Can a Southerner be the Chief of Army Staff in Nigeria today? Your guess is as good as mine

He rode on bicycle from Benin to Lagos, but Alabi Isama single handedly contained the Biafran during the invasion before Murtala now came in . Some Igbos will say Yoruba are cowards, Yoruba officers handled the most difficult terrain of the civil war. General Akinriade led the final battle that ended the war.

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I wish I had a video of his interview on the NTA in which he described what happened during the Mid-West invasion and how he escaped from Benin.

1 Left to right) Hassan Katsina (governor of Northern Nigeria), Adekunle Fajuyi (governor of Western Nigeria), Aguiyi Ironsi (head of state), Odumegwu Ojukwu (governor of Eastern Nigeria) and David Ejoor (governor of Mid-West Nigeria).


2 seated behind) Hassan Katsina, Odumegwu Ojukwu, David Ejoor, JEA Wey (chief of naval staff) and Yakubu Gowon (chief of army staff). Seated in front = Aguiyi Ironsi.

Urhobo people and ugliness be like 5 and 6.....quote me and die

Trustme2:
Can a Southerner be the Chief of Army Staff in Nigeria today? Your guess is as good as mine

It will turn to our time. Let them build on their own. The problem is when a Southerner is there, they badly use it to the advantage of the Southerners.

HisMajesty1:
Invasion from whom? The federal troops or Biafran troops?

Biafran troops, The federal troops never invaded the Midwestern region, Ojukwu miscalculated and that decision cost him a lot.

I read his book "My Reminisces" about how he came from humble beginnings, went to secondary school, joined the Army and was trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst .

The guy escaped death many times. He was supposed to be killed in the January 1966 coup but he escaped. Also, during the war, he was Military Governor of the Mid-West. Biafran troops surrounded Government house Benin but he still managed to escape under heavy gunfire.

Efewestern:


Biafran troops, The federal troops never invaded the Midwestern region, Ojukwu miscalculated and that decision cost him a lot.

OK. Thanks... I really wish naptu2 can get that video.

rummmy:
Urhobo people and ugliness be like 5 and 6.....quote me and die

Respect the dead, you shouldn't bring tribalism into every post, how many Urhobos have you met in your life?

This is the man; who as Military Governor of Midwest State, fled Benin City (the state capital) through Ore claiming he rode a bicycle thru the Bush until he arrived in Lagos, when Major Okonkwo of secessionist Biafra and his rag tag army overran the Midwest State in 1967. A coward he was; as he fled and left his soldiers to be slaughtered!

What did Gen. Gowon, the then head of state do? He rewarded him as commandant to train our elite class of future military leaders at the NDA Kaduna... little wonder, he was the NDA commandant when Oladipo Diya passed out from the NDA in 1968.

This man who fled was rewarded as Chief of Army Staff for 4 years. No wonder Col. Joseph Nanven (Joe) Garba and his clique could overthrow Gowon easily without firing one bullet when Gowon went to Kampala for OAU summit in 1975



When Ejoor retired to his Deco Road, Warri residence, I cannot forget in a hurry how he intimidated the itsekiris and the Ijaws with his military connections, having soldiers attached to him from them 20 Air Mobile Battalion Effurun, Delta State causing mayhem in the streets of Warri in 1992,1993 during the inter ethnic clashes then. It took the stern warning from Head of State Sanni Abacha, and an Itsekiri Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dan Preston Omatsola, to cut this ethnic nationalist to size and he has remained mute ever since.

As a Warri boy, and a proud Nigerian I pray he Rest In Peace and may the Lord forgive him his sins, but please no one should ascribe the status of a national hero to this man. He simply doesn’t deserve it while he was alive and surely not now that he is dead. The honor of renaming the 20 Amphibious Batalion Effurun, formerly 20 Air Mobil Batalion as David Ejoor Barracks is enough!


Goodnight David Ejoor, May history judge you by your works ONLY, Amen!

My only problem with Ejoor is that he never stood for anything. He was just another Northern slave. This was a man who went to Aburi and was signed a document along with Gowon and Ojukwu on behalf of the Mid-West Region. But when Gowon broke that agreement, rather than join Ojukwu and insist on the Aburi agreement, he sheepishly bowed to his Northern masters

Been Living in a street named after him. Never knew he was still alive.

