CAO.
On Sunday, 14 September 2014 22:14:38 UTC+1, Anunoby, Ogugua wrote:
...Adekunle was a creature of his era. He should never have been a commissioned officer in a properly regimented army. His role in the Nigeria-Biafra war was not unlike the role of many commanding officers of his time. He did commit what today would be crimes against humanity not only against Biafra but troops under his command too. War could not be an excuse for the evils he visited on many people.
As a military commander, Adekunle was bad in the original sense of the word. He was called "Black Scorpion". He believed he was. Everyone knows what scorpions do. Remember his solution to the cement blockade of Nigeria's ports in the early 1970's?
As military commanders, Adekunle and Muritala Mohammed were cut from the same cloth. Like Mohammed, he was too angry and undisciplined to be a military commander in a fratricidal war. One wishes that he in retirement, was man enough to show some remorse for the needless violence he directed against many people on both sides of the war.
He came across as a very lonesome, pitiable, and unhappy man in the last press interview of his that I read. He had a bunch of complaints and seemed to me to be in a state of extreme disaffectation.
There are lessons to be learned from his life by many who enjoy power in Nigeria today. May he have the forgiveness of many he hurt. May whoever rules on the other side of our firmament grant him peace. He may not deserve it but he needs it.
oa
From: usaafric...@
googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com ]
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2014 8:49 AM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - FROM THE ARCHIVES: My Personal Recollections of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War, by Benjamin Adekunle
Thanks for sharing, Bolaji. Obviously not only are our leaders corrupt and dishonest, they are allergic to the facts of history. If the civil war had happened this century, Mr. Adekunle would have been hauled before an international war tribunal for crimes against humanity, he was a monster. A deadly one. I do not believe in heaven and hell but if there is hell, it would please me greatly if he ended up in the hottest part of hell. Worthless thug.
On a really sad note, by the way, Joe Sample of the Crusaders stopped playing music. Now, that is an immeasurable loss. God is mean, Allah!
- Ikhide
On Sep 14, 2014, at 6:42 AM, Mobolaji Aluko <alu...@gmail.com> wrote:
My People:
Benjamin Adesanya Maja Adekunle, alias "Black Scorpion," born Friday, 26th June 1936, died Saturday, 13th September 2014.
Maja? He has stopped fighting for ever... Ko ja mo!
RIP....
Bolaji Aluko
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War hero Benjamin Adekunle dies at 78
Posted by: Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor/ Joe Agbro/Ernest Nwokolo/Onyedi Ojiabor in Featured, News 9 hours ago
*He's one of the most celebrated military commanders of his generation, says Jonathan
*He can't be forgotten in a hurry -Obasanjo
*He's a soldier's soldier -TinubuOne of the country's most accomplished strategists and celebrated hero of the Nigerian Civil War, Brigadier General Benjamin Maja Adekunle died yesterday in the course of a protracted illness.
The Black Scorpion, as he was affectionately called in recognition of his war exploits, was aged 78.
News of his passing away was broken by his widow, Folake, in a text message yesterday.
She wrote: "This is Folake Adekunle, GEB Adekunle's wife. I just want to inform u that GEN Adekunle died this morning."
As news of his demise spread, prominent Nigerians including his colleagues in the army began paying tribute to his memory.
President Goodluck Jonathan called him one of the most celebrated military commanders of his generation while former President Olusegun Obasanjo said his contribution during the civil war would not be forgotten in a hurry.
For APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, he is a generalissimo and one of the most remarkable icons of Nigeria's military history.
Senate President David Mark, a retired soldier described him as one man who fought vehemently to keep the nation untied.
The President said Adekunle achieved national fame during the Nigerian civil war for his gallant leadership of the 3rd Marine Commandoes in the successful effort to defend the unity and territorial integrity of the country.
His war heroics, President Jonathan added, made him easily one of the most celebrated military commanders of his generation, and have ensured that he will always be honoured and remembered as a valiant soldier who served his fatherland exceptionally well at a very trying time in its history.
He enjoins the Adekunle family, friends, former military colleagues and all who mourn his passing to also give thanks to God for blessing the nation with fearless soldiers and patriots of his calibre who stand ready to lay down their lives for the peace, unity and progress of their country.
President Jonathan prayed that God Almighty might comfort the grieving family and associates.
Chief Obasanjo who was Adekunle's contemporary in the army said he was shocked by the development.
Adekunle's exit, according to him, will leave a vacuum very difficult to fill.
Obasanjo described the deceased as a "friend, colleague and course mate," adding that his contribution during the Civil War was no mean effort, which would also be remembered for long a time.
He recalled that both of them trained together as young soldiers in Ghana.
Obasanjo succeeded Adekunle at the 3rd Marine Commandoes during the war.
Tinubu in a statement entitled 'General Benjamin Adekunle: The Generalissimo has fallen', said he was saddened by his demise.
His words: "The Civil War Hero was a Soldier's Soldier. He was a man of valour and unimaginable bravery. Lion-hearted and a leader of men. He served his Fatherland devotedly and without question when we most needed him.
