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PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op):
GorkoSusaay:
No, Ojukwu could have negotiated a fair political arrangement or listened to the wisdom of Zik and others, when he had the chance. You cannot encourage people to fight to death, to see their children starving and dying and when shit is about to hit the fan, you just pack up and flee with your Mercedes Benz.

Mind you, Gowon was and is very different from Murtala Mohamed and many other field commanders. He wouldn't spit on a reasonable agreement.
can you imagine ojukwu was so inexperienced that he declared independence just
2 months after aburri conference ,
he should ave given diplomacy more time if even for a year or more while preparing
for war and let other leaders like opara , ibam and zik who was later biafran emissary
do what they know how to do best.
azikuwe eventually withdrew his support for biafra because ojukwu frustrated his efforts
believe me azikuwe unlike ojukwu has administrative and diplomatic experience
and he is not a coward…


This is the conversation between chinua achibe and senator francis ellah
who helped set up the biafran mission in London.
on page 126 of chinua achebe’s "there was a country"
quote”i think that when we were in a position to achieve a confederation we
should have accepted the chance or opportunity, when we were insisting that biafra sovereignty was not negotiable.
we ought to have considered the tragedy of the situation” un quote.

I am not here bash biafra or the igbos
i do whole heartedly support and believe in biafran agitation for independence then, the course was
just and right,the timing was perfect and the opportunity was there,i believe we are better of
with old federal system before ironsi when the central government had little power or even better as
3 to 6 separate nations.
my point is that ojukwu lacked administrative or diplomatic experience that could
have guided better decisions,he was newly appointed by ironsi and igbos turned to him
as the man in power during the crises,which gave him access to some of best administrative and political minds
in nigeria but he had a stubborn personality and refused to take advantage of some of the good advises
this belief is shared by some igbo elites and states men and even some amongst his inner circle too.


Lets call a spade a spade ojukwu was not the best to lead the agitation for biafra,the only thing the igbos
gained from his leadership was "DEATHS AND DESTRUCTION'S".
Stop blaming other tribes for ojukwus errors and military blunders if the movement had been led by someone else
igbos would have witness the emergence of THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN.
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 7:59pm On May 17, 2016
gidgiddy:
I could hit the search button on Google and land on any SW propaganda website that can economical with the truth. The above could be the view point of any body. The question Im asking which you don't want to answer is, how could Ironsi have repealed or abolished the regions when at the time he died in 1966 all 4 regions existed? Like I said before, the unification decree, or the decree 34 you are talking about did take some powers away from the regions because it centralised government which is how all minitary regimes functions. Gowon abolished regionalism in 1967 and announced the creation of states. Did Ironsi return from the dead and posses the body of Gowon or something?
Why is it so convenient for some ojukwu followers to blame every thing on propaganda when the
events were well documented by western media who where way ahead of us then.

no mater how efficient propaganda is,the truth catches up with it,because there are lots of historians and media
recording acounts of the events…..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Civil_War
Biafran elites studied Western propaganda techniques and released carefully constructed public communications in an intentional fashion. Biafran propagandists had the dual task of appealing to international public opinion, and maintaining morale and nationalist spirit domestically. Political cartoons were a preferred medium for publicising simple interpretations of the war. Biafra also used push polling to insinuate messages about Nigeria's inherent bloodthirstiness.[116] Novelist Chinua Achebe became a committed propagandist for Biafra, and one of its leading international advocates.[20]


Roy Doron, "Marketing genocide: Biafran propaganda strategies during the Nigerian civil war, 1967–70", Journal of Genocide Research 16.2–3,

"In order to organise a coherent policy, and to create a strategy to circumvent the obstacles of creating effective propaganda during wartime, the Biafrans created a series of plans, of which only one, 'Guide lines [sic] for effective propaganda' (also called Plan #4),


Heerten & Moses, "The Nigeria–Biafra War" (2014), pp. 174–175.
"Realising their slim chances on the battlefield, the Biafran leadership moved the conflict into the propaganda domain.

