Brother Kole,
Thanks for asking. Awo does not bear the sole responsibility for what happened before the war (the killing of Yoruba by Yoruba during operation wetie and the jailing of Awo for treason), the coup by young majors who adored him who planned to impose him as president, the genocidal war over which he presided as the finance minister, or the aftermath that saw the economic liquidation of Igbo assets under his direction.
The responsibility is for all Nigerians, including you and I. We must strive to learn the correct lessons or we will continue to see such barbaric acts as the massacre of students over who knows what, the endless bombing of churches and public places as deliberate acts of terror, the lynching of university students over cell phones, kidnapping for ransom and the reckless looting of the economy by politicians who lack any sense of patriotism.
I expressed doubts as to whether Awo actually said what he was reported to have said at a Townhall meeting in Abeokuta in 1983 during the election of that year that ended with operation Owoboriomo in which the supporters of Akin Omoboriowo were attacked and killed by his Yoruba brothers for not supporting Awo.
Even if Awo said all that in his old age, the younger generation should still see the folly in the policy of 'starvation as a legitimate weapon of war' and condemn it as a war crime. Genocide is never justifiable under any circumstances and so all Nigerians should condemn the Igbo genocide in order to avoid another fratricidal war in which friends will kill friends and brothers will kill brothers again. We must unreservedly condemn genocide even if those killed were not our friends or family for we are all part of the human family and any wrongs to some will inevitably rub off on others.
The important question you are asking may be answered by Achebe's book. However, you should send similar questions to all the intellectuals who kept quiet all along despite their roles cheering the genocidal army along. Ask them what they did during the war.
Biko
--- On Mon, 8/10/12, Oluwatoyin Ade-Odutola <kole2@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Oluwatoyin Ade-Odutola <kole2@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Awolowo
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Date: Monday, 8 October, 2012, 14:58
Hello all,
Please can I ask a question about the civil war I know very little about BUT I feel the full impact of the war on my life and that of my friends. I have lived in fear that should there be another war, the deepest pain I would feel on my way out of the world is to be shot (and killed) by one of my friends.
In any case, my question is: Was the war about Awolowo, what he said or did not say? Can a war narrative still stand without Awo's contribution to it?
Who else made mistakes before the war, during the war and after the war
Did I hear Awo's name before the war? Awo's name during the war, and Awo's name after the war.
I ask these questions from a TOTALLY ignorant position. Be gentle on my lack of knowledge. I want to be better educated
Kole
--- On Mon, 10/8/12, Biko Agozino <bikozino@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Biko Agozino <bikozino@yahoo.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Awolowo Was No 'Friend of Ours'
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Date: Monday, October 8, 2012, 2:17 PM
Awolowo Was No 'Friend' of Ours
By Biko Agozino
I eagerly await the arrival of my copy of Achebe's personal historiography of Biafra with my mouth salivating in anticipation, given the spoilers already raising storms of debates. The charged debate over Achebe's book gives Nigeria enough reason to reverse the dumb policy of Obasanjo who banned the teaching of history in Nigerian schools under the excuse that history is a yeye subject that does not lead to employment. Dalu (thank you), Nna anyi (our father) Achebe, you will live life until the endless time! I will wait until I have read every word and reflected on it before I comment on your magnum opus.
Meanwhile ... In response to this welcome addition to the cleansing of the historical conscience of Nigeria by Chinua Achebe, some misguided and misinformed miscreants have dredged up what looks like a fabrication, claiming that Awolowo regarded himself as a friend of the Igbo. The strange document lacks any of the clarity of the sage and digresses from a serious discussion of the haunting responsibility for genocide to the trivial mythology of fish as an astrological sign. That apparent forgery smell foul like a dead fish all right for the following reasons (follow link to read on):
http://massliteracy.blogspot.com/2012/10/awolowo-was-no-friend-of-ours.html
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