₦airaland Forum

tensor777:
We have learnt that men like Akpan and Njoku advised him against seccession. For some reason he chose to ignore their advice and plough ahead.
I hope his memoirs would shed more light on this fatal decision.

Ojukwu never single handedly decided to secede. The Eastern house of assembly did. Stop these lies.
The Easterners wanted out of Nigeria when Nigeria could not guarantee us safety.

sjeezy8:
^^^ I dont think any yoruba actually has a problem with igbos- thers no such thing as backstbabber cause yoruba never wanted to leave Nigeria in the first place.

Having more numbers in the army is different than seceding from Nigeria. Ojukwu could ahve been the guy if he stayed in Nigeria and play it out to be better, instead the idiot opted to secede without getting the general consesus of people he "thought" would want to leave also.

What was his interest in insisting that Yorubas meet up their quota in the military? What was our business in it?

Ojukwu chose the higher ground, so don't cry for his losing out on the kleptomania of successive Nigerian leadership. He has something that all of his contemporaries can never have -The Love and Ears of Ndigbo, the most independent mined people in Nigeria. 
That is what your folks are here to steal from him.

Katsumoto:
What was one of the issues raised by Ojukwu regarding Yoruba representation in the forces? Was it not Ojukwu who argued for the recruitment of Yoruba sons into the forces. Yes the Yoruba had officers but were lacking in NCOs. Please see below, you may disagree with my arguments but I still try to back up my arguments with some evidence. BTW, I think you need to keep out the slide remarks when you disagree with me. We can disagree from time to time.

"A few days later on May 20, Gowon accepted the recommendations of the National Reconciliation Committee. Although Ojukwu said he did not recognize the group as constituted, members passed along his demands to the federal government. After consultations, therefore, Gowon announced on May 25, that the SMC had agreed to withdraw non-Yoruba troops from Abeokuta and Ibadan and establish a crash training program to increase the Yoruba representation in the Army. This had always been a key demand of Ojukwu but was also later echoed by Yoruba leaders. To ease the process and avoid apprehension among the mostly northern soldiery, Lt. Col Hassan Katsina (Northern governor), Lt. Col Joe Akahan (Chief of Staff, Army) along with the Battalion Commander, Major Sotomi addressed the troops at Ibadan. The plan was that they would mostly have departed Ibadan and Abeokuta by May 31, some to Apapa and Ikeja in the Lagos area, while others were to be transferred to the Jebba and Ilorin garrisons by train. The SMC, citing the status of the city as the federal capital, had rejected the suggestion that northern soldiers be removed from Lagos as well. However, events quickly spiraled out of control and none of this came to pass."

http://www.kwenu.com/biafra/nowa_may30.htm

The other BOLD QUESTION is this:

Why would Ojukwu demand that Yorubas be given a crash program to join and meet their quota in the military if he was so hell bent on pushing only an eastern agenda?

What was our concern with Yoruba running away from military service

This is one of the areas where I feel that Ojukwu was too cosmopolitan. This is why I say that his followers will NOT be that charitable.

Meanwhile all you cowards yapping on this forum, learn that the man you are yapping against tried to protect your miserable interests in the Nigerian military. When you decided to join, you joined to hide behind the Hausa/Fulani to fight the same people who saved your sorry a**'s.

Cowardly backstabbers. 

Theblessed:
[b]Lies, lies and more lies!!

You see, it's your kind that betrayed us during the war - the ''Ikegbunas''.  

Everyone knows Ojukwu opened our eyes and we saw and have been seeing ever since, haven't we If the Hausas and Yorubas have not been wicked, devilish in their ways and hell bent on their Hatred of the Igbos, why up till now (40yrs+ after the war) are they continuously marginalising the Igbos.  Isn't it time they treat Nigeria as one by 'Action' and not by words.

You claimed, the war was not fought on their soil and I assume the impact on them (as they managed to go about their businesses) were lesser compared to the Igbos, during that war.  