Efewestern:


Biafran troops, The federal troops never invaded the Midwestern region, Ojukwu miscalculated and that decision cost him a lot.

How was the invasion of the Midwest a miscalculation by Ojukwu? Maybe from a political aspect, the argument would be plausible considering the fact that the Midwest was a buffer/neutral region (presumably at least). But from a tactical perspective, the invasion was a necessity, and if it was better planned and executed(this was where Ojukwu really messed up by putting the command of the Midwest theatre in the hands of officers with questionable loyalty, competence, and ideological leanings) ... it would have been a significant turning point in the early stages of the war. The Federal troops attacked Biafra and were mounting pressure on its Northern axis in the Ogoja axis, Enugu the new republics' capital was only some distance away and was now a target for the Nigerian soldiers... so something spontaneous and contingent had to be done to avert/slow down the Federal advance, a diversionary tactic had to be implemented... and a invasion of the Midwest which in principle was a buffer zone, but actually under the control of the Federal government was the answer to that solution to the Biafran crisis.

But let me not derail the purpose of the thread, just had to make a detailed point here in the most objective and respectful way possible.

gidgiddy:
My only problem with Ejoor is that he never stood for anything. He was just another Northern slave. This was a man who went to Aburi and was signed a document along with Gowon and Ojukwu on behalf of the Mid-West Region. But when Gowon broke that agreement, rather than join Ojukwu and insist on the Aburi agreement, he sheepishly bowed to his Northern masters

How was he a northern slave?, The Midwestern region was neutral in the civil war and had already warned both warring parties not to bring their battles to Delta and Edo, you should blame Ojukwu for invading Midwest just because Ejoor didn't dance to his tunes.

The Midwestern region had no choice than to join the federal troops, let's not even talk about the atrocities committed by the Biafran troops. David Ejoor did all he had to do to protect the interest of his people.

gidgiddy:
My only problem with Ejoor is that he never stood for anything. He was just another Northern slave. This was a man who went to Aburi and was signed a document along with Gowon and Ojukwu on behalf of the Mid-West Region. But when Gowon broke that agreement, rather than join Ojukwu and insist on the Aburi agreement, he sheepishly bowed to his Northern masters

You keep calling others slaves of the North when slavery to the North actually started with your brothers Azikiwe and Aguiyi Ironsi. Azikiwe sold out the South to the North by preferring the master-slave coalition government of Balewa and himself to the rejection of the East-West coalition offer which would have made him the Prime Minister. That singular poorly thought out decision triggered off every act which further destroyed Southern unity and we all ended up as losers to the North till today. But why you always never acknowledge that Azikiwe sowed the seeds of southern disunity hence slavery to the North is what always beats me.
Do you honestly think this selective finger pointing of yours will help Igbos get their Biafra or help the entire South disentangle themselves from Northern domination?

This is a loss indeed. R.I.P David Ejoor.

gidgiddy:
My only problem with Ejoor is that he never stood for anything. He was just another Northern slave. This was a man who went to Aburi and was signed a document along with Gowon and Ojukwu on behalf of the Mid-West Region. But when Gowon broke that agreement, rather than join Ojukwu and insist on the Aburi agreement, he sheepishly bowed to his Northern masters

Ejoor was just a product of his time, like many officers in his situation who by circumstance or actual conviction pitched their tents on the Federal side, he had no choice than to be a "pawn" to the so called One Nigeria mantra been preached by the Gowon regime. My only regret in that war was Ojukwu been too naive and trusting enough to give the command of a very critical invasion to Victor Banjo of all people... a man with very questionable ambitions of his own, and a yoruba at that was like asking the devil to lead his legion of demons to quench hell fire. The the Midwest and Lagos was his best opportunity to end that war at its early stage, and force Nigeria to the negotiation table... But he floundered that golden opportunity. A Colonel Achuzia (an astute and proven warrior, and son of the Midwest) would have been the best person to lead that Midwest invasion, maybe the narrative would be told differently today...

