Nd'Igbo: 10 Years Without Ojukwu

BY MAGNUS EZE AND GEORGE ONYEJIUWA

Igbo hero, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who led the people of defunct Eastern Region to a 30-month war between Biafra and Nigeria, died on November 26, 2011. In commemoration of his death, founder of the Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State Biafra (MASSOB) and the Biafra Independent Movement (BIM), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has consistently hosted the Ojukwu Day on November 26 at the Ojukwu Memorial Library built in honour of the Ezeigbo Gburugburu, in Owerri, Imo State capital.

The celebrations were usually marked with fanfare and have attracted the Igbo and other Nigerians from far and near. In the last decade since the Ojukwu Day began, several important personalities from across Nigeria had graced the event including the late founder of Odua People’s Congress (OPC), Dr Fredrick Fasheun; Major Al Mustapha, Chief Security Officer to the late Military Head of State General Sani Abacha and the 1996 Long Jump Olympic Gold medalist, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Chioma Ajunwa.
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The late Nri monarch, Onyesor Obidigwu; former Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide; Uche Okukwu; Niger Delta activist, Asari Dokubo; former Ohanaeze Ndigbo President General and Secretary General, Dr Dozie Ikedife and Col. Joe Achuzie (Rtd) respectively as well as politicians had also graced the memorial.

Ojukwu Day has become a veritable platform where issues militating against Ndigbo are discussed and solutions proffered. Chairman of this year’s event was no less a person than Afamefuna Ojukwu, son of Bianca, widow of the late Biafra leader. The younger Ojukwu who has become the youngest chairman of the event was fittingly ushered into the arena by the Ijele masquerade, the biggest masquerade in Igbo land.

Painfully, no South East state government has in the past 10 years identified with the Ojukwu Day, this was condemned by Afamefuna. He accused governors of the five South East states of abandoning his father in death. His mother, Bianca, had raised similar issue in the past. She alleged that Governor Chief Willie Obiano of Anmabra State has not given her husband the due recognition, but using his name during elections.

Afamefuna lamented governments of states, which his father fought to defend their people turned their backs on him after his burial. He praised Uwazuruike for keeping Ojukwu’s name alive at all cost and urged the Igbo to use the 10th anniversary of his exit to look back and look deep, while not forgetting the vision planted so long ago:

“Ten years ago, when my father, Ikemba, Eze Igbo Gburugburu left us, I was a child. Yet, I can never forget the outpouring of love that you, ummu nne m, showed him. In life and in death, you stood with him.

“Since that fateful day 10 years ago, Okenwa, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, who in his lifetime took the baton of fighting for our people, has also taken it upon himself to celebrate my father year after year. As he honoured the Ikemba in life, he has continued to honour him in death.

“In these almost 10 years, no state governor in the South East has done this incredible and noble task, despite the fact that Eze Igbo Gburugburu was our leader through a war to save us from the genocide that faced our people.

“Today, we live in a world where many prefer to forget the battles waged to bring us this far, the sacrifices of so many in this unrelenting quest to end our marginalisation and the continued fight for a just and equitable state that we can live in without oppression. Nobody without passion for his people and a spirit of sacrifice can lead us to the Promised Land, no matter how genuine their intentions may be.”

Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr Nkem Okeke, who was the special guest of honour, also commended Uwazuruike: “We are here today to honour the memory of a great man, a true son of Ndigbo. He was a brave man with integrity who loved his people and stood for truth all his life. I am here to show solidarity to his family and I will continue to stand by them.

“Ndigbo are great people and all we need is unity of purpose and with that we can achieve whatever we want. We must stand together and if we don’t do that, we will never achieve our desired position in Nigeria.”

The guest speaker, Prof Proteus Uzoma, presented a paper titled; “The Marginalization of Igbo Nation and the Call for Nigerian unity –The Way Forward.” He noted that the Igbo nation has continued to face enormous political and economic challenges since the instigated and imposed civil war by the General Yakubu Gowon-led Federal Military Government.

He asserted that Nigeria would only be considered normal in terms of where Ndigbo stood vis-a-vis the other ethnic nationalities politically and economically. The Professor of Philosophy noted: “The Igbo people in reality experienced an overwhelming level of disadvantages based on public policies that seemed crafted to undermine their ability to maximize political and economic potentials.

