₦airaland Forum

Sunnynwa:
"Frederick Forsyth, who knew Emeka well, wrote that he had a handsome allowance from his father, which enabled him to dress in the most elegantly-cut suits and drive a series of newest and fastest British sports cars in the early 1950s. He was observed by contemporaries to be seldom out of the company of a string of very attractive young women. ‘Then there were the parties, the weekend trips to London and the high life of the capital. It was probably the social life that cost him a place in the Oxford Rugby team in his final year. He made his place as wing three-quarter in the Lincoln College team, and as a sprinter was selected to pace the great Jamaican runner Macdonald Bailey.’ His father visited Britain at this time and purchased a Rolls-Royce, his first such vehicle. Emeka suggested that the car really ought to be ‘run in’ and that he was the best person to do this. ‘In this manner he became the only student at Oxford to be observed driving to and from lectures at the wheel of a gleaming Rolls-Royce. One of his tutors so admired the vehicle that he was for ever wanting a ride in it. Soon they were to be seen cruising around in the Rolls together, Emeka having his tutorials on the move, and visiting quite a few outlying public houses whenever the strain became too much.
It was during his time at Oxford that Emeka began to undergo a transformation that had never been envisaged by his masters at Epsom or his tutors at Oxford. As an undergraduate, he joined the West African Students Union and became increasingly aware of African nationalism and his own African-ness. This totally eclipsed the sense of bewilderment and loneliness that he experienced when he first arrived as a fourteen year old boy at Epsom, and found himself, as he put it, ‘lost in a sea of white faces.’ Together with three other Oxford Nigerians he swore an oath to dedicate himself on his return to the service of the Nigerian people rather than to the search for personal advancement. Arriving back in Nigeria, and very much against his father’s wishes, he joined the Nigerian army, hoping to play an integral part in his country’s affairs once Nigeria had gained independence from Britain. In October 1960 independence was gained, but Nigeria at that time was a country fractured by tribal differences, with the Hausas in the north, the Yorubas in the west and the Biafrans in the east. Emeka thought the role of the army would be a unifying one, providing a continuing stability behind the world of politics without actually being involved in the political arena, although subsequent events were to prove him wrong. He returned to England in 1958 and entered the Officer Cadet School at Eaton Hall and then the Infantry School at Warminster. In 1962 he attended the Army Staff College at Latimer before returning to Nigeria where he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding the 5th Battalion and eventually becoming Quartermaster General of the Nigerian Army, the first Nigerian to hold that post.
On 15 January 1966 a cadre of junior army officers, most of them Ibo, toppled Nigeria’s postindependence government. Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Premier of Northern Nigeria, and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Prime Minister of Nigeria were assassinated. Although Emeka was not involved in this coup, he was appointed military commander of the Eastern
Region."

Lalasticlala, Mynd44 have you guys seen this picture before?

yes yes and then he still ran away

[quote author=AmbIzuchukwu post=46739376][/quote]Actually his grandfather. His father was picking cocoa in Osun state.

merahki:
Darling....you really really believe what you typed right? I am sure that many people in your life have the same view about Ojukwu right?
It is okay, it is not wrong , just your viewpoint, your truth....but it just buttresses my point

You see, the last time I crosed the River Niger, I saw a statue of Ikemba and had goosebumps all over, I eved shed tears of awe, respect, gratitude and love for him...and that is exactly how many people in my life see him....inside a UK train, I was crying like an ewe while reading "there was a country"...every day . For joy, for pain, for love, for what almost became, for what was for three years, for what I want, for the lives lost, for all
This is my truth, my all

So beyond APC and PDP...do you see or understand why we should not be one? Lumped together like animals in a construct that strips us of our human dignity? Even when we have different ideologies, beliefs and truths?
Near about breaks my heart
You see why people cannot all love the Nigerian flag equally? The anthem? Can't willingly die for a fake construct? For me I only love the people, and our national team....not the country, and this is my truth
I am working on loving everyone, so I want to forgive the white man, and with time I will. I am already grateful for the good things about him

But do you now see what I see?
Look inside......forget the hate, political parties which by the way, are filled with people who do not know any better, so they fill their pockets instead....they would not, if they knew the truth, I tell you
Wish you well, I know you are not a monster, you just have a different truth from me
Just ponder on my words.....and you would become blind to party, religious affiliations.....and just see the light (and stop the needless hateful posts)
Truly, we should all want the same thing...to maintain our human dignity and black pride, and seek a divide of this Nigeria...all do away with the associated shame
Bless

Read darling, read...,beyond what is available....you would strike gold...you need to know the right and true thing to teach the next generation

all these epistle on top your zero? Lol




Now let me come straight, I dknt like the man or admire him one bit but I fully support the idea of breaking away from Nigeria. This country itself is a failure and our amalgamation is evil.