I can get you more…



[color=#006600][/color]
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op):
gidgiddy:
Ojukwu fought hard for three years. In 1970, his commanders adviced him that they could no longer hold out. Ojukwu the handed over to Philip Effiong and flew out. When Philip Effiong the announced a halt to the fighting and and eventual surrender, the Nigerian Soldiers who did not know that Ojukwu was gone searched for Ojukwu for three days to kill him. If Ojukwu had stayed back, he would have been killed and his body would have been paraded for the world press to see and used as a propaganda tool. So what would have been the point of Ojukwu staying back to be killed over a war that had almost ended? Ojukwu left and later came back, when he died, he recieved one of the greatest burials in Africa. If he had stayed back, the Federal Soldiers would have cut off his head and used it to play football
Are you just choosing to adore blindly or you are ignorant about the facts:

I believe that experienced political leaders of the older generation like opara,ibiam,zik,awo,bello even balewa
would place appropriate value on the lives and well being of its follower’s un like the military leadership mindset
that sees humans as a pawn on a chess board battlefield.
Regardless of ojukwu mistakes i would have admired him if he had not fled,after such destruction and loss of
lives of his kin men,women and children as a result of his decision ,that was the height of cowardice that made his brave
and strong personality Questionable .
most of his inner circle and advisers heard on THE RADIO that he had fled for ivory coast.



This is from one of the greatest biafran patriot who was also one of biafra's diplomats,

on page 225 of chinua achebe’s "there was a country"
quote”after ojukwu fleed,sir louis mbanefo the biafra chief justice and general philip effiong
met with a small group of biafran government officials and made the decision to surrender”un quote.



HE IS A COWARD.......
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 9:33pm On May 14, 2016
Ariani:
Trash! Uwaechue is entitled to his own opinions, but hardly are his opinions facts.

Unless you tell me you are now to believe everything Uwaechue says, cause he said lots of other things I know that you won't accept.

Ojukwu couldn't afford to be a tyrant. He had not the wherewithal to be such, Biafran was lacking in weapons, all she had working for het was the patriotism of her people that were willing to die for her.
Even when the truth stares you in the face you will dispute it,am sorry but that is intellectual weakness that leads to zombie following.

Dispute this too :
General Ironsi, an Igbo, emerged as the head of state. In his policies and actions, Ironsi did little to allay the fears of Igbo domination. He failed to place the coup plotters on trial as northern leaders demanded, and he appointed Igbos to sensitive governmental positions. Against all advice, Ironsi promulgated Decree Number 34 of 1966, which abrogated the federal system of government and substituted a unitary system; he argued that the military could only govern in this way. Given the already charged atmosphere, this action reinforced northern fears. As the north was less developed than the south, a unitary system could easily lead to southerners "taking over control of everything," as a northern spokesperson put it. It was at the height of northern opposition to unitarism that the countercoup of July 1966 took place.
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 7:50pm On May 14, 2016
pchukwudi:
Why are you so arrogantly calling a clear hot lie an "encouragement to read widely"?.

You should go and weep for distorting history the way you just did.

Probably you should go and read wide first before drawing personal conclusions let alone forcing your silly ideas on the gullible uninformed public.
Buy this book :Ralph uwuchie, "reflections of the nigerian civil war"
he is an insider he fought with biafra till the end.
google this quote:”the biafran masses, enslaved by an extremely efficient propaganda network and cowed by
the iron grip of ruthless military machine had neither the facts or the liberty to form an independent opinion.
the case of the elite was different…those who had access to the facts knew that the time had come to seek a realistic
way to end the war …. in private they expressed this view but proved to cowardly to take a stand and tell ojukwu the
truth"un quote.

http://thenationonlineng.net/genocide-biafran-culpability-and-achebes-impressions/
https://peccaviconsulting./2015/08/04/biafra-strategic-military-lessons-from-the-civil-war-1/

biafra had effective propaganda system and stories which majority of people still believe till present
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 7:48pm On May 14, 2016
Kingspin:
Ojukwu has a million reasons to go for the war because of the high level of provocation as of the time. And what led to Nigerian civil war is still with us. Sending millions to their grave, I think Nigeria would have let them go simple.
origin is always important:
Ironsi promulgated Decree Number 34 of 1966, which abrogated the federal system of government and substituted a unitary system; ...

aguiyi ironsi failed to put the arrested coup plotters to death after the killing of
northern leaders,these reasons and others further fueled suspicion by the
northerners that igbos do really want to take over,thats the reason for the pogrom which eventually led to the war
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 7:33pm On May 14, 2016
gidgiddy:
The OP made so many mistakes:

He said Ojukwu started a war: How could Ojukwu have started a war when it was Gowon that came down to east to start fighting?