Deadlytruth:


You keep calling others slaves of the North when slavery to the North actually started with your brothers Azikiwe and Aguiyi Ironsi. Azikiwe sold out the South to the North by preferring the master-slave coalition government of Balewa and himself to the rejection of the East-West coalition offer which would have made him the Prime Minister. That singular poorly thought out decision triggered off every act which further destroyed Southern unity and we all ended up as losers to the North till today. But why you always never acknowledge that Azikiwe sowed the seeds of southern disunity hence slavery to the North is what always beats me.
Do you honestly think this selective finger pointing of yours will help Igbos get their Biafra or help the entire South disentangle themselves from Northern domination?

The South is simply a slave to the North because we are NOT UNITED, SIMPLE. We can keep blaming the likes of Zik for eternity, but how long will we keep up with the blame game?

Efewestern:
RIP general, A true son of the soil, the Urhobo nation will miss you, Deltans will miss you.

RIP general. cc: sanchez01, fratermathy, we just lost a hero.

May Your Fathet Rest In Peace Amen

LucanBeeB:

How was the invasion of the Midwest a miscalculation by Ojukwu? Maybe from a political aspect, the argument would be plausible considering the fact that the Midwest was a buffer/neutral region (presumably at least). But from a tactical perspective, the invasion was a necessity, and if it was better planned and executed(this was where Ojukwu really messed up by putting the command of the Midwest theatre in the hands of officers with questionable loyalty, competence, and ideological leanings) ... it would have been a significant turning point in the early stages of the war. The Federal troops attacked Biafra and were mounting pressure on its Northern axis in the Ogoja axis, Enugu the new republics' capital was only some distance away and was now a target for the Nigerian soldiers... so something spontaneous and contingent had to be done to avert/slow down the Federal advance, a diversionary tactic had to be implemented... and a invasion of the Midwest which in principle was a buffer zone, but actually under the control of the Federal government was the answer to that solution to the Biafran crisis.

But let me not derail the purpose of the thread, just had to make a detailed point here in the most objective and respectful way possible.

Great point raised, but we didn't see it from that angle, Ojukwu not only wanted to conquer the region, he also ordered his men to bring Ejoor dead or alive, that alone brought so many doubts within the indigenes of the region, during the invasion there was also a rumour that the Biafran troops were about removing the Oba of Bini, that also had so many negative effects on how we perceived the occupation of our land by the Biafran troops, within few weeks of the occupation, several militias sprang up from Urhobo, itsekiri and Ijaw axis, they even poisoned some biafran soliders and drown so many in Sapele.

Ojukwu miscalculated, he could have used a more diplomatic ways instead of invading the region, considering the fact that he had some level of supports from the anioma's.

The federal government quickly keyed into that and pitched the Minorities against Ojukwu, till now that sentiments still exist, the decision to invade the Midwestern region is one that brought the civil war to an end.

LucanBeeB:

How was the invasion of the Midwest a miscalculation by Ojukwu? Maybe from a political aspect, the argument would be plausible considering the fact that the Midwest was a buffer/neutral region (presumably at least). But from a tactical perspective, the invasion was a necessity, and if it was better planned and executed(this was where Ojukwu really messed up by putting the command of the Midwest theatre in the hands of officers with questionable loyalty, competence, and ideological leanings) ... it would have been a significant turning point in the early stages of the war. The Federal troops attacked Biafra and were mounting pressure on its Northern axis in the Ogoja axis, Enugu the new republics' capital was only some distance away and was now a target for the Nigerian soldiers... so something spontaneous and contingent had to be done to avert/slow down the Federal advance, a diversionary tactic had to be implemented... and a invasion of the Midwest which in principle was a buffer zone, but actually under the control of the Federal government was the answer to that solution to the Biafran crisis.

But let me not derail the purpose of the thread, just had to make a detailed point here in the most objective and respectful way possible.

It sounded like a good idea at the time,open up a second front, and put pressure on the Nigerian Army at their weakest point (at the time of the Invasion, the Midwest was neutral....AND lightly defended....AND one of the senior federal officers was secretly a Biafra sympathizer….PLUS...the Western region was not 100% with the Federal side.)

Unfortunately, it ended up having the opposite effect....it woke up the sleepy Federal giant...and it pushed the Midwest and West firmly into the Federal camp.