“The restructuring of Nigeria to create more states for the northern states to the detriment of the Southern Nigeria, especially, the South ast was not only an impediment politically; it impacts the economic potentials of the Igbo people negatively.

“Such policies as the failure to rehabilitate the Biafra land after the war, the 20 Pound flat refund to any Biafran who wished to convert the old currency, or deposits with bank prior to the war; the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree of 1972, also known as Indigenization Decree, federal character principle, manipulated population census, creation of states and local government areas in favour of the Northern Nigeria, deliberate underuse of seaports within the Igbo axis, lack of standard international airport and other exploitative actions speak volume.

“These formed many overt and indirect actions to diminish the ability of the Igbo people to compete on a level-playing ground with other major ethnic groups. This has given rise to the current agitation in the South East for equity, justice and fairness.”

He posited that the only remedy to the current agitation both in the South East/South West is restructuring of Nigeria into a true and real federal polity as well as conceding the presidential slot to the Igbo in 2023 for equity and justice:

“The crux of the matter lies in fact that the Nigerian Federal Government has too much powers, plays dominant roles and overbearing influences that have been grossly abused, thus leading to intensified calls for restructuring, coupled with suppressed frustrations and resentment during the military interregnum; resulting in inter-communal violence now threatening the peace and unity of Nigeria.

“Come 2023 and in accordance with the gentleman’s agreement among the Southern and Northern Nigeria in 1998, power must rotate to the Southern Nigeria, and since the South West and South-South have taken their own shots to the Presidency since 1999, ‘to-be-and-not-to-be’ is the question. Will a South-Easterner be the next President of Nigeria or not?”

Bianca in a vote of thanks lauded Uwazuruike for ensuring that the memory of her late husband was kept alive: “Some other person may have given up after two years. But this is the tenth year and I am grateful for what he has been doing including the Ikemba Ojukwu Library he built.”

She called on President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the appeal of eminent Igbo elders led by First Republic aviation minister, Chief Mbazuluike Amaechi, who recently paid him a visit to ask for the release of detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

NNAMDI AZIKIWE'S OPINION OF OJUKWU AND BIAFRA

Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, governor-general of Nigeria and member of the Queen's Privy Council, on the day of his appointments, November 16, 1960. Image: Popperfoto via Getty

AZIKIWE'S OPINION OF OJUKWU/BIAFRA

"Yes. I played a prominent role in Biafra for the unity of the country in order to restore peace and bring about unity of the country. That’s the role I played. I advised Ojukwu. I said well look, you have declared secession.

What we should do is to get the elder statesmen and women of the nation to reconcile you and Gowon. I said by declaring secession, you get so many people who do not believe you to remain there.

You see all of us were interned. As we were interned then, we couldn’t express our own views as we see it because, he made Decree Number 5 which vested absolute powers in himself and if you were against his views, it then constituted an act of subversion and the penalty was death by shooting.

Well, it was a war-time measure and that is understandable. So, I advised him. I said go to the conference table and iron out your differences. Allow elder statesmen and elder stateswomen to bring the two of you to the conference table and settle this matter so that there will no more be civil war and the country may be united. He agreed. But Gowon was advised by the Ministry of External Affairs to insist on pre-conditions .

That is that before he could negotiate with the secessionists, that they must accept certain terms; accept the 12-state structure and all. So, it was quite obvious that the Federal Government wanted Biafra to come to the conference table with their hands tied and their feet tied. But they won’t be free agents.

That was the diplomatic mistake on the part of the Federal Government. So, when they did that, then Lt- Col. Ojukwu told me, “How can I go to the conference table based on these ultimatums?”

Still I advised Ojukwu to go to the OAU and ask them to use their good offices to settle the dispute and that we should avoid loss of lives. He accepted my advice in good faith.

Then he said, ‘Now, you have some heads of state in Africa who are your friends, would you mind going to appeal to them to use their good offices so that the Nigerian civil war could be an item on the agenda for OAU summit in Kinshasa?’ I said I would gladly go. So he sent me to Monrovia as a peace envoy.

I went there and met my friend, President Tubman. Tubman expressed his willingness to use his good offices. He told me he would see another mutual friend, the late Haile Sellassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, and both of them would see that the civil war was placed as first item on the agenda of the OAU Summit in Kinshasa.

I returned and broke the news to Ojukwu. He was very pleased.