In fact, they never lost anything apart from few soldiers which often happens at wars.  So, why are they still hell bent on seeing the Igbos perish if not for their own wickedness of heart which Ojukwu saw and challenged in the first place. And, may I ask since that war, who is holding power in this country and who is in charge of the oil rigs? Is it not them, taking their turns in destroying our country?  What have they achieved for Nigeria ever since, if not lining their own pockets and creating the chaos we have in this country today - armed robbers here, kidnappers there and many Nigerians in diaspora seeking greener pastures? Maybe, you'd attribute this to Ojukwu as well, won't you?

Therefore, in your views, if the Igbos had not done well  considering all the structural inequalities put in place to stop us - I mean, all sorts of obstacles, hindrances, restrictions and limitations stack up against ndi Igbo that we have to manoeuvre to get what we need, I wonder.

And may I ask, how better have they themselves done despite how good they've always had it aside, stealing our money? The oil money is in their hands yet, a rich country like Nigeria is looking like Sudan and Ethiopia put together.  Shame on you for castigating ndi Igbo!!!

God bless Ikemba Emeka Ojukwu and, God bless Ndi Igbo!![/b]

Thank you abundantly my sister. The Igbo and easterners fought against  characters like cicero even in the thick of the war. The term "sabo" was a term coined for them. They were very active in Biafra and they are still active today and will remain active in our land, unless of course we neutralize them first before our next campaign, if ever we need to fight again.
Once someone starts his argument by saying "I am Igbo" or "I have Igbo friends", run for your dear life.

kettykings:
Please we nigerians at least tell our selves the truth , who is a real hero and a coward . If you call ojukwu a coward what will you call ogundipe who despite being the most senior military offcer in the nigerian army could not take over after the july 1966 coup but ran away to london . I keep wondering why we nigerians refuse to protect the truth in some occasions he who fought and ran away after 3 years and he who has refused to fight only aligning him self with a strong party who really is a coward , i understand if it was an ijaw man that won june 12 election the story who have been different or what if the present vice president was an igbo or yoruba man. [b]The first igbo would have fought and after being overwhelmed by the whole nigerians and G8 even sabotaged by his tribe would have run away while the latter yoruba would not even have fought even if us, uk germany , russia ,china, cananda , inshort even if the whole G8 backed him with the whole southern nigeria and middle belt . Just as it happened during june 12 . Yorubas are the only tribe that is yet to execute a coup in nigeria either failed or succesful. I think yorubas should stop this attitude of critising ojukwu and look inwards for thier problems . [/b]The fulanis and ijaws for now are the boldest tribe not necessarily the strongest.

Powerful insight and honest input. The question is will they even be courageous enough to look truth in the face? They can't! Rather they would be sneaking around looking for cheap shots at the great leader of Igbo.

Katsumoto:
The problem with you is that you see everything through tribal lenses. How you included Idiagbon on that list and left out backside kissers such as Ike Nwachukwu, Chijuka, Ekueme baffles me. Did Ojukwu not hobnob with Abacha, Nigeria's most despotic and evil leader?

He had his Igbo agenda when he did that, and I wish he did much much more! I wish Abacha is alive today. But not to worry, other of your nemesis from the north will soon ascend the presidency next year. We Ndigbo will do our best to help enthrone him.  

bilymuse:
Onlylier
Nobody is afraid of the Igbos. People are rather disgusted and unimpressed.
Ojukwu taught us how to deal with the Igbos, put them under pressure, they ll run away. Alternatively, induce them with bride, and the opposition will falter.

Its the mindset of a spare dealer, no morality, no shame, he worship money. Give him money and he would betray his mother

Thank you for that -GOAT! lmfao!

Anyway, your people are pathetic cowards. The history of Nigeria showed that as at 1965 you could not even fill your quota in the Nigerian military.
The East filled her quota abundantly. Loud mouth COWARD.

Katsumoto:
You sir would be an old fool and a liar if you can not produce a post where I attempted to change your (Igbo) history.
I don't understand certain people on these forums. You are a liar as soon as you have a differing opinion to that held by them. There are certain historical facts that can not be challenged and there are certain points/factors that are reliant on being witnessed, and then, there are certain issues that are open to interpretation. Since we are all different, must we agree on the interpretation of historical events?


