₦airaland Forum

ImperialYoruba:
Beside displaying sstewpidity and wasting lives and resources what did he do thats worth modelling?


Medals of valor are awarded to those whose exemplary footsteps and actions should be modeled and repeated. It is not for those who left ruin and lamentations of pain behind.

Individual bravery is what it is, for individual decision making. Collective destiny need careful deliberation and measured action.

He brought in his ego to destroy the collective.
His contemporaries in Yorubaland used the collective to tame their individual ego.

Can you see the difference?

There is one thing that never fails to amuse me. The people that Ojukwu led do not call him out, it is those he did no lead that call him out. Do you know why this is? Because not every ethnic group in Nigeria has what is called "sense of self determination".

Sorry bro but if you were expecting everyone to have slave mentality, not possible. There are people who still believe in freedom, self determination, free choice and autonomy. Thats the people Ojukwu led in a war of liberation. It didnt work out but no shame, it is always noble for one to fight for their freedom no matter the odds

codedslayer:
The guts of sacrficing 3m animals and still running away to Abidjan. Only God knows why you ipobs have no shame. Spits

Freedom is everything, even at the cost of 50 millions lives. Only people with a sense of self determination would understand.

kropotkin2:
Forget it bro. Biafra is a fleeting iillusion. Before you can have a referendum, the UN has to sanction it or you engage Nigeria in a war. Which UN state will support a call for a referendum? Ans: None

Not really. When Scotland had referndum in 2014, the UN were not involved.

When Crimea had a referendum in 2015 and left Ukrain, the UN were not even informed.


UN monitored referendum is good but it is not a must they must be involved.

Amarabae:
lets assume a refrendum is called today and the Minorities vote NO while the Igbos vote YES, due to Igbos huge population, Yes Outnumber No, will it be that Biafra will be declared and the minorities will be included in it since they lost the refrendum? ANSWER ME

Those who vote no will stay in Nigeria and continue with 'one Nigeria' while those who vote yess are declared Republic of Biafra and I start poping champaigne

Personally, I dont believe there is any Yoruba man, alive or dead, who has the guts to secede from Nigeria.

Its easy to call Ojukwu names, but to have the guts to do what he did is no small feat.

kropotkin2:
Bros there was no Recognized sovereign entity called Biafra prior to Lugard's 1914 amalgamation. Biafra has no legitimacy in the eyes of the international community hence the silence over the agitation. I laugh when some people Open threads like this one about the modalities of a hypothetical referendum. There will never be any referendum in any Nigerian territory in the Foreseeable future

There was no sovereign entity called Nigeria before 1914. So why is is there Nigeria?

victorvezx:
Dispute? Lol. How can Nigeria be in dispute with u people over the so called biafran territory that was Nigeria territory since in the beginning even before Biafra ever existed. We fought Biafra and win the civil and re-annexed our territory back. Maybe u should go study Nigerian history before u start calling this matter a dispute. U must be dreaming if u think Nigeria giving Biafra is even in our agenda.

What territory? You think Nigeria is your territory? It is not. Nigeria is the territory of Lord Frederick Lugard. He created that territory for the purpose of holding people against their will. Nigeria has carried on that purpose to this day, the only difference is that Lugard has long gone back home. Those he forced into his illegal colonial creation called Nigeria will keep agitating until they get back their freedom and sovereignty that was officially stolen in 1914

