₦airaland Forum

Every Yoruba should always be ashamed of this man. I occasionally put myself in Yoruba shoes and imagine how this man represents me (whether I like it or not). Simply sad.

@Ekt_bear,
The Igbo say that when a madman is dancing naked in the streets, it is his relatives that feel the shame, not the mad man.
I wouldn't dance with him like you are doing. Folks might start to look at you funny. hehehe!

asha 80:
i actually feel anambra had more deep sitted issues (collaspsing education,no secretariate,shambolic health sector,some road issues etc) to have a soludo whom i think his ideas are business elitist.he probably would be right for the seat in 2014.[/b]some people might disagree with me but i think peter obi came at a time he like was needed(frugal approach).[b]maybe soludo would be better at negotiating borrowed funds(which would have to do eventually if you ask me) in the further development of business related infrastructure.

Supported 1000%

Okay, I wanted to know whether folks are thinking the same thing.
What struck me was the "Almajiri" appellation to this school. Why not just set up a school ( a western styled school I must add) for every poor person there? Why "Almajiri Islamic school" in Igboland? Chineke ekwela ihe ojoo!

In Kano state for instance, I know (from experience ) that it is a tug of war to obtain a C of O for a church.
Now, imagine applying for a Christian seminary, talk less of obtaining sponsorship from the state government. IMPOSSIBLE.


So, my brothers, you see why it is dangerous for us to be careless about our political leanings, and joining just ANY political party? I doubt that an APGA governor would do this, but let me not talk yet.
You see why it is important for us to speak with one voice on key things?
You see why it is hard to be complacent in Nigeria? If you think this is a careless gambit by aboki, think again!
You think this is harmless? Fast forward to 10 years time and you would see the fruits!
As we speak, Fulani herdsmen (Almajiri of course) are torching homes and killing people in Benue, just a few kilometers up north.

I am not against freedom of religion. I am against Almajiri Islamic school in any part of Igboland. PERIOD.
If a Muslim Igbo becomes poor, Igbo culture forbids carrying plates and begging for alms. They should go and learn a trade or complete an apprenticeship.
If the Muslim is non-Igbo, we must not allow them to form almajiri brotherhood in our land. They should go back home.
Martin Elechi should cease and desist from his ill advised "charity".

Ndigbo should keep a very close eye to our northern borders.

asha 80:
explain what you mean by this.

I meant that Soludo was talking about transforming Anambra state into a major international business location like Dubai or far East. That may have been too broad, but I think he wanted to expand business infrastructure in the state to accommodate more traders/business people. I criticized it then by arguing that Anambra should be more than just a business state, but with all these northern nonsense, I think his idea may have sucked back these Igbos trapped in the North. Just thinking. .

Ejiné:
It's all about business competition, actually. Most wouldn't want to commute in a place like Onitsha, because there are about 600,000 traders who still deal with the type of stuff they do, hence stiff competition.
But when their shops are situated in the North (a place where the majority are into nomadic livestock farming), you see their businesses flourishing because there aren't much traders to challenge them with equal things of better quality.
It's that simple, really.

You are right, until we throw in the "Life" factor, then suddenly the scale swings back to relocating to the East even if the profit making is lesser there. Ndigbo should learn to value their lives over any profit.
Anyway, if things continue this way, O bughi mmadu ga agwa ha ka ha si ebe ahu gbalata.
I blame our governors for not rising to the challenge of relocating them.
This is one of the reasons why I regret supporting Peter Obi over Charles Soludo for Anambra governorship.
Soludo understands these types of things. Peter Obi na local man.

It is very unfortunate that instead of Christian European countries to support Biafra, they were busy fearing a possible "Japan" in Africa.
Japan is about 90% Non-Christian, while Biafra was 90% Christian. So how are they similar?
Whatever happened to Christian brotherhood. 

ezeagu:
[center]https://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/110623_North%20Korea_border4_109415512.jpg[/center]

hehehe!