Then, when the OAU summit opened, Chief Awolowo, as Vice-Chairman of the Federal Executive Council and Commissioner for Finance, led a strong Nigerian delegation to Kinshasa and raised a very strong objective on the Nigerian civil war being placed as an item on the agenda on the grounds that according to the OAU Charter, this was a domestic affairs and member states were precluded from interfering in the domestic affairs of each other, which was really sound according to international law.

But we wanted to solve it in the African way, to use mediation and conciliation to bring two warring brothers together.

The OAU accepted the submission of Chief Awolowo and so it was not put into the agenda. Well, history will show now between Chief Awolowo and myself, who actually accentuated the war. I was trying to get the OAU to settle the dispute so they could go to the conference table and he was thinking of legalism, that it would amount to interference in the domestic affairs of a member-state.

But meanwhile here you have two brothers killing each other.Well, Ojukwu told me, I have done my best. You see, Nigeria was relying on law and we are relying on humanity.

What’s next? I said why not try other heads of states and see what could be done to bring about peace? He then said he left the initiative with me. I suggested going to some heads of state and see what can be done. But his advisers led by Dr. Nwakama Okoro suggested recognition.

That if we can get other states to recognize Biafra, maybe the hands of Nigeria may be forced to go to the conference table.

Well, I thought that was a sound idea and I placed my services at their disposal so as to meet my friends.

We had in mind President Senghor of Senegal, President Houphouet Boigny of Ivory Coast, President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, President Milton Obote of Uganda, President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and of course Francois Bongo, he is now Omar. He now has become a Muslim. He was then a Christian.

The long and short of it all was that I and these great African statesmen agreed that if Gowon persisted with pre-conditions, then they would accord recognition to force the hands of Gowon to go to the conference table and bring about peace.

That was one.

Two, Gowon had already predicted that the war would end on March 31 and as far as these African statesmen were concerned, these killings and atrocities did not do any credit to the image of Africa and as such what should be done was to stop it as soon as possible.

Therefore if the war didn’t end by March 31, then the propaganda of ‘Biafra’ that it was an act of genocide would be justified. And they didn’t want to accept that.

I went on this mission and succeeded in persuading these heads of state to agree to give recognition just to force the hands of Nigeria, diplomatically speaking, to the conference table.

President Senghor said he couldn’t because the majority of his supporters were Muslims and rightly or wrongly they felt it was a religious war. And he said well, if he granted recognition, then his government would fall.

But he supported the idea of forcing the hands of Nigeria to the conference table. Houphouet Boigny was prepared, provided his people backed him. Ditto for the others except Milton Obote who told us that Prince Mutesa and the Bagandans wanted to secede and he couldn’t support secession when his own state was confronted with similar problems. It left four of them.

That is, President Nyerere, Houphouet Boigny, Kaunda and Bongo. They agreed on the understanding that the war did not end by March 31, 1968 and pre-conditions would be removed to make it easy for both Ojukwu and Gowon to go to conference table.

So they granted recognition and it worked like magic because immediately after this, Dr. Okoi Arikpo, who must be presumed to be responsible for this diplomatic blunder (he was the Commissioner for External Affairs]---a good man no doubt, but he is a very poor diplomat in my own humble opinion - announced to the outside world that Nigeria would no longer insist on pre-conditions and that he was prepared for conference table but the war did not end on March 31 and so, they left the impression, you see, that Nigeria wanted to annihilate the Ibos.

You noticed the Soviets gave Nigeria more arms and Nigeria used those arms to destroy the secessionists. Here, I came in again and I advised Ojukwu. I said look since Gowon has withdrawn the pre-conditions, go to the conference table and argue the points so as to pave way for a peace conference.

It was agreed that they should meet in Niamey. I advised Ojukwu to go. Again Gowon was ill-advised so he couldn’t come.

At Niamey here was Ojukwu. I was on his side. Gowon wasn’t there but Haile Sellassie, Hamani Diori, Tubman and General Akran were there representing OAU. So, I told Ojukwu, I said now you have an upper hand.

These respected leaders of the OAU were there. I had briefed Ojukwu. I said ‘look your line of approach is to express appreciation for what the OAU was doing in order to maintain peace in Africa but you were prepared to co-operate and you are leaving the whole matter in the hands of the OAU to see what could be done to bring an earlier cessation of hostilities.

I said just say that and thank them and sit down.Now Gowon didn’t attend. He sent a junior man, I think Alhaji Femi Okunnu or so, to represent him. And they didn’t even attend this conference at which the four heads of state presided. It was only the Biafran side.

