You'd probably also like this documentary. They went to northern Nigeria to interview some of the Nigerian soldiers that fought in World War Two.
Nearly 90,000 West African soldiers were deployed to Burma by the British during WW2. While the role of Indian and Ghurka soldiers is well-known, many Nigerians remain bitter that their contribution is forgotten.
"In the jungle the Japanese were hiding just like a snake" says Musa Dawakintofa. For two years, he and tens of thousands of West African soldiers fought tooth-and-nail through the thick jungles of Burma as part of the British Army's 81st and 82nd Divisions to help secure victory over Japan. Side by side, they lived and died with their Indian, Ghurka and British comrades. "Wherever they slept was the place where we slept. We were all the same." But while the hardships of war did not discriminate, it seems that the glory did, as the Africans were left out of celebratory speeches and denied any rewards. "They promised to send us something - up to now we didn't receive anything."
omogidi234: As in showing where there are exchanging live cross fire, throwing bomb, using all manner of artillery, that is what I meant and not broadcasting an event live. I see these on CNN et al regularly. I commend the man for even having the courage to go near but to give live coverage of war, I have not seen it on TVC or Channels or on any Nigeria media.
I have. Many times. Did you see Ecomog's arrival in Monrovia in 1990? The NTA reporter arrived as the battle raged between Taylor and Doe's forces. We could hear the explosions and see the smoke.
Krees Imodibe and Tayo Awotusin were killed by Taylor's forces while covering the war in Liberia.
Wasn't that how Enenche Akogu died while covering Boko Haram's attack on the emir's palace?
Have you heard of Niyi Babade?
There are so many Nigerian journalists that have been in the thick of battle.
ifyalways: Nice thread although I disliked the special tribute or mention of Abu Ali.
Many have died before and after him, why is he special?
Anyway, maka Ndi Igbo no na ala Awusa engaging in ogu n'agbasaghi ha, Unu nakwa e checki.
He wasn't the only one that I paid tribute to. The two other officers whose bio I provided died before him. I'm still going to pay tribute to other fallen officers, it's just that I was called away and had to go and take care of some things.
I also hoped that others would pay tribute to fallen officers and men that they know and I'm glad that many have done so.
Barnaby Philips was the BBC's Nigeria correspondent in the early 2000s/late '90s (I remember when President Obasanjo tongue lashed him during an edition of the Presidential Media Chat). He did a documentary in which he interviewed some Nigerians and Ghanaians who fought in the Second World War. I first heard that documentary in the late '90s/early 2000s. He is now an Al-Jazeera correspondent and he did this documentary for them. Enjoy "Burma Boy".
During the Second World War, the Regiment served in many parts of the world and played a distinguished part in the defeat of the Italians in East Africa and the Japanese in Burma. The Royal West Africa Frontier Force provided the largest colonial expeditionary force to leave any colony and it was a West African division which was the first ever to be entirely supplied by air. The following paragraphs give, but a brief outline of the most complex and diverse operations in which the Nigeria Regiment took part.
At the outbreak of the war, the Nigeria Regiment consisted of five regular battalions with supporting arms and services. In the early part of 1940, plans were made for the move of the 1st West African Brigade to East Africa. The Brigade consisting of 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions, Nigeria Regiment, 1st Light Battery, 1st Field Ambulance, 1st Infantry Brigade, Signals, and the 1st Field Company, R.E.; left Nigeria on June 3rd, 1940, together with a Gold Coast brigade. After taking part in the defence of Kenya, these brigades distinguished themselves in the Abyssinian Campaign. The Gold Coast brigade secured the west bank of the Juba after defeating the Italians at Bulo Erillo, whilst the Nigerian Brigade, by the capture of Merca, played an all-important part in the capture of Mogadishu. On February 13th, 1941, in company with the 22nd East African Brigade, the Nigerian Brigade advanced on Brava.
Despite their training in bush warfare based upon the lessons of the First World War and their short training in mobile warfare, they covered 600 miles between Mogadishu and Harar in twenty-six days, pushing the enemy before them and taking a number of guns, machine guns and prisoners. In the opinion of experts, this advance was the most rapid in the history of the East Africa Campaign.
The Brigade returned to Nigeria on September 5th, 1941 when it received an enthusiastic welcome and it provided the leaven of war-trained men for the great Expeditionary Force which was later to take part in the final defeat of the Japanese in Burma.
In 1940 it had not been anticipated that further troops would be required except for reinforcements and no further units were raised in the earlier part of the year. On the collapse of France in May and June, 1940 however, it was immediately decided to expand the Royal West African Frontier Force on a large scale and an extensive recruiting campaign was started. By the end of 1941 the Nigeria Regiment had, apart from other services, raised thirteen battalions.
These wartime battalions were built around a nucleus of 150 men from the old Reserve Battalion. The 7th Battalion came into official existence on June 8th, 1940 and from a cadre of this battalion a few months later and by local recruitment, the 12th battalion was raised.
Meanwhile the Reserve Battalion had moved to Enugu where the 9th Battalion, which was originally composed chiefly of Nigeria Police (including officers) with a few regular soldiers, was raised: after some time, some of the police were recalled and the battalion on its arrival at Sokoto in January 1941, (after a few months in Calabar) absorbed a large proportion of local recruits. At the same time, the battalions which were at first to make up the 6th Battalion, the 4th Brigade Group, were being formed at Kaduna and the 6th Brigade group was being established in Sierra Leone with the 4th and 11th Nigerian Battalions under command together with a Sierra Leonean and a Gambian battalion and mostly Sierra Leonean supporting arms and services.
In the early months of 1914 the 3rd Brigade Group consisting of 7th, 9th, and 12th Battalions, 3rd Light Battery, 3rd Brigade Group Company W.A.A.S.C, was formed with headquarters at Zaria. Later the 9th Battalion transferred to the 4th Brigade Group at Kaduna and the 6th Battalion came from that group to join the 3rd.
The 81st and 82nd West African Divisions were then formed for service in India and Burma. The Nigeria Regiment provided the 1st (West African) Infantry Brigade (1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions) the 3rd (West African) Infantry Brigade (5th, 9th and 10th Battalions) whilst the 4th and 11th Battalions had gone to Sierra Leone as part of the “mixed” 6th (West African) Infantry Brigade. When the Divisions went to India, the 11th Battalion remained in Sierra Leone and the 8th Battalion in Nigeria as holding battalions: the 13th Battalion was eventually disbanded and used to strengthen the 8th. In addition to these units with them supporting arms and services, the Royal West African Frontier Force also raised 43 Pioneer Companies and other group of 20 Garrison Companies which saw service in the Middle East, Palestine, Morocco and Sicily.