He said that Ojukwu executed people like Victor Banjo, Ifeajuna, Alale and Mr Abam for opposing him: I would suggest to him to find a book called 'No place to hide: crises and conflicts inside Biafra' by Ben Odogwu. In this book he will read the ful text of how these four men were tried for plotting to topple Ojukwu and how they were secretly recorded planning their coup.

He said that Ojukwu didn't consult anyone before declaring Biafra when it is a historical fact that it was the Eastern Nigeria consultative assembly which was comprised of all the representatives and Chiefs of of the 20 provinces that made up former the eastern region that mandated Ojukwu to declare the Eastern region a separate country on 29th May 1967.

The OP said that Ojukwu rejected aid for his suffering people. Ojukwu never rejected foreign aid. What Ojukwu rejected was Gowon trying to control the distribution of the aid.

Ojukwu may have been highanded, brash and condescending but it was war situation. Hardley the time to be Mr nice guy.

The OP also failed to take into account that over 50,000 easterners were slaughtered in broad daylight and that Ojukwus signed a peace agreement in Ghana with Gowon which Gowon decided not to honour.

Ojukwu did what he had to do to protect his people and I commend him for standing up to fight northern Nigerian hegemony at a time when all others decided to be cowards and submit themselves to Nothern slavery.
I don’t want to argue on issues,if it was gowan or ojukwu that did something first
it will be a waste of time,all your answers are in this book: Ralph uwuchie,
"reflections of the nigerian civil war"
But there is no doubt that some of the origin of the war was the coup that killed
northern leaders and the fear of igbo domination,which led to the pogrom which eventually led to the war
because of the way it was handled by Ironsi.

If you argue that then you need to read more reading

google :northan leaders demands after the coup

http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/70.htm
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 7:15pm On May 14, 2016
Kingspin:
The op is the greatest hater of our century. Who dislike Ojukwu because his braveness,achievements and nothing more. Your forefathers dead, born and yet unborn will never ever match Ojukwu records. So you better swallow your pride, Ojukwu is a legend Nigeria will not meet his like again in life.
for your information,it is so convenient to be brave when other peoples life is on the line
but i disagree that courage is when you pack you belongings and run when the war that
you stated come to your door step after you’ve sent millions to their grave.
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op):
gidgiddy:
OP, you have your some facts wrong. Gowon did not create states because Ojukwu declared Biafra, rather, it was the other way around. Ojukwu declared Biafra because after going to Ghana to negotiate a confederation with the existing 4 regions, Gowon went on to break that agreement by creating States. The 'divide and rule' started by Gowon is the same thing that the northerners use and still use to dominate Nigeria. The same true federalism which many Yorubas today say is what is best for Nigeria is what Ojukwu went to get, and got in Aburi, Ghana. But the same Yorubas and their leader Awolowo had no problem with Gowon and his fellow Northerners going back on the agreement, destroying federalism, creating States and taking away resouce control. Awolowo was all too happy to '2ic' to Gowon and protect his peoples interests. When Ojukwu declared Biafra in response, they vilified him. Till today, the same Yoruba man is looking for the same true federalism Ojukwu went to Ghana to get, and got,but has no problem calling Ojukwu a fool for not being a 'northern a$$licker' like Awolowo. All the Yoruba man knows is "we saved our selves from being killed by the Northerners by accepting one Nigeria while that stupid Ojukwu had millions of his people killed by not doing what we did". Shameful


I thank God that he created me an Igho man and didn't give me this level of cowardice
I don’t want to argue on issues,if it was gowan or ojukwu that did something first
it will be a waste of time, but there is no doubt that some of the origin of the war was the coup that killed
northern leaders and the fear of igbo domination,which led to the pogrom which eventually led to the war
because of the way it was handled by Ironsi.