Madiebo was clearly being disingenuous when he insinuated that someone or some other groups incited the Igbos to fight or rebel. Is it not a fact that Ojukwu declared Biafra in response to the pogroms? So where did the inciting come from? The problem with you and some others is that you are unable to analyse issues by yourself in a logical manner; you are reliant on some other 'higher' power to do it for you and then you come and post such nonsense on a forum where anyone can challenge such ludicrous statements. Like I said previously, if you don't want to be challenge, keep your propaganda to Biafran forums.

I await your evidence as to how I attempted to change Igbo history.

And you actually expect me to respond to that?  

For some idiots here joining this cursed animal bilygoat, ask  yourself this question:
What could Ojukwu have lost if after the massacres of 50,000 Igbos in the north, he simply went and bowed down to Gowon?
What could he have lost? NOTHING. In fact, he would have likely become one of the Nigerian heads of state before now and stolen his own share of billions of dollars like Obasanjo, Idiagbon and the weeping general Oladipo Diya.

He chose the higher ground: the defense of his people against pogrom and injustice.

He LOST EVERYTHING for that. His peers are billionaire thieves today in Nigeria, some aiming for another term in office as president.

bilymuse:
Ojukwu benefited handsomely from the war, while the rest of Igbos were losers.
At the end of the war, the coward stole biafra money and  ran away, claiming his going to form a government in exile.  Years later when he returned from exile, he got his properties back, the rest of the Igbo lost theirs. His rank was restored by the FG with full benefit, hundred of thousands of former biafran soldiers got nothing. Hes the self appointed leader of the Igbos , collaborating with every government in power.

No, the Igbo benefited more, because for the first time in history, we became one nation under one leader. Huge stuff for us.  Again we struck fear into your father, which is why you are here desperately trying to change that history.
But, you know what, you cannot succeed. One of these days, the wind will blow in Nigeria and we shall know who is who. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Ojukwu lost much much more than the Igbo because he didn't have to fight. All he needed do was sell off the Igbo into the slavery which your fathers planned for us. He could have been like his thieving peers from your tribe and could have even ruled Nigeria in subsequent years. HE DID NOT. HE FOUGHT.  For that, he lost everything. His worth today is in GOLD.

43 years after, God is still keeping him alive to be a judgment against your lies.

Katsumoto:
This is a public forum and I am at liberty to comment upon any topic that is open. If you want only delusional people like yourself to comment on your Biafran/Igbo topics, then I suggest that you visit Biafran only forums. Until then, if you make any postings that warrants a response from me, I will do so. Who wants to change your history? The purpose of history is for one to learn from it [/b]and not for one to whip unnecessary sentiments; however, you are free to whip yourself into any kind of frenzy.

Nah nah, Nigerians HATE history, so they work very hard to distort it. They can't even accept the one unfolding right before their eyes.

I opened a thread on the miserable living of Nigerians inside dumpsters in Lagos. What did I get, a long list of people denying the obvious fact that humans are living like animals (rats and moles) inside dumps. They are still attacking the BBC!
So mine is to guard the history my people died to create.
One million of your type and that stinking animal called [b]bilygoat cannot change our history.

Katsumoto:
Who are his people? Do tell
The man has not identified with any ethnic group and you have assumed to know.

The man is TYPICAL. All I need to know is that he is a coward crying more than the bereaved and I know for sure where he is from.  

Katsumoto:
Isn't that just a lie; who were the Igbos fighting to protect? Was it not the Igbos? And who incited the Igbos to fight in the first place?

I wonder why this thread is crawling with Yorubas!

What are you afraid of, you and your moronic brother Bily the he-goat?
Oh I remember now. You want to change our history. Go tell your brother to ask your leaders to account for their own actions. In fact both of you should do so, together!  

bilymuse:
Ojukwu is a vulture, and his supporters are vultures too

And you are a cursed slowpoke bringing down curses on your family and tribe. Your people have killed more of your own than any other tribe in Nigeria.

bilymuse:
what Ojukwu tought the Igbo is that its OK to betray your people and be a hero

No, what your people thought the Igbo is that SATAN can rule Nigeria and we will even campaign for him before your cowardly backstabbing people.
That is Nigeria you will have whether you like it or not.

bilymuse:
Onlylier

Well your shameless coward of a leader , betrayed his people and ran away

He and his people achieved more than you and your people could never achieve in your miserable lives.