On a serious note it is not a bad idea at all.

Rossikk:
What a load of bullshiit.

The fools that declared ''Biafra'' with no weapons to fight and no food to feed their people, leading to the death of 2 million + are the real iddiots in all this. New Japan my asssss.

Assholes like Nwokedi and co were all very well fed during the war owing to their 'connections'. The vast majority of Igbos, far from thinking of ''Japan'', were left staring at dry, empty pots, and the hungry, starving eyes of their children.

Rossikke,

What happened to you my brother? I used to count you as one of the most intelligent posters on this forum.
Please don't take offense, but you sound so banal and pedestrian these days.  

Are you Igbo? If you are, I have some questions to ask you.

How many riots and mass murders had happened in the North before 1966?
How many Easterners were killed in 1966? (mind you there was no war then). Please try guessing.
Do you know how many Eastern army officers that were killed in 1966, and do you believe at all that Ojukwu and others would have been spared in 1966? What was the crimes of Eastern army officers killed in their HUNDREDS?
If they weren't safe, how do you know that YOU would be safe after the Eastern army officers must have been killed?
When was the first and last time anyone led Ndigbo to a war?
Do you know how HARD it must have been for Ndigbo to decide to fight back after Gowon launched his "police action" at Gakem, instead of running away (as you would prefer).  

I once asked you whether you've read any books chronicling the events that led to the war; you never answered me back, yet you continue this your line of blind accusations.  

Let me say this now.

The war WAS INEVITABLE because Ndigbo say that "Osisi nuru na a ga egbu ya wee kwuru ofu ebe" (only a tree stands on the same spot when told in clear terms that it would be cut down).
So, please stop this you blind punches against Ndigbo.
The decision to secede from Nigeria was taken by a MAJORITY of our people.
There is no way you would get a 100% support for such a reaction. Nevertheless, it was a decision taken by a MAJORITY of our people.
Please stop mocking your people (if you are Igbo  )  for things they never caused!  

Umunne m na umunna m, akuko nke a gbara m gharii.    Can anyone please throw more light on this? 


Elechi has no intention to Islamize Ebonyi -Commissioner

From Goddy Osuji Abakaliki

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State has denied the allegation that he intends to Islamize the state through the establishment of an Almajiri School in Afikpo.

Elechi was accused by the Anglican Bishop of Afikpo, Rt. Rev. Paul Udogu of planning to Islamize the state by establishing an Almajiri school at Afikpo which would put the state in great danger of breeding Boko Haram and the likes of Osama Bin Laden.

The Governor through his Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Mr. Chike Onwe while briefing journalists in Abakaliki regretted that such a misconception of intention of the state to establish an Almajiri school for Moslem children who live at the Centre for Islamic studies at Enohia Itim Afikpo local government area that has been in existence, could be misconstrued by the Bishop.

Onwe in his explanation stated, “The state government like all modern governments in 21st century believes in freedom of worship. This principle of secularity in governance is in tandem with Nigeria’s philosophy of religious diversity, where Christians, Moslems and Traditional worshippers are at liberty to practice their religious intolerance and hate.”

He recalled the promise he has made to the Moslem community in the state, when they paid him a Sallah homage at the last Eid-el Fitri celebrations, to assist the Arabic centre to build an Almajiri school should not be misinterpreted or politicized unnecessarily the way the Anglican Bishop would want to do. He added: “The government has been offering assistance to Christian churches in the state in response to reasonable appeals made towards the execution of important projects, as such, the promise to assist the Moslems was certainly not an outlandish commitment.”

The commissioner described the allegation the Bishop made about dilapidated public schools in the state and the falling standard of education as a campaign of calumny against the state government, using the religious argument as a subterfuge to launch his full scale destructive criticism.“For the avoidance of doubt, the state government since 2008 has set up 30 pilot boarding schools to promote qualitative education at the secondary school level”, Onwe further explained.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/dec/08/national-08-12-2011-017.html

Eko Ile:
Because you people are too lazy, you are always looking for handouts. You claim all the the time that you are the richest, you are the smartest, you own everything in Nigeria, but when it comes to taking care of yourselves, it's always other people's responsibility, never yours.