If you argue that then you need to read more.

google :northan leaders demands after the coup

http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/70.htm
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 11:25am On May 14, 2016
pchukwudi:
Why are you so arrogantly calling a clear hot lie an "encouragement to read widely"?.

You should go and weep for distorting history the way you just did.

Probably you should go and read wide first before drawing personal conclusions let alone forcing your silly ideas on the gullible uninformed public.
The book references are there...don't have a lazy mind read it....

List Of Major Military Installations In Nigeria In The 60’s:

Northern Nigeria:
      1.   3rd Bn                                              Kaduna 
       2.  5th Bn                                                Kano
       3.  1 Field Battery  (Arty)                         Kaduna
       4.  1 Field Squadron  (Engrs)                   Kaduna
       5.  88 Transport Regt                              Kaduna
       6.  Nigerian Defense Academy             Kaduna
       7.  Ordinance Depot                              Kaduna
       8.  44 Military Hospital                         Kaduna
       9.  Nigeria Military Training College            Kaduna
      10.   Recon Squadron & Regt                       Kaduna
      11.  Nigerian Air Force                           Kaduna
      12.  Ammunition Factory                   Kaduna
      13.  Recruit Training Depot                        Zaria
      14.  Nigerian Military School                     Zaria
 
      Western Nigeria:
       1.  4th Bn                                                 Ibadan
       2.  2 Field Battery (Arty)                          Abeokuta 
       3.  2 Recon Squaron                              Abeokuta 

       Eastern Nigeria: 
       1st Bn                                                      Enugu
———————————
Tell me is it wise to fight or negotiate? actions create reactions…………
War is supposed to be strategic, and not fought with only emotions and passion.
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 11:21am On May 14, 2016
contagiousme:
Thank you bro…
when the igbos were being led to their death like ramadan ram and christmas turkey
we yorubas swallowed our pride and might i add that we also swallowed jolof rice and
turkey,amala gbegiri and ewedu with assorted meats while we watched the drama unfolded
on the 1st television station in Africa provided by our great politically experienced leader
awolwo……

smiley grin smiley grin
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 10:13am On May 14, 2016
BADNEAT:
so what exactly do you aim to achieve with the post?
This is not meant to create any divisions,except to try and encourage people to read widely
and come to their own conclusion,rather than hating without facts and also to illuminate why
a good leader knows when to and not to fight.
PoliticsRe: Ojukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op): 6:24pm On May 13, 2016
BADNEAT:
Ojukwu, 21st century? Okk
[color=#006600][/color]



