the Eastern Region
Consultative Assembly



We, the Chiefs, Elders and Representatives of Eastern Nigeria,
gathered at this Joint meeting of the Advisory Committee of Chiefs
and Elders and the Consultative Assembly do solemnly declare as
follows:
Whereas we have been in the vanguard of the national movement for the
building of a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria where no man will
be oppressed and have devoted our efforts, talents and resources to
this end;
Whereas we cherish certain inalienable human rights and state
obligations such as the right to life, liberty and pursuit of
happiness; the right to acquire, possess and defend property; the
provision of security; and the establishment of good and just
government based on the consent of the governed;
Whereas in practical demonstration of these beliefs, our people
settled in other parts of Nigeria, served their country in many
capacities, and contributed immensely to the growth and development
of Nigeria;
Whereas we are living witnesses of injustices and atrocities
committed against Eastern Nigeria, among which are the premeditated
murder of over 30,000 of our innocent men,
women and children by Northern Nigerians, the calculated destruction
of the property of our sons and daughters, the shameless conversion
of two million Eastern Nigerians into refugees in their own country,
all this without remorse;
Whereas in consequence of these and other acts of discrimination and
injustice, we have painfully realized that the Federation of Nigeria
has failed, and has given us no protection;
Whereas in spite of these facts, the Government and people of Eastern
Nigeria have persisted in their efforts to find a practical and just
solution that would preserve the continued existence of Nigeria as
one corporate unit and restore peace and confidence as demonstrated
by the initiative of our Military Governor in getting all the
military leaders together at Aburi, Ghana;
Whereas the hopes which the Aburi Agreement engendered have proved to
be misplaced and have been destroyed by a series of acts of bad faith
and distortions and finally by a refusal on the part of the >Lagos
Government= to implement these and other Agreements notwithstanding
the fact that they were freely and voluntarily entered into;
Whereas the Federation of Nigeria has forfeited any claim to our
allegiance by these acts and by the economic, political and
diplomatic sanctions imposed against us by the so-called Federal
Government;
And whereas the object of government is the good of the governed and
the will of the people its ultimate sanction;
Now, therefore, in consideration of these and other facts and
injustices, we, the Chiefs, Elders and Representatives of all the
Twenty Provinces of Eastern Nigeria, assembled in this Joint Meeting
of the Advisory Committee of Chiefs and Elders and the Consultative
Assembly, at Enugu this 27th day of May, 1967, we hereby solemnly:
a. Mandate His Excellency Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,
Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, to declare at the earliest
practicable date Eastern Nigeria a free, sovereign and independent
sate by the name and title of the Republic of Biafra.
B. Resolve that the new Republic of Biafra shall have the full and
absolute powers of a sovereign state, and shall establish commerce,
levy war, conclude peace, enter into diplomatic relations, and carry
out, as of right, other sovereign responsibilities.
C. Direct that the Republic of Biafra may enter into arrangement with
any sovereign unit or units in what remains of Nigeria or in any part
of African desirous of association with us for the purpose of running
a common services organization and for the establishment of economic
ties.
D. Recommend that the Republic of Biafra should become a member of
the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of African Unity and
the United Nations Organization.
E. Recommend the adoption of a Federal Constitution based on the new
provincial units.
F. Re-affirm His Excellency's assurance of protection for the persons,
properties and businesses of foreign nationals in our territory.
G. Declare our unqualified confidence in the Military Governor of
Eastern Nigeria, Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, and assure him
of our unreserved support for the way and manner he has handled the
crisis in the country.

So help us God.

3/ With respect to the above, itis clear that Alukos approach to Ojukwu not to declare Biafra if it was true was completely not taking into consideration the feelings in eastern nigeria then and the power and opinion of the people representad by the consultative assembly.

4/ It is a fallacy to say that the only senatorial seat NPN lost in the East in 1983 election was Ojukwus seat.