So Ojukwu won a diplomatic victory and you know Ojukwu is a very good speaker if you give him all the facts. He was a good public relations expert and he won. He said, ‘well if Gowon was sincere why did he spite such great men and didn’t attend?’ That worked.

They agreed that Nigeria could be contacted so that we have a peace conference in Addis Ababa. It was a diplomatic victory for Biafra and so we returned to Biafra highly elated. And Ojukwu insisted that I should accompany him to Addis Ababa.

Then something happened. Some of his advisers felt that I was becoming a victim of compromise and that I was a bad influence. That all I was trying to do was to make Biafra impotent. They told Ojukwu that Biafra was holding its own militarily. And why should we want a peace conference?

That he should be very, very careful with me, especially as an Onitsha man because they thought that I was using him as a means to give publicity for myself internationally and that time will come when people will look more to me than to himself.

Well, as a young man, human, he fell for such flattery. I don’t want to mention all the names, but particularly influential in swinging his opinion at that material time was Mr. C. C. Mojekwu, who was based in Lisbon. Then Mr. Matthew Mbu was our Commissioner for External Affairs and he himself did as much as possible, but then he realized that he was having someone who has power of life and death over everybody.

So, we went to Addis Ababa and on the night before the conference, Matthew came to my bedroom at about 10 in the night. He said, “Do you know that all we have done, this man is going to undo them tomorrow?’ I said ‘No’. Then he brought out a printed version of a long speech.

The world press said it lasted for 90 minutes.

He [Ojukwu] went back on everything we discussed. He attacked the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union - all the nations of the world and the OAU, and said that they were misleading us and that the sovereignty of ‘Biafra’ was not negotiable.

We went to the conference. I sat next to him. I thought that he was going to speak in accordance with the spirit of Niamey. But he spoke for 90 minutes and he just got the whole place upside down.

Naturally, Tony Enahoro - he led the Nigerian delegation - replied in kind and so we were back to square one. So, when we returned, I advised him. I told him that I was surprised at what he did but it was not late. He said, ‘The sovereignty of Biafra is not negotiable and if anybody should try to compromise that sovereignty, then it will be an act of subversion.’

Well, that was quite clear to me so I said, ‘Your Excellency, you still have Port Harcourt and you can still bargain from position of strength - after all, the main issue in the civil war is oil and they say that in international politics, oil is combustible and as you have a combustible situation you can begin from the position of strength’. He said, ‘No, Port Harcourt is impregnable.’ ‘Very well, Your Excellency,’ I said. I went back to Nekede where I had been in protective custody since February, 1968. Two weeks later, Port Harcourt fell.

He sent for me. I said, ‘Well, Your Excellency, I did warn you. You cannot now negotiate from a position of strength but having received recognition from four states, we can still use them to see what we can do to appeal to the outside world.’ He said, ‘Very well, I think you should go to the United Nations to seek for recognition.’ I said, ‘Your Excellency, let us wait until after OAU summit in Algiers and find out what Africa thinks.’ In the meantime, I went to Tunisia to see my friend Habeeb Bourguiba of Tunisia. He wasn’t quite well, so we moved from Carthage to Hermit where he stayed. Ojukwu had always said the civil war would be won on the battlefield and not on the conference table, and Bourguiba didn’t take kindly to that. He said don’t you people advise this young man? I explained to him that I have done everything I could to advise him, but he insists on going to the battle field.

So we crossed our fingers awaiting the verdict of Algiers. You know it was decided by 33 to 4 in favour of Nigeria. I advised Ojukwu that to go to the United Nations to seek recognition would be unrealistic since Africa had decided by 33 to 4 in favour of Nigeria. I said Nigerian envoys, the Nigerian delegations, would just percolate the membership of the United Nations and they would frown at the whole thing. He insisted. I was then in Paris. I wrote him a letter. I said:

‘Since you refuse to go to the conference table to negotiate for peace, since you prefer that the civil war should end on the battle field and not on the conference table; since you said that the sovereignty of Biafra is not negotiable, I am afraid I cannot continue as a peace envoy because you have destroyed all the vestiges of any optimism for peace.