To build road, it's other people's responsibility


To build bridge, it's other people's responsibility


To build dredge river, it's other people's responsibility

To build airport, it's other people's responsibility

Even decades after his death, to join money together and give ZIk a proper resting place is is other people's responsibility and never ibo people

Many states are building their own airports, but ibo people got their pan out with their hands begging everyday for hand out.

Only foolish people rests their hopes and future on incompetent and useless federal government of Nigeria, but unfortunately, other states don recognize this fact, but not ibo people.

Please allow me to laugh again, 

Why are you so incorrigible and resolutely very dishonest?
Who built Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport Owerri?
Apart from Lekki (which is still under construction), how many airports have you built in your region without Federal Government funding?

I'm only responding to you to educate foreigners.

ndu_chucks:
My love for Ndigbo is unshakable despite the denial, stubborness of some of you. The fact that a SE governor saw it fit to sack and deport fellow SEeasterne should be a hint of what may follow once you all declare biafra and return home.

The good news is, your superiors who are in power, and the SEasterners on ground in Nigeria, do not share your views of breaking away.  You people are shamefully out of touch with the populace in the SE and I feel sorry for you.

Eze Onlytruth, nwannem, I will take you seriously once your internet shenanigans are translated to real action in Abriba homeland. olodo

A tuoro omara, o mara.  Mainwhile a tuoro ofeke (aka T8ksy), o fenye ishi n'ohia.   

@First bolded, I have a series of questions:
Why is MASSOB EVERYWHERE in SE and even SS, and why is their number increasing DAILY?
When was the last time you visited SE?
Do you know that MASSOB will bury Ojukwu alongside everybody else? What does that tell you?

As for the second bolded, Ndigbo say that "O ji aka ya kpube onye ya okpu eze, o ga ejikwa aka ya wee kpupu" (a person who uses his own hands to crown himself, will inevitably use the same hands to remove it!).
Ndigbo also say that "Onu mmadu bu onu mmuo" (the voice of the people is the voice of God!).

So, you see my friend, Onlytruth is not crowning himself. His people are doing so as we speak. You should wait to read my Achebe-ian acceptance speech, which I will deliver whether I win or lose because it has NOTHING to do with me. It is ALWAYS about Ndigbo.
So, take a close look at events happening in Nigeria.
We are ALREADY acting! hehe! Don't develop a heart attack!   

Obiagu1:
Nawa oo!
They started from Bauchi to Benue. I wonder where they are heading to.

I foresee another civil war in no distant time.

I was just thinking the same thing. I'm not worried yet until I hear gbosaa at Nsukka/Opi/Enugu-Ezike axis.
I only hope that the SE governors and MASSOB are keeping a close eye.
I don't trust Fulanis one bit.

loolz@ musiwa! hehehe!

C'mon musiwa, na lie be that! [size=5pt]I de fear that your open field airport o.[/size]

ezeagu:
How? [b]There can be international airports within 1 hour of each other if the air traffic permits. [/b]The isn't exactly an Autobahn route linking Enugu, and the rest of Nigeria, to Port Harcourt.

Thank you my brother ezeagu!
There are two international airports within 40 minutes drive here in the US.
I wonder why people say things they don't know.

blacklion:
At least one-third and possibly up to half of the passengers on certain routes through Lagos airport originated their journeys from the East and are returning to the East. Have you ever been at MMA in the mid-afternoon when the Emirates, Qatar Airways and Egyptair flights come in? 50% of the passengers are actually Igbo business people returning from Dubai and the Far East; many of them will connect that same day via flight or night bus to the East. Direct flights from Enugu to the Far East via Dubai or Doha will easily fill a Boeing 777 or Airbus 340 daily.