5/ Aluko has made himself appear as a go- between between Ojukwu and Gowon and even brokered the Aburi parley. Is it not strange that he did not go with Gowon to make the peace,,neither other technocrats from the Nigeria side like Awo. I really smell a rat here. It appears with the benefit of hindsight that the parley was already  designed to fail ab initio no matter the outcome. Using the well-worn argument that Ojukwu outsmarted the others because he was better educated or better prepared is funny. It was the best opportunity to stop the war but it appears that some people surreptitiously wanted the war fought at all costs to ,at worst, wipe out the Igbos or ,at best, make them go backwards for decades
. How come all the wisemen suddenly disappeared from the scene so that there would be an excuse to renege from the agreements?

WELL ABURI STILL BEGS THE NIGERIAN QUESTION. NIGERIAS PROBLEMS, BOKO HARAM, MEND, EGBESU, OPc, MASSOB OGONI ETC,SNC, ETC ARE ALL BEGGING FOR AN ABURI-LIKE SOLUTION.

6/ Of all the books I have read on the war, I have never ever heard that Britain and Russia ever supported Biafra at a point but to bring in the oil propaganda into the equation Aluko has to say that Ojukwu claimed they are behind him but he had to warn him that it was because the Oilfields were in his hands. WEll I leave that to historians to assess whether Britain or Russia ever supported Biafra and left them when the oilfields fell into Nigerian hands. or whether France ever stopped supporting Biafra and if so because they had lost the oil areas. The cheapness of such a shot almost ridicules the whole interview.

dayokanu:
Does it matter what happened 41yrs later?

Japan and Germany lost the war in 1945, Does it matter if their country is better than many of the countries who formed the Allied forces?

Simple Biafra lost the war. Benjamin Adekunle demolished all the Biafra warlords in the art of war

ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING THIS QUESTION? SOMETIMES I THINK I AM DISCUSSING WITH KIDS ON nl? THEY JUST WANT TO TALK FOR THE FUN OF IT? SO WHAT MATTERS IS TO WIN A WAR, LET WHAT CAUSED THE WAR CONTINUE UNDERMINING THE NATION TILL ANOTHER WAR COMES, YOU PROBABLY WIN IT AGAIN THEN SINK INTO THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD TILL THE VISCIOUS CIRCLE HAPPENS AGAIN. ASK YOURSELF WHY IS EVERYBODY TALKING ABOUT SNC. THE SAME THING ABURI TENDED TO ADDRESS OVER 40 YEARS AGO? ABURI COULD HAVE AVOIDED THE WAR IF GOWON KEPT HIS PART OF THE BARGAIN BUT HE PREFERRED TO FIGHT A WAR WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS THAT CAUSED IT AND SO TODAY WE ARE STILL THIS WAY.

ADEKUNLE YOU ARE GLOATING OVER HIS WAR EXPLOITS DID NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT WAR WAS ALL ABOUT. HE EQUATED WAR WITH GENOCIDE AND HAD TO BE REMOVED BY THOSE HE WAS FIGHTING FOR FOR HIS WRONG UNDERSTANDING OF WARFARE.

Lt-Gen Akinrinade Regrets Fighting Civil War

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Akinrinade raises fear of Nigeria�s disintegration
By Dayo Benson & James Ezema
Thursday, November 12, 2009

LAGOS�A former Chief of Army Staff and ex-Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant-General Alani Akinrinade (rtd), yesterday warned that the country risks disintegration unless true federalism is restored.

He also regretted his participation in the Nigerian-Biafran civil war.

Akinrinade said if he had known that the country would find itself in its present state, he would not have fought in the war to keep the country together.

He spoke at a forum, �The New Nigeria Dialogue� organised by the International Centre for Reconstruction and Development to mark the 55th birthday of Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly in Lagos.

According to him, �If I had known that the country would turn to what it is today, I would not have fought the civil war to keep Nigeria one.�

He stressed that as a soldier he would fight to defend the country against external aggressors but would never fight internal war again.

He described the sacrifice and patriotic duty as a waste of time and efforts, declaring that post-civil war Nigeria is not a country of his dream.

