By Emma Okocha
“Colonel OlufemiOlutoye and Brigadier Adebayo represented the West, Brigadier Imo, Colonels Effiong, Eze and Ude the East, Colonel Martins Adamu the North, Colonels Nwawo, Okwechime, Nwajei and Samauel Ogbemudia represented Midwest.
In those meetings in Benin, it was discovered that the total strength of the Yoruba soldiers then enlisted was only 65…..Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe was the most senior officer in the mainland and the island… the northern coupists were in Ikeja and were not interested in Nigeria.
They were planning to evacuate their people…. When the soldiers refused to obey his orders Brigadier Ogundipe understood the implications. He escaped.
SYMPOSIUM: From left: Dr. Ralph Wilcox, Provost; Dr. Judy Genshaft, President, University of South Florida and Chief Philip Asiodu, after the Asaba Memorial Symposium, held at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, last week.
I was the most senior Nigerian officer on the mainland, and we Midwestern Ibo officers had the critical commands in Yaba, etc. I could have declared myself Head of State or approached the British …but that was not why I joined the Nigerian army….’’
—Late Colonel Rudolf Trimnel, also see Blood On the Niger, New York: Triantlantic Books 2003 page 5.
“Who will therefore say that the late Justice Nkemena and those who assisted him in returning sentence of death by firing squad on Victor Banjo, Phillip Alale, Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Samuel Agbam did not, while still doing what they thought they should in the circumstance, feel that the four men were to die only because they asked for immediate negotiation with the federal Nigerian authorities so that millions of the inhabitants of the former Biafra might be saved from purposeless deaths…..’’
—Nelson Ottah, The Trial of Biafra’s Leaders, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers,1980 page 112
“What is the message from the West?’’ Banjo demanded, for at least the fifth time. ‘’ I mean, what are they saying? What do they really say about this war?’’ I only know what we all feel about the secession.’
He snapped back: Yes, and on that we are all agreed. Why could they not have been equally positive on the pogrom! The Ibos were not a danger to anyone.
The May and the July murders had sapped their capacity to make any serious trouble. What explanations did you people have to keep you silent in the face of those damnable days of September and October? Genocide was the chosen cure for assets probes.
In Lagos …the hoarded millions of the Northern politicians remained intact — a Northern Emir who was also chairman of a corporation had six million unaccountable pounds in his private account…..There had to be a distraction, and it had to take place on such a level as to completely obscure all other goals of society.
The Northern Mafia got together the Lagos counterparts and contributed the necessary investment for self preservation. Cold-bloodedly, the pogrom was planned, every stage plotted, and the money for operations distributed to the various centres of mayhem. …When the East seceded, I said, ‘they left us with the Mafia and the Military in an unbreakable alliance of mutual lucrative guilt.
And with a successful philosophy of genocide. Because if the East goes then there was no crime in the new entity still known as Nigeria.’’
—Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, The Man Died, Ibadan: Spectrum Books 1972, page 177
Scholars of African conflicts and Nigerian military historians were astounded by the earthquake revelations emanating from the brilliant interview granted to The Sun newspaper recently, by one of the few surviving front seat actors of the Nigerian Civil war.
As a matter of fact, the last meeting of the Nigerian Governors, its fledging federal authorities, led by its equally shaky Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, in Aburi, has up till last week been considered by and large, as the landmark cross roads leading to the immediate causes to the Nigerian civil war.
In other words, whatever may be the stories from the case files on both sides, these particular scholars suggest that, the critical meeting convened by the late General Ankrah of Ghana at Aburi in Ghana, was indeed the last effort made to reach acceptable compromises to forestall the war.
Meeting in Ghana away from the bad memories of the aftermath of the two bloody Nigerian upheavals was therefore ideal and many observers were very keen on the expectations that Aburi would push a resolution for peace.
Depending on the which side that was addressing the camera, historians before the Bolaji revelations, again agree that reneging on the letters of the Aburi Agreement by one of the parties in that conflict, ultimately invited mistrust, and eventually, led to the escalations of hostilities.