Today he is BELOVED by his people.

Your thieving and cowardly leaders either kill one another or die in complete ignominy.

The Bilymuse of Nigeria will always incite Igbos and then run away to join the Hausas when the actual war comes.
NOT AGAIN.

Next time Bilymuse, you will fight alone or go into slavery alone.

We have done our turn and paid our dues.

Our beloved leader, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is growing old gracefully, enjoying our love, devotion and cherish.

He will enjoy it more after his exit from this world.

But the Igbo appear to have learnt a lesson which will make it difficult for them to rebel as readily as they did in the past. It would appear that some people somewhere who always incited the Igbo into rebellion were never around whenever the confrontation began. If the Igbo can only give others a chance to fight their own wars, there may never be any more wars in Nigeria in which they will be involved directly.

~ Alexander A. Madiebo, rtd major-general Commander of the Biafran Armed Forces.

". . . I believe that it is better even from the point of survival to fight and be conquered than to surrender without fighting."

~ George Orwell

", the most exciting incident was the sinking of a boat by a Biafran-made rocket, when the rocket was fired, it flew away towards the boats trailing behind it very heavy smoke. Halfway to the boats, the rocket veered right and then right again and appeared to be flying back directly to our trenches thereby causing considerable panic. All of a sudden, the rocket did a complete turn about and raced towards the enemy boats which was more than 200m away from the one it was aimed at. Hit by the powerful warhead the rocket was carrying, the boat began to smoke and finally explosions were heard as the boat tilted on its side. Screams of both the wounded and the frightened were distinctly audible and many soldiers were seen jumping into the river. Dozens of other rockets which were fired clearly missed their targets but the one hit scored was enough to put the fear of the Lord into the hearts of the enemy"

(Madiebo, 1980)

Biafra under the leadership of Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was an emerging African military technology power.
The record is there for all to see. Ojukwu was not even as old as Bilygoat here when he led an effort that struck fear into the heart of the enemy.

The enemy is desperate to change our glorious history and defame our great leader. All their efforts will achieve the opposite.

bilymuse:
During the biafra war, Ojukwu encouraged Igbos to fight and die for biafra.  Deserters and collaborators were summarily executed: order from the above. Ojukwu killed people who ran away from the war. But at the eleventh hour, the bald headed coward ran away himself.

Yet, some psychiatric elements on this forum, with the same hypocritical and betrayal blood running in their vein, are telling me Ojukwu is right. Most of the people defending Ojukwu, without acknowledging historical reality  are exactly like Ojukwu. They are vultures.

Mr bilyidioticgoat,

If you look around this thread, you will see that you basically stand alone in your moronic cowardice (plus your other username cap28). The curses you attract from this forum alone is enough to do your family in for a generation. So keep up with the good works. Your children will be very grateful to you.
You are cursed.

cap28:
we have had true revolutionary heroes in africa  and ojukwu can never be mentioned in the same breath as the following:


notice Ojukwu can NEVER EVER be mentioned in the same breath as any of the above people, Eziachi and your brainwashed brigade - go hang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fela anikulapo kuti (only poked more women than Ojukwu and died of AIDS)

gani fawehinmi (Only talked and talked and never handled a gun for once, talks don't do much, actions speaks loudest )

kwame nkrumah (Never lifted a gun )

thomas sankara (Was never tested)

nelson mandela ( The only other African legend apart from Ojukwu )

patrice lumumba (Was too idealistic and didn't have a clue )

sekou toure ( who the heck is that )

robert mugabe (Betrayed his own people)

[size=16pt]WTF! [/size]

The great Ikemba starts tall above these guys. 

OAM4J:
You will be surprised!

IBB will not be president in 2011.