An international airport in Enugu will serve the business community in Onitsha as well as Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra states generally. Despite its proximity to Aba, Owerri and Umuahia, PH airport is not necessarily optimal for business people in those areas due to the bad conditions and insecurity on the roads to PH airport.

Thank you my brother!
You articulated the truth POWERFULLY. Part of the lies behind our disenfranchisement via this airport, has been this odd argument surrounding its viability.
However, true Igbo sons/daughters always know the truth, no matter how loudly charlatans shout!  

Methinks that this airport, coupled with a good Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway, would couple with Owerri International Cargo Airport to cover the whole Igbo heartland properly.  

ndu_chucks:
I honestly believe that you are in a self destructive denial. The only thing keeping you people from annihilating each other is one Nigeria. The East is not big enough for Ibgos who will return home if the country splits up. Truth is bitter but you must deal with it. olodo

Megida, I'm still trying to understand this your illogic argument and its weird algorithm.
Lets assume for a second that you are right about your "The East is not big enough. . blah blah" line, how many of us must die in your North before we should head East  to manage whatever "little" land we may have there IN LIFE? 
Have you ever heard of the Igbo adage "Ndu ka aku"? 

Nna, please be honest for once!

When will this airport become operational? Please anyone with latest information should tell us.
Honestly, this airport is supposed to start operation soonest. It is so viable and people are waiting for it.
What is really going on

OP it is governors of the Old Eastern Region, not just SE states. Please make necessary correction to your title. Thanks.

Toaskarity:
@onlytruth Good! like I promised just get everything ready[b] im always here on Nl. If you even want my email i can send it to you. [/b]Though i dont have much but i can circulate it and talk to people too.

you said on Nl someday that you are a son of an important personal (im not sure if its you/not) but assuming if its true then make your papa proud, use his position and get what you want!! frankly just make this idea real and take it down the street, i promise you wont fail!  nobody will gonna take the batton from you if you play your role well.

Thank you my brother. I will track you down here when I complete the sketch work.
@second bolded, I doubt it was me because I tend not to discuss my background much here for obvious reasons.

Obiagu1:
I haven't commented but my opinion is that we can't have Ojukwu statue standing when we are still an occupied country.

We need to liberate ourselves from this bondage, Nigeria, before we erect a statue of Ojukwu proclaiming our freedom and independence.

My dearest brother Obi-lion  , believe me I want to agree with you 100%. You are right, but when are we going to liberate ourselves from Nigeria? This question is for another thread.

I am only worried that it may be rather too long to honor our heroes. Heck it is already too long (more than 40 years now).    I am also worried that the more we wait, the lesser the zeal to do so, as time inevitably erases the true facts and feelings behind the idea.

As for me, I think that this is part of Nigeria's history, irrespective of whether we secede or not.
Nigeria should accept our history and even support us as we try to honor our heroes and heal from the civil war.
It is politically expedient for Nigeria to support this project and even claim co-ownership because it would contribute to national healing and reconciliation. But we would build it anyway even if Nigeria opposes it.  

Toaskarity:
My brother if you are serious, maybe you can open a site about this! i promise i can help and circulate it to igbos [/b]here and[b] i promise to contribute as much as i can though im still starting life 

The site should contain
details about this program and  photoshop on how the place will look like.

The money that is needed and how much has been contributed

The progress the place made as days go by

The site must be associated with the govt so the people can believe

and so many other things

infact i have a good friend from my town that can even construct the library himself and i know his love for ojukwu has no boundaRy.

That is the spirit my brother!  Thank you!

You made my day with all the bolded. I strongly believe that our journey as a people must always be guided by the spirit of "YES WE CAN!". That is who we are. Of course there are always challenges, but I bet you, if we tap into our self belief and God given talents, we can achieve ANYTHING we want in Nigeria.