Speakers, including Professor Ropo Sekoni, Mr. Alfred Ilenre, Chief Fred Agbeyegbe and Mr. Tony Nnadi spoke on: �The Nigerian Federation: Fundamental Flaws and Creative Reforms.�

At the event, chaired by ex-governor of Lagos State, Rear-Admiral Ndubusi Kanu (rtd), were ex-Osun State Gov, Chief Bisi Akande; Dr. Amos Akingba, Mr. Wale Oshun, Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose, Mr. Tokunbo Ajasin, Mr. Bisi Adegbuyi, Mr. Adedapo Adeniran, Mr. Sam Ayedogbon and others.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/nov/12/

WHO KNOWS ADEKUNLE MAY HAVE HIS OWN REGRETS NOW. LET'S WAIT TILL THE MAN SPEAKS.

Dede1:
Aguiyi Ironsi was indeed a useless man and died as one too. Major Patrick Nzeogwu once referred to Aguiyi Ironsi as a mere army desk clerk. I really hate to hear Aguiyi’s name in debates.

AND WHY DO YOU SAY THIS? AN OFT REPEATED PROPAGANDA OF DANJUMA TO JUSTIFY MURDERING HIS BOSS. PLEASE EDUCATE ME HOW HE WAS USELESS

, Nigerian Civil War: How Adekunle, Obasanjo caused mass killings
On June 19, 2010 · In Interview , 
…Ojukwu should have renounced Biafra
By Chioma Gabriel,Deputy Editor Uduma Kalu
It is 40 years after the Nigerian civil war but the echoes will never die. Many books have been written and one of those being expected is that of Brigadier General Godwin Alabi Isama who was Chief of Staff to Gen. BenjaminAdekunle,the Black Scorpion known for his role in routing the Biafrans and credited for the Nigerian victory in Port Harcourt.
But Isama, who paid a visit to the Vanguard  office and met with its team of Editors last Monday, explains how his strategy won the war as well as the mass deaths which Adekunle and Gen Olusegun Obasanjo caused during the war.


Brigadier General Godwin Alabi Isama
He was responsible for the recruitment of such Northern soldiers  such as the present Senate President, David Mark, John Shagaya and Raji Rasaki, when the caliphate asked that northern soldiers be recruited into the army in large numbers.

He was the acting governor of the then Bendel state when Gen Ogbemudia went on leave.

On whether he regrets fighting the war as his fellow soldier, Gen Alani Akinrade said, Isama said he would want a one united country but that there should be a discourse on how to make the country work. And that the wrong people are in power.

The first coupists, like Major Kaduna Nzeogwu he went on, had an idea of what they wanted to do for the country.  Nzeogwu, he said, did not want to be president but others that came later were after money because they came from poor background.

Why were you thrown out of the military?


Brigadier General Godwin Alabi Isama
I was thrown out of the military because I kept arguing on so many things. During the war, we were doing very well. I was Chief of Staff to Adekunle. From Calabar to Port Harcourt was 300 miles. I had to move the troops from Calabar to Port Harcourt. We could have done that from Bonny to Port Harcourt, which was just 50 miles. So, why 300 miles? The debate was very robust. Adekunle saw the potential in me and what I was talking about.

He had to go to Lagos because as soon he captured Port Harcourt, we would be dealing with core Igbo heartland. To do that, we needed to be ready. The tactics in the riverine area must change for another tactics on the ground. I am writing a book on this subject because everybody has been claiming excellence when they were nobody.

I wouldn’t have been able to write the book if I didn’t come home to renovate my mother’s home at Ilorin which was falling. And the woman did so well.

To allow my mother’s house to fall like that I think was an abomination. That wasn’t right. So I started renovating my mother’s house. I opened her room and there was a big box. The box had my pictures of  the war, over a 1000,  with the original map of the war all over again. So I started writing my book.

Problem with our military strategy
What caused the problem in the military was strategy and tactics. I went to Tactics and Strategy School in Pakistan.

There are certain things you do not do. Why would you want to capture Umuahia and not look for the centre of gravity of the people you are fighting against? The aim was not to kill them. The aim was to end the war.

We took Enugu. The war did not end. We took Okigwe, Awgu, Umuahia. The war did not end. We took Obubra, Ugep. It did not end. The point is:  where was the centre of gravity that you will hold the man properly and he will surrender?

We went to Port Harcourt. All kinds of people were coming in with food and ammunition and all that. He (Ojukwu) survived. He continued the war. One division went to capture Umuahia on 22nd of April 1969. It did not end. They just caused panic.

