attackgat:
One thing was certain, the North could not hace fought a combined West and Eastern Region.

Who knows what would have happend if Awolowo had made a clarion call to the Yoruba nation to sieze the Governmwnt of Gowon in Lagos as well as Ibadan and Abeokuta baraks? It may have been bloody but it was achievable.

That woukd have left just Kaduna and Kano military installations.

For some reason, the North has always been able to use the west to undermine the rest of Southern Nigeria.

Intrepid01:


Maybe you need to re-read what is up there with a more open mind. You don't fight War with emotions but with your Brain. The Barracks in the West were all under the control of the Northerners. Calling for war would have been catastrophic. And please droop your "theory" of the North would not have been able to defeat a combined East and West. If the North had the might, which they did because of the control of military with the backing of the UK Government, they will not only defeat the combined East and West, they will waste several millions.

When next you want to pick a fight with a neighbor or anyone, take a step backward and re-access your readiness. As many Igbo have voiced out, including Azikiwe, Ojukwu led Igbos to a blind war. A war that wasn't well thought of or planned.

attackgat:


This is the thinking of someone who has already imbibed themselves with the spirit of cowardice. Oeople should be proud to fight for their land and if need be, die for it.

In the second world war, only two finnish ski divisions held the might if the Russian Army. Finland did says "oh the Russians are greater than us so let us surrender"

It is true to assess if a people are ready for war but not at the expense of surrendering without a fight like cowards.

There were just about 2 or 3 thousand armed Northerners in the Western Region surrounded by millions of Yorubas but Yorubas could do nothing. They didnt even put up any resistance. When people cannot fight to defend their own land, it is most shameful

attackgat:


This is the thinking of someone who has already imbibed themselves with the spirit of cowardice. Oeople should be proud to fight for their land and if need be, die for it.

In the second world war, only two finnish ski divisions held the might if the Russian Army. Finland did says "oh the Russians are greater than us so let us surrender"

It is true to assess if a people are ready for war but not at the expense of surrendering without a fight like cowards.

There were just about 2 or 3 thousand armed Northerners in the Western Region surrounded by millions of Yorubas but Yorubas could do nothing. They didnt even put up any resistance. When people cannot fight to defend their own land, it is most shameful

attackgat:
One thing was certain, the North could not hace fought a combined West and Eastern Region.

Who knows what would have happend if Awolowo had made a clarion call to the Yoruba nation to sieze the Governmwnt of Gowon in Lagos as well as Ibadan and Abeokuta baraks? It may have been bloody but it was achievable.

That woukd have left just Kaduna and Kano military installations.

For some reason, the North has always been able to use the west to undermine the rest of Southern Nigeria.

Intrepid01:


I would be lieing if I didn't see this coming, you see, you have every right to believe whatever you wanna believe.

When people cannot fight to defend their own land, it is most shameful....Was Southwest under any threat? No it was not. You see the major problem with you folks is you prefer reasoning with your feelings rather than your head. The situation of things in 1966 was a pure case of political feud among the Leaders at the time. Infact, it was a clear problem between the North and East as a result of the unfortunate Igbo coup of January 1966. You went to bring a totally different case of Russia and the Finnis, what a pity?

Yoruba has fought and won many wars before 1966; both civil and external war and have won all fronts (you can google this for your education).

There were just about 2 or 3 thousand armed Northerners in the Western Region surrounded by millions of Yorubas but Yorubas could do nothing.

It is statements like this that will continue to make you and your people suffer if you don't think. You call a group of people with military might just MERE? I know the real problem you have, it is the problem of foolishness and stupidity. Palestine in thousands have been using stones and powerless rockets to fight Israel since 1948. But they have also died in hundreds of thousands. Israel has been killing them in drones using Artilleries, bombs and sophisticated weapons. This was the same mindset the young "trigger-happy" and "visionless" Ojukwu that led him in to sacrificing millions of his lots in a baseless war. and for your information is first offensive invasion was led by a Yoruba man ( a man from a supposed coward tribe leading minnows from a "supposed" brave tribe that that runs on emotions)...Despite their self-acclaimed bravery, they couldn't get a single person to lead the self-inflicted war.

Lastly, you and your lots need to stop dragging Yorubas in to your poo. Ojukwu had issues with Gowon and Awolowo issued a statement separately to Gowon that if you allow them leave, I will leave with my people. How does a conversation and statement directed to Gowon become an agreement with Ojukwu and the Igbos...