Therefore I am relieving myself of my services as a peace envoy. I cannot continue as a peace envoy. I cannot continue as a peace envoy because you have let me down. You left me under the impression that if I succeeded in getting recognition you will go to the conference table. You got four recognitions; you did not go to the conference table. I am therefore going to London on exile.’

I went to London in voluntary exile and the British government granted me asylum. I do not see how anybody could say that I ran away from my country.

I crossed the Atlantic 46 times, trying to negotiate with various heads of state so that they could grant recognition or make OAU to settle the dispute. How could the head of state turn round now and accuse all those who were politicians in pre-1966 and post-1966 as being responsible for the downfall of the republic?

I did my best to preserve the unity of Nigeria and also to preserve the lives of old men, able-bodied men and women and children but I failed. What could I do? I went on free exile and they keep saying that I was among those responsible for the downfall of the republic. I plead not guilty".

Excerpts from the interview he granted to New Nigerian Newspapers, 1979, as Presidential aspirant under the platform of Nigerian People's Party.

Anambra: Obiano, Bianca Ojukwu And 2021 Governorship

Bianca Ojukwu

BY LAWRENCE NJOKU

The former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain and wife of Eze Igbo Gburugburu, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu is not new to controversy. She is also not cowed by circumstances that could make her not to speak her mind the way it matters to her.

Last Monday, the former beauty queen stirred controversy that has garnered both praise and condemnation from the public, with her description of Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano as an “ingrate.”

The event was the second memorial lecture in honour of her late husband, held inside the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Anambra State. Obiano was absent at the event.

Bianca, who was apparently enraged by the governor’s absence, had thrown caution to the wind when it was her turn to address the audience. Rather than speak on the event of the day, she turned her fury against Obiano and gave him a piece of her mind.

Observing all protocol at the capacity-filled hall, which also included the Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Nkem Okeke, who represented Obiano, she had expressed regret and consternation that it was the second time the governor would stay away from the programme.

Apparently referring to the role the late Ikemba played in installing the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) government in the state since 2006, through former Governor Peter Obi, who handed the baton to Obiano, the widow of the respected Igbo leader reminded the governor to be guided by history and not bite the fingers that fed him.

Turning to Okeke, she said: “Tell the governor that today is yet again the memorial lecture and posthumous birthday of that man he rode on his political structure to stardom and he is once more not present. Tell him that his actions regarding the man who everyone is here for, but he couldn’t find time as governor of his state to be here, is very much like that of an ingrate. Tell him that he shouldn’t be afraid because there are no evil spirits here to attack him.”

Her comments have since continued to elicit reactions, even from her immediate family. While there are those who have excitedly cheered her for her boldness, others wondered how the governor’s absence from a posthumous birthday could elicit such jabs, especially since Obiano sent his Deputy to represent him, to enable him attend other official engagements.

Interestingly, it was Obiano who signed into law the change of name of Anambra State University to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University. He was also privy to the second memorial lecture.

Meanwhile, the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, which provided the platform that was used to disparage the governor, has also denied Mrs Ojukwu.

Also, Chief Emeka Ojukwu, son of the late Ikemba Nnewi, had distanced himself from Mrs Ojukwu’s outburst.

Indeed, it was revealed that the state government had continued to care for the family of the late Ikemba right from the days of Peter Obi as governor. The family is reportedly receiving a statutory monthly allocation, while the position of Special Adviser is said to be exclusively reserved for the family, as a way of appreciating Ojukwu’s contributions to the party and state.

Sources said this position was once occupied by Emeka Ojukwu, and when he left, one Robert Okonkwo, who was allegedly nominated by Bianca took over the position. Bianca is not only seen as the APGA leader’s wife but also as a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT).

Possible Reasons That Stoked Tension Between Bianca And Obiano
Although it was not the first time Mrs. Ojukwu was said to have indirectly attacked the governor, many reasons have continued to surface on what possibly could have derailed the relationship that resulted in the recent brickbats. While some hinged it on a possible stoppage of the statutory allocation and position in government, others said it goes beyond what Obiano can handle.

Indeed, many who have closely followed developments in the state would readily agree that the vituperations might not have arisen because of Obiano’s failure to attend the memorial lecture and posthumous birthday ceremony of the late Ikemba, especially since he was represented by his Deputy.

The Guardian gathered that it might not be unconnected with a broken-down relationship that occurred, following Bianca Ojukwu’s inability to grab the Anambra South senatorial ticket of APGA in the 2019 National Assembly election.