I will use my personal resources to design the project, and present it here when I'm done. I will get one of my contacts in government to set up a website for it so that government will be involved, and to retain the confidence of people. Also, if the SE governors support it, the federal government under Jonathan would find itself supporting it even if it doesn't like the idea.
However, something tells me that this project will acquire a life of its own, and more powerful people will take the baton from my humble self.
My mission is to envision, sketch and present the idea, God willing. 

ezeagu:
Nairaland isn't really the place to make serious proposals, maybe if you post this topic on other serious Nigerian related websites, even if they're less popular.

Thanks for your idea ezeagu.

I thought about that before I decided to post it here. There is something unique about Nairaland in that it is anonymous, hence ideas get necessary attention/consideration purely on its own merit. In other Nigerian forums, readers tend to focus more on the writers/owners of the idea than the idea itself. It happens because quite a few of writers in those forums do so for personable benefit, or for growing their public image, hoping for political appointments.

At least here, no one is paying anyone a dime, or recruiting anyone for anything; so an idea is judged on own merit, instead of the poster's.

Secondly, quite a few of my ideas here have found their ways into mainstream Nigeria. I never took this site seriously until I noticed that.

Katsumoto:
Ahmadu Bello was not responsible for that. [/b]He never really accepted the British Army because of the defeat of the Caliphate in 1903. [b]The British realised that and pushed their agenda initially through Balewa and later, through Ribadu. The Federal Defence Council in 1957 made a series of questionable decisions, the challenge of which by Awo, would cost Awo not only the position of PM but a seat in jail.

Firstly, the FDC implemented a quota system for the Rank and File of the Army which gave 50% to the North, 25% to the East and 25% to the West which was later revised to 21% for the West and 4% for mid-west after mid-west was created.

Secondly, the FDC decided to stop sending nigerian cadets to Teshie, Ghana and decided to form the Nigerian Military Training School in Kaduna

Thirdly, entry requirements to officer corps were reduced to allow the North catch up with the East and West. Northern policticians then started drafting Northern students from secondary schools such as Barewa college Zaria. The first Northern officers all went to Barewa college. Gowon, as a young officer and former student, was usually sent to Barewa college as part of the recruitment drive. These drives recruited individuals such as Buhari and Murtala Mohammed.

Lastly, the British Government had a secret Defence agreement in exchange for an airbase in Kano to support Middle East operations. Awo blew the whistle on this arrangement which was abrogated by Balewa after a series of events.

It is worthy to note that the West did not complete its 20% quota because Yoruba Muslims were denied entry to the Army for obvious reasons The Hausa-Fulani equally shunned the Army (perhaps for similar reasons as Bello). That was why the Norths 50% quota was met by the middle belt and the Kanuri.

-------------IRRELEVANT --------------------------------------------------------------

I doubt that Ribadu was that interested in giving undue advantage to the North in the military.
Of course you are right about the role of the British who set the stage,  but the political arrangement which introduced the obnoxious quota system which gave undue advantage to the North should have been resisted by Zik and Awo. Sir Ahmadu Bello emerged the leader of NPC in 1954, so Tafawa Balewa and Muhammadu Ribadu were his sidekicks effectively. It is like saying the Zik has no say in what NCNC vice presidents did.

The Sarduana may have hated the British military, but he very much accepted it if the North dominated it as planned by Balewa. Moreover a lot of Northern military officers owed their careers directly to the Sarduana.

It was Ribadu that recommended Major-General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi to become the first GOC of the Nigerian Army in 1965.  This is what K.O Mbadiwe said about Ribadu:

“Ribadu had an unshakable belief in the unity of this country…Never before had the cause of Nigerian Unity been so shaken as during that crisis…Tribalism and separatism featured in their worst form…Despite all the rumours, gossips, undercurrents and evil machinations, Ribadu came out in that heat to recommend to the prime minister the appointment of Aguiyi-Ironsi as the Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army…” (HR Deb, May 4, 1965, col. 1923)

Ironsi was not the NPC candidate. Ademulegun was. Sarduana was furious initially, but had to pipe down in the interest of the NPC/NCNC alliance.

