[b]Overall, I give him a lot of credit for making a quick decision when Biafra knew the game was up (ofcourse morale at that point ...in January 1960 had become very low...no good, no ammo, no medical supplies...One of Adekunle's battalion had shot down a relief plane from principle and São Tomé...after His crazy declaration to a British press that He has instructed his men to shoot anything that moves....and His popular, line...of no caritas...no Red Cross...no pope ..etc..)?.so Achuzia led that initial field surrender barely four days after Ojukwu , Madiebo and a few of the Admin staff flew out to " secure more support for the war". It was Achuzia who bravely matched with a few of his men to the enemy territory to request to discuss surrender with another fortunate player of that war who hadn't won one battle after ya reluctant take over from Adekunle...and was never even nearby during surrender ...who else but Col. Obasanjo. Obasanjo eventually arrived the scene after Lt Col Alani Akinrinade radioed him about the development and He gladly arrived to discuss surrender with General Effiong the biafran Vice President and Acting Head of state during the closing stages of that war. Typical of Obasanjo always wanting to claim glory I have in the course of my research of the civil war realized He didn't even inform other field commanders of the surrender...as He flew the biafran soldiers to Gowon for the ceremony ..and ensured non of the other field commanders liked Cols Mohammed, wushishi...etc were no where near that momentous occasion.[/b]

Typical snake behavior, neither here nor there.
You are not an honest being.

First you tried to use Madiebo frustration at Ojukwu trusting Achuzia than him and the rest of the gang, to undermine Achuzia heroics.
Now you're attempting to use Achuzia to undermine Ojukwu and Madiebo.

Get this straight. The decision to hand over and suspend the war was not made by Achuzia or Effiong, it was made By Ojukwu and his commanders, Achuzia was chosen to be amongst the Biafra delegate because he was not involved in the events leading to the war and so invoked no vendetta emotions amongst Nigerians that might put him in harms way, same with Effiong.

Ojukwu didn't trust the Nigerians not to harm him(Ojukwu), Madiebo didn't too, Nigerians are not honest people and don't keep to agreements, after the Aburi debacle, Ojukwu knew better.

Mbediogu:


Sorry Sir. But Achuzie does not belong to that group. He was in a class of his own. An accomplished electrical engineer, a successful business man before the war and a gallant soldier during the war. At the end of the war he became an igbo nationalist and leader. He never indulged in contract hunts or politics but stood firmly by word and deed to what he believed to be true. I am happy he did not falter or compromise till the very end. The igbo nation will forever miss you. Adieu Dike na agha!

He was indeed a great man. Only Ikemba was greater.

pazienza:
Alex General Alex Madiebo recommended him to General Ojukwu for commissioning after His Onitsha exploit against a very clueless Col Murtala Mohammed's men.
Seasoned and respected officers who were way out of his league such as Njoku and a few others will eventually be made to by Ojukwu to report to him at some point .

I will rank Achuzia up there as one of the most blood thirsty men ...second of course after to Col. "Black scorpion" Adekunle of the Nigerian Army during that war...both officers led their men to die senselessly without a real battle strategy at various times during the civil war

Mischievous fellow you are.

Mutala Muhammad was not clueless, Achuzia was just a superior strategist, stop undermining a man's heroics.

Achuzia earned Ojukwu respect and trust, I don't expect other officers to be happy with this, but this always happens in an organization.
Achuzia was patriotic and without selfish ambitions, Ojukwu couldn't vouch same of of other officers, especially considering how Ifeajuna turned out.

You need a psychiatric examination. How exactly was Achuzia blood thirsty? Did he kill civilians? How dare you put him on same sentence with the murderer and genocidal Adekunle that was busy shooting at civilians (women and Children) as well as medical supplies?

Achuzia made the most of little ammunition and advantages he had with him during the war. If he had half of the ammnuitions Britain provided Nigeria, he would have done better than Nigerian Army officers did.

Stop spilling your vile out here...learn...learn and learn...I repeat stop all these senseless emotions...I am well schooled in the Nigerian-Biafran civil war..my father fought in the war as a very senior officer because of His friendship with General Effiong and A He great poet okigbo because He believed and still believes In the Biafran cause but like I said ... he have done a deep dive into the war and I have highlighted the truth about these men so why are you calling me out without even checking..?