Adekunle and His Men
The point was that he was not listening to me. When he was not listening to me, we were losing men. From Calabar to Port Harcourt, Adekunle was not there. He was in Lagos trying to get supplies so that when we get to Port Harcourt, we regroup, reorganise and move on. Because we would now be facing the core Igbo heartland.

I had 8 casualties in men and one dead for the 300 miles, whereas when we started OAU, that is to go and capture Owerri, Aba and Umuahia, that was rubbish. What would you need Umuahia for? Why must you capture Aba, Owerri?

Would it end the war? And everywhere we attacked, people died. May be, it was  the part in me that will not let me see people die, and for the fact that my mother had warned me never to kill anybody that looked at me in the face. My mother bought five canes.

One for me, one for Adekunle, Ariyo, Akinrade, and Abubakar. We never carried any weapon during the war. The aim was not to kill these people; but cause enough panic and let them just surrender. But a lot of my people wanted it otherwise. Because I opposed the OAU, Adekunle quarrelled, and tried to ambush me. I have pictures on this subject.


Brigadier General Godwin Alabi Isama
So, we came back. Akinriade and I came to Lagos and complained to Gen Gowon. It was the eve of Gen. Gowon’s marriage. After he had listened to Gen Akinrade, Gen Gowon said every officer that had been there for over two years…

He needed to change everybody, rather than change Adekunle. Adekunle started saying there were too many Yoruba in the headquarters. Too many Yoruba? Was it an ethnic war?  We were not fighting Igbos. We were fighting Biafrans.

He did not want to hear Biafrans. All the Igbos were not Biafrans. There were many of them in the Lagos area and in other parts of Nigeria. We were fighting the secessionists. You called them rebels. I understand but I was calling them the Biafrans. Even in my book, I was writing Biafrans.

So they changed them and Obasanjo came in. Obasanjo, (laughs) when he came in, the same mistake that Adekunle made was what my brother made. Soldiers died, and I’m talking in thousands, not just in hundreds. Nigerian  troops.

Three Marine Commando had captured Owerri and they were surrounded inside Owerri. For 7 months, they were besieged.

This same beleaguered troops, you told them to go back to attack Owerri. The place they defended with all their sweat and blood became their burial ground. It was not necessary. (Begins to draw a map, showing the distances between Aba, Owerri, Umuahia, Port Harcourt, Elele, Okrika). I was in all these places. It was my plan. It was tactics. It was my strategy.

Now,  we have captured this place. Two officers again did not do the right thing there. There was what we called 15 brigade. There was 16 brigade. And there was14 brigade, all to enter Owerri. After capturing Owerri, would it end the war?

Aba we had captured Biafrans recaptured it again. ‘When something went wrong, it was either you would send Akinrade or you would Alabi Isama. We had to make sure… We know you sent us there. There are other officers in this place.

There were more than 50 but you will send Alabi or you will send Akinrade. Let us discuss so that you don’t send us there when things went wrong.’

We recaptured Aba. Shande died. He was one of our classmates. This man, name withheld, went to a place called Jokoju. This one from Oguta area withdrew to a place called Omoku. This man  remained in there. Even Biafran officers and soldiers said that was the best officer in the Nigerian army. He did not surrender. He came out with dead bodies, his refugees, and prisoners of war. And you people could not go from here. There was a sector commander here called Godwin Ade.

They did not have to go and attack everybody. But by the time you appear at the back and people are attacking here, they will escape. They didn’t do that. We lost so many men. And it became a situation where my enemy, if he is your enemy, becomes my friend. If you are my enemy, and he is our enemy, then both of us are friends.

All we needed to do was to forget Owerri. It happened in the Battle of the Bulge, during the WW2. The American general there, he was in a town called Bastogne. The Germans made a quick attack into Antwerp. But Thomas Bradley went to party with Eisenhower who had been promoted to Allied Commander. They were at the party when the Germans captured all these places.

Eisenhower did not panic. Why Nigerians panic I don’t know. And that has also affected the way we are in the country. We approach problems like fire brigade. You need to plan ahead. You need to move step by step. You can’t  climb the ladder from the top. You will fall.