On their arrival in India in 1943, the 3rd (West African) Infantry Brigade was detached from the 81st (West African) Division and came under the command of General Wingate who was forming a “Special Force” to carry out the Second Chindit campaign. The remainder of the two divisions took part in the campaign in the Arakan.
A detailed and authentic history of the 1st (West African) Infantry Brigade in the Arakan has been published in “A Short History of the 1st (West African) Infantry Brigade in the Arakan 1944-45”.
It has been seen how the brigades came into being and that the history of the Arakan campaign is available for the students of the roles played by the 1st and 4th Brigades, but this account would be woefully incomplete, as there is nothing published without some special preference to the 3rd and 6th Brigades. The two West African Divisions were made up as follows: The 91st from the 3rd Nigerian Brigade Group, the 5th Gold Coast Brigade and the 6th Brigade with the 4th battalion of the Nigerian Regiment and Brigade groups from Sierra Leone and the Gambia and their supporting services, the 82nd from the 2nd Gold Coast and 1st and 4th Nigerian Brigades and the Nigerian Recce Regiment which became one of the greatest thorns in the Japanese side in Burma.
The original role of the 3rd Brigade was defence against Vichy French to the north and north-west of Nigeria and training was pursued with a view to fighting in open country and orchard bush. A similar role was the part of the 6th Brigade in Sierra Leone.
In August 1914, the 3rd Brigade Reconnaissance Company was formed and by January of the following year it had become a complete unit with a full complement of equipment. Meanwhile the first Auxiliary Group was being formed in Ibadan. They were originally W.A.A.S.C and enlisted as first-line carriers trained to arms and as stretcher-bearers: their services earned much praise later on in Burma and in Nigeria they undertook important duties on works of construction.
Training was interrupted intermittently from the middle of 1941 due to supposed threats of French invasion. The most important of these alarms was at the time of ‘Richelieu’ incident at Dakar and the last at the time of the British and American landings in North Africa in November, 1942. At that time, a brigade with a squadron of Free French Tanks was massed along the northern frontier of Nigeria ready to start a counter-offensive if the Vichy French should attack. All however, went off peacefully.
Following exercises in January 1943, the news of the future employment of the West African Expeditionary Force was divulged and from then onwards till embarkation there was feverish activity. Training in thick jungle fighting was carried out at the Olokemeji Battle School and in swamp fighting around Lagos.
On September 27, 1943 the brigade embarked at Lagos and landed in India on November 5, 1943.
The 3rd Brigade which was detached from the 81st (West African) Division was introduced to a very specialised form of warfare. Shorn of its Field Battery, Recce Squadron, Group Company and Auxiliary Group, the remaining units were reorganised into ‘columns’ two to each battalion. The columns were trained for long range penetration. Equipped with unfamiliar weapons including flame-throwers and carrying their heavier weapons on mules they were required to operate behind enemy lines dependent on air-supply drops and living for long periods on the rations they carried in their packs.
The brigade went into action alongside British and Ghurkha troops in March 1944. The Special Force’s object was to establish itself in the heart of Burma on the Japanese lines of communication supplying the Japanese forces including Assam and those retreating slowly in front of General Stilwell’s Chinese-American Army advancing on Myitkina from the north. Third Brigade’s initial role was to hold ‘fortresses’ on the lines of communication, based on which other columns operated against the Japanese.
The six Nigerian columns, having being flown into Burma from Assam, were concentrated near Mawlu in two fortresses, ‘Aberdeen’ and ‘White City’, 6th Battalion was at the road and rail block at White City, and 7th Battalion was allocated a mobile role in the White City area. White City was almost immediately subjected to a very strong Japanese ground and air attack which was successfully resisted during the whole of April. In May it was decided that Special Force should move northward to join forces with General Stilwell. White City, was evacuated, a column of 12th Nigeria Regiment being the last to leave and the brigade moved northward, fighting a series of actions on the way.
Concentrating in the area near Mogaung at the northern end of the “Railway Corridor”, later to be the main axis of the final victorious southward thrust into Burma, the brigade mounted a series of attacks on a strong Japanese defence position known as “Hill 60”. This position had orders to resist to the last man and succeded in holding out until eventually reduced by the British 36th Brigade heavily supported by artillery and air craft. Third Brigade had almost succeeded in capturing the feature on one occasion and only failed through lack of artillery and air support.
By this time the brigade had suffered heavy casualties. It had fought in the most appalling conditions through the heaviest rain for four months, living on hard rations – sometimes lucky to get five days rations in a week – and seldom having a roof over its head. When hill 60 had been taken, the brigade was therefore withdrawn and after a period of recuperation, started training again in Central India at the end of 1944 for a further campaign. This time, the three battalions were divided up among composite brigades of British and Gurkha troops, with whom the Nigerians established excellent relations.
The third Chindit campaign did not, however, materialise. The successful British advance in Burma had made long-range penetration no longer necessary or practicable, so Special Force was disbanded
Reorganised once more on orthodox lines, the brigade joined the 81st (West Africa) Division in an arear near Madras, where training was commenced for a sea-borne invasion of Malaya.
The 6th Brigade, including the 4th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment and the 6th Light Battery and a Field Survey Section, were in August 1943, the first West Africa troops to land in India. After training they proceeded to the Burma frontier area in the Arakan and before the end of the war, the 4th Battalion was established over the frontier on the headwaters of the Kaladan River valley which was the scene of its operations for nearly 14 months. The 4th Battalion was supplied entirely from the air , whilst a jeep track , known as “West Africa Way”, was constructed behind it through what seemed impossibly precipitous country. This remarkable feat covered no less than 73 miles. The rest of the Brigade and a Gold Coast brigade (the 5th) together forming the 81st Division, from which the 3rd Brigade had been detached to serve with the Chindit under General Wingate, followed and together were the first large force ever to be supplied entirely by air.
In the early months of 1944 the brigade advanced down the Kaladan valley as a left flank guard to the main 15th Indian Corps’ attack on Akyab. This attack for various reasons failed and though the 4th Battalion reached further south that year than any other large body of troops on the whole front. The division had to withdraw with the rest of the corps; after delaying tactics supported by detachments of the Reconnaissance Regiment, which up to this time had been undertaking aggressive landing operations along the coast towards Akyab, it held positions near the frontier throughout the monsoon and so forestalled the much vaunted Japanese advance on Calcutta.