"Like most great men, he was greatly misunderstood. His flamboyant and outspoken nature made him a colourful character. However, that never stopped him from emerging as one of the most remarkable icons in Nigeria's military history.
"The "Black Scorpion" was a man of uncommon intelligence and fierce determination. On the battle field, he had no equal. He represented the best generation of our military personnel. The ones who refused to back down from any enemy; who put their very existence on the line for our continued coexistence.
"Of all of Gen. Adekunle's qualities, it is his loyalty to the flag that I most admire. He was a worthy ambassador of his people and a great example in service. He led from the front.
"Let it be said of Gen. Adekunle: 'Here is a man who gave his country the best of his life.' May his warrior soul find rest. And I pray his wife family find the fortitude to bare the irreparable loss."
Senate President David Mark said Adekunle was a success in all ramifications of his military career.
Mark, who retired from the army as brigadier-general like Adekunle recalled the role late Adekunle played during the Civil war, saying: "He led the Third Marine Commando Division with such great panache and determination and precision.
"He was a father, a brother, a substantive army General and a patriotic Nigerian. We are pained at the news of his death."
"Even in death, Nigerians will forever be grateful for the services Late Adekunle rendered for the nation's unity," Mark noted.
He asked the Federal Government and the Oyo State Government to immortalize the late General as a morale booster to our service men who are placed in harm's way for us to have a peaceful nation.
It was all quiet at his Eric Moore Close, Surulere, Lagos residence yesterday after news of his death broke.
When The Nation got to the modest bungalow, the few relatives gathered there said the widow was not in the right frame of mind to speak to journalists. "Yes, she is inside but she cannot attend to you now. Please bear with us, she is being attended to by her people," they said.
When, The Nation put a call across to Mrs. Folake Adekunle on her mobile phone, she simply said: "it happened this morning (Saturday). He is dead. He died this morning. Sorry I cannot say more. I am still too shocked to say anything. Thank you."
A male relative who said the family would meet soon on the burial arrangement.
"The incident just happened. As you can see, not many people are aware yet. There are things we need to do first as a family. Those are the things we are doing now. We will talk to the press. Somebody will talk to the press but not now," he explained.
General Adekunle had been ill for some time now.
His condition degenerated so much mid last year that his son, Biodun ,had to go public for government and the army to come to his aid.
He was born on June 26, 1936 in Kaduna to an Ogbomoso father and a Bachama (in Adamawa State) mother. He joined the army in 1957. He served as Aide-de-camp to former Governor of the old Eastern Region, Dr. Akanu Ibiam.
He was pioneer Commander of the 3rd Marine Commando during the war and was compulsorily retired from the army in 1974.
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I was his shoe shine boy -Uduaghan
Posted by: our reporter in News 9 hours ago
Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has disclosed that he was the late war hero's shoe shine boy in Sapele during the Nigerian Civil War.
The governor had in an interview in 2012 told an online publication, www.
todaysnigeria.com : "My father was Chief Edmund Dudu Uduaghan. He died some years back. He was a policeman for several years. He retired as Inspector after 33 years in the Police Force and became a chief of the Warri kingdom."I remember an incident during the Nigerian Civil War when the Biafran soldiers occupied part of Midwest. All the policemen sent their families home. Because when the Biafran soldiers come, the first place they capture is the police station. They were there for some weeks until the federal soldiers came to liberate Sapele. Since the whole family had gone to the village, I was the only one living with him in the barracks.
"Opposite where we were staying was the Inspectors' House which Brigadier-Gen. Benjamin Adekunle took over and was staying there. For the few days he stayed there, he would bring his boots out and I would go and pick it and clean it and shine it, because he said he loved the way I used to shine my father's shoes."
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My personal recollections of the war, by Benjamin Adekunle
Posted by: Benjamin Adekunle in Featured, News 9 hours ago
I was born in Kaduna on the 26th of June I936, the fifth in a line of six children born by Amina Theodora to a polygamous husband, Thomas Adekunle. My father, a native of Ogbomoso, was domiciled in Kaduna as early as 1908. He had met my mother in her hometown Numan, during one of his sojourns to the Adamawa Province and married her in 1919. She was a member of the Bachama Tribe, an ethnic group noted for their fighting abilities. As one of the earliest converts to Christianity in her area, my mother was a staunch Christian. She succeeded in converting my father Thomas to Christianity in the course of their courtship and we were raised as Anglicans.
According to the legend repeatedly narrated to me by elderly female relations during my childhood, the circumstances surrounding my early entry into the world were somewhat portentous. They said I overstayed my time in my mother's womb by two months. Moreover, I am reported to have vacated this comfortable abode only after a series of local birth attendants had exhausted their entire repertoire of childbirth skills. These tales meant little to me at the time, but their chief significance was the special attention it secured for me from my family, particularly from my mother.