Deadlytruth:
You make me giggle wildly.
If Isaac Boro's act was a mere declaration with some few unserious armed men in a village square, then why did Ojukwu and Ironsi not just ignore him for him to continue with his Nollywood show? An act so unserious and meaningless (according to you) got Ojukwu so enraged that he nearly killed the doer if not for divine intervention? What does that say of Ojukwu's character?
Your claim on Asari Dokubo is misleading because Asari Dokubo and his Niger Delta Volunteer Force have always made it clear that what they are asking for is not secession but a return to true federalism/resource control which Ironsi steered us away from.
Countries are not created by laws but by agreements. It is not lost on anyone that the amalgamation was a British intent, but as long as Nigerians later accepted it, held constitutional conferences pre- and post- independence to make laws to govern themselves in that amalgamation with someone like Zik and all Igbos back then even swearing to pay the ultimate price for the sustenance of the amalgamtion, then it can be correctly said that Nigeria was created by the consent of the various people in it. Recall that the independence constitution was produced by Nigerians themselves drawn from every part of the country through their membership of the first republic parties. Why we've all come to erroneously believe today that Nigeria was not created by our consent is the fact that Ironsi's Unification Decree violated and disrupted all the terms of co-existence we all mutually agreed to. Between independence day and the day Ironsi came with his Unification Degree no one complained of our constitution because the federalism we were practising protected and guaranteed everyone's interest and rights.
Gowon did not need to conduct a referendum because through the independence constitutional conference held in 1957 Nigerians had already made it clear that they preferred regionalism and federalism and we really adopted on independence. Why waste money to condudct a referendum when Nigerians were not divided as to the fact that wanted back the federalism Ironsi dismantled? If Gowon was supposed to conduct a referendum to decide, then which referendum did Ironsi conduct to determine that we no longer wanted federalism but unitary system?
On the issue of secession, as long as we all eventually ended up not having it in our constitution then anyone who declared it declared war on Nigeria and so he had to face the music. Moreover before declaring Biafra the same Ojukwu had already colluded with Ironsi to promulgate the anti-secession clause sequel to the crushing of Boro's declaration. So why could Ojukwu not simply obey his own Anti-secession decree? Hypocrisy?
s
Your justification of Ojukwu's secession with the Eastern Region Assembly's approval is quite interestingly funny for the following reasons.
1. Was Ojukwu ignorant of the need for Eastern Assembly's approval as the only supposed condition for secession when he was assisting Ironsi in making the Anti-secession Decree?
2. If Eastern Region Assembly's approval justified him, then why was he expecting Awolowo's supportive declaration of Oodua Republic when he knew that the Western Region Assembly had not given and was not likely to give him any official approval to declare secession of Oodua Republic?
3. Why did he also fail to wait for the Midwestern Region Assembly to give legislative approval to the Midwestern soldiers loyal to him before he invaded the Midwest?
4. Was Victor Banjo given any approval by his own home Western Region's Assembly before Ojukwu sent him to the Western Region to take "liberate" the region?
Obviously from the belief that a war decision should be subject to the direct approval of the people themselves and not through representation you argue that Gowon should have conducted a referendum before "declaring" war on Ojukwu. Beautiful argument no doubt! But you don't see anything wrong with Ojukwu's reliance on Eastern Assembly representatives when he too should have conducted a referendum to seek the people's direct approval before declaring Biafra war. Is what is good for the goose no longer also good for the gander? Double standards?
For you info, violent secession is not recognized by the UN and therefore has no set code of approach. So Ojukwu was not different from Isaac Boro irrespective of who got his people's support or not. And if Isaac Boro's secession was with his people's disapproval, then how come the same people have haboured resentments against Ojukwu and Igbos generally ever since then, held the anniversary of his declaration every year till today, printed the currency of the Niger Delta Republic recently with Isaac Boro's image alone in it, have immortalized him in so many other ways, etc?

I dont want to dwell on Adaka Boro, the man wanted to take his Ijaw ethnic group out Nigeria, thats his business. Im not Ijaw.

In terms of secession in Nigeria. I still hold that Nigeria was the creation of the British. Like any marriage, either spouse can seek divorce and leave at any time. I do not know anyone in the world who supports 'forced marriage'. Any of the ethnic groups who were forced into Lugard colonial project reserve the right to opt out at any time, either individually or collectively.

In the case of marriage, this is a union of two people who mutually agreed and signed a legal document to be together, yet they have right of divorce.

In the case of Nigeria, nobody agreed to come together, nobody agreed to be a 'Nigerian' and nobody ever willingly gave up their sovereignty. Constitutional conferences held since the 50's up until the recent one held in 2014 were all about establishing the parameters of being together. There has never been any formal agreement where the various ethnic groups formally came together and willingly agreed to give up their sovereignty and name to Nigeria.