Why we forced Ojukwu to declare Biafra

All of a sudden, we were given a date that on such and such a day the federal government is going to carve up Eastern Region. Ojukwu then called a Consultative Assembly of the people, among which were the Ika Igbos, also given a pride of place as part of the Igbo nation. Our traditional rulers from the Midwest, the Igbo speaking areas attended that conference.

I was privy. I was there. And around 1pm a news flash came. What we were hearing as rumour became a reality: Eastern Region was carved. They carved out Rivers State and South East State. So we went into the afternoon recess and by the time we came out of recess and went into afternoon session, a decision was quickly reached that we can’t sit back and see ourselves divided, so the best thing to do was that we must ask Ojukwu to declare the State of Biafra.

Before that there has been a lot of argument, here and there, over the issue of what name do we go by. So many different names and configurations were bandied about but finally we asked the group of lawyers assembled to prepare a communiqué declaring the state of Biafra.

Even that meeting, Ojukwu wasn’t there, he was still in Government House. This meeting was being held within Hotel Presidential. So by the time the decision was reached, this was carried to him, we were surprised that he said no. He will not do it. He said that he will not declare. We thought either they didn’t teach the military what is meant when somebody is trying to cut you to bits. If he didn’t understand, we did. So message was sent back to him and an ultimatum was given him that if by 8:00 O’clock that night he didn’t declare the state of Biafra, not only will we remove him, we will declare and decide who leads us.

Raw piece of history. Some people think Ojukwu just got up and declared Biafra on his own.

gidgiddy:


Raw piece of history. Some people think Ojukwu just got up and declared Biafra on his own.

Ojukwu resisted declaring biafra ?, if he had not declared biafra he would have been assisinated by igbo soldiers same way Arthur Unegebe was assisnated for standing against the January 15 1966 coup , ojukwu was among those who out of nationalistic patriotism tried to stop Nzeogwu's purge in kano if only he knew what Nzeogwu Knew . history will one day vindicate the just . igbos of that generation were over naive and paid heavily for their naivety. let the present Generation of igbos quit this foolish spirit of naivety IJN Amen

thesicilian:
If he's such a hero how come most of us have never heard of him? Don't get me wrong, my point is, we should learn to celebrate our heroes when they are still alive (which actually benefits them more) than when they are dead, which is of no use to them.

good but don't blame anybody for your ignorance. any body who has read about Nigerian/Biafra war must have heard about Joe Achuzie so next time try to read up

Ekaka1:


Stop spilling your vile out here...learn...learn and learn...I repeat stop all these senseless emotions...I am well schooled in the Nigerian-Biafran civil war..my father fought in the war as a very senior officer because of His friendship with General Effiong and A He great poet okigbo because He believed and still believes In the Biafran cause but like I said ... he have done a deep dive into the war and I have highlighted the truth about these men so why are you calling me out without even checking..?

There is nothing to learn from your putrid comment meant to diminish Achuzia, Ojukwu and Madiebo heroics to Ndiigbo, by using them against each other.
Your action was despicable and worthy of condemnation.
If you had nothing to contribute here, you better take your lies and calumny elsewhere, because believe me, I don't think you know half of the history of the civil war than I.

I don't care whether your father fought in Biafra war or not, all of our fathers fought in the war, and our uncles died in the war as well, so don't you ever think you are discussing with novices here.

Achuzia is an Igbo hero and must be recognized as such with no buts.

Man lived for the unity and progress of the Igbo nation all his life, if we have just one of his kind amongst Igbo political leaders today, we would be in much better position.

For those that do not know him, he was the man that faught the Biafra war and not Ojukwu. He nearly captured mutala Muhammad at Awka. He was the man that kept Buhari at a single spot at UDI in Enugu state. He was the one that killed the Akinrinade the black scorpion at Obirinze , He disfigured IBB at Uzoakoli Abia state.He masterminded the worst massacre from mkppr to Abagana Anambra. Obasanjo Escaped from Owerri to PH when Achuzia was countering operation OAU Owerri,Aba and Umuahia. He brought down 11 Nigeria war planes.rest in peace the war

kettykings:
mehn!!!!! that Generation of igbos were simply Audacious , imagine destroying the whole of the second Division of the Nigerian Army and sending Murtala Mohammed to exile by a troupe led by Major Uchendu, only the coming Generations of igbos will truly treasure the exploits of Hannibal and co, These men were hard with metal hearts how on earth can any army in the world fight a coalition of Britain , Soviet union (not russia) Egypt , East Germany, Sudan, Chad , Cameroon, Niger Republic etc and still live to tell the Story ,Today all former Nigerian Heads of states shudder when they hear of biafra and most are nursing life threathening injuries till date.