Sources indicated how much she had wanted the position and had “recruited” certain individuals and groups to “pressure” the party to award the ticket automatically to her without having to contend with any other aspirant in the name of the party primary.

It was further gathered that most people were of the opinion that she would easily win the ticket, considering that her late husband was APGA leader until his death.

There was also the thinking that since Ojukwu’s death, Bianca had associated with APGA and has been participating in all its activities. Indeed, during the last governorship election, there was hardly any major political rally she did not attend to deliver powerful speeches.

Many political analysts were of the view that it was Ojukwu’s influence that made it possible for APGA to have the strong hold on Anambra State politics, and that one way to appreciate the late Ikemba’s contributions for APGA’s consistent excellent performance in the state, would have been to allow his widow to take Ojukwu’s name to the Senate. Her closeness with the governor was seen as another great advantage.

Things moved smoothly in her favour. Many prominent people across Igbo land were said to have come together in a bid to sponsor her for the race by contributing needed fund for her campaign.

However, hitches began to emerge, when the Ojukwu family held a press conference in Abuja, saying they were opposed to her becoming a senator for Anambra State. Their main reason was that she hailed from Enugu State and that it was improper for her to occupy a position meant for someone from Anambra South.

The dust raised by the press conference was yet to settle, when Obiano, who is the party leader, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT), announced that a level playing ground would be provided for all aspirants for the position.

Among the contestants were Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Bianca Ojukwu, Chief Ifeanyi Uba, who was later disqualified on the ground that he did not obtain a waiver from the party to contest on its platform in line with its Constitution and Anslem Enyimba, a banker.

Obiano was said to have reasoned that the candidates were so formidable and qualified that anything short of equal playing field could affect the state going forward.

When the primary eventually held, Ukachukwu floored Bianca and was declared the winner and issued with the certificate to contest the election, to the former beauty queen’s dismay.

It is being interpreted that Bianca sacrificed much in ensuring the governor’s victory and had expected him to reciprocate the gesture. She was, therefore, disappointed that he could not bring his influence in the party and government to bear in determining the election, which could have been won for the first time by the party.

The source added that since then, cold war had begun. Some of the attacks that Obiano had allegedly suffered on social media are linked to the media team, the IBOM Group; she set up during the botched senatorial election.

We Will Not War With Her – Government
However, Anambra State government has said it would not engage in any manner of press war with Mrs Ojukwu who is revered in the state.

Mr. Don Adinuba, Commissioner of Information, said the state government was interested in accelerating developments that could uplift the people’s wellbeing, stressing that it would not want to be diverted from its focus.

Furthermore, a release made available to The Guardian from the Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Emeka Ozumba, also dissociated the governor’s wife, Eberechukwu Obiano from statements making the rounds that she had responded to Mrs. Ojukwu.

Ozumba said in the release that the purported statement was the handiwork of those not happy with the phenomenal progress the state had recorded in various areas in recent years, leading the whole country in such fields as financial resource management, security, education, peace and stability, among others.

He agreed, however, that Mrs. Ojukwu “choose an event to honour the husband to make remarks which infra dig, that is, incompatible with her status.”

Bianca’s Vituperation And 2021 Governorship Election
There are growing concerns that the deepening animosity should be checked, especially considering APGA’s desire to retain the state in 2021. Although sources have queried Mrs Ojukwu’s capacity to win the Anambra South senatorial election had the ticket been granted her, based on the presence of heavy politicians paraded by other political parties in the zone like the Ubas, the feelings are that prosecuting the election as a united front would impact the party’s chances.

A chieftain of the party, Slyvanus Okoro, stated that the implication of such public remarks showed that “even our BOT is not working together.”

He said: “We don’t need this kind of divisions in the party. Not after what we went through during the 2019 general elections in the state and other parts of the country that still linger here and there.

“I think if the BOT, which should show direction, is working together, it will help salvage this party and prepare it for the battle ahead. We cannot afford another round of crisis.

“Politics is about to give and take. It has never been smooth. It is filled with disappointments. What we didn’t get today, we can get tomorrow. We cannot leverage on lost opportunity to create an air of disunity. There are many opportunities we can create in the party if we work together.