Because of this, Nigeria still remains a colonial figment that has no legitimacy same as it had no legitimacy when Lugard created it in 1914.

A sovereign National conference or a referendum is long over due.

Saying that the constitution does not recognise secession or referendum is irrelevant. The sovereignty of the people is more important than the constitution.

The question to be asked is, did those currently agitating to secede from Nigeria enter at any time, any formal agreement to give up their sovereignty and become Nigerians? If yes, when and where did this happen?

If no, then Nigeria is holding them captive and Ojukwu was right to secede with his people.

victorvezx:
And who do u think will allow a referendum in the South east and south south? Nigeria? Lol. The delusion is funny. If u think Nigeria will do that without a fight, then ur dreaming

That is what the agitation is all about, to get the authorities to see the reason for a referendum as a peaceful way of resolving a dispute. Nobody is under any illusion that it will be easy. However, anyone thinking that things will continue as it is in Nigeria is living in the past.

3 million of my fellow Igbos were slaughtered in the name of keeping a mere British colonial concoction called Nigeria as one

Ok oooo

"Agbacha oso, aguo mile"

Every Igbo knows what I just said and what it really means.

Amarabae:
Greetings!
I want to contribute to the ongoing Ipob issue, I think that Nairaland is a good platform to do that.
IPOB have succeded in enshring their biafran ideology into the DNA of their core fellowers, thats why you can hear some of them saying BIAFRA OR DEATH.
I have asked myself, is anything wrong with Ipob ideology of self independence, and the answer is NO!
But there is a problem, which is their Methodology!
And we will discuss this under three scope,
1. SOUTH SOUTH MINORITES
2. PROTESTS
3. IGBO NATION.
…
SOUTH SOUTH MINORITES: Just as Ipob feel that they have the right to decide on what they want,is the same way,the SS minorities also have the right to make their decisions.
and on the issue of Biafra, They have said NO to the agitation.
using Eastern region as a bait to force anyone into an unwanted agitation is certainly silly.
present day Delta and Edo were part of western nigeria with the yorubas,yet anytime Oduduwa voice goes out,they restrict it to 6 southwest states and the yoruba speaking areas of kogi and kwara.
The eastern region is gone, if the Ijaws,Ogonis,Efiks etc don't want Biafra, their decision should be respected and not abused.
I see them as Igbo neighbours and thats where it ends!
Ipobs attaching these minorities to Biafra agitation is WRONGLY portraying Igbos as beggers! Thats why you see some of these SS minorities insulting Igbos on Social Media.
IPOB caused it.
Asari dokubo supporting Biafra means nothing, and There will NEVER be any refrendum on the Land of these SS minorities because they never asked for any.
IPOB should respect their decision.

You obviously dont know what IPOB or the Biafran struggle is about. Biafra is not and has never been about Igbo. It just so happens that Igbos are the the largest tribe in Biafra, thats all. The last president of Biafra, General Philip Effiong, was not an Igbo man. The secretary to the Government of Biafra under Ojukwu, Mr NU Akpan was not an Igbo man. It was an Ijaw man called Frank Opigo who came up with the name 'Biafra'.

On the Biafran flag, the Biafra sun has 11 rays showing the 11 Regions of Biafra. Igbo land is just one Region, what are the other 10?

These are examples to show that Biafra is not an 'Igbo project'.

The Biafrans want a referendum held in what is today called SE/SS (with the exception of Edo) so that everyone can decide what they want. It should be noted that it is not only IPOB that wants this, even an Ijaw woman, Mrs Ankio Briggs, is spearheading a referendum for the Lower Niger Congress. Why would anyone, wether Igbo or minority, be against a referendum that lets them decide their destiny? Why would a person deny themselves the right to decide their fate? Thats why anyone who says that the minorities should not get a say through referendum is an enemy of the minorities. Its not like the minorities of Nigeria have much say in Nigeria anyway.Nobody ever held a referendum for us all to be Nigerians.
…

2) PROTESTS: Since nnamdi kanu was arrested, ther have been many protests calling for his release, but has that released Nnamdi Kanu? NO.
Instead we have been seeing some Igbo young men send to their graves by the trigger happy Nigeria army.
my people, This is Africa where human rights are not respected, so why exposing yourselves to danger in the name of protest?
Since you people have been shot at in protest rally, is there any justice yet?
This is a country where gunfire were open on hundreds of shittes and nothing happens.
why must you present yourself to the enemy for you to be shot in the name of protest.
It is not the strongest animal that survives the jungle but the wiseast
Diplomacy is not in the Africa DNA!