The 4th Battalion led the return to Burma after the Monsoon by driving the Japanese off the precipitous slopes of Frontier Hill and the brigade advanced again down the Kaladan and parallel valleys. So successful was this outflanking movement, which was joined in January 1945 by the 82nd West African Division and resulted in joint capture by the two West African Divisions of Myohaung, that little resistance was put up in Akyab to the rest of the Corps. After the capture of Myohaung, the 81st Division, including the 6th Brigade, returned to India for rest and further training for an attack on Malaya, but an armistice was signed before this was launched. During the operation in the Kaladan Valley, the troops lived and fought in extreme jungle conditions, the only adjuncts of civilisation in the way of weapons, food, clothing, or shelter, being what they could carry themselves or what could be dropped from the air they faced these conditions for months on end in a way no other troops were ever called upon to do for such long periods. They acquitted themselves well and played a major part in driving the Japanese out of the Arakan.
The end of the war came before the West African Divisions could carry out their plans for the attack on Malaya and so, after a period of rest and vocational training in India, they returned to their home countries in 1946 with a record of which they could be well proud.
The Japanese were usually contemptuous of their foes and the following extract from a captured Japanese war diary is therefore worth recording.
The enemy soldiers are not from Britain but from Africa. Because of their belief, they are not afraid to die, so even if their comrades have fallen they keep on advancing as if nothing had happened. It makes things rather difficult. They have an excellent physique and are very brave, so fighting against these soldiers is somewhat troublesome.
The following are some of the honours won by Nigerian troops of the Royal West African Frontier Force during the Second World War 1939-1946: Distinguished Conduct Medal, 8; Military Medal, 58; British Empire Medal, 20; Mention in Despatches, 243; Certificates of Good Service, 39; Act of Gallantry, 1.
Myohaung Day ( January 24th) is the annual day of remembrance in honour of Nigerian soldiers killed in Burma. November 11th of each year is the annual commemoration day of Nigerian soldiers killed in the two World Wars.
The Nigerian Army grew out of the Royal Niger Company Constabulary and the forces of the old Lagos Colony and Niger Coast Protectorate.
When in 1886, the Royal Niger Company received its charter, it organised its constabulary which at first consisted of five British and two African officers and about 400 rank and file, of whom more than half were Fantis (from the Gold Coast). In view of the critical situation that followed French encroachments on the territory of the Niger Company in 1894-1897, the British Government decided to raise a local force and Colonel (later Lord) Lugard was sent out to raise and command it.
By the beginning of 1900, the force had become a thoroughly well-organised and disciplined corps which was called the West African Frontier Force. In that year, the greater part of it under Colonel (later General) Sir William Wilcocks took a very prominent part in the Ashanti campaign.
At the end of 1901, all the colonial military forces in British West Africa were modelled on the same basis and constituted into the West African Frontier Force, each dependency being responsible for the maintenance of its own regiment or battalion. The Northern Nigeria Regiment consisted of two batteries and two battalions, to which was added a third Mounted Infantry Battalion. At the same time, the Lagos Constabulary became the Lagos Battalion and the Niger Coast Protectorate Force, with a portion of the Royal Niger Company Constabulary, became the Southern Niger Regiment.
On the amalgamation of Lagos and Southern Nigeria, the Lagos Battalion became the second battalion of the Southern Nigeria Regiment.
When the Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated on January 1st, 1914 the two Regiments became one, which was designated the Nigeria Regiment.
First World War
On the outbreak of war with Germany in August 1914, steps were immediately taken for the defence of Nigeria and for offensive action against the neighbouring German colony of The Cameroons. The Nigeria Regiment and Police were mobilised and volunteers from the European community were enrolled as members of the Nigeria Marine Contingent and the Nigeria Land Contingent.
An early advance into German territory along the Benue and Cross Rivers met with failure, our troops in the north being driven back from Garua, a strongly defended position and in the south being similarly overpowered by superior forces at Nsanakang, after inflicting very heavy losses on the Germans.
However, a large expedition under Brigadier-General (later General) Sir Charles Dobell compelled Duala, the chief town of the Cameroons, to surrender unconditionally on September 27th 1914. The expedition consisted of African troops from all the British West African Colonies and French African troops. It included two battalions and a battery of the Nigeria Regiment and a large number of civilians were attached as temporary officers and non-commissioned officers. Ships of The Royal Navy and of the Nigeria Marine co-operated with the troops. After the fall of Duala, General Dobells troops secured both lines of the railway, but the heavy rains prevented a further advance till the end of 1915.
Early in 1915 Colonel (later Brigadier-General) Cunliffe. Commandant of the Nigeria Regiment, who had taken over command of the troops on the Nigerian border, had invaded Garua. He was assisted by French troops from the Chad district by a naval gun, the moral effect of which so affected the native garrison that the German commander was compelled to surrender on June 10th, 1915.
Leaving a small force to watch the German garrison at Mora, an almost impregnable mountain position, General Cunliffe then marched south to Banyo, where a powerful German force had deliberately prepared a very strong position on an extended hill feature similar in many ways to Mora Mountain. Cement had been freely used in the construction of fortifications, there was an ample water supply and the Germans had announced their intention of holding out there till the end of the war.
General Cunliffe advanced on the position under cover of darkness and at daybreak became heavily engaged at close quarters. The attack was pressed for two days and nights, but on the third night, under the cover of a heavy tornado, the larger part of the Germans succeeded in making their escape from the hill. However, a considerable number remained and surrendered at daybreak the next day. General Cunliffe continued on his way south to effect a junction with General Dobell’s troops and a simultaneous advance was made by another column from the Cross River.
Towards the end of 1915, a general advance was made on Yaunde, the new German Headquarters.
General Cunliffe’s troops from the north, General Dobell’s from the west and French and Belgium troops from the south-east converging on the town left the Germans no option but to evacuate it and it was entered by our troops on January 1st. 1916. The German troops retired towards Spanish Guinea and in spite of a close pursuit, succeeded in escaping into neutral territory, where they were disarmed. Mora, the last stronghold of the Germans, capitulated on February 18th, 1916 and the conquest of the Cameroons was completed.
In November 1916, a contingent from the Nigeria Regiment proceeded to East Africa under the command of Brigadier-General Cunliffe. It consisted of nearly 200 British and over 3,000 African and later 330 British and 3,000 more Africans were sent to reinforce the contingent. In addition to this, about 4,000 carriers were recruited in Nigeria for service in East Africa and a number of men were also recruited for service with the inland water transport in Mesopotamia. The Nigerian troops took part in some of the severest fighting in East Africa and they suffered heavy casualties, but their gallantry in action and the uncomplaining way in which they bore the hardships of a particularly arduous campaign won for them the highest praise. Over 80 decorations were awarded to the British and about the same number to the African ranks.