RoadStar:
The guys had an inner hate for Igbos.
Igbos were the only ones he refered to by Name.
The rest of Nigeria he refered to by their regions.
He did not say Hausa, Yoruba, Fulani.
When he said "other Nigerians", I understood that to mean "non-Igbo"

That this is coming to light at Ojukwus death
And I was one of those who criticized Ojukwu

And to know that Ahmadu Bello is a Hero and role model to Millions of Nigerians
Igbos are really in trouble.
Na everyday my eyes dey open  

Believe me a lot of Igbos don't understand what Ojukwu did for us. I am glad that all these are coming out after his death because if he were still alive, they won't come out.

Ojukwu was the only visionary from the East who acted appropriately on his vision. Others may have had the same vision but they never got the opportunity to act out on them, while others (like Nzeogwu) acted the wrong way.

If Only Zik was like Ojukwu.  

ndu_chucks:
To the rude ones among you, it is SIR Ahmadu Bello.  The observation that the Igbos are the type of people whose desire more or less to dominate people isw spot on. The said desire is pathological and we can observe the phenomenon right here on NL.  I mean, observe how Onlytruth portays this trait day in day out. BTW the said desire is not necessarily a bad thing.

My friend why are you always committing logic jumps? How did you jump from me wanting Igbo to copy your great Northern leader "Sir" Ahmadu Bello on the singular issue of military, to domination in ALL (per your devious import) things in Nigeria? Anyway, at least you agree that dominating the lowest ranks in the military is not a bad thing. That is honest enough coming from you.

Last week, the president of the Nigerian senate, Mr. David Mark said he still wonders how Ojukwu could mobilize the technological genius of an entire nation. That is the secret: Biafra was organized as a democracy.

This quote captures my fascination with the mystique of Ojukwu and Biafra.

A lot of people didn't know that Biafra was really a democracy. They think it was all about Ojukwu but I remember what Col Achuzia said once. He said that they the soldiers wanted to continue the war, but the civilian administrators ordered him/them to stop fighting and bring the war to an end.

Biafra was indeed a democracy because there is no other way anyone would have kept Igbo support for almost 3 years.

I waited patiently for Obi Nwakanma's article on Ojukwu's death. I am very glad to say that he did not disappoint!
Obi, ezigbo nwa Igbo, daalu!



[size=16pt]Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (1933-2011)[/size]

By Obi Nwakanma

“Enyi O, Enyi O- Enyi Biafra Alaa la….”

General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu died last weekend. His death brings to a certain climax the drama of a true, modern Nigerian epic. Olusegun Obasanjo was right this time in describing Ojukwu’s death as “the end of an era.” At the passing of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu described Zik as “the Alpha and the Omega of modern Nigeria” just as he characterized Obafemi Awolowo as “the best president Nigeria never had,” thus  melding paradox with hyperbole in an equal alchemy of mystery.

It was in true form. Ojukwu was like that – capable of wit and rhetoric. He was born to it. My first meeting with Ojukwu was as a rookie journalist in Lagos in 1990 at the then Holiday Inn in Ikoyi. He would grant no interviews he said. However, when I mentioned that I was writing the life of the Poet Okigbo, he looked me squarely in the face and said, “I cannot talk to you about Okigbo standing up.

Anyi g’anodu n’ani.”(We must have to sit down to it). He gave me the address to his office in Apapa and invited me to a chat, and thereafter, to the famous Villaska Lodge on Queens Drive, Ikoyi. A mighty head sat on Ojukwu’s shoulder and his eyes were then bold and penetrating, whenever he drove home a point. Years later, like Tiresias, those eyes became clouded, half-blind with cataract; the passage of time was upon them.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the lion of Biafra, had been touched by the hand of time. Time is the great leveler. In 1987, Ibrahim Babangida described Awolowo as the “great issue in Nigerian politics.” He was wrong. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu remains the central issue in modern Nigeria.