What IBB and a lot in his camp dont know is that power has long changed hand in Nigeria. (will not say more than that)

I know what you are thinking, but don't forget that this is Nigeria. Power is really in one place -the military (read the north). Again, the source of that military is mainly northern. In the south (historically speaking), only two regions (the north and the east ) met their military quota in 1965, and I believe that not much has changed in absolute terms. The north have people ready for war and violence at the slightest notice. I don't think the whole south is like that. So, how can you say that REAL power has changed hands?

For as long as people are only prepared to talk and run away at any slight since of danger, the REAL POWER will continue to stay in the north.

Katsumoto:
You have started with this downright condescending and delusional talk. No one cares whether you are charitable or not; in case you have forgotten, Nigerians do very terrible things to their country men already. You are not going to do anything worse than what the barbarians did in Jos. You make it seem like there is enviable peace and joy in Nigeria and people are scared of losing that.

You should stop going to topics involving Biafrans, Igbo and Ojukwu if you feel our views are too strong for you. I assure you that I hardly click on any topics involving Yorubas here, even the ones started maliciously. Don't come here to insult our intelligence and try to bend the facts to protect your people from their past atrocities.
Yes, the emerging Ojukwu followers are not as charitable as him. That is a fact. They will not speak in queen's english accent or behave in predictable ways (like english trained officers and gentlemen). They will have only one goal and won't care whose ox is gored. Y'know, like your father Awolowo. 

wedapeople:
This speaks for itself. Isn't it time for a new leadership? Be it today in Lagos or yesterday anywhere in Nigeria, A dump site is not a hibitat for poeple. We have the choice to change that, Ideas come a kobo a dozen but work (action) and ability to change is where the tire meets the road. Folks we should notice this and take action by joing hands to put a good leadership in charge in Nigeria. Kobojunkie and I have been reviewing the right approach to getting all  involved in making a change soon. Please step in with action so that we can demand for the dump site to be cleaned out. That's my vengance to BBC.  Join the conversation,  Infact I went to the website of the Face Behind The NewNigeriaNow.org Movement to invite him up here so that we can ask him some serious questions before supporting him. Come question him when and if he shows up.(Posting: 2001 Face Behind The New Nigeria Now Invited To The Peoples Court on NairaLand.

Please help me tell them! I started this thread to help shame our so called leaders into action for the benefit of the common man. What do I get? A people in high delusional state of denial, as if anyone is fooled
I will repeat it again: There is something morally wrong about Nigerian citizens living inside dumps.
If the place is a "treasure mine" of sorts, the people working there could be doing it in better ways wearing protective gears all over their bodies and faces to protect them against dangerous fumes and diseases.
I still wonder why there is no plague in Lagos yet. These people move from these dumps to other places sharing diseases.
I can say more about how my body reacts every time I eat for the first time whenever I visit Nigeria, but what is the point? There is a legal term called "criminal neglect", and I think that is what Nigerians are going through while defending the same criminals inflicting this neglect on them.
Government should seal off that dump and evict everyone there immediately. They should set up a large farm to employ them instead.

kettykings:
Ojukwu is a self centred , eggocentric and selfish fellow who does not take advice from people , however for him to have held the nigerian armed forces for 3 years even with the support of egypt , britain , soviet union , east germany , OAU supporting nigeria and inflicting a heavy casualty of 200,000 dead nigerian soldiers ,the battle was so tough that britain supplied nigeria with enough weapon to wipe the whole country, then he cant be a coward . sometimes i wonder what would have happened if they countries that backed nigeria backed Biafra and vice versa , sometimes we nigerians should tell our selves some truth. The western powers know this truth.

The ultimate truth is that Ojukwu was a legendary leader, and Biafrans were simply awesome.
To recall the bravery of my people in the mist of the most difficult set of circumstances is always reassuring, reminding me and my "age grade" that there is something POWERFUL about Biafra and Biafrans. That is the truth that scares our enemies and detractors.

They want the story to be just about the killing of Biafrans. But the part about the huge casualties of Nigerian soldiers in Biafra is often a moot point here on nairaland.