Brave Generals around the world from time immemorial would always re-assess their position before plunging in to a war but not for the Igbos. Let me tell you, it is not a big deal to accept that Ojukwu and his advisers brought the destruction upon you lots, just like some Igbos, although very few including Azikiwe have accepted that they were not ready for the war.

Oga in life you should be reasonable and realistic or else the attitude you are displaying here will lead you to where you wont expect. Catalonia, Monaco, California and even Scotland have been asking for separation from their parent Countries for centuries now without mayhem, rather they have been deploying the diplomatic and democratic means to further their course.

What Igbos and other hot blooded Igbos should do is to vote only individuals that are pro-Biafra in to Senate and HOR so that they can sponsor bills that will force the Legal and legislative discussions on Biafra. Aside that, standing up to the military by ordinary boys will only lead to their untimely death without any repercussion. HongKong standoff to China has always resulted in one thing, death and blood.

attackgat:


Brigadier Ogundipe is chased out of Lagos Yoruba land and out his rightful place as the next head of state after Ironsi by Northerners. Yorubas said "carry on our Northern Lords"

Lt Col Fajuyi, Governor of the Western Region, is murdered in Yoruba land by Northerners. Yorubas shout the "the North are our lords"

These two examples are enough for any ethnic group to rise up and fight for their sovereignty. But no, "we have brain and brawns and cant stand up for ourselves"

Laughble.

We need people who standup to the North here in the south of Nigeria, not people who are still making excuses for having no backbone

Blainz:


Murdered while try to protect the son of an ungrateful people

Blainz:


Murdered while try to protect the son of an ungrateful people

attackgat:


Brigadier Ogundipe is chased out of Lagos Yoruba land and out his rightful place as the next head of state after Ironsi by Northerners. Yorubas said "carry on our Northern Lords"

Lt Col Fajuyi, Governor of the Western Region, is murdered in Yoruba land by Northerners. Yorubas shout the "the North are our lords"

These two examples are enough for any ethnic group to rise up and fight for their sovereignty. But no, "we have brain and brawns and cant stand up for ourselves"

Laughble.

We need people who standup to the North here in the south of Nigeria, not people who are still making excuses for having no backbone

adelee777:


You forgot d third example; very brave Ojvkwv running for his dear life to Gabon and leaving his people at d mercy of Nigerian troops. What are you guys fed as kids? SMH.

attackgat:
One thing was certain, the North could not hace fought a combined West and Eastern Region.

Who knows what would have happend if Awolowo had made a clarion call to the Yoruba nation to sieze the Governmwnt of Gowon in Lagos as well as Ibadan and Abeokuta baraks? It may have been bloody but it was achievable.

That woukd have left just Kaduna and Kano military installations.



For some reason, the North has always been able to use the west to undermine the rest of Southern Nigeria.

Blainz:


I doubt if you read that. Practically it was suicidal. The military garrison in the western region was 93% made of northerners. As at then only 7% of the nigerian military were Yorubas. Plus the unwillingness of the Yoruba military leaders. People forget that Awo was just a civilian politician while Ojukwu was a military officer and the military head of easterner region for that matter. Can Awo give command to the military and they will obey without the military officers' consent?

JUSTICE4Nigeria:
STORY FOR THE gods, HE DIDN'T SECEED, BECAUSE HE IS A COWARD, HE CHOOSE TO DIE IN COMFORT OF HIS ROOM, WITH RATAK, HE THINK MANDELA ACHIEVED IT, BY SPEAKING BIG GRAMMAR

attackgat:


Well at least he fought for three years before running away.

You guys ran away from Northerners even before any fight even started

attackgat:
One thing was certain, the North could not hace fought a combined West and Eastern Region.

Who knows what would have happend if Awolowo had made a clarion call to the Yoruba nation to sieze the Governmwnt of Gowon in Lagos as well as Ibadan and Abeokuta baraks? It may have been bloody but it was achievable.

That woukd have left just Kaduna and Kano military installations.

For some reason, the North has always been able to use the west to undermine the rest of Southern Nigeria.