Eisenhower told his guests, don’t panic. Thomas Bradley, you can finish your drink. He moved the British Gen Montgomery from the north, and Patton from the south. By the time they captured here (centre between captured towns), 120, 000 Germans were captured, or wounded or killed. Our people do not need to panic. I was a bit too loud for all of them.

When the war ended, we had these senior officers, and super permanent secretaries. How did they become super? Super Permanent secretaries? Because anytime they were in a nightclub, for instance, they would say, tomorrow, two plus two will be five. And you will say who told you two plus two will be five in Nigeria? They will say don’t worry, tomorrow.

And then the poor soldier…. We were only school certificate people. That was the requirement to join the military so that they could mould you. They didn’t need university graduates. University graduates were not there at time.

What about Ojukwu?
I am talking of my classmates. Ojukwu was already in the army. He was our senior. They didn’t want anymore university graduates. University graduates would argue with you. They wanted somebody they would mould into a zombie. They would mould you into leadership in the military.

Akinrade should have moved to Aba. Alabi Isama from Ikot Ekpene should have moved to Umuahia. Why? When I told my seniors they didn’t understand it.


Obasanjo
Back to super perm secs. Now, you’ve told everybody, two times will be five in the nightclub. Everybody will wake up half drunk,  if not drunk. Ladies and gentlemen, we are together. We have an army English—  two times two is five.

Everybody would clap. A lot of us could not understand. We couldn’t do anything about it. If  you talked, you are out. I was not one of those that could do what the boss wanted.

I was  the Principal General Staff of the Army. I started sending army officers to the university. There was none that went from the army to the university before my time in 1977. And I started sending officers to the university. Why? Because you were not to do bush training because they would say you are going to organise a coup.

I don’t know how university admission was organised. I called the education officer. Give me an education man who went to the university to come to the army headquarters. I was the first to move an education team to army headquarters.

They gave me one Captain Okurigido and from there Okurigido organised… You pass your exam, any university in the world, you are there. And that was how we built a qualitative army. The thing was how to build a qualitative army.

There were officers like Ishola Williams. He was a good junior officer. I had another, Layi Yusuf.

We were taught in the military to listen to our officers from where you would take a decision. Even though the bucks stopped on your desk but you must listened to the experts on their various fields. You do not have a preserve of knowledge.

Now, they have a preserve of knowledge. They tell you what to do, even though it’s wrong but they tell you must do it. I couldn’t stand the nonsense. At the end of the day, I was thrown out.

But then, there is something in my book. Because they did not know what to do. If you don’t want this man, just tell him to go. You don’t have to give me a name. They had to give me a name. Because if there was an exam, and you can’t promote someone who came second or third unless the man who came first did something wrong. It would be wrong to kick him out.

So, they were not sure how to kick this man out. They lied, then published a government paper which will be in my book. That’s how I left the military in 1977.

But using the same strategy, I went to the United States, and the man who employed me announced me president of the company. He became my deputy.


Ojukwu
Obasanjo said his generation fought for the unity of Nigeria. Can you say you fought for the unity of Nigeria?
No.

What did they say you did in the military?

You want me to tell you what’s in my book? That’s ok. It was that Alabi Isama attempted to steal N300, 000. That’s a lot of money at that time. I had more opportunity than all of them. I was the commander of 36, 000 troops from Calabar to Port Harcourt. All we did was to say no soldier must get a salary. We give you an allowance in case you want to eat kolanuts.

Because most of the soldiers, their families depended on them. We wanted their families to get their salaries back home. Your children had to go to school. Most of the wives were not working and my people didn’t see this. They wanted to pay full salary to the troops.

Let me  tell you, it is not off record. Any army officer that you see that built a house would have stolen the money. Because how much was the salary that we now have mansions? We own properties and estates all over the country.
But generals are rich

Yes, generals are rich but with what salary? That’s the question I’m asking. What salary? In the military? Buying and selling? Where did you get the funds from? Some said they wrote a book. I want to see the book you wrote. Some said they got loans. What was the collateral? I think we are lying to ourselves in this country.

One of the fall-outs of the war was the issue of abandoned properties at Port Harcourt. If the war truly ended, why were those properties not returned to the original owners?