The contingent returned to Nigeria in March 1918 and received an enthusiastic welcome. After the return of the contingent from East Africa, it was reorganised as a brigade for further service abroad and was about to proceed to Palestine when the armistice was signed. The brigade was then demobilised and the regiment reduced to its normal size. In recognition of its services during the Great War, His Late Majesty, King George V of Britain awarded Colours to the Regiment, bearing the following honours: Ashanti 1873-1874, Ashanti 1900, Behobeho, Nyangao, East Africa 1916-1918, Duala, Garua, Banyo and Cameroons 1914-1916.
On March 14th, 1928, His Late Majesty King George V approved that the title of the forces be changed to the Royal West African Frontier Force.
Tribute to Krees Imodibie Published by Nigerian Compass on Tue, 20 Dec 2011
Krees Imodibie, the late former Political Editor of The Guardian, had he survived the blood-sucking devilry of Liberian war lord, Charles Taylor and his notorious band of brigands, would have been rounding off a big event by now.It is now exactly 21 years since he was declared missing in action at the Liberian war front as the year 1990 got on the home stretch. I had teased him just before he left on his second trip to Monrovia on when he hoped to retire from doing dangerous missions with 'extra-ordinary courage and determination.' And he had jokingly responded: 'Perhaps in 21 years time. I want to retire as a five-star general.' 21 was a number we delighted in sharing jokes with, in the lighter mood, following a comic birthday show we experienced together.
How hard it was to admit Imodibe was dead when the then Information Minister, Chief Alex Akinyele, spoke philosophically about it to journalists late 1990! Even when the then ECOMOG Field Commander, Major-General Joshua Dogonyaro, broke the news mid-January, 1991 that Imodibe, with his Champion counterpart, Tayo Awotusin, had in fact been killed, it was still difficult to believe such a time-tested human armoured tank of a warrior could die so helplessly.
Accomplished warriors do not die just like that. But after Akinyele, whose sources were supposed to be unimpeachable, later announced Federal Government's compensatory gestures to the families of the two dead journalists, reason informed it was time to start persuading one's mind to stop playing Doubting Thomas. Life had indeed been snuffed out of a generalissimo who was himself no less a determined and uncompromising warrior than his assailant, Charles Taylor, and the erratic Yemmie Johnson who are still very much around.But while those two rebels sought to wrest political power killing and maiming, Imodibe fought a completely different war and on an equally different battle field. It was the war against the ravaging odds of a humble background, to access success in spite of this and carve a niche for himself in intellectual enterprise and his chosen profession. And he was winning, with as much metamorphosis in his progress as in his name.
Born Christopher Alelo Imodibie on May 22, 1959, it was at the Grade Two Government Teachers' College, Ikorodu (which we both attended between 1975 and 1978) that his endowment began to blossom. His partnership with me in editing the school's Press Club's weekly, Servers' Times, and quarterly, The Moon, was a most memorable experience in eagletic literary and intellectual craftsmanship. A potentially great lad, he exhibited dazzling intelligence, activist energy and intellectual drive ' potentials whose development was being seriously threatened by the odds of life. So, he resolved to fight those odds to a standstill.
After two years as 'small teacher,' Imodibe, who had since become Chrislyn, and having cleared his GCE papers burning the midnight oil all by himself, headed, October 1980, for the University of Jos armed with only his intelligence and determination. He secured a transfer, October, 1981, to the University of Lagos where his outstanding qualities came to the fore when he moved to contest the Students' Union's post of Secretary-General for the 1982/83 session. But before he recorded his marvelous landslide victory in the election, and spurred on by his activist's desire to accord his person the uniqueness of character commensurate with his unusual talent and achiever disposition, Chris had become Krees.
He obtained his first degree in Philosophy in 1984. But meanwhile, his articles had been dominating the pages of a number of Nigerian newspapers, especially The Guardian, such that after his youth service in 1985, he joined the giant as a matter of course. With a Masters degree in Political Science successfully completed in 1989 still at UNILAG, he rose progressively, at The Guardian, to the post of political editor. That he promised to 'wash' for us after he might have returned from Liberia. He never did; a victim of his major 'weakness' ' his irrepressible restlessness, enveloped, surprisingly, in the extreme of harmlessness. Imodibe would not hurt a fly, but he must be there where a fly was being hurt. Ask 'MalLam Kakuri,' whose personality was a harbinger of charm, warmth, friendliness and serenity, why he was not keen on covering an event and he would retort: 'but action no dey there now.' The import of that statement was the barometer of his life: he always wanted to be 'where the action is.': And so, I would have been surprised if he had conceded the Liberian assignment to someone else.He did not! Like a true, fearless commander, he went, and with the genius, valour, vigour, drive and ingenuity in him as his troops. Neither the commander nor any of his troops has returned 21 years after disappearance. That was unlike the classical example of a symbolic event in which I experienced him exhibit raw courage and fearlessness, even as just a boy.
It was at the Teachers' College in the 1977/78 session. Our Ranodu House was pitched against Ayangbure House in an inter-house football competition. Our House's two goalkeepers (including the school team's no. 1) were unavailable, forcing me to switch from midfield to central defence. Out of the blues, Imodibe, not known to be a footballer let alone a goalkeeper, volunteered to take on the dangerous duty of confronting our opponents parading virtually the school team's attack. I wondered and he countered: 'No be just to block the ball with my body'' We were eventually beaten 6-0. But it was inspiring watching him block the whistling shots with his arms, chest, face and even groin. Even with bruises all over him, he refused to give way. His heroics in courage and fearlessness earned him the sobriquet 'Goalkeeper Attouga' after Tunisia's 1978 World Cup safe hands. Playing his familiar game at the highest level, Imodibie went to the Liberian war front to block the bullets with his life! That was even despite the fact that his articles then were apparently pro-Taylor and the Nigerian media did much to impress this on the war lords while he was still just 'missing.' This highlights the danger journalists (in the course of discharging their duties) and other men on the move face in warring nations. Recently, in spite of the Nigerian government's recognition of the Libyan rebels, it was widely reported Nigerians were slaughtered by late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's tormentors. Yet, this was another adventure the one who believed that with courage, all missions were surmountable would have loved to do were he still here with us. Regrettably, he no longer is. And I don't envy journalists at all, no, I don't. But refreshingly, Imodibie, I feel convinced, is only right now 'where the action is.' So, rest on, Imodibe, continue to rest in perfect peace. 'Akinola wrote in via del.prof@writing.com
Lots of Nigerian journalists have been killed in battle and while carrying out investigative reporting.