i intentionally used 21st century instead of 19th century to draw attention to the topic and because in the 21 century majority of igbos still consider ojukwu as their greatest leader.
PoliticsOjukwu The Most Incompetent Military Leader Of The 21 Century by infoispower(op):
I read recently some comments made by nairaland users on awolowo’s speech to western Nigerian leaders
i was so disappointed that i had to set some things straight.
When i read fredrick forsyths ojukwu,which was his biography from mostly his point of view,i was
filled with respect and admiration for ojukwu,his background,how he excelled in the military and
most importantly standing almost alone against the nigerian government and how he managed the
biafran war,but my adoration was soon gone after reading other books on biafra war,including
ones written by some close to him during the war.some of the origin of these sad horrific war was
the coup de-tat that stopped our young democracy which was carried out by majority igbos led by
chukuma nzeogwu who believe that previously held election that brought in tafawa balewa was
floored ,they also thought that there was corruption in the system,either by planning or accident the
coup led to the death of leading hausa-fulani and yoruba leaders while igbo leaders like azikuwe and
michael okpara were not affected,awolowo only survived because he was in jail.the deaths of these
leaders was very painful to the masses,this loss was more felt in the north due to Ahmadu bello's
death,the rumors of igbos taking over the country was widely accepted in a tribalistic country where
most citizens had voted along ethnic or tribal lines,all the leaders killed were not military men,they
could have been arrested and jailed ,to make situations worse aguiyi ironsi an igbo man who took
over as the military head of state from a failed bloody coup did not put the arrested coup plotters to death,
he also changed our unitary system of government to federal system which for the first time in our history
gives the center more power over the regions,these reasons and others further fueled suspicion by the
northerners that igbos do really want to take over,the northerners wanted a sever punishment for the coup
plotters and also wanted a revert of decree 34 which would return nigeria to its previous federal structure,
all these led to a counter coup that was led by murtala muhammed and t.y danjuma which brought gowan
to power,during this time the riots and systematic targeting and killing of the igbos had started in the north.
I believe the killing of the innocent civilian igbos went too far and people should have been punished for
their involvement,But the naive coup plotters did not know that killing Ahmadu bello would have ethnic,
religious and political consequences that will change the history of nigeria.
Ojukwu who was the eastern governor did what was right by asking the igbos to come to the east,an estimated
30,000 had lost their lives to these riots, leading to exodus of close to a million people returning to the east,
ojukwu refused to recognize gowan as the head of state and threatened to declare a sovereign state because
gowan was not the most senior officer,and the inaction of the federal government finding a lasting solution to the
humanitarian crisis ,he cut of communication to the federal government ,seized all the revenue collected for the
federal government in the east and gowan reacted by ordering blockade of the eastern region,blocking major
roads to put pressure on the east to negotiate.
Yoruba leader awolowo stated that the federal government should withdraw its troops from lagos ,ibadan and
abeokuta and that if the igbos should leave yorubas will too,these statements probably made gowan more
determined to keep nigeria as one.
In early january 1967 a summit was held in aburi ghana as a concession to ojukwu wanting a neutral location to
address area of conflict ,both parties left aburi with different understanding or interpretation of the agreement,
after 2 months of the east viewing gowan as not implementing the aburi accord,ojukwu unilaterally declared an
independent state of biafra.
Gowan responded by dividing nigeria in to 12 states in such a way that the minority group in the east and the core
igbos who got 3 states out of the eastern region,where separated almost along ethnic lines,
5 million minority groups who were frightened of igbo domination in the east supported these moves because they
believe ojukwu carved out biafra out of the old eastern region since it was area under his control as the then eastern
governor and not by any serious consultation with its people or its leaders ,they were determined to stay in one
country called nigeria or have their own independent state, all these was to gowans advantage seeing it as a moral
responsibly to protect the minority groups from the igbos.
At the beginning of the war 14 military installations were in the north shared between kano ,kaduna and zaria,
3 in the west shared between ibadan and abeokuta and only one in the east which was the 1st battalion in enugu
with no field artillery , air force,reconnaissance squadron , heavy weapon depot, ammunition Factory.
I think ojukwu should have used the threat of war to negotiate a better autonomy for the east which nigerian
negotiators were suggesting then,why do you think Ukraine have not till today tried to attack Russia,it is simply
because it will be a foolish thing to do.
After all the rhetoric on both side the surprise invasion and take over of the mid west by biafra was definitely the