Plus...after capturing Ore...the Biafran Army paused. (Bad move in war...once you gat the momentum...keep moving).

LucanBeeB:

The South is simply a slave to the North because we are NOT UNITED, SIMPLE. We can keep blaming the likes of Zik for eternity, but how long will we keep up with the blame game?

Your guy above blamed David Ejoor who was not among the political elite that caused the disunity of the South. How long will and should he too continue blaming Ejoor who wasn't even in the picture from the beginning?

Tears pouring from my eyes now.
I was planning on meeting him later this year. He and Abubakar Maimalari were one of our finest soldiers.

Note: THIS IS NOT THE NTA VIDEO.

I prefer that we hear what he had to say in his own words, but since I can't find the video online, I'll try and summarise what I can remember.

1) He declared that the Mid-West was neutral and ordered both Federal and Biafran troops out of the Mid-West.

2) However, there were things that made him suspect that some Igbo Mid-West soldiers were assisting the Biafrans and he talked about the steps he took to counter this problem.

3) He said that the first indication that he got that the invasion had started was when he heard a small boy shouting very early in the morning (before daybreak), trying to alert people that Biafran soldiers were nearby.

4) He spoke about how he escaped from Government House because the Biafrans were trying to kill him.

5) He said that a white Catholic priest brokered a meeting between him and some Biafran soldiers. The Biafrans were trying to convince him to join them, but he refused.

6) He spoke about how he escaped from Benin and got to a village (I've forgotten where the village was) and then he rode a bike to Lagos.


This video below is an AP video that showed David Ejoor's first news conference when he got to Lagos. The journalists had thought that he was dead.

26/ 9 /67 MISSING BRIGADIER THOUGHT DEAD REAPPEARS IN LAGOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhMAP2lK_LU

ogbonti:
This is the man; who as Military Governor of Midwest State, fled Benin City (the state capital) through Ore claiming he rode a bicycle thru the Bush until he arrived in Lagos, when Major Okonkwo of secessionist Biafra and his rag tag army overran the Midwest State in 1967. A coward he was; as he fled and left his soldiers to be slaughtered!

What did Gen. Gowon, the then head of state do? He rewarded him as commandant to train our elite class of future military leaders at the NDA Kaduna... little wonder, he was the NDA commandant when Oladipo Diya passed out from the NDA in 1968.

This man who fled was rewarded as Chief of Army Staff for 4 years. No wonder Col. Joseph Nanven (Joe) Garba and his clique could overthrow Gowon easily without firing one bullet when Gowon went to Kampala for OAU summit in 1975



When Ejoor retired to his Deco Road, Warri residence, I cannot forget in a hurry how he intimidated the itsekiris and the Ijaws with his military connections, having soldiers attached to him from them 20 Air Mobile Battalion Effurun, Delta State causing mayhem in the streets of Warri in 1992,1993 during the inter ethnic clashes then. It took the stern warning from Head of State Sanni Abacha, and an Itsekiri Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dan Preston Omatsola, to cut this ethnic nationalist to size and he has remained mute ever since.

As a Warri boy, and a proud Nigerian I pray he Rest In Peace and may the Lord forgive him his sins, but please no one should ascribe the status of a national hero to this man. He simply doesn’t deserve it while he was alive and surely not now that he is dead. The honor of renaming the 20 Amphibious Batalion Effurun, formerly 20 Air Mobil Batalion as David Ejoor Barracks is enough!


Goodnight David Ejoor, May history judge you by your works ONLY, Amen!

Why do Itsekiri hate Urhobo so much? ur sister rummmy is like u.

ogbonti:
This is the man; who as Military Governor of Midwest State, fled Benin City (the state capital) through Ore claiming he rode a bicycle thru the Bush until he arrived in Lagos, when Major Okonkwo of secessionist Biafra and his rag tag army overran the Midwest State in 1967. A coward he was; as he fled and left his soldiers to be slaughtered!

What did Gen. Gowon, the then head of state do? He rewarded him as commandant to train our elite class of future military leaders at the NDA Kaduna... little wonder, he was the NDA commandant when Oladipo Diya passed out from the NDA in 1968.

