₦airaland Forum

Aigbofa:
What happened to Banjo who stayed and fought? How was he repaid for his loyalty?

He suffered the same fate as Ifeajuna -those who wanted to continue the January 1966 coup to bring it to their own favor and save their own skins at the end. He (like Ifeajuna) was still trying to topple Ojukwu. Nigeria had moved way past the January '66 coup. Banjo had two options: remain in Biafra and fight as a Biafran under Ojukwu, or go back to Nigeria and face justice in the hands of Murtala Muhammad.
He shouldn't eat his cake and have it. He wanted to use Ojukwu's head to buy favor in the hands of Murtala Muhammad. Of course he was killed, rightly I must add. 

The man Prof Aluko is a lying, snitching, wicked and treacherous coward. Notice that he was assured of personal safety by Ojukwu in Enugu, who assigned armed soldiers to guard him. But once he got to Benin, HE FLED to Ibadan and from there to Gowon. He also lied a lot when he said that Rivers and Cross Rivers then hated Igbos more than they hated Hausas. How can that be when these same people were being killed in the North alongside Igbos? Of course more Igbos were killed because there were more Igbos in the North anyway, but to say that the killing was limited to Igbos is a BIG LIE by an educated man. Where is the decency of this professor? He alluded to his several betrayal of Ojukwu throughout the life of their friendship.
I love Ojukwu with a passion that would NEVER cease, though I think that Ojukwu's major undoing was his cosmopolitanism. The fact is that Ojukwu trusted too many Yoruba's.  
He continued that way even into his old age. Ojukwu was a hostage of his upbringing (in Lagos). He spoke Yoruba fluently and felt at home with them. They couldn't even trust him still! lol.

Lesson for all Igbos seeking stooopid cosmopolitanism in Nigeria.

ezeagu:
Desperate? Nope. Gracing the covers of Time, The Economist, and The Financial Times, was without effort.

@Post.

He has been keeping MASSOB in check. He has been a voice of reason in the east and the whole of Africa. [/b]He created APGA. [b]He has been a source of inspiration for many Igbo people, inspiring many individuals. [/b]He has bargained with politicians in the best interest of his people. [b]He has been speaking up about injustices against the Igbo people since he was head of the Eastern region. He risked his riches for his people. He gave Igbo people a sense of direction, and many other things like sponsoring individuals and keeping the Igbo in the federal consciousness. Ga juọ ndi Nnewi ihe Ihemba mẹrẹ ha, ka anyi le ma ha ghagi kụfụ gi ishi.

Thank you for beautifully articulating the achievements of the great Ikemba.
I have since come to notice that very well educated people in Nigeria hold Ojukwu in highest esteem (even if grudgingly). Only illiterates and semi-literate Nigerians belittle Ojukwu's achievement and legacy.
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY acknowledge his impact on the political enlightenment of the African continent.

ezeagu:
Desperate? Nope. Gracing the covers of Time, The Economist, and The Financial Times, was without effort.

@Post.

He has been keeping MASSOB in check. He has been a voice of reason in the east and the whole of Africa. He created APGA. He has been a source of inspiration for many Igbo people, inspiring many individuals. He has bargained with politicians in the best interest of his people. He has been speaking up about injustices against the Igbo people since he was head of the Eastern region. He risked his riches for his people. He gave Igbo people a sense of direction, and many other things like sponsoring individuals and keeping the Igbo in the federal consciousness. Ga juọ ndi Nnewi ihe Ihemba mẹrẹ ha, ka anyi le ma ha ghagi kụfụ gi ishi.

hehehe!

That alj_hump-a-camel_harem dude is a real goat.

Pain:
[b]The Man U Refer to As A Skeleton is Brig Gen Benjamin Adekunle Alias Black Scorpion.
He Has Made A Name for Himself. [/b]His Signature is Already Indelible in the Timeline of Nigerian History. What About U?
You May Just Fizzle Out Like Any Other Unknown Soldier!

lol. He was a bad soldier who believed that killing of innocent civilians was an act of valiance. He was severally defeated by poorly equipped Biafran brigades and was becoming a shame to the Nigerians before he was yanked from his command. He hated the minorities of Eastern Nigeria and hated Igbos more. If that is your definition of decency in uniform, then why not build him a statue in your corner of Nigeria?
BTW he was also similarly retired from the army. Where is he today. He is somewhere smoking gbanaa profusely. He will die uncelebrated and unsong. 
You can erect a statue for him in your land. 