Uchek:
It is instructive that the Yoruba who were lily-livered and capitulated to Northern hijack of power and humiliation of Yoruba military officers' brand Ojukwu - who rejected Northern hijack of power and fought for 3 years to defeat Northern oligarchy - a coward while elevating Yoruba military officers who accepted unchallenged the rule of Northerners as patriots and courageous men.

christistruth01:



Do you understand what it means for a Military leader to loose 3 million Precious Souls

If Ojukwu was a Yoruba Monarch of Old he would have been made to pay the ultimate price for Far less a Calamity

His Chiefs and Subjects would have politely asked him to go to Sleep in the interest of the Kingdom


The issue of Ojukwu fleeing to Ivory Coast would not even arise

Dotng:
Why Awo did not make West to secede


By Eric Teniola ON May 1, 1967 at a meeting of Leaders of thought of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo made the following declarations: “I consider my duty to Yoruba people in particular and to Nigerians in general to place four imperatives, two of them categorical, and two conditional.

Only a peaceful solution must be found to arrest the present worsening stalemate and restore normalcy. (2) The Eastern Region must be encouraged to remain part of the Federation

(3). If the Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission or commission to secede from or opt of Nigeria, then Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the Federation.
(4) The people of Western Nigeria or Lagos would participate in the Ad hoc Constitutional Committee or any similar body only on the basis of absolute equality with other Region of the Federations”.

It was the gravest statement made by any leader in Nigeria at a crucial time. The same Chief Awolowo made another controversial statement on July 6,1974 at the University of Ife when he said: “the 1973 census is a barren exercise”- an event which I covered for The Nigerian Tribune. We shall come to that later. The question is why did the Western Region not follow the Eastern Region when it seceded on May 30, 1967? The Daily Sketch which published in full Chief Awolowo’s speech on May 2, 1967 sold in Enugu at two shillings per copy which is more equivalent of today’s six hundred naira. The speech was a hot cake. Then there was the argument that the fate of the Yorubas in Ilorin and Kabba provinces at that time was not properly addressed in that speech considering the political influence of Chief Josiah Sunday Olawoyin (1935-2000) and later leaders like Chief Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo (76), my friend Chief Ayo Opadokun and Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki (1933-2012).

It is a pity that Chief Awolowo did not publish his memoirs before he died in a domestic accident in his hometown of Ikenne in Ogun state in the early hours of May 9, 1987. Maybe he would have shed more light on why he made those declarations. I personally believe till today that it was the speech that took the Federal Capital from Lagos, although events have proved later that taking the Federal Capital out of Lagos does not equate with taking commerce out of Lagos- thanks to Chief Bola Tinubu and his successors. Chief Awolowo’s speech stunned the nation. It was a wakeup call on General Yakubu Dan- Yuuma Gowon (83), the Head of State at that time to prepare for war and save Nigeria.

If Chief Awolowo had taken Western Region and Lagos out of Nigeria, it would have been suicidal. In his book,’The Art of War’, the Chinese General Chow –Hou Wee said that “the general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand. What is essential in war is victory”. If Chief Awolowo had taken Western Region and Lagos out of the Federation at that time definitely Western Region and Lagos would have been the battle ground. And where were the troops and how prepared was he for a major war. At the time he made those declarations, officers of the Western Region in the Nigerian Army were less than 7%.

At that time Lagos, Ibadan and Abeokuta garrisons were occupied by ‘northern troops’. Even the then Governor of Western Region, Major General Adeyinka Adebayo was not prepared for war. Chief Awolowo admitted on May 1, 1967 speech, that ‘We have neither the military might, not the overwhelming advantage of numbers here in Western Nigeria and Lagos. But we have the justice of a noble and imperishable cause on our side, namely: the right of a people to unfettered self determination. If this is so, then God is on our side and God be with us—then we have nothing whatsoever in this world to fear’.

Major General James Oluleye described it better in his book titled ’Architecturing Destiny’. He wrote on page 91 of the book: “As a result of persistent pressure from my father-in-law, I sent my family to Ibadan and I remained in Kaduna. There were very few Yoruba soldiers in the North. Both ranks were not more than 150 in all. The former Head of State, Lt-Col Obasanjo and myself used to feast on Akara (fried bean cakes) almost daily. We did a lot to persuade Yoruba officers and men not to desert. By December, 1966 he was posted to Lagos and I remained behind preaching to troops not to desert. Visiting people was dangerous. I spent my leisure time reading and my outing was limited to pleasure drives to Kaduna south without calling on anybody. It was difficult time.

