People sacrificed their lives fighting for you, many wasted their active years in the bush only to be abandoned at the end of the Civil War. The effects are here now, MASSOB, IPOB, power drunk 419ers, there will be no peace until we remember those who died defending Ndigbo.
My message is clear. Until the Igbo, as a nation, set aside a day to mourn and eulogise thousands who were extinguished during the Pogrom and the millions that were killed in the Biafra Genocide, it will be from one calamity to another. The dead do not stay dumb, spiritually, especially those who died for a cause.
I was a Biafran Boy during the Civil War. Today, as an Old Man and Comparative Historian, my mentality has changed. General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was right to take that bold step of fighting the dark forces that wanted to annihilate the Eastern Region. And that was until 1968.
Yes, General Yakubu Gowon reneged on the Aburi Accord. That single act plunged Nigeria into crisis. Agreement na Agreementi ooo. By 1968, it was clear that Biafra could not win the war. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe saw it clearly. Some of Ojukwu’s contemporaries felt it as well. What was needed was diplomacy and Zik had secured the support of some of his Foreign Friends.
Ojukwu and many Biafrans dismissed Zik’s wisdom. Biafra became Emeka, Ojukwu, Mojekwu and Company. That mentality has not left many of those who are shouting Biafra now. Ndigbo must advise themselves and learn from History.
The January 1966 coup, I repeat, was a stupid coup. Chukwuma Nzeogwu, with all his Military Intelligence, did not know that he was a pawn. The brain behind that plot was Wale Ademoyega, a smart London University trained Historian, who joined the Army in 1962 as District Officer (DO).
Azikiwe, an Igbo man, was President. Another Igbo man, Nwafor Orizu was Senate President. The General Officer Commanding (GOC), Nigeria Army, General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi belonged to the Igbo group. Those young majors knew this and went ahead to plunge the country into unprecedented crisis.
Sure, the idea was to free Chief Obafemi Awolowo from jail. Nothing wrong with that, if they meant well. However, hell was let loose when Nzeogwu went beyond killing Alhaji Ahmadu Bello. His wife, Hafsatu, who chose to die with the Premier of the Northern Region, was gunned down. That was mean, she should have been spared.
Tim Onwuatuegwu did not only murder Brig. Sam Ademulegun, the 1 Brigade Commander’s wife Feyisitan, who was eight months pregnant, suffered the same fate. Col. Raphael Shodeinde’s wife was also shot but survived. That was in Kaduna. Chris Anuforo, assassinated Lt. Col Arthur Unegbe in the presence of his wife, Enuma, in Lagos.
The coup plotters were fighting Awolowo’s enemies. Who sen them? By killing Ladoke Akintola, Premier of the West in Ibadan and Lt. Col Abogo Largema at Ikoyi Hotel, Lagos, they expected the Yoruba to be happy. When two brothers are fighting, outsiders should stay away.
The Yoruba are not celebrating that January 15, 1966 coup. When war broke out, Awolowo and millions of Yoruba did not support Biafra. Prof. Wole Soyinka, Dr. Tai Solarin and a few circumstantial officers like Victor Banjo, Ganiyu Adeleke and Folu Oyewole, stood out.
Before anyone shouts Biafra, the real hero of the War, Gen. Philip Effiong, should be worshiped. He was an Ibibio and never abandoned the fight. The humiliation of surrendering to his junior Olusegun Obasanjo in Biafra and later Gowon in Lagos, saved many.
When Felix Houphouet-Boigny died, how many neo – Biafrans remembered to honour him in Yamoussoukro? Did they fly to Lusaka to salute Kenneth Kaunda’s body? Do they even remember Mwalimu Julius Nyerere? Revolutionaries read books, follow History and plan ahead.
Air Vice Marshal Osita Obierika died in the air, yes, he also lived in the air. How many Biafrans think about this great man ? As a serving Nigerian Air Force officer, he went public, urging the Federal Government to tap from the ingenuity of Biafrans.
Obierika was at Dunbar Creek, St. Simon’s Island in Georgia, United States to celebrate the Igbo Landing of 1803. Real Igbo men, not fake opportunists, like we see them everywhere now, chose death to slavery and walked back into the sea.
Sylvester Nwakuche is the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service. His elevation was made possible by a Yoruba man, Olubunmi Tunji – Ojo, Minister of Interior. The Oguta man was due for this job in 2021 but the Sahara Mafia pushed him aside. No Igbo Big Man took the case up or even said ‘ndo’ (sorry).
There are so many empty barrels across the Niger. Dr. Chike Akunyili, a man who fought for Biafra, was gunned down in public, we were busy watching the video. Dr. Emma Nnama, a tough Biafran Lieutenant who later became the first boss of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was shot by criminals, nothing happened.
When Labour Party floored the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, during the 2023 presidential elections, it was noise everywhere. Many failed to realise that it was not just because of Igbo votes. Many Yoruba voted for Peter Obi. And when ‘Kasala’ burst, no one went after the Yoruba, the Igbo are suffering it, just like they suffered because an Izon man, Rex Lawson, sang ‘Ewu na ebe akwa’, in 1966.
In the Second Republic, politics favoured Ndigbo. Four of the five political parties chose Igbo Presidential Running mates after the Nigerian Peoples Party settled for Zik, as flag bearer. Vice President Alex Ekwueme would have become President in 1987 but Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s Sahara Mafia stopped him.
Enough of noise. Ndigbo, look homewards. The South – East is Heaven on Earth, God is ready to make it happen. The same people who built refineries, airports and armaments during the War, can do even better in peace time. Some Igbo leaders are doing follow – follow. Sam Mbakwe never did that. Zik and Dr. Michael Okpara were men. Ndigbo, men dey.
The post Biafra: Stop the noise! By Emeka Obasi appeared first on Vanguard News.