“So I beckon on Iyom Bianca Ojukwu to sheath her sword. The lost opportunity should be used as an added political experience to prepare her in the future. Let us not pull down the roof of the house for our individual benefits.”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Ekweremadu Urges Leaders To Honour Odumegwu Ojukwu By Restructuring Nigeria

Ike Ekweremadu. Image: Twitter

BY CHRISTIAN CHIME

ONITSHA: IGBARIAM, ANAMBRA STATE (THE GUARDIAN) -- Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has said that the greatest honour political leaders can accord the leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, is to build a united but restructured and just Nigeria, which he lived and died for.

Ekweremadu disclosed this yesterday in his opening remarks as chairman of the second Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Memorial Lecture at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Anambra State.

His words, “From the structural imbalances, which inescapably counts against the South East zone in particular in its voting power at the National Assembly, the distribution of national offices, revenue sharing, and other blessings of democracy such as infrastructure, to the defective federalism that has made it impossible for Ndigbo to fully harness their potential, Ndigbo have many grounds to be dissatisfied.

“This state of affairs has effectively reared two schools of thought in the South East region on the way forward. There are those, mostly the younger Igbo generation, who believe that the best way forward is total separation from the Nigerian state and the actualisation of a sovereign state of Biafra. This has resulted in agitations, which got to its crescendo in recent years.

“On the other hand is the school of thought, to which I belong, and which believes that Ndigbo can indeed blossom, actualise their potential and be happy in a restructured Nigerian state.”

The Enugu senator elaborated on this in his Position Paper entitled ‘Biafra: The Legal, Political, Economic, and Social Questions’, presented at the July 2017 meeting of the highest echelon of Igbo leadership at the height of the pro-Biafra agitations and military operations in the South East.

Ekweremadu added, “This position resonates with the thoughts of Ezeigbo Gburugburu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, in the lecture entitled ‘Nigeria: The Truths that are Self-Evident’ he delivered on February 22, 1994 and was affirmed in the Awka Declaration where Ndigbo affirmed their commitment to a united, but restructured and just Nigeria.”On immortalising Ojukwu, he stressed: “Ikemba came ahead of his time, he lived ahead if his time, and he died ahead of his time because the laudable visions he longed for are yet to be realised.

“Therefore, our nation and her leaders owe it to the memory of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu to strengthen Nigeria as a political entity where justice, peace, love, and unity reign; where national interest is supreme and where every Nigerian and every part thereof are free and able to actualise its legitimate dream unmolested and irrespective of religious, political and tribal affiliations and origin. This is indeed the greatest honour and tribute he can get from us.”

Murtala Snatched Ogbemudia From Ojukwu

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Head of the Secessionist Biafra, flanked by his aides, attends a special parade at Ahiara, Biafra November 4, 1969, to celebrate his 36th birthday. Biafra would cease to exist in two months after the commemoration of his birthday. Image: Goldsmith/Associated Press

BY EMEKA OBASI

One young officer who understood his teacher well enough was Murtala Mohammed. As a cadet at the Regular Officers Special Training School [ROSTS] Teshie, Ghana, he emerged tops in Captain Emeka Ojukwu’s Tactics class.

Murtala left Teshie in 1959 for Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in 1961. Ojukwu had joined the Army in 1957 from the ranks even with a post graduate degree from Oxford University.

Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia was at Teshie in 1957 before proceeding to Mons Officers Cadet School, Aldershot, where he was also commissioned Second Lieutenant in 1961.

The trio later served in the Congo as members of United Nations Peace Keeping Force. Ogbemudia was also in Tanzania with a Nigerian detachment under Col. Sam Ademulegun. 

When Chukwuma Nzeogwu and his friends struck on January 15, 1966, Ogbemudia was not carried along. He was an Instructor at the Nigeria Military Training College [NMTC] Kaduna which was under the temporary command of the latter.

 I listened to Ogbemudia stress this at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra in 2002. He had to ask Nzeogwu what really was going on. Col. Ojukwu was commander, Fifth Battalion in Kano and kept Nzeogwu in check. 

Murtala led the Counter coup of July 29, 1966. Ogbemudia was Brigade Major, One Brigade, Kaduna. Ojukwu stayed in Enugu as Military governor of the Eastern Region. 

Ogbemudia narrowly escaped death after a hot pursuit by Lt. Bukar Dimka from Kaduna to the jungles of the Middle Belt. Ojukwu did not recognize Lt.Col Yakubu Gowon as Head of State following the assassination of Gen. Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi. 