Some Nigerians reason through their anus. The Nigerian Army is shooting people, killing unarmed civilians, committing murder. Instead of Nigerians to condemn this horrible act, they are busy blaming protesters. It is only in Nigeria that you will see people leave those who are doing the shooting and blame those being shot. What sort reasoning is this? Is it written anywhere that it is the job of the Nigerian Army to shoot unarmed people? The law allows anyone to engage in peaceful protest and if the Nigerian Army are killing people for this, it is capital muder.

3) IGBO NATION: why not agitate for an Igbo nation? European countries are succeding because they are mainly homogenous, why trying to leave Nigeria to another heterogenous country,
Had it been Ojukwu took the Igbos alone in 1967,he would have succeded.
if incase Nigeria breaks,I will love a homogenous Igbo country with Igbo language as lingua franca and also teaching our children Art,Science and Technology in Igbo language.
Thats the secret of western world dominance in Technology, A Homogenous nation.
I will round up by saying that BUHARI SHOULD RELEASE NNAMDI KANU.
…
No insults pls, contribute maturely.
thanks.…
You are free to share.
Amarachi.

If Igbos must agitate for an "Igbo only country", then the name Biafra must not be used. We will have to come up with a new name, new flag, new Anthem in the Igbo langauge etc. Igbos will have to begin from scratch to build a new sense of self determination. There is no point to go this way when referendum can decide the issue. Most of the minorities are even more tired of 'one Nigeria' than Igbos.

Deadlytruth:
That Ojukwu and Ironsi declared war on Isaac Boro and attacked him first for declaring secession of the Niger Delta Republic meant that Ojukwu himself knew that declaration of secession was a declaration of war on Nigeria for the fact that our constitution did not provide for secession. It was the same unconstitutionality of secession Ojukwu relied on to attack Boro that Gowon too relied on to attack Ojukwu.
Aburi Accord rejection by Gowon was not on his own accord. He was asked to renege on it by the majority of Nigerians who were not consulted in preparing it. Mind you that the accord was a proposal for Confederacy which was totally different from the Federalism the majority of Nigerians were already used to and believed the Aburi meeting would restore after Ironsi's dismantling of it. But they were shocked to see Confederacy and a list of agreements on how soldiers were going to share power henceforth without any single mention of when and how the country would be returned to democracy. So why would such a document be accepted by a majority who were expecting their democracy back after being taken from them by soldiers?

Dont make me laugh. What do you think secession is? An announcement? If it was that easy, Nnamdi Kanu would have gone to his village and gathered a few men, armed them and announced the secession of Biafra.

Pointless.

Adaka Borro never seceded, he merely made an announcement. But I have to give him his due, he laid the foundation of the Niger Delta militants same as Ojukwu laid the foundation of the Biafran struggle. Both struggles are about self determination. The only difference is that Ojukwu was a later convert than Boro and between them, only Ojukwu was in a position to secede.

Even Asari Dokubo had more men, more firepower and more clout than Boro but even he could not secede.

Interms of secession, anyone who puts the argument foward that Nigeria has no laws that recognises secession must also put foward the law that created Nigeria. What constitution created Nigeria? What constitution prescribes Nigeria ends? None

Which means that Nigeria is still just a British colonial product that was created by the authority of only Lord Lugard.

Since it is that way, either of Hausa/Yoruba/Igbo can at any time seek their independence from what Lugard created since all 3 never sat down and agreed to be one country.