It was he who took Nigeria by the scruff of the neck and shook it out of its complacency. Ojukwu was born into great wealth. The second, but apparently favored son of West Africa’s wealthiest man in his time – Sir Louis Phillipe Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Emeka Ojukwu started school at the CMS Grammar School at ten in 1943- when most in his generation began secondary school at fifteen.  He transferred soon to Kings College, Lagos, and was the youngest boy at Kings College in 1944. He was senior in class to people like Alex Ekwueme or the late Rex Akpofure (1945) or Allison Ayida and Asiodu (1946) –those were his contemporaries.

Ojukwu however was different in one respect: he was born to wealth and privilege. His father was a powerful mogul of finance and counted among his dinner guests, the British Governor-General of Nigeria as well as the likes of Nigeria’s leading anti-colonial nationalist figures, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who was his Godfather.

Perhaps his exposure by these vicarious contacts opened the young Emeka to the great issues of national and global politics which emboldened him far earlier than his peers, for even as a ten years he came to national and perhaps international attention by his actions in 1944 when he took part in the now famous Kings College students anti-colonial and anti-war protest against the British colonial administration.

One of the most damning pictures against colonialism, and perhaps an image which was fully exploited by the nationalists to mobilize public opinion against British colonial rule in Nigeria was of a ten years old Emeka Ojukwu standing trial in the Lagos courts and sleeping in the docks before an English judge trying a minor. His father of course hired one of the leading lawyers in Lagos; Ojukwu was freed. But he was soon sent away to boarding school in England. His father wanted him at Eton. Admission protocols took too long and he ended up at Epsom in Surrey. From Epsom College, where Ojukwu excelled in Sports – in Cricket, Athletics, Boxing and in Debate – he went down to Lincoln College, Oxford when he lived the life of youthful dissipation, took his degree effortlessly in History and later earned a Master of Arts in Modern History from Oxford in 1956. He returned to Nigeria in 1957, and against his father’s entreaties joined the Eastern Nigerian Civil Service, and in due course also against his father’s objection, joined the Queens Own Regiment as a private soldier. Afterwards, when it became clear that it was beneath his paces, he was sent to Eaton Hall for Officers Training in 1957. He was the first Nigerian University graduate to join the Army.

The rest is now history. Among his early jobs was as Military Instructor at Teshie, Ghana, where Murtala Muhammed and Benjamin Adekunle were his students in Military Tactics.At 33 years, he stood boldly against genocide and against the contradictions of the modern Nigerian state and declared the secession of the Republic of Biafra from the Nigerian federation. Civil war ensued, and he led the war as Head of State and Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Biafra for three years from 1967 to 1970 when Biafra collapsed.

There is no question about Ojukwu’s personal human flaws; he had many of it, and he made his own share of mistakes, and he was prepared to acknowledge these. The question today however is no longer whether Ojukwu was right or wrong about Biafra. From all the tributes paid to him this past week, and from all that has happened in Nigeria, and continues to happen to this nation since 1970, it is apparent that Odumegwu-Ojukwu was right. He stands tall before the blind judge of history. He returned to Nigeria in 1982 from exile and re-embraced it, and talked from then about the “Biafra of the mind.”

The Biafra of the mind is the gift of memory and the gift of freedom from a man who rejected mere privilege in search of service and honor, and from a man who led and proved that it is possible to lead a productive African nation. Last week, the president of the Nigerian senate, Mr. David Mark said he still wonders how Ojukwu could mobilize the technological genius of an entire nation. That is the secret: Biafra was organized as a democracy.

It was a clarion call. Ojukwu’s greatest achievement is proof – that even in the most desperate and turbulent of situations, men led by example, can  reach great heights.

As he himself said at the TSM Lectures in 1992, “while Biafra was a vast workshop Nigeria was a dumping ground” of all kinds of expensive toxins. Ojukwu led people with dignity; Biafra’s grassroots democracy thrived; men and women of ability were inspired to work; young men stood before their General and vowed to give their life to him and for the people he led. Why? How did Ojukwu achieve this among a most troublesome people like the Igbo? It is simple: he was their General, and he proved that he could be trusted.