JamesDoe:
The minute a statue goes up, it becomes a target. Boko Haram, Niger Delta Volunteer Force, who knows?

The statue also fosters myth making and god-like worship. A library or even a college of war in his honour will do more to prevent future genocides.

You don't understand what the tower is saying then. lol
If it goes up, the message will be clear to everyone. I pity whoever tries any nonsense.
Let it go up first.

JamesDoe:
Instead of building statues of men that their descendants and acolytes will end up using to beat the common man, why not create an Ojukwu library or Civil War museum where people can learn about the civil war. The characters involved, the untold stories of bravery, humanity, camaraderie and compassion.

A 300m statue will divide a lot more than it will unite. But I'm not Igbo so up to you, it's not like NL commentators can even effect this.

The statue is a physical symbol and is meant to heal and inspire the Easterners (we don't really care what others think). It is meant to change our mindset about the war, make us proud of our role in it,  and allow us to stop trying to be accepted by all means in Nigeria. We are the victims and history says that loudly.
It is also meant to refocus our minds towards the ideals we fought for -equal rights for everyone under the law, no born to rule, merit and conscience etc. Above all, it warns everyone that we (Ndigbo) would use whatever means at our disposal to inflict disproportional death and destruction on any group which attempts anything similar to what we suffered in 1966-70.

I have to use this opportunity to say that Igbos must change if they want to survive in Nigeria. The irresponsible mindset which always make them want to appear more Nigerian than others will ensure that they will be wiped out one day.

Take a close look at Nigeria, the groups that forgive less and kill others more are the most respected and feared in Nigeria. I have since stopped all that self defeating mindset.

If we want others to respect us in Nigeria, we must NEVER forgive or forget our past. Sad but pure truth.

Rossikk:
I'd sooner build a statue to the 2 million nameless, genuine 'heroes', who suffered and died as a result of the decisions taken by the likes of Ojukwu, Gowon, and their elite cohorts.

I would recommend you begin by reading "Oil, Politics and Violence", Nigeria's military Coup Culture (1966 -1976), by Max Siollun.
When you complete reading the events of between January 1966 and the declaration of Biafra by Ojukwu, you would not mention Ojukwu and Gowon in the same sentence. One clearly tried his best to secure the lives of innocent Nigerians murdered non-stop in Northern Nigeria, while the other was more interested in making sure that Igbos never rose again in Nigeria.

Ojukwu, as the son of the richest Nigerian whose investments were almost 100% outside Igboland, [/b]was accused by Igbos of delaying the declaration of the Republic of Biafra, [b]because he seemed to be concerned about not jeopardizing his father's investments. It took almost one year of negotiations and pressure before he finally did so. [b]If you are the son of billionaires Aliko Dangote or Mike Adenuga, you can't be eager to lead a secession in Nigeria - for one to take such an action, [/b]something grievous must push one to do so. Any other person who was the Governor of Eastern region at that time would have declared the Republic of Biafra or resigned or removed.

Nigerians would NEVER acknowledge the difficulty Ojukwu faced in the decision to declare Biafra. The man put his people's interest ahead of his own personal interest. Declaring Biafra must have been the toughest decision he made in his life. But revisionists would rather make us believe that he was selfish and ambitious.
Frankly, I don't give a rats as55 what anyone thinks.

9ja_I_hail:
between this men who is more handsome?

lol

We can do it. YES WE CAN!

What I have in mind is to situate this statue on top of another structure like this statue of Liberty.

blink182:
Poster Ɣøû made a rubbish of your proposal when Ɣøû made †ђξ success of †ђξ project conditional only when expatriates take on †ђξ project. For your information there are great sculptors in this country that can even do †ђξ job in bronze casting. This is even a piece of cake for artisans.