As for Gowon following the wishes of the majority, if Gowon really cared about following the wishes of the majority, he would have held a referendum, found out what the majority wanted, he would have conducted elections, before he rushed to declare war. Majority is about voting.


Even Ojukwu asked the Eastern Nigeria consultative forum to vote on if he should declare Biafra or not and they voted for Biafra

Who has ever voted for Nigeria?

On what vote did Gowon go to war on?

Yorubas need Hausa-Fulani to keep 'one Nigeria' going.

Its common to see Yorubas verbally attcking Igbos


Has anyone seen Yorubas verbally attack Northerners? Of course not. There is a reason for that.

Olabestonic001:
That Time Machine was what Awo probably had that made him kicked against a Singular Nigeria. He was agitating for a Nigeria that is Plural in nature. But by 1967, he knew he had to chose between secession and protecting his people (who were recovering from 'Wetie'). The truth is; it was foolish for Ojukwu to think a region with very little weapons in her arsenal will seek to ropp herself in a bloody war.
Its even foolish till date that some people tot its justifiable for Biafran army to encroach Yoruba land but its not justifiable for Yoruba's to defend her land! Honestly, Awo was simply protecting his people and Ojukwu was 'exposing' his (forgive him, he was such young and inexperience. He thought sheer brute and show of power wins war while Awo was warning him of a likely consequence).
Honestly, its better to forget the war and move on otherwise, by emotions we'll always blame Awo whereas by logic, Zik planted it while Ojukwu reaped it.

You are just another misguided Yoruba man. Why is it that many people think Ojukwu went to war? All Ojukwu did was declare the independence of the Eastern Region. Many Nigerians have come to erroniously take this as a declaration of war, but it wasnt. Gowon could have approached Biafra in many ways, but he rushed to war as if that was the only choice.

It was Gowons duty as head of state was to avoid war and death even more than Ojukwu. It was still this same Gowon who forced Ojukwu to secede by breaking the Aburi agreement.

Gowon broke the Aburi agreement
Gowon declared war
Gowon fired first on the Eastern Region

Yet many people blame Ojukwu for the war, Why?

Gowon caused all the problem or most of it anyway.

Ojukwu could have done what Awolowo did, pledge alligiance to Gowon and the North, accept the breaking of the Aburi agreement, watch the balkanisation of the Eastern Region and accept Northern domination.

But that the difference between Igbos and Yorubas. Igbos will not accept domination without a fight. Ojukwu as an Igbo man was not going to allow himself or his people to be bullied into submission by no one. Ojukwu owed it to his people to fight for their freedom. He failed in the fight but he gave it his best shot, his people do not blame him, he did what we wanted.

As for the encroachment on Yorubaland, it was the Nigerian/Biafran war. Yoruba land was part of Nigeria so Ojukwu was well within his rights to attack anywhere in Yoruba land or Nigeria.

shukuokukobambi:
Remember that figure you quoted also includes the middle belt and the core northern minorities?

The restructuring proponents might not get the 67% but what is stopping them from starting the conversation? All southern members of the NASS are the real problem

No Southern memeber of the National Assembly is going to sponsore any law on restructuring. There is no point sponsoring something that has zero hope of being passed.

Nigerians dont seem to understand that with 62% control of the National Assembly, the North control the National Assembly and every law passed there. The unitary system gives the North too much powers so they will never support restructuring that does not favour them.


Anyone who believes in 'one Nigeria' with the Northerners should forget anything about restructuring or resource control

shukuokukobambi:
Gbam!! The plain truth. Only the NASS can do it and we sure know none of those fat cats in abuja wish to do anything that'll affect their power at the center including our common sense senator Ben Bruce

Though an interested President could lobby the NASS secretly

The North dont want to hear anything about restructuring and the North control 62% of the National Assembly while the South controls 38%.

To get restructuring law passed, one would 67% of the votes in the National Assembly or two thirds majority vote.

With the North controling 62%, it will be impossible.

Anyone hoping for restructuring in Nigeria is wasting their time.

Lisaint:
U say what?
Y?

A president cannot restructure a country. To restructure a country needs constitutional change and it can only be done at the National Assembly.