God give igbos Audacious men , RIP our hero Joe Achuzia

Those were the days of men.

The irony is that when Igbo warlords die, there is celebration and praise, but when 'Nigerian' leaders die everyone is uninterested and relieved.

[quote author=thesicilian post=65392421] he is a well known figure in d nigerian civil war history.

Ekaka1:
Achizia, Hannibal, Air raid.....was one of the outsiders and greatest Biafran propagandist that General ojukwu used to destroy the morale of His seasoned field commanders.
His biggest stunt according to Alex Madiebo was his "appearing and disappearing" acts in the heat of battles...
He was an aeronautics Engineer married to a European woman , claimed he fought in the Korean War using a pseudo name....


I will rank Achuzia up there as one of the most blood thirsty men ...second of course after to Col. "Black scorpion" Adekunle of the Nigerian Army during that war...both officers led their men to die senselessly without a real battle strategy at various times during the civil war
....
....

In summary:
To Ojukwu...Achuzia was the only Biafran commander He could trust because He fear sabotage by the other sandhurst colleagues who had same training as himself during their time in the Nigerian Army. Of course there was rumour of a coup to topple Ojukwu at some point


May He now RIP..
....

1.You call a man defending his people and homeland from dirty fulani and malian soldiers with their yoruba and middle belt accomplices blood thirsty ?

2. Coup attempts against Ojukwu were fact, not rumour. For instance, Augustine Madiebo became army commander because of a failed coup attempt whose goal was to replace Ojukwu with Njoku.

pazienza:


There is nothing to learn from your putrid comment meant to diminish Achuzia, Ojukwu and Madiebo heroics to Ndiigbo, by using them against each other.
Your action was despicable and worthy of condemnation.
If you had nothing to contribute here, you better take your lies and calumny elsewhere, because believe me, I don't think you know half of the history of the civil war than I.

I don't care whether your father fought in Biafra war or not, all of our fathers fought in the war, and our uncles died in the war as well, so don't you ever think you are discussing with novices here.

Achuzia is an Igbo hero and must be recognized as such with no buts.

Man lived for the unity and progress of the Igbo nation all his life, if we have just one of his kind amongst Igbo political leaders today, we would be in much better position.

Is it every insect on Nairaland you respond to.

Anyway I have this short message

God, I thank you for Air Raid ( Achuzie )

Thank you God for using him to rout the vandals.

Grant him eternal rest in Jesus Name Amen.

Give us strength wisdom and help to achieve the dream they started for our Tomorrow.

revolt:
I don't think tht uni was named after the black scorpion o....looooooooll

Sorry, it was Adeyinka Adebayo not The black scorpion. Thanks.

@op please edit, it's Achuzia, not Achuzie

Anyone have a digital copy of Requiem for Biafra ? I need to read it

A brilliant war tactician goes home.

justtoodark:


it happened...we all admit...but that counter reaction with declaring biafra was wrong....not all nigerians agreed that igbos were masscred in the north....

others didnt even bother to take over your things...especialy the yorubas....

i find it very strange that igbos are against the yorubas.....we are different empires....

yorubas dont have to give a fvck about igbos or what happened to them....

And here you are talking about Igbo and Biafra, in an Igbo thread.
Define lies and hypocrisy for me again.

AustineE1:

....You cannot discuss the Nigerian civil war without mentioning col. Achuzia,he was a war dog,brave in every sense of the word,the mention of his name bring fear and tremble in the enemies camp,he is a heros hero,a warriors warrior,the peoples soldier,in the military circle,he is known as Air raid,he was one of the 'mighty men of valor' during the civil war.
Though the afterlife is a place filled with uncertainties,we the living must do the fallen a favour by not forgetting the tales of there exploits. For me,he continues to live.
RIP to a soldiers soldier!

Air Raid
I always laugh when I recall this name and the story that's behind it. Colonel Achuzia was a brave man, utterly ruthless and fearless. Rest in peace sir

Good night, Hannibal.

thesicilian:
If he's such a hero how come most of us have never heard of him? Don't get me wrong, my point is, we should learn to celebrate our heroes when they are still alive (which actually benefits them more) than when they are dead, which is of no use to them.

Though you you are on point, yet heroes (especially war heroes) prefer to be celebrated when they are gone. They want their names and arts to be on the lips of the living almost forever.