That fact that the Biafrans killed mainly Nigerian soldiers while Nigerians killed mainly Biafran civilians most of whom died of starvation championed by Awolowo, is what makes me believe Joe Achuzia when he went on record to state that Biafra was not defeated. The No Victor No Vanquished thing was a clever stratagem to deceive the Biafrans into laying down their arms. 40 years later, we are still talking about the same thing.

Most of these cowards here yapping about Ojukwu's failures are even older than Ojukwu when he led the war effort. Only cowards raise their voices against the brave hiding behind the curtains.

cap28:
Tochukwu Ezukanma i applaud you for being a courageous and honest igbo man unafraid to say what most brainwashed igbos are too s.tu.p.i.d to see and accept as the truth.  This man Ojukwu used and betrayed igbos - and yet many continue to sing his praises like the pathetic gullible[b] i.d.i.o.t.s[/b] that they are.

Ojukwu is an elitist, he never gave a hoot about the people - it was all about him and his relentless thirst for power, unfortunately he didnt care how many lives it would cost him as long as he didnt lose his own life in the process.

Do you realize how insulting you are getting here over issues that does not concern you? The day the leopard starts to "save" the antelope from the lion, and being indignant at the antelope's "carelessness" in carrying out his normal daily activities, I smell a big rat!

So you love us this much as to call us names for disagreeing with you and that cursed animal called billy the he-goat?

I'm not worried about Ezukanmas of Igboland (if they exist at all ) because one of these days they will open their gap in a public forum in Igboland and get what comes to them from the people. It will happen.

You people should pray that Ojukwu continues to live, because the day he dies is the day he becomes a total saint to the Igbos. Then, real disciples of Ojukwu will fill his place and fix all his flaws as a leader which could actually mean the emergence of less cosmopolitan Igbo leaders. For all his flaws, he is a very cosmopolitan person and tries to fight for justice for all.

We his followers will NOT be that charitable.  

mikeansy:
Onlytruth

Nigeria can not sustain a welfare system at this time and if such is attempted it will in fact be a drag on development. Societies where unemployment benefits work are societies where the unemployed are in the minority. But ours is a country where the unemployed is in majority and attempt to create a welfare system now will mean dangerously toying with creating a hall of destitudes.

What we need is a leap on infrastructure development and job creation in other to lift people out of poverty.

A welfare system is not sustainable right now in Nigeria.

It sounds very harsh, but I think its pragmatic.

I'm not really calling for "a welfare system" (which is often read as socialist system). I'm calling for a system of safe nets. The Nigerian government needs to bring a social contract with the people whereby the government must be there for the citizen to some extent, and in return, the citizen must love and be loyal to the country.
This our system is a "carry and go" system, a Hobbesian state of nature where life is brutish and short.
Also, it makes some economic sense to consciously infuse money at the grass root level to create a footing for the economy. No economy survives without a footing. What we have now is a thieving system where a plot of land sells for N500 million naira, yet Nigerians are scavenging and living inside dumps. That is an upside down economy.
This mallam CBN governor should have understood this simple economics.

I say it is time to pay Nigerians. Anything would do but make it monthly and collect tax from them as well. That way the government is directly involved in lives of the people and vice versa.

Lol! Mama-gee has gone gaga! lmfao!  

The Ikemba is an IGBO ICON and stainless. He is my idea of a leader. I am one of his students and I'll try to get as many young Igbos as possible to enroll in the school of Ikemba"ism" -single minded love and devotion.  

Wao! IBB supports ending the quota system!

I'm beginning to think there may still be hope for Nigeria.

Earning a living this, eking a life that 
All I know is that there is something morally wrong with this picture in a country with a GDP of over $300 billion.
I don't care what anyone says. Even the most capitalist western countries have safe nets. That is not socialism. It is called being responsible. If it is possible for a single goon to steal or misappropriate N300 billion, it must be good to pay these hapless Nigerians some type of a stipend.
All these attempts at explaining this away is glib and insulting. 

That Ojukwu survived the war and is alive today is a MAJOR PAIN to people like Bilygoatmuse who continue their campaign of calumny against the illustrious son of Biafra.

And we continue to love the Ikemba even more and more every day.
Ikemba is a rare breed. We the youths must copy him.