War was inevitable after a peace deal brokered in Aburi by Gen. Arthur Ankrah at Peduase Lodge, Aburi failed. Gowon created states, Ojukwu declared Biafra. Ogbemudia was floating in the Mid-West in what was called the Fourth Area Command. 

A reliable source confided in me that Ojukwu and Ogbemudia were in talks. This was as the Biafrans occupied the Mid- West under Governor David Ejoor. Ejoor escaped but his Aide de Camp, Peter Adomokhai, was arrested. He ended the war at the Biafran School of Infantry as Instructor.

 Lt.col Victor Banjo led the 101 Division that seized the Mid-West from Nigeria. He wanted to retain Ejoor as Military Administrator of an Independent Republic of Benin. The latter rejected the offer. 

Banjo did not want to put an Igbo officer in that position. He was to approach Lt.col Rudolf Trimnell, seeing him as an Itsekiri. He did not know that Trimnell was from Ashaka in the Ndokwa area. 

Ojukwu eventually settled for Major Albert Nwazu Okonkwo who had a brother in, Sule Kolo, of the Nigeria Foreign Service. Okonkwo belonged to the Medical corps of the Army. 

Ogbemudia was seen as Bini by many. Ojukwu knew more than that. Major Ogbemudia was originally from Igbanke, an Igbo settlement formerly known as Igbo Akiri. 

His mother was from Benin and had lost many children before Osaigbovo came. The name Samuel was significant. The boy had to leave for Benin to stay with a maternal uncle after spending some time in Igbanke. 

While in the Congo, Ogbemudia was said to have walked into danger. It took the presidential intervention of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe to keep him in the Army.

Murtala also knew Ogbemudia so well. They shared similar background. The former grew up in Kano which was the home of his mother, Ramatu, a member of the Inua Wada family. 

Murtala’s father was said to hail from Igbein, in the Auchi area of the Mid-West. Alhaji Usman Abuda, an Etsako blue blood, confirms that Murtala’s father had strong links with Auchi even if he was selling kola nuts in Agege, Lagos. 

To stem the Biafran attack, Nigeria hurriedly assembled Two Division under Col. Murtala Mohammed. That gamble paid off as the tide turned. Benin was taken from the invaders and Murtala appointed Ogbemudia Administrator of Mid-West. 

It was unusual. Ejoor was totally ignored after serving a sour tale of riding a bike to Lagos from Benin while many combatants knew he was in the house of a an Irish father in Benin City.

 Gowon was not consulted before Ogbemudia’s appointment. However, the Head of State confirmed the change which left Ejoor, Service number N/17, without any command all through the war years. 

Ojukwu’s loss was Murtala’s gain. Biafra eventually lost Benin and the Mid-West. Ogbemudia spent eight years as Military governor and was eventually sacked by Murtala in July 1975. 

Strange enough, both officers were in London when Gowon was toppled. Murtala chose an Etsako man, Col. George Agbazika Innih, from Agenebode, as the new governor of Mid –Western State.

Murtala lived with his wife, Ajoke , a Yoruba, until he was killed in 1976. Ogbemudia had a wife, Yetunde Afolabi, from the South-West, when he passed on in 2017. 

Ogbemudia also had another friend who was Head of State and was also killed, in 1979. Gen. Ignatius Kutu Acheampong was at Teshie same time as the Nigerian. Both were born in September. The former came in 1932 [September 17], the latter in 1931 [September 23].

 In 2002, Ogbemudia told us a funny story at dinner in the Labadi area of Accra, not far from Teshie. Acheampong had thoroughly embarrassed the commandant of the military school.

 He said:” The Osagyefo himself, Kwame Nkrumah, visited and was interested in the welfare of the cadets. The commandant made it look as if all was well until Acheampong went right under his bed to bring out the meal he was served.” 

The commandant did not forget that and paid back. Acheampong once wore traditional ‘kente’ dress to dinner while others put on jackets. 

“Acheampong, why are you wearing pyjamas to dinner?” the boss barked. It was supposed to be an offence but the cadet was not intimidated.

 Ogbemudia felt some Bini touch in the Gold Coast. The Ga people are said to have migrated from Benin during the years of Oba Udagbedo[ 1299-1334]. 

In 1966, the first coup in Ghana was codenamed, ‘Operation Guitar Boy’, after Victor Uwaifo’s famous track. Gen. Ankrah, the new leader, a Ga, was recalled from retirement.

SOURCE: VANGUARD