MonPro:


He was actually hated by the FG. He was the only Biafran officer thrown into jail by Gowon after the war even while they chanted 'no victor no vanquished'. It was in that jail he wrote his own account of the war.

Jail - where the greatest books are written since John Bunyan's PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.

InfiniteLoopx:

Nna men, carry this your president noise and shove down your smelly nyash No fuvck giving.

exactly...keep on showing your true face online....

and if you guys hate nigeria sooo much,then why are you trying to communicate with us...?

if i hate some people say much,i wouldnt try to communicate with them....i wouldnt be on nairaland....

sooo,na una dey do una selfs at the end....

you bring up a militant and then await from us to applause....but our warriors you insult..

chaii,una dont make sense....

Wisdomkosi:
By Wisdom Nwedene

According to multiple online sources, Biafran Hero, Col. Joseph Achuzie (Air-Raid) has died at the age of 89.

Joseph "Hannibal" Achuzie (born 1929 - 2018 ) was a Major in the Biafran Army.

Joseph Achuzie

Nickname(s) :Hannibal
Born : 1929 (89 years ]

Colonial Nigeria
Allegiance :Nigeria (-1967), Biafra (1967-1970)

Years of service :-1970

Rank : Major (Biafran Army)

Commands held: Biafran 11th Division, Biafran 11th Battalion, Biafran S Division, Battles/wars, Nigerian Civil War, First Invasion of Onitsha, Second Invasion of Onitsha, Invasion of Port Harcourt, Operation OAU, Siege of Owerri, Operation Tail-Wind

Source : http://igberetvnews.com/430868/sad-biafran-hero-col-joseph-achuzie-air-raid-is-dead-photo/

so he was a colonel and had the rank of Major? Huh

engrchykae:
please respect yourself.
Banjo and Emmanuel Ifeajuna are traitors.
Purposely delaying the Ore movement for the federal government to buy time and mobilize the 2nd division and fighting back.
Both i.diots were communicating with lagos

Whatever happened to putting them in prison?

Nnamdi Kanu and Col. Achuzie

justtoodark:


he was a looser...!!!!

fact remains biafra lost the war.....

He dealth with Murtala 2nd Division, but not with Adekule 3MCDO

War With Murtala
Second Invasion of Onitsha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Invasion_of_Onitsha

First Invasion of Onitsha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Invasion_of_Onitsha

Abagana Ambush
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abagana_Ambush

He retired Murtala from commanding the second Division

When Biafra was declared independent on May 30, 1967 Ojukwu made Onwuatuegwu a Major in his Army.[2] Onwuatuegwu didn't see much action until March 1969 when he was put in charge of the Biafran S Division, in charge of re-capturing Owerri from the Nigerian Army. On March 15, 1969 Onwuatuegwu led an assault on the Nigerian 16th Division, who had been occupying Owerri since October 1968, but was forced to halt after suffering heavy casualties. Onwuatuegwu placed half of his men under the command of Maj. Joseph Achuzie, who managed to get within 1km of the city. Achuzie demanded total control of the S Division but was refused by Onwuatuegwu and the two men almost shot each other after drawing their pistols. President Ojukwu stepped in and gave Achuzie command of the S Division for 1 week. Achuzie's full-frontal attack ultimately failed and was forced to retreat and Ojukwu restored Onwuatuegwu as head of the S Division. On January 9, 1970 Onwuatuegwu escorted Biafran president, Odumegwu Ojukwu, to Uli Airport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Onwuatuegwu

Biafra War : Homemade Weapons & Tanks ( 1967 to 1970 )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8mvoToKSB0

Siege of Owerri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Owerri

3MCDO under Adekule won the major parts and the most difficult terrain, "the Atlantic Theater" you have the ocean behind you, Biafran bullets facing you, where will you run to? Their sector 1 had problems when they invaded Igbo heart land, by then OBJ was in charge. Respect Yoruba officers.

Their operations ended the war as well.

Operation Tail-Wind (January 7 – 12, 1970) was the final military conflict between Nigeria and Biafra. The operation took place in the towns of Owerri and Uli, both of which were captured by Nigerian forces. The operation ended with General Odumegwu Ojukwu fleeing to the Ivory Coast and then president of Biafra Philip Effiong surrendering to Olusegun Obasanjo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tail-Wind


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Mmhe_ouxI

Operation Tiger Claw
Operation Tiger Claw (October 17–19, 1967) was a military conflict between Nigerian and Biafran military forces. The battle took place in the major port of Calabar. The Nigerian were led by the infamous Benjamin Adekunle while the Biafrans were led by Maj. Ogbo Oji. The aftermath was a major loss to the Biafrans because it cost the Biafrans one of their largest ports
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tiger_Claw

Achuzie Hannibal - Thank you Papa. Nothing but Maximum Respect for you sir. Jee Nke Oma.