beginning of the war. chinua achebe wrote in "there was a country"about a conversation he had with late
Dr okechuku ikejiani who was one of the leading diplomat of biafra, that he ojukwu did not consult with igbo
leaders like azikwe one of our great leaders and michael opara the former premier of the eastern region neither did
he consult with other igbo leaders before going to war,he only consulted with louis mbanefo and francis ibiam
these leaders advise were ignored by ojukwu according to Dr okechuku ikejiani who holds the view that they
could have made very little compromise to avoid the war,that was why azikuwe eventually withdrew his support for
biafra after frustrating efforts made by him to bring the warring parties to a peaceful resolution.
Ralph uwuchie, biafran's envoy to paris during the war published a book called the "reflections of the nigerian civil war"
in his memoir he strongly criticized ojukwu for the leadership he provided for biafra and his unwillingness to
compromise,for example ojukwu would rather have women and children die than accept a staggering sum of 600,000
pounds from Britain to get relief supplies for the dying citizens,he also wrote that while the war for survival of the
ibgos was on going,the war for survival of ojukwu leadership was also going on and that ojukwu errors had been very
costly to igbos, his quote"the biafran masses, enslaved by an extremely efficient propaganda network and cowed by
the iron grip of ruthless military machine had neither the facts or the liberty to form an independent opinion.
the case of the elite was different…those who had access to the facts knew that the time had come to seek a realistic
way to end the war …. in private they expressed this view but proved to cowardly to take a stand and tell ojukwu the
truth"un quote.
Those that oppose ojukwu will most likely be arrested on false charges and sometimes executed without evidence
like major ifeajuna,sam agbamuche,major phillip alale,brigadier victor banjo and many others.
Ten italians and one jordanian oil workers for eni were killed in an oil field in kwele by biafran troops and 18 others
accused of spying and jailed despite international outcry, it took the persistent intervention of the pope before they
were eventually released.
Biafran soldiers were sometimes shot in other to enforce discipline,colonel achuzia aka" air raid "was allegedly
known for this,two soldiers were also in some instances given one rifle so that when one is wounded or dead
the other will use it and this is according to fredrick forsyts documentary" biafrans fighting a war without guns".
There was no trust on both sides gowan did not allow humanitarian relief through land and sea because he believed
biafran's will use route to get weapons,ojukwu refused to allow foods and medicine to reach biafra starving citizens
through a neutral corridor that took weeks to negotiate by emperor selassie,for fear it would be poisoned by nigerian
troops despite assurance from the international relief organizations and despite the fact that there was no prior
evidence of poisoning by nigerian troops,some of the foods and medicine that was eventually donated and flown
into biafra by these organizations was diverted for military use.
He was more interested in using using the horrific pictures of hunger ,death and destruction to gain international
sympathy and getting weapons than finding a quick end to the war
according to "there was a country "by chinuia achibe,canada was neutral until it officially criticized ojukwu openly
for rejecting humanitarian assistance of cloths ,food and medicine while he was vigorously seeking weapons.
apart from the surprise attack of the midwest and ore the only advancement the biafran troops made was when they
recaptured owerri which they soon lost, within five months of the start of the war biafrans had gradually lost the
midwest and all their territories to the federal government remaining about 2000 sq kilometers a portion of umahia
the then capital of biafra after former capital enugu was lost,why then did ojukwu find it necessary to fight for another
two and a half years with heavy causality.
Ojukwu would have people believe through propaganda that nigeria was fighting an all out war and that its intent
was to kill all igbos,but that is not the case, as much as there were many causalities due to ojukwu's
gorilla style war fare that had little front line and his disregard for biafran's lives in the way he prosecuted the war,
and some over zealous nigerian troops mostly northerners,who neglected the rules of engagement,some like
colonel benjamin adekunle who was later retired, nigerian government was fighting a war of reconciliation,
examples of these is that in any war even with western standards the loosing side would have their political
and military leaders prosecuted and killed but gowan re absolved almost all the military leaders in to nigerian
army ,also thousand of biafran soldiers surrendered and none was killed contrary to the impression that ojukwu
gave the international community and his people through propaganda,that was why during the war to the
mediators and in the international community gowan was seen as a gentle man why ojukwu was viewed
as a war monger except for countries like china, and france who was interested in the oil deposits and also
reducing britain's influence in west africa,which sent weapons through ivory coast and gabon,even these
2 countries did not give their support openly or recognize biafra diplomatically.
All the major powers including united nations and african union supported nigeria ,their argument is that if