While I leave those interested Conflict scholars and historians to continue to ponder and probably drown in the obvious discrepancies emasculating the complicated history of the Nigerian civil war, we shall quickly return to Brigadier Bolaji Johnson’s interview with the Sun and hope at the end of this intercession some logic and some measure of some scientific conclusions will be reached for the benefit of our history and the millions of the post war generation, whose sudden gargantuan curiosity on the civil war continue to prosper.
After all, Norman Cantor, Richard Schneider, accomplished Institutional Historians agree that ‘’to separate fact from inference, to assess the validity of inferences, the student has to think about history and read historical works historiograhically.’’
In that bombshell of an interview, we learnt that General Ojukwu stood up and shook the hands of General Gowon after the latter informed the meeting that the Supreme Commander General Ironsi was no more. He was ready to agree and accepted that General Gowon become the Head State and Commander-In-Chief.
There were other revelations which, for the first time, shattered the foundations of the Aburi Accord as placarded by both sides of the civil war.
But our interest in that interview is rather most profound, especially returning from the successful Asaba International Conference in Florida, where some of the revered presenters again, depending on which side they represented, seem not to agree on the reasons that led to the massacre in Asaba.
Why the frenzy? For example the highest ranked Asaba native in the then Nigerian Army. Col.Gabriel Okonwenze, was the Commander of the Abeokuta Recce Regiment and he was murdered by one Lance Corporal Shagaya in the July 1966 so-called revenge coup, when he was never an accomplice of the January 1966 so called Nzeogwu Igbo coup.
Ditto, for Colonel Henry Igboba, the most senior Ibusa officer in then Nigerian army.
He was the particular officer who gave the January 15 boys hell at Ikeja cantonment and around in the late afternoon hours of January 15, when General Gowon was rallying loyal troops to counter the revolution.
Col. Banjo, one of the few top officers who knew of the January 15 revolution and supported it, did not forgive Col. Igboba for his anti-revolutionary actions.
As the commander of the Biafran expeditionary forces, he ordered Henry Igboba’s arrest and offered him to the Benin mob who cut off his head, September 21th 1967.
The other senior officer who was in the know, was Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, the most decorated Nigerian Officer, from his Congo exploits. This is obviously natural for these responsible Yoruba officers.
For according to The Sun earthquake interview, Brigadier Johnson stressed that the end mission of the January 15 coup was to stop the bloodbath in the streets of the west! That was why the leader of the coup, Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna was courting him and still found time even at the O hours to drive his wife and contributed to her needs.
The Brigadier for the first time, speaking for the entire silent western top brass; since the civil war, challenges intensely the unscientific notion that these young Turks were simply tribalists or opportunists.
The January 15 uprising according to Bolaji is “always sound’’ is rather the first and probably the only true Nigerian revolution that was squandered by the vicious contradictions of the Nigerian environment.
Final question Brigadier Johnson? General T.Y. Danjuma says and you concur that the Supreme Commander was abducted and shot by the Boys. Who are those Boys? Boys Scouts, Boys Brigade or Boyz and Men!?
i hate Gowon, he deserve death.
To Agunbiide, I know how difficult it is to be faced by the truth. I can imagine how you Yorubas try at every point to escuse yourselves from the crime you comitted against the Igbo. So I can understand why you and the likes of Mobolaji are still in denial,
Just like those before you, despite what most historians agree to the fact that the Nigerians were the first to break the Aburi Accord by attacking Igboland, here you are deluding yourself by claiming that the Biafrans “started” that “stupid war”. In same letter, you went ahead to agure ignorantly that the reason what the father of Nigerian tribal politics Awolowo ate his famous “east go west will go” statement by joining the Nigerian side is because the Biafrans invaded Ore. Could you tell the world what was Awolowo’s position before the war? Was he on the Nigerian side or neutral before the war? When, I mean what year did the Biafrans invade Ore? Was it before the Aburi Accord was agreed and signed or thereafter?