This man who fled was rewarded as Chief of Army Staff for 4 years. No wonder Col. Joseph Nanven (Joe) Garba and his clique could overthrow Gowon easily without firing one bullet when Gowon went to Kampala for OAU summit in 1975



When Ejoor retired to his Deco Road, Warri residence, I cannot forget in a hurry how he intimidated the itsekiris and the Ijaws with his military connections, having soldiers attached to him from them 20 Air Mobile Battalion Effurun, Delta State causing mayhem in the streets of Warri in 1992,1993 during the inter ethnic clashes then. It took the stern warning from Head of State Sanni Abacha, and an Itsekiri Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dan Preston Omatsola, to cut this ethnic nationalist to size and he has remained mute ever since.

As a Warri boy, and a proud Nigerian I pray he Rest In Peace and may the Lord forgive him his sins, but please no one should ascribe the status of a national hero to this man. He simply doesn’t deserve it while he was alive and surely not now that he is dead. The honor of renaming the 20 Amphibious Batalion Effurun, formerly 20 Air Mobil Batalion as David Ejoor Barracks is enough!


Goodnight David Ejoor, May history judge you by your works ONLY, Amen!

I have read lots of glorious tales about him bros. He may have his short comings but he was one of our finest.

David Ejoor the Nationalist that lowered the British Union Jack and raised the Nigerian Green-White-Green flag on 1st October 1960.

Efewestern:


Great point raised, but we didn't see it from that angle, Ojukwu not only wanted to conquer the region, he also ordered his men to bring Ejoor dead or alive, that alone brought so many doubts within the indigenes of the region, during the invasion there was also a rumour that the Biafran troops were about removing the Oba of Bini, that also had so many negative effects on how we perceived the occupation of our land by the Biafran troops, within few weeks of the occupation, several militias sprang up from Urhobo, itsekiri and Ijaw axis, they even poisoned some biafran soliders and drown so many in Sapele.

Ojukwu miscalculated, he could have used a more diplomatic ways instead of invading the region, considering the fact that he had some level of supports from the anioma's.

The federal government quickly keyed into that and pitched the Minorities against Ojukwu, till now that sentiments still exist, the decision to invade the Midwestern region is one that brought the civil war to an end.

Which still validates my point about the invasion been poorly executed, the Biafran arbitrary high handedness and ill treatment of the midwesterners in no small measure alienated them from any sympathy the people of the region had towards the Biafran cause. I was only trying to point out the reason for the invasion, and even at that would be honest enough to admit Ojukwu would have used a more diplomatic means to win the people of the Midwest over... rather than resort to a military means. But you have to understand Ojukwu was a soldier, and not a politician... and given the atmosphere of uncertainties precipitated by the war, it won't be farfetched to see why a surgical military option seemed more feasible and quicker in bringing the Federal side to a jittery point of negotiation, than a slow process of diplomatic red herrings of negotiations with the government of the Midwest.

LucanBeeB:

Ejoor was just a product of his time, like many officers in his situation who by circumstance or actual conviction pitched their tents on the Federal side, he had no choice than to be a "pawn" to the so called One Nigeria mantra been preached by the Gowon regime. My only regret in that war was Ojukwu been too naive and trusting enough to give the command of a very critical invasion to Victor Banjo of all people... a man with very questionable ambitions of his own, and a yoruba at that was like asking the devil to lead his legion of demons to quench hell fire. The the Midwest and Lagos was his best opportunity to end that war at its early stage, and force Nigeria to the negotiation table... But he floundered that golden opportunity. A Colonel Achuzia (an astute and proven warrior, and son of the Midwest) would have been the best person to lead that Midwest invasion, maybe the narrative would be told differently today...

Ejoor had a choice, to stand by the Aburi agreement or become a Northern slave. He chose to become a Northern slave.

I don't blame Ojukwu for choosing Banjo to lead the Mid-West operations. Ojukwu did not want the Biafran Army to look lke an invasion force and put a Yoruba man in charge. Ojukwu was to regret to his his dying days.

It has now been revealed that Gowon had started to make preparations to escape from Lagos when he heard that the Biafran had reached Ore. Unfortunately, Banjo could not go further.

If it had been Achuzia or Nzeogwu that led that Army, it would have been a different story today