He earned their trust. He inspired them by his own sacrifice. He led them – with the flag of the rising sun fluttering – to believe that they were that sun rising.

Nigeria lost the opportunity of Ojukwu’s sterling leadership.We who survived Nigeria’s darkest night yet because of Odumegwu-Ojukwu and all those who fought with him, must now send him to immortality as the sun rises. It is time to say Goodnight, my General, as you lie now rested in that eternal crypt: the soul of an entire people where gods are made and are reborn.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/chukwuemeka-odumegwu-ojukwu-1933-2011/

ekt_bear:
Hausas did not join the army in large #s.

Middle belters did, though.

If the middle belters hadn't thrown in their lot with the rest of the north, no counter-coup would have been possible.

Let us not credit Bello with more foresight than he actually had.

This is the major mistake imo that Awolowo made. From the time he was premier of the Western Region he should have tried to encourage as many Westerners to join the army as possible.

History would have turned out so differently if this had happened. . .  

However, I guess it is easy to speak with hindsight.

@First bolded, yes of course "Middle-belters" did, but they were NORTHERNERS then and they owed their careers to Ahmadu Bello. If I were Zik then, I would have done the same in the East. If I can't find enough Igbos to do it, I would push in Ijaws and others provided the East dominates that lowest rank as well.
For someone as educated as Zik, he should have understood this little fact because the same army had been used in the past before the 1966 crisis. There must have been warning signs.

@Second bolded, yes Awo should have done the same in the West. Believe me if he did it, the 1966 crisis would have turned out completely different because Ogundipe would have made a strong stance instead of running away.

ekt_bear:
I'm obviously not a fan of Bello. But it should be pretty damn easy to see his perspective.

Seconded at bolded, but I have more to say.

I have a lot of respect for Ahmadu Bello because he truly understood HOW to get what he wanted in or out of Nigeria. He had a great perception of the FACTS of Nigeria. He never deceived himself for one day.

I still marvel at how only he understood the importance of dominating the lowest rank infantry of the Nigerian army. I'm truly shocked and bewildered that other Nigerians, especially my Eastern Nigerian folks who dominated the officer corp of the army then didn't see the need to at least co-dominate the lowest ranks as well.

From the East, there are always truck pushers, illiterates, motor park touts, thieves, and all types of never do wells who should have been pushed into the army, but somehow this didn't happen.
Dominating the officer corp without dominating the lowest ranks is very dangerous, and we paid dearly for this during the crisis of 1966.

So, I will always respect this man no matter what.

“Imagine that he succeeded, and Biafra had become a state, going by the feats they achieved at a very difficult time, Biafra would have become the toast of Africa by now. Perhaps many other new states would have been born.

And that is all the truth you know to know folks!
Everything else is embellishment.

I am continuing to lobby for this tower because it would carry the legacies of the Ikemba to generations yet unborn.
Our dead will also be remembered in a powerful way. This tower should be the tallest tower in Africa (if done right).

It should also be a HUGE tourist destination/attraction in Enugu, raking in millions of foreign tourist dollar every year once Enugu International Airport becomes fully operational.

Key facilities:

(1) The Tower

(2) The memorial Wall with names of dead Eastern Nigerians

(3) A world class library/bookshop with civil war materials (eg books and printed materials, memorabilia, flags etc for sale)

(4) A small chapel where tourists can go to pray for the repose of souls of the civil war victims

The developers can also decide what other facilities may be necessary for sustainability.

Arise and build brothers!
The God of Heaven he will prosper us,
Wherefore we his children should arise and build!

noblezone:
We are waiting for you General.

We shall honour you with all our resources.

Amen!

The Great Ikemba will be accorded his honor and dues, and his legacy will live on.