BY UZOR MAXIM UZOATU
The recently deceased Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu is yet to be buried but a book is about to be released on his charmed life and times. It’s in character that Ojukwu almost always dominated all discourse in the course of his journey on earth.

In death he has upped the ante of his enigmatic profile through the imminent release of Ojukwu: The Rebel I Served written by the irrepressible journalist Uche Ezechukwu who served as Ojukwu’s media assistant and speechwriter for two years following the ex-rebel’s pardon and return to Nigeria.

It is indeed remarkable that the causes that Ojukwu championed are still staring Nigeria in the face. Ojukwu served as a kind of Nostradamus in seeing far into the future well ahead of his contemporaries; whence the reality of some eminences who opposed him in the past are now calling for a Nigerian confederation!

As a world figure in his leadership of the Republic of Biafra, Ojukwu graced the cover of the esteemed TIME magazine and forged friendships with distinguished deans such as the bestselling author Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal.

Uche Ezechukwu brings to bear on the book his intimate knowledge of Ojukwu at close quarters. Ojukwu: The Rebel I Served is thus a candid encapsulation of a well-rounded life. The book is deservedly dedicated “to Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, ‘the uncommon Governor of Anambra State’ (as the Ikemba himself used to describe him), for the unprecedented care, love and attention, which he extended to the icon, thus enabling him spend his last years on earth in comfort and contentment.”

It is noteworthy that Ojukwu’s last wish on earth was the clarion call on voters in his native Anambra State to re-elect Governor Obi. When that wish was granted him through the winning of the election by Peter Obi, Ojukwu saluted the people of Anambra State for “giving me a befitting burial even while I’m still alive.”

It is a mark of Uche Ezechukwu’s doggedness that he wrote the entire book in 17 days flat! Ojukwu died on November 26, 2011, aged 79, and we are here reviewing a book on his life and death barely two months after! Ezechukwu sums up the Ojukwu persona thus: “He was a special, yet a natural person – humane, understanding, fearless, humorous, extremely intelligent, tender, charming and more. He was also a natural person with normal human foibles: he was often over-ambitious, spontaneous, selfish and even rash at times.

Yes, he was not an angel…” To that extent, Ezechukwu has not penned a hagiography. The author’s objectivity cannot be gainsaid. Ojukwu told Ezechukwu that he did not find being addressed as a rebel appalling because it was only rebels who changed the course of history.

The author happened to be a child soldier in the wilds of Biafra, so he was up there with the Ojukwu phenomenon from the very beginning. It was on a certain Tuesday before the Easter of 1986 that Ezechukwu met Ojukwu in flesh and blood through the introduction made possible by the late Chief Chris Offodile.

Ojukwu’s controversial declaration for the then ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and the concomitant rivalry with Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) forms a pivotal anchor as Ezechukwu worked for Satellite newspaper owned by the family of the then Anambra State Governor Jim Nwobodo of the NPP.

There are glimpses of Ojukwu’s war of attrition with the Lagos State government over the ownership of Villaska Lodge, Ikoyi, during which Ojukwu always camped out in the open with Stella Onyeador.

It should serve as a measure of Ojukwu’s spirit of accommodation that he employed Ezechukwu as the editor of his magazine NewGlobe, even as some people had given to the ex-Biafra leader anti-Ojukwu articles written by the author in his Satellite column. Insights about Nigerian leaders such as Murtala Muhammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, TY Danjuma etc abound in the book. There is the bombshell that Murtala Muhammed actually hails from Edo State!

Ojukwu: The Rebel I Served is a remarkable read. Uche Ezechukwu has given the world an insight into the mind of one of the most gifted Nigerians ever. Given that the book was written in 17 days there are of course some editing errors such as on Page 15: “The South East and its leaders had filed out, a mere fortnight earlier to celebrant (sic) his last birthday…” The errors will definitely be corrected in future editions.

A very insightful book to behold, Uche Ezechukwu’s Ojukwu: The Rebel I Served deserves an esteemed place in every library.