Were there abandoned properties in Lagos or South West or elsewhere apart from Port Harcourt? The issue of abandoned property should be looked at three dimensions: the locations, who sold them and to whom? Abandoned properties, the way I see them are loots of war. The houses in question were taken by the soldiers and sold to the soldiers who later resold them. I remember I was approached to buy one and I didn’t because I didn’t have the money to pay for one.

But I tell you, if you have a property that was taken, you could reclaim them. All you have to do is present documents of ownership, find out from the present owner how he got the property and from there, begin your investigation. The people whose properties were taken in Port Harcourt have not made any case seriously. If they did, they will get them back.

In Lagos, there were no abandoned properties. When the Igbos left for their homeland, their neighbours collected their rent and when they returned after the war, they took back their houses. There is nothing like abandoned property.

So many Igbos were killed during the war. Would you accept that the Nigerian Army committed genocide?

What do you mean by genocide? Who started killing first? Nzeogwu and his team killed first. They killed a man and his wife who were sleeping. The Hausas would not kill women.

But a man and his wife were killed. If you had killed my mother, I would not only have killed the family but I would have  killed the neighbours and levelled the area. You see, Ojukwu committed a crime against the Igbos by leading them to the war he was not prepared for. If Ojukwu had forgiven, if he had embraced dialogue, things would  not have gone that far.

The North was fighting against Biafra and not the Igbos. Biafra was beyond the Igbos. It was the entire Eastern region. Some people in the Mid-West and even in the West believed in Biafra. Somebody like Banjo did . So, it was not against the Igbos.

When Ojukwu seceded, Gowon wanted to take the Hausas back to the North. He didn’t want to fight He thought there was no need for the war but the entire European world asked him to fight a war of unity. And that was what we in the Nigerian Army fought: a war of unity.

We didn’t set out to kill but to reclaim Biafra for Nigeria. I was in the 3rd Marine Commando and I came back with several  captives of war and didn’t kill them. Their leader became my P.A. But when you go about killing women and children, what else do you expect? Ojukwu should apologise to the Igbos. He shouldn’t have led them to war because he had nothing to fight with. If he had wanted a war, he would have embraced dialogue and dragged it on till he got fully prepared for war. But he had nothing.

Only the Ogbunigwe and a few weapons he got from a sympathetic nation. He had no air control and no sea ways control. All his flanks were open and he led Biafra to war. Ojukwu should have maintained dialogue.I still maintain that his pardon was a fraud.

He did not apologise for the war and he did not renounce Biafra on his return. He should have been taken to a radio station to renounce Biafra but he was not. He was given a hero’s welcome which is why I said that his pardon was a fraud. In a war that would have claimed about 20,000 people, more than two million people died.

That was genocide. When you kill innocent women and children, bomb churches and just destroyed things. You remember the incident at Asaba where people were massacred for nothing.

Well, I don’t know about that. I told you I brought captives back and they were alive. I didn’t kill them. They worked with me and showed me the way out afterwards. What happened at Asaba was a bad case in a war situation. I have the book, Blood on the Niger and anybody who would have done what happened at Asaba must have a good reason for it.

We fought a war of unity. We came to the East to reclaim Biafra for Nigeria and not to fight.

You are from the Delta region but you refer to Ilorin as home. How come Ilorin is home.

My mother was from Ilorin but my father from Delta.My father had two wives but he died My mother went back to Ilorin. The other wife is Mama Beatrice and she has my photos when I was four years old. I have a house in Delta and all my children and grand-children will be there this December.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/06/nigerian-civil-war-how-adekunle-obasanjo-caused-mass-killings/

[quote author=X-mind link=topic=814161.msg9664873#msg9664873 date=1322671307]@nchara,
How is that a laughing matter. Do yo really understand the Nigerian Issue at all? Do you even knownthe real enemies of the igbos? The civil war was unfortunate.people fought without a clear understanding of what they were fighting for. Not just Gowon, middle belt, or hausas.Niger deltans, yorubas and the whole of Nigeria fought the igbos. But today, there is a new challenge before us. It is not Gowon that is the problem or his people. You need to find out who the real problem is from your history.I won't tell you who it is, but it is definitely not Gowon my friend.Shine your eyes.[/quote]

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

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

The killings must end!

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