Tayo Awotusin (Champion) and Krees Imodibe (Guardian) were killed by Charles Taylor's forces while covering the war in Liberia, Channels TV's Enenche Akogwu was killed while covering a Boko Haram attack and James Bagauda Kaltho was bombed to death while investigating the Abacha government.
Born on January 1st, 1950 at Zeku, in Adamawa State, he attended the Native Authority Junior Primary School, Dong from 1958 to 1961 and Native Authority Senior Primary School, Numan, from 1962 to 1963. He later attended the Church of the Brethren Mission, Waka Secondary School, Biu, in Borno State from 1964 to 1968. In September 1969, in the dying months of the civil war, he enlisted as a soldier. He was subsequently enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Short Service Combatant Course 11 from March 29, 1971 until September 13, 1971 when he was commissioned 2/Lt with seniority effective from March 29, 1971. He was initially posted to the Infantry. He was awarded the Nigeria Defence Service Medal in 1973, promoted Lt. in 1974, and awarded the Republic medal in 1975.
Following a heroic role during the Dimka coup attempt of 1976, he was encouraged to apply for transfer to the Armoured Corps as a Captain (which he became in 1977), having already attended the Young Officer’s Course (Infantry) and a number of support weapons courses at the School of Infantry. After joining the Armoured corps, he attended the Armoured Officers Basic Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky (USA) and later, the Advanced Armour Officer's Course. He also attended a Gunnery course at the Royal Armoured Corps School, Bovington Camp, UK. His area of specialization was Gunnery.
Khobe was 2ic of 245 Recce Battalion Ikeja under Capt. Martin Luther Agwai (the former Chief of Army Staff) and was responsible for coordinating the training program of that battalion. He did all this under some pressure because the unit was constantly under close security surveillance, especially in the months leading up to October 1979 when General Obasanjo handed over to President Shagari.
According to a former Army Officer,
“He played a very key role in the deployment of Duty Officers to Radio Nigeria and State House Dodan Barracks. His claim to fame was his appetite for" the job". Throughout my years with him I never saw him in No. 4 Dress. He was forever in anklets and 99% of the time engaged in practical soldiering instead of staff work. He was not cast in the same mould with other Armour officers like the late UK Bello, Buba Marwa or Friday Ichide who were highly skilled staff officers and were literally adored by very senior officers. Khobe's magnetic pull for senior officers came from his practical ability and endearing qualities towards junior officers, NCOs and soldiers alike.”
He attended the Staff College in 1983 and was promoted Major in 1984. In August 1985, as Commanding Officer, 245 Recce Battalion, Ikeja, he led a unit of Tanks in Lagos during the palace coup that removed Major General Buhari from power, ushering in fellow Armoured Corps officer, Major General Babangida. He was awarded the Forces Services Star in 1986 and became a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1989.
Always leery of a political appointment (he turned down political appointments offered to him by General Babangida after the 1985 coup), the outbreak of the Liberian crisis in 1990 provided him an outlet for his martial inclinations. He eventually served four tours of duty there, getting ECOMOG Liberia medals for each one. In addition he won the coveted Nigerian Army Chief of Army Staff Commendation Award and became a Colonel in 1994.
According to another ex-Army officer,
“Bachama by tribe, (from the Numan - Demsa axis), Khobe was the archetypal warrior. Without a doubt, he was the most outstanding Nigerian soldier throughout the Liberian war. Some of the feats he performed are story-book like. He was extremely fearless and motivated very many Nigerian troops who kept lobbying for postings to his unit where casualties were minimal. In short, as the Commander of the 221 Tank Battalion (and later a Brigade Commander), he was the Etuk of the Liberian war. After his return from Liberia, he was personally asked by the late General Abacha to work out details for the establishment of a military task force which would be specifically tasked to bring an end to Armed Robbery in Nigeria. Of course when he submitted his requirements to "Baba", money matters "kpafukad" the plan as usual. It was after that he got the Sierra Leone job. He was a completely detribalized Nigerian.”
On February 12, 1998, he led the ECOMOG Ground Task Force assault that removed Major Koromah from power and restored the elected government of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. He was promoted Brigadier and later assumed the position of Chief of Defence Staff of Sierra Leone. In December 1998, after evasion measures, he slipped out of encirclement when the RUF attempted to take Freetown, barley escaping being captured at Hastings Airport General Khobe was injured during this campaign, but he waved away medics who tried to attend to him, telling them to go and take care of other soldiers. The injury eventually cost him his life).
On Tuesday, 18 April 2000, Khobe died of Encephalitis at the St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos one week after being evacuated back home from Sierra Leone.
The BBC’s West Africa correspondent, Mark Doyle, wrote this obituary in honour of General Khobe:
LEAD-IN: Now this week’s profile which, unusually, is more of an obituary. General Maxwell Khobe, Nigerian commander of ECOMOG and the man considered by many Sierra Leoneans as the hero in ousting the rebels from Freetown, died this week in a Lagos hospital following a cardiac arrest. The ECOMOG commander had been made the chief of defence staff of Sierra Leone by President Tejan Kabbah when the government of Sierra Leone was reinstated. Here’s our West Africa correspondent Mark Doyle.
BBC WEST AFRICA CORRESPONDENT MARK DOYLE: I had a soft spot for General Maxwell Khobe. I think he may have saved my life. Early last year I was in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, when rebels were trying to oust the elected government. Half the city was on fire, and the rebels were committing unspeakable atrocities against civilians. I was in the small part of the city held by the government -- or to be more precise, since most of the government army had joined the rebels, I was in the part of town held by General Maxwell Khobe’s Nigerian troops. On this occasion I found Khobe, a stocky bulldog of a man, in a hilltop military barracks. I asked him if it would be relatively safe for me to take a look in the center of town. "I don’t think so," he said in his gruff voice. "Best to wait a bit." That was quite a statement. Khobe and I both knew what it meant, that his troops were not in control. Quite an admission for a general to make in war. But I was grateful for his honesty. Another foreign journalist who unfortunately hadn’t heard this advice was killed by rebels when he went into the center of town the next day. In the middle of that fierce battle for Freetown, Maxwell Khobe briefly lent the foreign press corps his only helicopter so that we could evacuate our colleague’s body. Many Sierra Leonean journalists also died in the battle. General Khobe and I weren’t always on good terms. Two years ago he was angry with me when I found myself on the rebel side of a front line which he was attacking. He listened to my BBC radio reports that the rebels were fighting back -- which they were -- and those reports infuriated him. At one point he telephoned me across the front line. He told me he was going to flush out the rebels and that I would be well advised to keep my head down. Khobe did as he had promised. He arrived with his men near the Freetown front line. According to a soldier who was there, he looked at the smoking battle front and then began walking towards it saying, cool as a cucumber, "Gentlemen, let’s go." Analysts will no doubt debate Khobe’s military record for years to come. The war in Sierra Leone has been at the centre of a major African power struggle. The stakes have been high. Some say Khobe was a brave soldier whose tough and wily tactics overcame the generally low level of training and equipment in the Nigerian army. Others say that he was beaten by the rebels who have now won a share in government through a shaky peace deal because he got sucked into Sierra Leonean political and business affairs. This, they say, weakened his military professionalism. But most Sierra Leoneans are very sorry that General Maxwell Khobe, the foreign head of their national army, their Nigerian "big brother," has died. Ordinary Sierra Leoneans fear that if the peace agreement were to break down, the UN troops might not show the same resolve or resourcefulness that the Nigerians used in fighting the rebels. That’s why the death of the Nigerian commander was such a blow to the confidence of many in Sierra Leone. Khobe had his flaws, but to most ordinary people there he was a hero, the man that protected their elected president. The mourning for the passing of Nigerian General Maxwell Khobe continues in Sierra Leone today.