The President and vice President dont have powers to restrcture the country

Uteghe:
...and came back vanquished. Do you want affliction to rise the second time?

The struggle for freedom has no expiry date.

Uteghe:
IGBOS WILL NEVER SECEDE.

But they have done so in the past

MasterofNL:
If Osinbajo ends up as president, he should immediately restructure Nigeria.

A democratic president cannot restructure a country

Deadlytruth:
Awolowo could not have trusted Ojukwu as per sincerity in fighting for secession because just 15 months before he declared his own secession he had thwarted and nearly killed Isaac Adaka Boro for the same "offence" of attempting to secede from Nigeria. And guess what! Ojukwu's sabotage of the Niger Delta Republic's secession was born out of his earlier belief in Zik's fraudulent One-Nigeria philosophy. Awolowo obviously reasoned that Ojukwu's crushing of Isaac Boro's NDR made him a disciple of Zik so his overnight metamorphosis into a secessionist was too sudden to be trusted as coming from a genuine conviction than a mere ego trip.

Ojukwu never hid the fact that he once believed in 'one Nigeria', as did Zik. Both men later realised that there was no such thing as 'one Nigeria' except in the mind of a fool.

Ojukwu was still a believer when Adaka Boro tried to get his fellow Ijaws to secede.

Its so unfortunate for Zik. If Zik had access to a time machine and could go into the future to see what 'one Nigeria' was going to cost his fellow Igbos, not only would he have supported the North to secede, he would have declared Biafra before Ojukwu

hushshinani:
Some people prayed for the death of President Muhammed Buhari but yet he's still much alive...

My questions are;
1. Is it that those people do not have GOD
2. Is it that every of their payers are not answered
3. Can their prayers be ever anwered

Opinion though!!!

I dont know which is more sick, Nigeria or Buhari?

They managed to gather the 100 APC members Anambra has

MasterofNL:
Lies are yours.

Whatever could have triggered the killings cannot justify the killings of over 30,000 innocent Igbos in the north.

After the killings, the Igbos all relocated enmass to the east to start our own country peacefully only for Nigeria to start driving tanks towards the east shouting 'One Nigeria'.

Is this not madness?

Pure madness it is. The unity of Nigeria has always been about Oil and nothing more

As an IPOB supporter, Im so glad that Buhari is back.

I need Buhari to continue where he stopped in the messing up of Nigeria.

Look at how Buhari dried up like Bonga Fish.

The man maybe alive but he looks half dead

sham8co:
Wasteful dead. Tell KANU to allow his children to do such rubbish. U go waste your life for selfish interest. Long life d Nation long life Federal republic of Nigeria.

No Nigerian can admit that it is their terrorist organisation called the Nigerian Army that is doing all the killing here

While IPOB has not killed a single person

Iwe!

loopman:
I thought you were a responsible fellow on the Gen. Adeyinka thread, didn't know you are just another run off the mill IPOB, I guess I was deceived by your good English as we all know that IPOB generally have difficulty with English.
A modern environment is made UP of plurality of opinions, IPOB should never have the monopoly of defining the social narratives in the EAST.

IPOB and proud. The British incorporated colonial fraud called Nigeria has outlived its usefullness and time has come for a new begining. If you dont like it, sue Lord Lugard.

almarthins:
Each time I look at u igbos I just shake my head. U didn't learnt very much from 1960's civil war. It is a shame that ur elders have allowed the former state of arrogance and machoism to still cloud their upbringing of the next generation. I liken u Igbo to the city of Carthage. Don't forget it was nt fg that threw all the entire eastern states into aura of dilapidation. Stop being one sided, hold ur own leaders for ur current infrastructural woes and incoherence regional policies. Therefore I laugh at ur extreme folly.

What exactly did you expect us to learn from the civil war?

To becomes slaves of the North?

To accept the colonial fraud called Nigeria as our country?

To forget our inalinable right to self deternination?

So you want us to learn "Afonjastic ways"?

Not in a million years!

sarrki:
Ipobs are criminals

A confirned terrorist group

They will keep giving you heart atrack