But what I don't like about him was the way he went about it and the way he ran off to ivory coast leaving his people to die




To further make mockery of his secessionist ideals, he went ahead to contest for seat in the debate which he embarrassingly lost because you people who considered him hero did not vote for him.



Even when he contested for the presidential seat you ibos did not vote for him




So all the love and respect you all claim to have for him is fake

Beremx:
His manhood will forever live on.

The great Ikemba!

You nor well, your own womanhood will forever live on, the great Beremx!

merahki:
Darling....it has nothing to do with riches
When you leave these shores, and get an education which opens your eyes...most development and political diplomas and degrees come to mind...plus the access you have to the internet and maaaany libraries and scholarly articles.....it becomes near impossible for you not to condemn neo-colonialist policies....or stay back in Nigeria, and use the internet and read beyond and above what our schools say

When you come back to Africa and see Nigeria....you become utterly convinced and rightfully so, that the colonial construct that is Nigeria is an insult to our blood and human dignity. You start clamouring for the right thing
This happened to me....my eyes were opened to how Nigeria is wrong...(I have always been totally apolitical, and prided myself (foolishly I see now on how little I knew about Nigerian politics..etc)

Ojukwu is my hero, not taking away from his greatness....but just telling you that even a six month diploma cause would open every eye on the wrongness of Nigeria and some policies as they affect Africa
Mugabe got all those degrees and expoded into many defiant, mad pieces
I get it...me too, my friends too, and our fathers were and are not rich

Our politicians are decidedly not educated beyond what we got in uni (which is a story for another day, the quality of our education, which some people deliberately left to be substandard and leaves our brains unchallenged)

This post has nothing to do with oil, PDP, APC, APGA ((which I would support if I must choose one), IPOB, MASSOB, etc
It is just the voice of someone who saw the light, and was shocked out of her political "bimboism"
Send these political looters to get true education,...they would come back, stop stealing, invest most or all of what they stole into good ventures, they would stop being silly about foreign religions and most of all, will lead the clamour for Nigeria to be divided

It is a travesty, really, the Nigerian existence
However I love Nigerians, and when we become divided, we would still be united as children of the black world...which is how we are seen by God...so as they say, nothing spoil

(I have a feeling I didnt read well before quoting you, have rambled and preached like I tend to do, have derailed the topic big time, have typed something soo crazy long that I should be slapped )
But I am too scared to cross check so I am hitting the submit button now....
....so forgive me ..even as I stand by all I have typed...100percent)

A country where some people revere the name Ojukwu, and some ?denigrate it has NO business being one
..where some people hail Awolowo as a hero, and some see him as a soulless being totally has no business being one......
(I am keeping it civil and light, let me not go into some speeches that led to killings peri-independence)
Not laying blame...but our fundamental idealogies veer off at different tangents from each other....too diverging, with little or no forces of cohesion....in other, better words....different people, different systems, different beliefs, different pains, different everything

We have NO business being one country, with all due love for the people
I wish I could write as good as that Freeze001 and some people here eg cap78, dearpreye who blow my mind with their intelligence...I would be able to say it all well...

Thanks for the acknowledgement and no, you were not rambling at all. I understand and agree with u perfectly. We are just too different and no apologies to anyone. We are just the way we are. However, some refuse or are just too scared to explore those differences, understand and respect them. When those differences are understood, positively harnessed and everyone is secure that no one seeks to undermine the other, you would see the best of everyone come to the fore.

However, once it is patently clear that adherents of islam will kill Christians for no other reason other than for being Christians or a particular tribe is always targeted for ethnic killings and you have some who support same or that some will oppose anything about others just on the principle of opposition and no other cogent reason, you then see that there is no purpose or unity to the joint existence of such manifestly and ideologically divergent group. The fact that some come form come from egalitarian foundations with everyone a master of himself while others are known to bow unquestioningly to the authority of a single entity, such people have no business being together.

I am sure the athletics was useful when he ran with his tail between his legs to Ivory Coast leaving millions of ibo who he created a war for to die.

lambros:
When will this outburst between Easterners and Westerners on media platforms Stop? We all complained/complain about racism but the way we met out sour words to our same black skin brothers is more appalling.

It is scary. There's no love lost among us as Nigerians. It is so shameful.

vickvilles:
So Nigerians cannot get over tribalism and respect your differences....this is backward mentality, whether Yoruba, Hausa or ibo, we r one. Unity is the only solution.

Tell them ooooo. It is shameful.

Beremx:
His manhood will forever live on.


The great Ikemba!

u and manhood

MrImole:
I'm currently reading his book: "The making of African legend; the Biafra story"


Frederick Forsyth is Ojukwu's friend, he knows much about him but I think he was economical with the truth in his account.