Ben Asante who knew Gen. Maxwell Khobe personally writes about the exploits of the Nigerian general and chief of defence staff of Sierra Leone who died of a heart attack on 18 April.
Sometime around Christmas 1998, Brigadier General Maxwell Mitikishe Khobe invited us – a group of visiting journalists – to lunch with him at his official residence in Freetown.
It was a Sunday. He arrived late, and when his military convoy sped through the gate, he briskly jumped down from the jeep. With a quick apology, using words like, “he has been busy doing nothing and wasting other people’s time”, he proceeded to say the grace. It was unusual for even an ofFicer known to be deeply religious. For several minutes, Khobe prayed that President Kabbah be protected and allowed to complete his mandate against attempts by rebels to overthrow him.
Little did we know at the time that what was uppermost on Khobe’s mind was rebel activities slowly threatening the government and the people of Freetown. Barely a year before, he had liberated the capital in a swift action against the AFRC military junta headed by Major Johnny Paul Koroma. Khobe was among a small core of Ecomog officers who saw action in both Liberia and Sierra Leone. I first met him in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1992.
Few soldiers trust civilians, and least journalists, especially during operations, but Khobe invited us to film battle action involving his tanks.
We were not disappointed For one moment by the experience and in seeing what impact our work was having on the morale of Ecomog troops. Several times soldiers came on our camera to send messages to their relatives. One 25-year-old gunner shouted a message on camera to his father. “Papa, I am a man now for I have fought in a war as a soldier!”
Khobe hardly entered a tank at the front but preferred to walk armed with nothing but a radio. In typical fashion, he and several officers and troops marched on foot to take town after town in Liberia until they captured Buchanan City in 1992.
Because of the utter confusion generated by Ecomog’s role in fighting to protect itself and the civil population in its areas of control, people began accusing the force of becoming a party to the conflict. The level of misgivings about Ecomog was such that a CNN reporter asked the then Ecomog chief of staff Brig-Gen Victor Malu, why his troops who were supposed to be neutral were fighting alongside other factions opposed to Charles Taylor’s NPFL and allowing them to operate freely in Monrovia.
We visited Khobe regularly at his Caldwell base in Monrovia where he kept an open door. He was an avid poultry farmer, a habit he brought to Monrovia.
After his tour of duty in Liberia, he went back home where in very quick succession, he held appointments first as head of a special unit formed to protect Lagos against armed robbers, then to Abuja, and to the Armour Brigade headquarters at Yola, not Ear from his hometown, Numan.
In 1985, he turned down a political posting from the military head of state, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. After serving in Ecomog in Liberia, another posting was to follow not long after. The May 1997 overthrow of President Kabbah by the AFRC junta in Sierra Leone offered Khobe another opportunity to work abroad. He was appointed the commander of the Ecomog Task Force in Sierra Leone.
In a lighting action, Ecomog troops marched into the capital and seized the centre of Freetown including the State House with Koroma’s junta in flight. In recognition of his efforts, President Kabbah asked the Nigerian government to second him as chief of defence staff of the Sierra Leone army.
Khobe had been promoted a full Brigadier-General but he hardly had enough time to re-build the Sierra Leone army before the rebels invaded Freetown again on 6 January 1999. In spite of repeated intelligence warnings, no-one would listen.
Weeks before the attack, Khobe went out one early morning and removed the rebel leader, Foday Sankoh from the Pademba Maximum Security Prison where he was on death row. Had he not removed Sankoh, the fate of Sierra Leone and the outcome of the 1999 invasion would have been different.
The rebels broke into the prison on G January and freed all the inmates, but they missed Sankoh who remained in the hands of the government and ended up negotiating for a ceasefire.
Khobe was a joy to watch at the front. He kept encouraging the troops to move forward. Several times we went to the front at first light only to discover that the men had withdrawn from the positions we left them the evening before. Many factors caused the pull back. Ammunitions were not delivered after they ran out or no food supplies came through. Other times rumours circulated that the rebels were coming with anti-aircraft guns, and lacking effective cover the men just pulled back. Wherever Khobe went, the troops seeing him surged forward and just kept going.
Late last year, Khobe came to London to undergo an operation to remove a shrapnel lodged in his back which he sustained on duty in Freetown. He came only after the rebels had signed a peace agreement. His back hurt him most times and he walked with a limp but he rather put up with the pain than abandon his post. The first operation was successful.
In December he had another operation which unfortunately had to be reopened after an abscess was discovered at the airport just as he was about to return to Freetown.
He returned to his post in January this year. His wife, Martina, who was in London throughout his treatment, went along to Freetown to nurse him.
In March, Khobe went to Harare, Zimbabwe, to address an NGO conference on the plight of civilians in a conflict situation. He passed through London on his way back From Harare, and told me that his British doctors had given him a clean bill of health. He planned to come back to London for further check up in April.
But while in Harare, someone had given him a photocopy of New African’s report (NA February) on how Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first premier, had been killed in a Western-backed plot in 1961 while UN peacekeepers looked on. He wanted the original copy badly because UN troops had recently been sent to Freetown to keep the peace in Sierra Leone.
I sent copies of the Lumumba report to him later, but according to Capt. Hassan who was with him in London, Khobe had been unwell since he returned to Freetown on 23 March. Until then, I knew nothing about his sudden poor health.