From May, the trouble became repetitive every two months. In September of the same year, we had an intelligence report that the Northerners had fixed 29 October as the D-Day for slaughtering the Yoruba officers. There were only four senior Yoruba officers in Kaduna and in fact the North. These were Lt. Col. Obasanjo, Captains E. Akinfenwa and G. Ogundeko and myself (then a major). Following the intelligence report, we met and decided to lead a delegation to the military governor, Lt. Col. Katsina. We chose the most senior officer, Obasanjo as our spokesman. The message was to alert him about the intelligence report and the likely consequences if the plan materialised. Hopefully, we secured the appointment for th following day. We went in a Land Rover and when we arrived at the Governor’s office, Obasanjo told us he was not prepared to speak. As the next senior officer, I had to make an impromptu speech before the military governor during which I stated that we were in the North contrary to the Aburi Agreement on repatriation of troops to their regions of origin and that in the interest of Nigeria, we remained without deserting and that if anything happened to the Yoruba (civilians and soldiers alike), that might be the end of the Federation.

What the military governor did was unknown to us but miraculously nothing happened on October 29, 1966 which was a change from the two-monthly repetition of disasters’. After the murder of Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun, Lt Col. Adekunle Fajuyi and Col. Raph Sodeinde, only Brigadier Babafemi Olatunde Ogundipe (1924-1971) was the top Yoruba left and he ran into exile in the United Kingdom. The others including General Olusegun Obasanjo (80), General Alani Ipoola Julius Akinrinade, Col. Ayo Ariyo, Col. Oyinlade Iluyomade, Col. Yemi Alabi, Major Adenuga, Brigadier Christopher Oluwole Rotimi (82), Major General James Jayeola Oluleye, Col. Victor Banjo (1930-1967) and others serving in the Nigeria Army were not posted to the Western Region. This became a major source of concern and Chief Awolowo had to address the Federal Government at that time that the military should review the ‘occupation of the Northern troops in Western Region’.

On November 30, 1966, General Yakubu Gowon addressed this issue in his broadcast to the nation when he said: “My long-term aim is the preservation of one Nigerian Army and one country. For a start, however, and because of the general distrust and suspicion in the country, the bulk of the army in each Region must be drawn from the indigenous people of that Region. In Furtherance of this aim, steps are being taken to recruit more Westerners into the Nigerian Army. I have already given instructions for recruitment to commence next week. Those who advocate the withdrawal of Northern soldiers from the Western Region admit that any immediate wholesale withdrawal of Northern soldiers from the Western Region is not practicable.

Law and order and the entire national security arrangements in the Western Region will break down if the troops were withdrawn at once. The seat of the Federal Government is in Lagos. The Head of the Federal Government must therefore make special security arrangements for Lagos. This is not in dispute in all responsible quarters”. Even Major General Adebayo on May 3,1967 said that “I and senior Army Officers of Western Nigeria origin have spent the last 24 hours in consultation with the Head of the Federal Military Government. Let us face it there is no region now without its acute problems brought about by recent events; there is nowhere the people do not have their fears.

Ours in Western Nigeria have been spelt out again and it has been my duty every time to bring them to the notice of the Head of the Federal Military Government and my other colleagues in the Supreme Military Council”. On May 30, 1967, the Military Governor of Eastern Region, Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu pulled the region out of Nigeria and called it Biafra. A few hours later, General ordered his arrest which eventually led to a civil war.


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/09/awo-not-make-west-secede/

Intrepid01:


Maybe you need to re-read what is up there with a more open mind. You don't fight War with emotions but with your Brain. The Barracks in the West were all under the control of the Northerners. Calling for war would have been catastrophic. And please droop your "theory" of the North would not have been able to defeat a combined East and West. If the North had the might, which they did because of the control of military with the backing of the UK Government, they will not only defeat the combined East and West, they will waste several millions.

When next you want to pick a fight with a neighbor or anyone, take a step backward and re-access your readiness. As many Igbo have voiced out, including Azikiwe, Ojukwu led Igbos to a blind war. A war that wasn't well thought of or planned.

attackgat:
One thing was certain, the North could not hace fought a combined West and Eastern Region.

Who knows what would have happend if Awolowo had made a clarion call to the Yoruba nation to sieze the Governmwnt of Gowon in Lagos as well as Ibadan and Abeokuta baraks? It may have been bloody but it was achievable.

That woukd have left just Kaduna and Kano military installations.

For some reason, the North has always been able to use the west to undermine the rest of Southern Nigeria.