The greatest Air Raid!

Ojukwu's trusted smart Soldier!

When the enemies remember you, they remember Abagana massacre

When the enemies remember you, they remember their dooms day trying to cross river Niger.

Adieu ikemba Asaba!

read alot about this man i greatly admired his personality and achievement during the war

IamaNigerianGuy:
Anyone have a digital copy of Requiem for Biafra ? I need to read it

I have a coppy of Requiem Biafra but not the digital copy. But from the link below, maybe you can find an international library you can borrow the digital copy

Requiem Biafra is a must read for anyone wants to understand the Biafran war. That book was just battle after battle after battle

Achuzia was a man who was fearless. There was one battle which he was losing to the Nigerian side and he realised that if he did not do something drastic, he would be overrun. So in the heat of battle, he assembled all the Biafran troops under his command in a compound to address them on the new tactics to be adopted. The men were assembled in the compound and bombs and morters were falling all around the compound but Achuzia told them not to move. Above the deafening sound of bombs exploding, Achuzia shouted instructions over and over again and when the Biafrans went back into battle, they pushed the Nigerians back and saved the day.


That man was made of iron. "Requiem Biafra" is a must read


https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ia0MAQAAIAAJ&q=Requiem+for+biafra&dq=Requiem+for+biafra&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU_56axMXZAhXNYVAKHRn7B1oQ6AEIHDAA

supereagle:


He dealth with Murtala 2nd Division, but not with Adekule 3MCDO

War With Murtala
Second Invasion of Onitsha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Invasion_of_Onitsha

First Invasion of Onitsha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Invasion_of_Onitsha

Abagana Ambush
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abagana_Ambush

He retired Murtala from commanding the second Division

When Biafra was declared independent on May 30, 1967 Ojukwu made Onwuatuegwu a Major in his Army.[2] Onwuatuegwu didn't see much action until March 1969 when he was put in charge of the Biafran S Division, in charge of re-capturing Owerri from the Nigerian Army. On March 15, 1969 Onwuatuegwu led an assault on the Nigerian 16th Division, who had been occupying Owerri since October 1968, but was forced to halt after suffering heavy casualties. Onwuatuegwu placed half of his men under the command of Maj. Joseph Achuzie, who managed to get within 1km of the city. Achuzie demanded total control of the S Division but was refused by Onwuatuegwu and the two men almost shot each other after drawing their pistols. President Ojukwu stepped in and gave Achuzie command of the S Division for 1 week. Achuzie's full-frontal attack ultimately failed and was forced to retreat and Ojukwu restored Onwuatuegwu as head of the S Division. On January 9, 1970 Onwuatuegwu escorted Biafran president, Odumegwu Ojukwu, to Uli Airport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Onwuatuegwu

Biafra War : Homemade Weapons & Tanks ( 1967 to 1970 )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8mvoToKSB0

Siege of Owerri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Owerri

3MCDO under Adekule won the major parts and the most difficult terrain, "the Atlantic Theater" you have the ocean behind you, Biafran bullets facing you, where will you run to? Their sector 1 had problems when they invaded Igbo heart land, by then OBJ was in charge. Respect Yoruba officers.

Their operations ended the war as well.

Operation Tail-Wind (January 7 – 12, 1970) was the final military conflict between Nigeria and Biafra. The operation took place in the towns of Owerri and Uli, both of which were captured by Nigerian forces. The operation ended with General Odumegwu Ojukwu fleeing to the Ivory Coast and then president of Biafra Philip Effiong surrendering to Olusegun Obasanjo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tail-Wind


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Mmhe_ouxI

Operation Tiger Claw
Operation Tiger Claw (October 17–19, 1967) was a military conflict between Nigerian and Biafran military forces. The battle took place in the major port of Calabar. The Nigerian were led by the infamous Benjamin Adekunle while the Biafrans were led by Maj. Ogbo Oji. The aftermath was a major loss to the Biafrans because it cost the Biafrans one of their largest ports
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tiger_Claw

your nonesense dont impress me...while you are hung in the past,nigeria is building cars,sending satellites to space,building drones....

well,whatever rocks your boat.....