He died of cardiac arrest in his hospital bed at 10.30 am on 18 April, aged 50. He was buried in his hometown of Numan in Adamawa State, Nigeria, on 29 April. NA
Rukuba Cantonment Jos was renamed Maxwell Khobe Cantonment in his honour.
Major SK Umaru: Another Brave Hero Killed By Boko Haram Bullets
Major SK Umaru was killed yesterday Wednesday December 17th during a battle with Boko Haram militants. Described as a committed soldier, Umaru told friends when he was posted to the war front recently that he was ready for whatever his mission brings him. Sadly, it brought death. May his soul rest in peace Amen.
Remembrance day was previously held on November 11 (11:11) and there used to be a minute silence at 11am (11:11:11), but it was moved to January 15 to mark the end of the Nigerian Civil War.
The ceremony will be held this morning at the Cenotaph, Abuja.
TRIBUTE: Abu Ali, Lt Col Who ‘doesn’t Brag’ But Is Killing Off Boko Haram
Muhammed Abu Ali is the name. You may have heard about him before: he is the officer who was granted accelerated promotion from rank of major to lieutenant-colonel in September 2015, for his courageous performance in a series of the army’s engagements with Boko Haram.
His elevation was first announced shortly after one of the army’s fiercest-ever battles with Boko Haram, in February 2015, culminating in the recapture of Baga from insurgents. But the official decoration was delayed until September when, after another monumental success — the capture of Gamboru-Ngala — Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, visited the war front.
During that decoration, Buratai praised Ali for his “courage, bravery and exceptional performance in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists”.
Tukur is not alone in his opinion; and it has now emerged that even soldiers, majority of whom have built an unwanted reputation for always criticising the army hierarchy, have tremendous respect for Ali’s professionalism.
PUREST GOLD FROM MIRY CLAY
For all of the army’s hardline public relations tactic, discontent is high among soldiers and officers DIRECTLY involved in the ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ (peace by force) in Borno state. But as Ali’s example shows, good work and truth require no trumpet; they always find their way to the public.
During TheCable’s recent investigative trip to the theatre of war, the first mention of Ali came at a time a sergeant was complaining about the crude equipment and archaic manner with which the army was prosecuting the war.
“Yes, the problem is that the Nigerian army still has this archaic idea of fighting, relying more in the numerical strength of its troops rather than on equipment,” he had said.
“There is nowhere in the world, a civilised or modernised army, where they want to lose soldiers in large numbers again, and that is where you need these equipment.
“If you have good equipment, it will reduce the number of casualities on your side but if the weapons are not there and you want to use the number of your soldiers, then definitely you are going to suffer casualties.”
He then cited the example of the recapture of Baga, but he was quick to recognise Ali’s “brilliance” in its success — even though the original intention was not to praise the officer.
“In the case of tanks, what one tank can do, 200 soldiers cannot do it; 300 soldiers cannot do it if the tank is functional and serviceable,” he said.
“In the case Baga, when it was recaptured from Boko Haram, the officer who led that operation, Abu Ali, a major at the time, told the soldiers that they should not worry, that they should only do five percent of the job, that he was going to do 95% of the job with the tanks.
“And that was exactly what happened. He did most of the work with the tanks. He was a major at that time and his promotion after the operation was automatic because he performed very well. One smallish guy like that o.
“After they recaptured Baga, the soldiers were so happy that they raised him up, telling the president to elevate him to the status of colonel, not even lieutenant-colonel, because he really performed; he tried. Even recent operations in Sambisa Forest, he led some of them.”
RESPECTED BY SOLDIERS
Ali’s elevation was not just the decision of the chief of army staff or the rest of the army hierarchy; the soldiers fully supported it. According to a soldier who witnessed his “leadership qualities” in Baga, and two others who were with him in Sambisa, soldiers were generally “very happy for him”.
“He led us with the T-72 when we advanced to Monguno and Baga, and he collected those places,” he said.
According to Wikipedia, the T-72 is a Soviet second-generation main battle tank that entered production in 1971. About 20,000 T-72 tanks were built, making it one of the most widely produced post-World War II tanks, second only to the T-54/55 family.
There have been at least three upgrades to the tank, the most popular being in 1988 and 1995, although they are unavailable in Nigeria.
A second soldier who extolled Ali’s virtues said: “After he collected those places [Baga and Monguno] in 2015, they brought someone else to replace him and they took him to Sambisa area; we went with him to Sambisa.
“He is a brilliant fighter. When he began hanging his promotion emblem officially on September 9, we were together on that day and we were all very happy for him.”
A third soldier, who had spent time with him in Sambisa, went as far as touting him as a potential helmsman of the army: “The man is very active; very active. And he is a very calm and intelligent person. He doesn’t brag, he knows his job and he is very simple.
“He is a future chief of army staff, if I may say, but he has to be wary of the corruption that is the shortcoming of many good hands in the army.”
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
It is interesting to know that Muhammed Abu Ali is the son of Colonel Abu Ali, who was governor of Bauchi state from August 1990 to January 1992 during the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida.
At this rate, no one would want to bet against the younger Ali surpassing his father’s achievements. He is already a lieutenant-colonel and should he continue his anti-Boko Haram heriocs, it won’t be long before he earns another elevation to the status of colonel, which his father was before retiring.
From then on, anything — just anything — is possible!
Muhammad Abu Ali, a lieutenant colonel, whom Boko Haram dreaded, is dead.
Ali led one of the army’s fiercest-ever battles with Boko Haram, in February 2015, culminating in the recapture of Baga town in Borno state.
Sani Usman, army spokeman, said he was killed in an encounter with the insurgents on Friday.
The deceased was was granted accelerated promotion from rank of major to lieutenant-colonel in September 2015, for his courageous performance in a series of the army’s engagements with Boko Haram.
Usman added that four soldiers were killed, but that troops killed 14 of the insurgents who attacked a location of the army in Borno state.
“Yesterday at about 10.00pm suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked a 119 Battalion Nigerian army location at Mallam Fatori, northern Borno state. The troops fought gallantly and repelled the attack, killing 14 Boko Haram terrorists,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we lost an officer and four soldiers, while four other soldiers sustained various degrees of injuries during the encounter. One of those killed in action, was Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali, the Commanding Officer of 272 Task Force Tank Battalion.”
During TheCable’s investigative trip to the theatre of war, soldiers, majority of whom have built an unwanted reputation for always criticising the army hierarchy, spoke highly of Ali’s professionalism.
One of the soldiers, who partook in the Baga operation, narrated his experience to TheCable .
“In the case Baga, when it was recaptured from Boko Haram, Abu Ali, who led that operation, told the soldiers that they should not worry, that they should only do five percent of the job, that he was going to do 95% of the job with the tanks,” he had said.