Do you know where i can get a hard copy of this book in Lagos?

oodua1stson:
[/quote]all these epistle on top your zero? Lol




[b]Now let me come straight, I dknt like the man or admire him one bit but I fully support the idea of breaking away from Nigeria. This country itself is a failure and our amalgamation is evil.

I too believe that the amalgamation was evil.

But what I don't like about him was the way he went about it and the way he ran off to ivory coast leaving his people to die

How did he go about it? He went to Aburi, reached and agreement, the agreement was broken, his people then
Mandated him to to pull them out of Nigeria which he did. How did you want him to go about it? Yes he left for Ivory Coast 2 days before the war ended and at a time when all hope was lost. But what did you want him to do at such a time? Allow himself to be captured and executed?

To further make mockery of his secessionist ideals, he went ahead to contest for seat in the debate which he embarrassingly lost because you people who considered him hero did not vote for him

When he was a secessionist, you people were against him. When he returned and embraced 'one Nigeria', you people were against him. Haba! Ojukwu has never lost any election in his domain. The only thing is that unlike others, he chose never to rig. So he was always rigged out.

Even when he contested for the presidential seat you ibos did not vote for him

I was on the ground when he contested and both times, we voted massively for him. He was rigged out both times because he refused to rig.




So all the love and respect you all claim to have for him is fake

There are very few people in Nigeria who are loved by their people the way Igbos love Ojukwu and it will not change for generations to come

Sunnynwa:
"Emeka Ojukwu remained in exile for twelve years until 1982, when he and Yakubu Gowon were both pardoned by President Shehu Shagari. Emeka’s homecoming was dramatic. Frederick Forsyth who witnessed this wrote: “The reception at Murtala Mohammed Airport was thunderous, exceeding by far what had been planned for. A crowd of four or five thousand, including just about the entire airport staff, surged through the building carrying Emeka shoulder high and cheering until the place echoed... Outside the building about 150,000 swirled around the area, swamping the roads, car parks and fields...an official of the welcoming committee looked on with open mouth. “We thought he was popular,” he said, “butnothing like this. It’s unbelievable.” Later, as Emeka was driven to Enugu, the one time capital of Biafra, the scene was extraordinary. “Something like a million people lined that road. Many times the cars slowed as Emeka leaned down to shake hands...On every car, wall, truck and tree the posters were up: Onyeije Nno – Welcome Home-comer...After several hours the cheering was like the refrain of the ocean in the ears of those in the cars.”
John Owen-Davies (Epsom College 1955-1960), who was Head of the Reuters Bureau in Nigeria, knew Emeka very well. He said that on November 29, 1992: “Forgiveness was on public display when President Babangida told the two main protagonists in the Biafran War – both of them former army friends – it was time to shake hands. The ensuing handshake between General Yakubu “Jack” Gowon, federal president and military commander during the conflict, and Emeka Ojukwu, who led the renegade state of Biafra in the oil-rich south-east, was cheered by 500 people in Lagos’s National Theatre after a book launching ceremony.....but halfway through the book launch, the traditional “recognising” of leading Nigerians present was held. The last person to be recognised was Ojukwu. The initial applause was muted and there was no clapping on the top table, which included Nigeria’s then defence minister, Sani Abacha. Ojukwu then turned and faced the audience. The clapping increased in volume and reached a crescendo when he clasped his hands above his head like a boxer. When the National Anthem was played at the end of proceedings, I walked to stand near to Emeka. Then Babangida, followed by Gowon, came down from the high table and walked towards him. “It is time,” Babangida said, “that you two gentlemen shook hands.” They did, to cheers from the audience. “
In 2011, Emeka Ojukwu suffered a serious stroke that deprived him of his eyesight. He was flown to London for specialist treatment at the Hammersmith Hospital, but died on November 26, 2011. He was 78. He had showed courage and fortitude in the year of 1966, demonstrated brilliant leadership and a selfless devotion to his people. After his return from exile a senator remarked: ‘There is only ever one leader of the Ibo people and we have just discovered beyond a shadow of doubt who it is. Now we can all sit down and re-draw the political map of southern Nigeria.’ In her prize winning book, Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Adichie accurately described the horrors of the Biafran conflict. Out of the despair and desolation one man stood out. “Everything about him sparkled, his groomed beard, his watch, his wide shoulders. ‘I came to ask you a question,’ he said. His Oxfordaccented voice was surprisingly soft.... ’What shall we do? Shall we keep silent and let them force us back into Nigeria? Shall we ignore the thousands of our brothers and sisters killed in the north?’ Ojukwu lit a cigarette and threw it down on the lawn. It flared for a while before he reached out and squashed it beneath a gleaming black boot. ‘Even the grass will fight for Biafra,’ he said.”
One of the hallmarks of Emeka Ojukwu was that he spoke things some people would not speak and to which others would not listen. It is the hallmark of true leaders, but not of politicians. Emeka Ojukwu was not a politician, he was a leader. He understood Nigeria, but Nigeria did not understand" - Frederick Forsyth.