The level of engineering work involved is exactly why I specifically prescribed international experts. Nigeria has never produced anything so intimidating. If we had Biafra, we could have done it.
Show me a Nigerian that can put this up, when we can't even build less challenging structures.
The is not moi moi structure.
The great Ikemba deserves the best in Africa. 

ndu_chucks:
Onlytruth is always filled with dellusional ideas. Here is a homework for Uncle Onlytruth, please find out how many feet make a meter and how many storeys would 300 meters make. olodo, you people better start with a 3 meter high stature and at worst 30 meters. By the time the 300meter statute falls on its construction workers or tourists, I'm sure you'd blame it on the gods. half a word is enough for the wise, in the case of onlytruth proverbial 3 and a half words would be needed. ode, dan iska, bara. 300meters ko, 300 units measured by length of pollices ni.

lol, I had the Eiffel tower in mind as I envisioned it. I know you cannot think higher than a camels back where you are standing right now, but please try harder. 

The statue does not have to take the entire 300 meters, that is why the original post specifically said "up to 300 meters". If you also look at the statue of liberty, you would see that it stands up top of another structure. So, the total framework -structure and statue - can rise up to that. It would (if implemented as envisioned by moi  ) be the most impressive and intimidating structure in Africa.
We are your light remember. Without us Igbo, you are BLIND as a bat! 

Now, stand down from that camel's back. 

Where is ekt-bear?

This statistics would answer most of his type of questions.

All I know is that Igbo elites are desperate to justify their political leanings toward the Nigerian federation. The youths of Igboland are very angry and these Igbo leaders know.
So, what they are trying to do is to take the matter beyond the youths by securing a Nigerian national honor for Ojukwu. But I think the whole thing will fail because Ojukwu is now beyond their style of politics. He has transcended all these nonsense.
So, in a way, a Nigerian national honor for him would almost ruin his legacy. Maybe some day when Nigeria must have implemented the ideals of Aburi and secured true equal rights for every citizen, only then would Ojukwu not be tainted by a Nigerian national honor.

If Ojukwu were still alive, he would reject it like Achebe did!

bashr8:
nice idea only truth

pls someone tell dayo kanu to stop posting pictures of drug peddlers on nairaland.

The guy looks more like drug addict.

Anyway he could be BOTH.

Eureka! I found a suitable name for him -SKELETON WITH A GUN.

That his uncle looks like an AIDS patient.

^^

You're welcome bro!

This Ojukwu tower MUST go up because it would deal a deadly blow to insecure groups and natural cowards in Nigeria.

Up it must go!

^^
LOL, I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up here with your skinny uncle's picture. hehehe!
Welcome!
Now maybe the thread would make it to front page. 

@alj_harem

So what next?

alj_harem:
Then WHY NOT PUT EFFIONG THERE  instead of Ojukwu  ?

Or am I saying rubbish ?

The tower will be Ojukwu tower because Ojukwu was the Gov of Eastern Region.
The memorial wall should have ALL the names of Easterners who died in the war and/or who played prominent role in the war on Biafran side. The wall will contain millions of names.

alj_harem:
Chai

my eastern brothers are in dying need of an Icon 

is that why someone like Ojukwu would get so much from so little he put it is a really big pity

In the eastern Region of Nigeria we have

1. Saro wiwa
2. Effiong Philph
3. Nnamdi Azikwe
4. Ironsi
5. Okpara

All these people can be immortalized but it seems like my people in the east are just blind folk, I am sorry but I have to say.

With all due respect, apart from Effiong, NONE of those people can touch Ojukwu's shoes on this issue because the tower and memorial wall is to capture the essence of the Biafra struggle, and to honor those Easterners who paid the supreme sacrifice to preserve our honor and survival in Nigeria.
Please if you have nothing positive to say here, move on. Thanks! 

xtianh:
@onlytruth this is a brilliant idea that generation upon generation will live to remember if properly implemented. I suggest you compile ths great money making idea nd send it goverment agencies(SE) for possible consideration. I think the private sectors especially those into hotels nd tourism should also take note of this idea, if the government refuses to utilise this great opportunity

I will send the proposal to two of my friends in federal government (both from Enugu state). The aim of this thread however is to fly the idea before all Easterners. Anybody can run with it! The more people are enlightened about the idea the better.
Of course it is a HUGE investment opportunity, and ready businessmen in the East should grab it and run with it.
It should be a PPP project, or outright private project with government directives.

afam4eva:
The statue should look like the one that's in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, such that it can be seen from most parts of the city.