biafra was allowed to separate ,it may give way for other african ethnic groups to do the same which will
destabilize africa.
The only countries that recognized biafra was tanzania,ivory coast,gabon,gambia and haiti the only country
to do so diplomatically outside of africa.
How can the igbos believe that yoruba leaders would allow biafrans to storm through Ore one of yoruba
heartlands with 1000 unorganized,mostly untrained soldiers ,poorly armed,some without uniforms,riding
on farming trucks,personal cars,and Peugeot 404 to attack and take over lagos and then be at ojukwus mercy
when they did not believe in his cause,even if they had succeeded,reinforcement would have come from
military installations in ibadan and abeokuta which had one of the largest armory. the igbos till today believe
the misinformation,they see it as yoruba betrayal ,the well informed knows better .
The above description of the troops organization that wanted to attack lagos was reported by a reputable
journalist "john de st. jorre"who worked for uk observer .
Ojukwu was not a leader the igbos chose them selves,he was appointed by the military after the coup,they
rallied around and depended on him because he was the man in power during the crises,he is not an hero,
his leadership brought great calamity to his people ,if the igbos had been lead by someone other than him,
they would have gotten at least a semi autonomy with little or no casualty but he ignored advises of more
experienced leaders,some of whom even helped in negotiating nigerias independence with Britain.
Ojukwu should have been arrested and prosecuted for using children young as 13 as soldiers with little training,
some times on the spot training to fight skilled nigerian soldiers,knowing they would die in large numbers.
It is humans that builds and also destroys,no one comes out of a war without a loss,decisions to go to war should
not be taken lightly.
Every time i remember the war events,it is so painful that millions of men,women and children had to die and some
survivors had gone through unbearable hardships just because two men were unwilling to compromise because of
their ego and political stance ,especially ojukwu who was ill prepared and had more to loose,when sometimes making
concessions was the necessary thing to do.
The painful war was avoidable or at least more lives could have been saved if the war had ended earlier,i still wonder
what the population of the igbos will be today without the unjustifiable death and destruction he brought on his people.
I am still baffled why a military leader would make such catastrophic miscalculations of starting a war with such odds
stacked against him,you don't go to a sword fight with a spoon and then complain about bloody nose and broken legs.
Like the usual selfish and dictatorial african leader,he did not wait to finish what he started,after properties and
livelihood were destroyed and an estimated dead 2 million biafran soldiers and 1 million biafran dead civilians
due to starvation and collateral damage ,total 3 million biafrans lives wasted, in addition to total of 100 thousand
nigerian soldiers losing their lives.
He fled the country stating in is usual articulate style"whilst i live biafra lives" with over 3000 pounds of personal
luggage and his expensive Mercedes Benz leaving the igbos to their faith which to me is the most visible act of
cowardice and betrayal displayed by him.
even after the war some continue to die because of land mines , thousands of wounded veterans are still alive today
with no care,most of the survivors of the war continue sharing their painful war experience and bitterness,blaming
other ethnic groups for ojukwus errors and military blunders ,and restating the propaganda ojukwu used in
motivating them to fight during the war to their descendants,without doing their own research,these misinformation
continue to breed hatred in to the younger generations.the tragedy in all these is that humans refuse to use past
experience to avoid the mistakes of the future.

NOTE:i intentionally used 21century because most igbos consider ojukwu one of
their greatest leader in this 21century
PoliticsRe: Pre-biafra War: Obafemi Awolowo’s Speech To Western Nigeria Leaders Of Thought by infoispower: 3:14pm On May 13, 2016
military installations before civil war:
Northern Nigeria:
      1.   3rd Bn                                              Kaduna 
       2.  5th Bn                                                Kano
       3.  1 Field Battery  (Arty)                         Kaduna
       4.  1 Field Squadron  (Engrs)                   Kaduna
       5.  88 Transport Regt                              Kaduna
       6.  Nigerian Defense Academy             "
       7.  Ordinance Depot                              "
       8.  44 Military Hospital                         "
       9.  Nigeria Military Training College            "
      10.   Recon Squadron & Regt                       "
      11.  Nigerian Air Force                           "
      12.  Ammunition Factory                   "
      13.  Recruit Training Depot                        Zaria
      14.  Nigerian Military School                     "
 
      Western Nigeria:
       1.  4th Bn                                                 Ibadan
       2.  2 Field Battery (Arty)                               Abeokuta 
       3.  2 Recon Squaron                              " 
       Eastern Nigeria: 
       1st Bn                                                      Enugu

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use your brain and not emotions or passion

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