Chaii!! Dike anaa!! Eze Gburugburu!!. I wish he were still alive

17 YEARS OLD, WITH ALL THAT ''AKPU-OBI''?

...DAT ONE NA RUGBY AGE ABEG

Eshinkan:
Bunch of cowards.....who fled dressed as a woman to Abidjan.....who cam back and joined his people killers party....who used under aged kids as soldiers during the war....

Which specie of the chord eating mammal are u? U don't sound OK.

When he was a secessionist, you people were against him. When he returned and embraced 'one Nigeria', you people were against him.

EPIC!

Sunnynwa:
17 yrs old Emeka Ojukwu (sitting, second from left) with school Boys and Captains of Sports, Epsom College, Surrey 1952. At age of 13 Emeka entered Epsom College where he excelled at rugby, track and field athletics. He proved a formidable centre three quarter and In his final year was captain of the first XV. He also broke the record of throwing discus and later won this event at National School Athletics Championnships where he set British junior record. From Epsom he entered Oxford University

https://m./152978661409591?view=permalink&id=1223889180985195

Mehn...I am jealous of these calves oh....

IVORY2009:
You nor well, your own womanhood will forever live on, the great Beremx!

salute the man or pave way for people to.
ojukwu ekelemgi o

merahki:
Darling....it has nothing to do with riches
When you leave these shores, and get an education which opens your eyes...most development and political diplomas and degrees come to mind...plus the access you have to the internet and maaaany libraries and scholarly articles.....it becomes near impossible for you not to condemn neo-colonialist policies....or stay back in Nigeria, and use the internet and read beyond and above what our schools say

When you come back to Africa and see Nigeria....you become utterly convinced and rightfully so, that the colonial construct that is Nigeria is an insult to our blood and human dignity. You start clamouring for the right thing
This happened to me....my eyes were opened to how Nigeria is wrong...(I have always been totally apolitical, and prided myself (foolishly I see now on how little I knew about Nigerian politics..etc)

Ojukwu is my hero, not taking away from his greatness....but just telling you that even a six month diploma cause would open every eye on the wrongness of Nigeria and some policies as they affect Africa
Mugabe got all those degrees and expoded into many defiant, mad pieces
I get it...me too, my friends too, and our fathers were and are not rich

Our politicians are decidedly not educated beyond what we got in uni (which is a story for another day, the quality of our education, which some people deliberately left to be substandard and leaves our brains unchallenged)

This post has nothing to do with oil, PDP, APC, APGA ((which I would support if I must choose one), IPOB, MASSOB, etc
It is just the voice of someone who saw the light, and was shocked out of her political "bimboism"
Send these political looters to get true education,...they would come back, stop stealing, invest most or all of what they stole into good ventures, they would stop being silly about foreign religions and most of all, will lead the clamour for Nigeria to be divided

It is a travesty, really, the Nigerian existence
However I love Nigerians, and when we become divided, we would still be united as children of the black world...which is how we are seen by God...so as they say, nothing spoil

(I have a feeling I didnt read well before quoting you, have rambled and preached like I tend to do, have derailed the topic big time, have typed something soo crazy long that I should be slapped )
But I am too scared to cross check so I am hitting the submit button now....
....so forgive me ..even as I stand by all I have typed...100percent)

A country where some people revere the name Ojukwu, and some ?denigrate it has NO business being one
..where some people hail Awolowo as a hero, and some see him as a soulless being totally has no business being one......
(I am keeping it civil and light, let me not go into some speeches that led to killings peri-independence)
Not laying blame...but our fundamental idealogies veer off at different tangents from each other....too diverging, with little or no forces of cohesion....in other, better words....different people, different systems, different beliefs, different pains, different everything

We have NO business being one country, with all due love for the people
I wish I could write as good as that Freeze001 and some people here eg cap78, dearpreye who blow my mind with their intelligence...I would be able to say it all well...

Beremx:
His manhood will forever live on.


The great Ikemba!

in order 2 gain likes,ur ridiculing ikemba?






Sorry

HassanTewogbade:
We yoruba muslims don't like him.

Y na? Evry normal pasn suppose like the guy na

Beremx:
His manhood will forever live on.


The great Ikemba!

Are trying to insult someone old enough

F

And some miserable tribe from the blues will come here and be ranting that a mother to one one unclad weed smoker drove a Mercedes benz while Biafrans have been driving Rolls



Somebori hellllllllllllp!!!!!