If we are to follow your twisted explaination that the reason why you Yorubas joined the North to fight the west was because the Biafrans invasion of Ore was attempt to capture and seize Yoruba land, then why do you blame the Igbos for going to what you termed “stupid” to defend ourselves when the Ndigbo were being slaughter and later being invaded by you Nigerians? You see Mr Pius, just like Mobolaji, the more you Yorubas trie to justify your treachery before, during and after Ndigbo’s WAR OF SEFF DEFENCE, the more you are exposing your guilt.
Finally and for the records, we Igbos do not blame the Yorubas for not joining us to fight the Notherners. NO. Why we are agree is because your Awolowo nade a promise he never kept and added salt unto injury by joining our enemies, the Northern jihadists in their campaign of annihilation. That my friend is the quarrel we have with you two-faced Yorubas.
@Charles of central America, you are wrong who tell you we the Yorubas, are party to that agreement of declaring war and sharing Nigeria into three, why must some come to your house to tell us to declared Oduduwa Republic and we agreed to follow him without considering or consulting our people we the yorubas are not educated that way or trained that way. You might be from the middle belt and close to the Benin, my self am a Yoruba from the Niger-delta i know how many members of my family’s that was lost during that stupid civil war by the Biafrans . When they started that useless war asked the biafra arm whether they took that fight directly to the North, the answer is of course no and where did they started the war they came to “ORE” in Ondo state where a lots of Yorubas were massacre from there on the Yorubas and our legendry Chief Awolowo, had no option than to joindre the Federal troups to chased the invaders Biafrans arm out of Yorubaland.
The war there are many version of it, GOWON, OJUKWU, both are still alive and playing a dubious role as elders statemens recently they ‘re even reported to had share the same roof alongside Shagari and Babangida, only God know again what they are planning this time. i must refreshed your memory no Yorubas was called or invited in that anniversary presided over by another Igbos woman Mrs. Dora Akunyili. Nothing transpired as out come of their roof sharing. Please dont be ridicule with this subject, am a living witness and i know the numbers of Igbos our communities in Lagos along the coastal sea hide during the civil war- they’re still alive today, please give us a break and stop the free blame on Yoruba people, had it been the yoruba are lustre for power General Ogundipe is senior to Gowon and Ojukwe likewise General Adeyinka Adebayo, in term of military rank are senior officers to both two protagonists who are bent in becoming at all cost the Head of state come what may. The Igbos and Nigerians should asked historians we are entittled to know the exact truth of the genesis of the civil war well docummented with the real facts and reason for the war than all this supposition and them say, we should also asked one of the most genious heroes of the war Black scorpion Bragadier Benjamin Adekunle, he is a great soldier he will be able to give also the exact facts about the war. Now enough of Yoruba do this Yoruba do that we did not started the civil war nor had we ever staged a coup in Nigeria, we are not egoist but a peaceful loving people who will give a strangers more of important than any others ethnie groups in Nigeria. If the Biafra still want to go it is there problem not ours if they felt confortable nobody is chasing their ghost in Nigeria they are everywhere in Yoruba states no body harassed them. but with there systematic blame of the Yoruba, who are not intrumental to the sufferance inflicted on the Igbos during the civil war. so we asked you stop distorting and painted history to suit you people but we want you to relate the facts that is all. the
This BOBAJIRO fellow is a stupid tribalist. So illogical that he contradicts himself in defense of his tribal duplicity. He continues to parrot their genocidal slogan that Ojukwu declared the genocide in order to control oil pipelines. What a foolish joke!
As for the June 12 debacle, there was no cause for going war with anybody. No massacred took place. The ordinary Hausa man had no say in what Banangida and Abacha were plotting. Babangida simply excluded every credible candidate and selected 2 of his fellow criminal embezzlers, Tofa and Abiola. (Remember the 4 billion Niara entrusted to Abiola for Nigerian communications) Then when the election began the southerners voted en mass for Abiola, the lesser of the 2 evils. As you all know the southerners outnumbered the northerners 4-1, contrary to the belief that there are more northerners in Nigeria. With this stark reality IBB had no alternative than to annul the election. So get your facts straight before you expose your ignorance, just to smear the Igbos.
we have overcome but we are still going to ask questions …its not over yet
For the records, below is the original text of the Aburi Accord as signed before the Northern/Yoruba aggressors started their annnihilation campaign.