Exactly what I had in mind. It should (if possible) stand on Udi Hills or any point overlooking Enugu. It should be visible approaching from the air towards the airport at Emene.
Enugu would just be perfect for it, but it depends on Chime, and how hard he lobbies/works for this.
Other SE states are waiting to snatch it.

As for Ojukwu ( a faithful soldier and servant of his people who opposed Gowons evil plans), God says:

The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate. -Psalm 34:22

Ojukwu's vindication and true immortality begins from here.

Okay. here is what I found very amusing and baffling

Former Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), yesterday, expressed regret that creation of state started by his administration had been bastardized to serve as a means of dividing Nigerians instead of uniting them.

State creation in itself was not that bad, BUT the INTENT was evil. It was intended as a TOOL OF DIVISION to weaken Eastern Nigeria and make it easier to exploit. Simple truth.

I doubt that states would have been created at all if the East under Ojukwu bowed to Gowon and played dead in 1967. What makes Gowon particularly dumb then was that he couldn't even spare thoughts for the situation of things in other parts of Nigeria. He was laser-focused on the East as he did it, hence his current regret. Quite sad.
He saw state creation as "A WEAPON" of division. Why did he deploy the same weapon ALL OVER NIGERIA?

All these go to show, that:
"Evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the righteous shall be DESOLATE" -Psalm 34:21

FG, nine states will be involved in Ikemba’s burial — Umeh


The National Chairman, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Victor Umeh, in this interview with Ozioma Ubakukoh, says extensive consultations will be made before the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, will be buried and other issues

Whenis the burial of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu?

It is very clear that the burial of Ojukwu is not just like any other burial. This is going to be a burial that nobody has ever seen its type. He is a man so many people are interested in his burial rites. Extensive consultations will be made before his burial will take place, but you know that having left us in physical realm, his body must be committed to mother earth. He was a Christian - a Catholic and he will receive a Catholic burial as well.

You just returned from London and we heard you held a series of meetings with his family members. What were the meetings all about?

The short meetings we have had in London and at home here require that more consultations be made before a final date for his burial is fixed. We have also decided in the interest of security that the corpse will remain in London until we are ready with the arrangements. So, once the body is brought home, the burial rites will commence. The decision is that we shall still leave his corpse there for proper care and for us to get back home and work.

What is the major reason for choosing to keep his corpse in London?

For security reasons, the corpse of the late Biafran leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, will not be brought back to Nigeria very soon and will remain in a London morgue until all arrangements are concluded for his burial.

The late Ikemba Nnewi may as well not be buried after all. He may be deposited in a mausoleum where anybody who wants to see his remains could go there and possibly draw inspiration if the person so wishes.

Again, all the wishes of Ojukwu as reportedly contained in his will, like taking his corpse to the four countries that recognised the defunct Biafra Republic, are expected to be captured in his burial rites that nobody knows when it will be released.

Which individuals or groups have indicated interest to participate in the burial?

His mates at Epson College in London have indicated interest to be included in the burial arrangements. All the nine state governments of the old Eastern Region states – Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa, that Ojukwu administered as a military governor, will equally be involved in his burial; same as the Federal Government.

Encomiums have continued to pour in since his death. He never got such when he was alive. Why is this so?

I thank all those who have showered praises on Ojukwu, but I wonder why they waited for his death to do so. However, I charge them to recognise what the late Ikemba stood for and said in the 60s. He said injustice had no place in the modern world and that equity and justice must be the guiding principle for every nation.

What about his family?

The nuclear family of the Ikemba – his children and wife – will arrive Enugu this week. APGA will continue to use the name of Ojukwu for all its future campaign slogans.


http://www.punchng.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=6317:fg-nine-states-will-be-involved-in-ikemba%E2%80%99s-burial-%E2%80%94-umeh&Itemid=542

This tower should launch a new era of renaissance in the East.
One preacher said that a person's success or failure depends on who the person chooses to honor.

Is Ojukwu worthy of our (Igbo) honor? Few Igbo would disagree, and I would say a resounding YES.
But HOW we do it would be used by others to judge us as a people, to know whether we even understand our precious assets. To weigh us.

If we don't honor Ojukwu the right way, no one would ever take us serious again in Nigeria.
I hope our governors understand the import of this opportunity to honor Ojukwu.

If they blow it, they would make us a laughing stock in Nigeria and beyond.