Ogundipe’s son speaks out!- Emeka Obasi

This is a battle I will fight until recognition comes the way of  Nigeria’s first Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Brig.[Gen.] Babafemi Olatunde Ogundipe. History must be fair to this man even if compatriots look the other way.

General Murtala Mohammed knew his roots, many of us do not. There are different accounts trailing his place of origin. Official records say he was from Kurawa Quarters, Kano. Some accounts tell us he was born in Aviele in today’s Edo State. And there are those who swear the Signals officer hailed from Igbei, Auchi.

Here it comes again, November the month that says so much about Nigerian leaders and legends. From  Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe to  Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, there is something about this eleventh month of the year.

Something got into the head of the Major. At 29, Ibrahim Adetunji Taiwo,was far away from his Ogbomosho ancestral home doing battle for Nigeria against Biafra. As an officer of the Second Division, the obstacle before him and other fighters was how to cross the River Niger and capture Onitsha.

Unbeatable, that was the other name for Enugu Rangers all through 1974 to the last quarter of 1975. A goalless draw with Tanzanian side, Young Africans, in Lagos meant a different thing to some  compatriots who read Civil War meanings to it.

What they shared in common was Flora, the name of their spouses. One an imperialist, the other a nationalist. Nigeria’s first Governor General,  Frederick  John Dealtry (Lord)Lugard (of Abinger)and last of the Governors General, Nnamdi Azikiwe (Owelle of Onitsha) walked that path.

Jubilations on the Plateau should be unlimited,greater things are on the way following what took 45 years to achieve: Winning the Premier League. And the people must give kudos to Governor Simon Lalong. There must be some luck about him.

We all get to learn everyday for knowledge is power. Pretty soon we shall begin to hear agitations from aggrieved Lagosians. This is the season of change, things just cannot remain the same.

Zambia shook the globe in far away Kwangju, South Korea when they pounded Italy 4-0 at the Seoul’88 Olympic Games. All four goals were scored by the Bwalyas. Kalusha, one hitherto unknown youngster from Cercles Brugges, Belgium, turned superstar overnight for the hat-trick.

Politics  throws itself up in various forms leaving those who think they are professional politicians losing out without realising their place in the new order until it becomes way too late. I must give General Yakubu Gowon credit for doing what most Nigerians found difficult to do in the past.

By Emeka Obasi Military strategists must devote quite some time to study Lt. General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma. There is something about this man that needs to be thrown up in the annals of leadership and power struggle. He did not rise to the rank of a Four-Star general yet he towers above some Heads of […]

My respect for Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar comes majorly from his wife, Justice Fati  Lami Abubakar. She remains our most educated First Lady who never put on airs and till date remains so even as the mother of Dr. Amina  Bello, wife of the Niger State governor.

The words of Okokon Ndem come in handy here as some continue the fight against injustice. We all abhor a system that marginalises individuals and groups.

He was the man saddled with the suicidal job of meeting with the Nigerians after Biafra had lost steam. General  Philip Asuquo Effiong was already a soldier the year Col. Olusegun Obasanjo was eight years old. He was commissioned before Generals Emeka Ojukwu and Yakubu Gowon.