_____________________________________________
Final Aburi Communique
The Supreme Military Council of Nigeria resumed its meeting in Ghana
on the 5th of January and continued and concluded discussion of the
remaining subjects on the Agenda. The Council reached agreement on
all the items.
On the powers and functions of the Federal Military Government the
Council reaffirmed its belief in the workability of the existing
institutions subject to necessary safequards.
Other matters on which agreements were reached included the
following:
Re-organization, administration and control of the Army
Appointments and promotions to the senior ranks in the Armed Forces,
the Police, Diplomatic and Consular Services as well as appointments
to super-scale posts in the Federal Civil Service and the equivalent
posts in the Federal Statutory Corporations.
On the question of displaced persons the Supreme Military Council
agreed to set up a committee to look into the problems of
rehabilitation and recovery of property. In this connection the
Military Governor of the East assured the Council that the order that
non-Easterners should leave the Eastern Region would be reviewed with
a view to its being lifted as soon as practicable. Agreement was
also reached that the staff and employees of Governments and
Statutory Corporations who have had to leave their poses as a result
of recent disturbances in the country should continue to be paid
their full salaries up to the end of 31st March, 1967, provided they
have not found alternative employment.
The Council agreed that the Ad Hoc Committee on the constitutional
future of the country should be resumed as soon as practicable and
that the unanimous recommendations of the committee in September 1966,
will be considered by the Supreme Military Council at a later
meeting.
The Council unanimously agreed that future meetings of the Council
should be held in Nigeria at a venue to be announced later.
The entire members of the Supreme Military Council express profound
regret for the bloodshed which has engulfed the country in the past
year and avow to do all in their power to ensure there is no
recurrence of the unhappy situation.
The members of the Supreme Military Council place on record their
profound appreciation and gratitude for the constructive initiative
and assistance rendered by the Chairman of the National Liberation
Council, the Government and people of Ghana.
Statement by the Supreme Council on the Reorganization of the Army,
and the Approval of Senior Appointments, and its Declaration on the use of force
I.
The Supreme Military Council now meeting in Ghana has agreed on the
following reorganization of the Army:
The Army is to be governed by the Supreme Military Council the
Chairman of which will be known as Commander-in-Chief and Head of the
Federal Military Government.
There will be a Military Headquarters on which the Regions will be
equally represented and which will be headed by a Chief of Staff.
In each Region there shall be an Area Command under the charge of an
Area Commander and corresponding with the existing Regions.
All matters of policy including appointments and promotions of
persons in executive posts in the Armed Forces and Police shall be
dealt with by the Supreme Military Council.
During the period of the Military Government, Military Governors will
have control over their Area Commands in matters of internal security.
The following appointments must be approved by the Supreme Military
Council:
Diplomatic and Consular posts.
Senior posts in the Armed Forces and the Police.
Super-scale Federal Civil Service and Federal Corporation posts.
Any decision affecting the whole country must be determined by the
Supreme Military Council. Where a meeting is not possible such a
matter must be referred to Military Governors for comment and
concurrence.
II.
We the members of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria meeting at
Accra on 4th day of January, 1967, hereby solemnly and
unequivocably:
DECLARE that we renounce the use of force as a means of settling the
present crisis in Nigeria, and hold ourselves in honor bound by this
declaration.
REAFFIRM our faith in discussions and negotiation as the only
peaceful way of resolving the Nigerian crisis.
AGREE to exchange information on the quantity of arms and ammunition
in each unit of the Army in each Region, and also on the quantity of
new arms and ammunition in stock.
(Signatures of the nine leaders).
___________________________________________________
Now tell, which part of the above Accord was kept by Gowon and co and which did Ojukwu break before the blood-thirsty jihadists and their Yoruba conspirators rolled their tanks into Igboland? Maybe the likes of Mobolaji thinks we are still living in the dark ages to buy his cock and bull story.