“And that was exactly what happened. He did most of the work with the tanks. He was a major at that time and his promotion after the operation was automatic because he performed very well. One smallish guy like that o.”
Officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces have fought in various wars and taken part in many peace keeping operations, defensive duties and internal security duties. These include
Wars including:
* The First World War * The Second World War * The Nigerian Civil War
Peace keeping/enforcement operations in
* The Congo * Tanzania * Liberia * Sierra Leone * Lebanon * Darfur * The former Yugoslavia * Mali
Defensive duties including
* The Bamileke Rebellion * Chadian Rebels (1982/83) * The Bakassi Peninsula
Internal Security duties including
* The Tiv Rebellion * The Western Region Crisis * The Niger-Delta Crisis (1966) * The Agbekoya Rebellion * The Niger Delta Crisis (1992-2009) * The Boko Haram Insurgency.
In Nigeria, Armed Forces Day, also known as Remembrance Day, is celebrated on 15 January. It was formerly marked on 11 November of every year to coincide with the Remembrance Day (Poppy Day) for the World War II veterans in the British Commonwealth of Nations, but it was changed to 15 January of every year in Nigeria in commemoration of the surrender of Biafran troops to the Federal troops on 15 January 1970 thus signalling the end of the Nigerian Civil War.
The day is marked with a Remembrance Day parade at the Cenotaph in Abuja and in the 36 state capitals. The ceremony includes 21 gun salute, playing of the Last Post, a minute's silence, laying of wreaths and release of pigeons to symbolise peace.
In the past month armed forces remembrance day emblems have been on sale across the country. Proceeds of the sale of the remembrance emblem go to the Nigerian Legion.
The Nigerian Legion is the Nigerian association of ex-servicemen, i.e former members of the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force.
Officers and men of the armed forces are trained to fight and kill. When they retire, they discover that there are no jobs for them (some of them have been in the armed forces since they were teenagers and military work is all they know). Others were forced to retire from the armed forces due to injuries sustained in battle. The Legion helps them to integrate into society and take care of themselves.
By law the Legion is permitted to operate certain businesses in order to raise money for its members. Members of the legion also serve as security guards at government establishments (you often see them in their brown uniforms). The Legion also raises money through the sale of Armed Forces and Remembrance Day emblems.
In recent years (especially since the return to civilian rule) members of the Legion have gone through great hardship while trying to collect their pensions and gratuity. Sometimes their pensions are not paid for many months. At other times, legionnaires, who could be as old as 60, 70, or 80 years old are made to travel long distances and queue in the hot sun, all in the name of pension verification exercise. Many legionnaires have died during this process.
(I'm writing this from something that I read 32 years ago, so please forgive me for any errors).
Dr Sun Yat-sen is considered by both the Peoples Republic of China (PRC or Mainland China) and the Republic Of China (ROC or Taiwan) as being the founder of modern China. He led a revolution against the Emperor of China and the warlords in the early 1900s, because he felt that the monarchy was archaic.
Dr Yat-sen was the president of the Republic Of China from 1912 until his death in 1925. He led a nationalist social democratic system.
There was a leadership crisis after Dr Sun's death, but General Chiang Kai-Shek eventually took over as president of China.
However, General Kai-Shek abandoned Dr Yat-sen's nationalist social democratic system and established a nationalist military dictatorship (the Kuomintang). This led to a split between Chiang Kai-Shek and some of Sun Yat-sen's followers. There was also a split between Chiang Kai-Shek's nationalists and the communists, led by Mao Zedong (Chairman Mao) and this led to the Chinese Civil War.
The Chinese Civil War (Nationalists vs Communists) began in 1927. However, the war stopped in 1936, after the Japanese invasion, as both the nationalists and communists joined forces to fight against the Japanese in World War Two.
The war continued after World War Two and the communists were able to defeat the nationalists and chase them off mainland China. General Chiang Kai-Shek and his army retreated to the island of Formosa (now known as Taiwan) and there was a stalemate in 1950.
No peace treaty was actually signed by both sides and they are still officially at war, even though there hasn't actually been any military conflict in decades.
Both the government's of the Republic Of China (Taiwan) and the Peoples Republic of China (mainland China) insist that they are the legitimate chinese government and both the ROC (Taiwan) and the PRC (mainland China) have a one China policy.
This has often caused confusion in the international community. The PRC will break off diplomatic relations with any country that recognises the ROC, while the ROC will break off diplomatic relations with any country that recognises the PRC.
The ROC was initially recognised by the United Nations and it held China's seat on the UN Security Council, but the UN eventually recognised the PRC and stopped recognising the ROC in 1971 (for obvious reasons).
The International Olympic Committee reached an agreement with mainland China and Taiwan that Taiwan will be able to compete at the Olympics and other sporting events under the name Chinese Taipei .
The issue of relations between Taiwan and mainland China has always been a controversial issue in Taiwan. General Chiang-Kai-Shek ruled Taiwan from the 1920s to the 1970s. He had always insisted that his government was the real chinese government and the government always had the ambition to take back mainland China by force.
Taiwan alternated between military and democratic governments after Chiang died. Some governments believed that Taiwan should adopt a hostile stance to mainland China, while others believed that the issue could be resolved through dialogue. There have also been politicians who believed that Taiwan should become an independent country, rather than trying to retake mainland China or surrendering to the mainland chinese. There have been several referenda in Taiwan over the type of relationship that Taiwan should have with the mainland (whether it should be hostile or conciliatory).
Initially, the view in mainland China was that Taiwan should be taken by force. The Soviet Union and the United States were determined to prevent this from happening. The Soviet Union believed that the government on the mainland was the authentic chinese government, but they believed that the matter should be resolved by dialogue and diplomacy, rather than war. The United States had a defence treaty with Taiwan which committed them to defend Taiwan if the mainland tried to invade it. This treaty was revoked in 1980 when the US broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan (the US had already reached a rapprochement with mainland China in the 1970s when President Nicon visited Chairman Mao in Beijing).
The mainland government now believes that the issue can be resolved by dialogue and diplomacy, but they still haven't taken the military option off the table. The mainland chinese military still conducts exercises very close to Taiwan. Most people believe that this is done to intimidate the Taiwanese.
Most countries and the UN prefer to have diplomatic relations with mainland China for obvious reasons. China has the second biggest economy in the world, the largest market (over a billion people) and it is also a major military power (it has nuclear weapons).
Celebrities › Re: Laura Ikeji And Ogbonna Kanu Court Wedding Photos by naptu2: 12:20pm On Jan 19, 2017