For those who want Ojukwu to descend to Mobolaji’s level by responding to his bad-belly interview, they should visit this address to hear Ojukwu speak: http://www.kwenu.com/biafra/on_aburi_we_stand.htm
There is no house that is divided against itself that would stand. What one is witnessing here shows why Nigeria may remain in domestic bondage for a long time to come. In the 80s/90s the main grievances of the Igbo was marginalisation and the fact that Awolowo encouraged them to start a war before abandoning them. It was Ojukwu himself that said that Awo was more or less a hero and that he never made any such promise to him. One of you exposed the truth with regard to marginalisation when he said that Igbo dominated the military before the civil war. Any intelligent mind reading this would want to know what Igbos` problems really are. Long before the civil war, the Yorubas had excelled in leadership in the West by using education as a weapon of advancement, what were igbos doing then? After the war Obafemi Awolowo continued to educate the children in the South West, and also allowed Igbos in the West to enjoy free education in Yorubaland, how many Easterners did Igbo leadership educate then? Ojukwu declared a stupid war that the rest of Nigeria fought to end and I find it very unintelligent to be complaining that the rest of Nigeria didn`t treat you softly during the war. Then the Yoruba is cowardly because Brig Ogundipe ran away. When, who is more intelligent between the one that `ran away` and the one that started a suicidal war that claim ed millions of lives before running away, cowardly abandoning his people on the war front as Ojukwu did? What I would advise Yorubas and other fellow Nigerians to understand is that this is not the time for in-fighting. Most Igbos that are bad-mouthing Yorubas are merely suffering from inferiority complex. ” We are the best, we are the most civilized, and we are far better than the Yorubas” are not words that we should be complaining about. Our Parents say, ajise bi Oyo laari, Oyo kiise bi enikan; the best rarely shout it from the rooftops but those with inferior complex do. Most newspapers in Nigeria do not give their readers the opportunity Vanguard is giving us here, maturity demands that we make a good use of it to liberate Nigeria from the Obasanjos and the Babangidas. Zwitzerland is not a religious country and it has about three major languages yet the people are doing fine. I know that it`s the progressives in Nigeria that would save the country not Hausa,Igbo or Yoruba with inferiority complex. Igbo declared war on Nigeria because Ojukwu was looking forward to controlling the oil that was in the pipe-line. By so doing, he set Nigeria backward for many years. In an ideal situation, he should apologize for being one of the factors that destroyed Nigeria. Yoruba had the final say on june 12 not by declaring a senseless war.
Nigerians!from all this comment one can see why we are not making progress,see yoruba’s hating igbo’s,igbos hating yorub’s,husa’s hating igbo’s and yoruba’s and igbo’s and yoruba’s hating husas’s as well.
We have all seem to forget that Akintola had to die along with Ironsi just for the fact that ironsi was under Ironsi’s care as of the time he was to be killed in ibadun.
Insted of us hating each other and lossing out why cant we put our head together,work as one and make progress.
If you ask of my advice of who whe should channel our hate to i think its our thieving politicans and pople like OBJ,BABANGIDA,DANJUMA,OJUKWE etc that have put us all in this unprogressive condition.
The truth is that the Nigerian Civil War was preventable. The FAILURE of the MAN ( Gowon ) to HONOUR the ABURI AGREEMENT was what led to the War. Had the agreement been followed Nigeria should have been BETTER today. Gowon has turned a PRAYER WARRIOR. But he should speak up and tell us the Truth especially with regards to ABURI AGREEMENT, otherwise all those prayers of HIS are NONSENSE.
Awolowo was also a dangerous element of the civil war. He was a double face man and so is Yoruba people. I am from the middle Belt very close to Edo State and by extension Iam close to Yoruba people. If he had played a straight forward role during the early days of the crises I am very sure the war would not have been the final option. The Igbos were never prepared for war. If Awolowo had declared Oduduwa State the North Would have considerd a PEACEFUL option to resolve the Nigerian Crises because they( the North) cannot fight the WEST(Yoruba) and the EAST(Ibo) joined together. So there would not have been war. So Yoruba people the ISSUE of TRUST is becoming a serious concern to other NIgerian including the Northerners. So the earlier you change the better for you people.
GOWON FOR YOUR PRAYER TO BE HEARED BY GOD YOU HAVE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH.
GOD BLESS NIGERIA.