Both my father and grandfather served in the colonial army. My father later entered the carpentry trade where he made a sufficiently good living to fend for his large family of two wives (he later married a second wife, Christianity non-withstanding), a dozen children and numerous relatives. We all lived in the sprawling house that he built in the Kaduna Township.
By 1945, at age nine, I had enough of both school and my unsatisfactory home life. The death of my father in this year strengthened my resolve to take matters into my own hands. I resolved to leave home and look for someone to serve, in exchange for educational support. On the chosen night, I gathered my few belongings and ran away from my brother's home. After several days on the streets, I found my way to one Reverend Ayiogu whom I persuaded to employ me as a domestic servant at the rate of one Shilling and six pence a month. With the assistance of the police, my elder brother soon traced me to my new living quarters. However, all entreaties, commands, cajolery and threats directed at me by the police officers, relations, and the Reverend to return with my brother fell on deaf ears; with Reverend Ayiogu I would remain or vanish again.
From this period, the influences to which I was exposed were more stabilizing. The Reverend proved to be a decent man and I lived with him for two years. By 1947, I came under the protection of a new Master. Under his guidance, I earned a scholarship to Dekina Primary School in Kwara State. My new Master was an extraordinary man though unimposing in appearance. In all the years I spent in the home of Mr. Quinni, a native of Ugep and employee of the Igala Native Authority, he never once raised his voice in anger. He was scrupulously just in his dealings with all persons around him. He was gifted with a formidable intellect, which was brought to bear in every situation. I was fascinated by his ability to win any argument by rigorous analysis. By the time he reached his conclusion, the parties present had little option but to agree, regardless of their own initial positions or whether his conclusion, conflicted with their own interests. It was for this reason that his polygamous home was calm, stable, and peaceful. Mr. Quinni taught me the strength in meekness, the honour in humility, and the dignity in labor. If I have not always succeeded in exhibiting these qualities, he blessed me with the ability to appreciate and esteem them in others.
Under his influence, I thrived at my new school (Dekina Primary School) to the extent that my progress caught the attention of the Head Master, Mr. Dokpong. Among my schoolmates at Dekina was the one time Director of the Nigerian Twelve Corps Service, Colonel Ahmadu Ali, who is still a friend. I passed the entrance examination to Okene Middle School in 1951and left Dekina with many happy memories.
After my primary education, my relatives in Idah attempted to reassert their claims over me. According to their plans, I was to stop my schooling and be apprenticed in the family trade of carpentry. Needless to say, I vehemently resisted this plan as my years with Mr. Quinni had the effect of drilling in me, a powerful thirst and respect for western education. My stubbornness on this point served to severe all pretense of supervision over my welfare by my guardians. It was now clear to all that I was on my own. I was given to understand that I should expect no support from them. I steeled my mind to fend for myself, to plough a lonely furrow and take life as it came. Fortunately, for me those were the days of free education.
To Okene Middle School I went. I met other interesting characters such as Mr. Bolujoko whom we had nicknamed 'the black horse of Okene Rock.' Though an almost fanatical disciplinarian, Mr. Bolujoko like my former Master, possessed the ability to inspire the best in anyone and nurture the person's more positive qualities. Despotic though he was, he personified to his students the modernized and educated man. In addition to academic development, Mr. Bolujoko took great interest in the spiritual development of his students.
My Military Career
I enlisted in tile Nigerian Army in 1957 immediately after I finished my school certificate examination. The idea of beginning 'life' at once, without the suspense and irritating interlude of University strongly appealed to me, a young man without the luxurious backdrop of a solicitous family. Large or small, I had already proved my physical mettle on a thousand occasions; why not I reasoned, fight for a worthy cause – in the service of my fatherland? With the images of the confident giants of 1945 in my head, I departed for Lagos after my final examination and found my way to the Apapa cantonment.
The first hurdle in my chosen career was the stiff entrance examination. At the succeeding interview, numerous white-headed expatriate military officers gave me the grilling of my life. The Nigerian army was then in its infancy and placed every conceivable impediment to dissuade aspirants from making the army a career. These obstacles did not daunt me. We were then made to undergo physical exercises. I found these exercises hilarious. I was given size 12 boots (I take a size 6); and oversized clothing. For a joke, I put them on and appeared at the venue to the vast amusement of the other boys. Notwithstanding my deficiency in size, the Army accepted me.
Reflecting on Africa's propensity for coups in the post-independence era, I sometimes felt that it could be traced to some extent, to the feelings of indispensability that was nurtured in cadets at this stage of our training. Time without number, the importance of our roles in shaping the future of our nations was impressed on the minds of young military officers. This was not done with any sinister motive, but certainly, the orientation we were given was capable of sowing seeds of the 'messiah complex' in some of the cadets that passed through the institution. Also of some significance I believe, were subconscious feelings of competitiveness among the officers. If former course mates could successfully execute a coup in their countries, who wanted to be caught lagging? On January 15, 1966, Nzeogwu implemented his coup. In my opinion, there was a domino effect on the rest of Africa following the one in Nigeria.
The day of reckoning, which separated the boys from the men soon arrived. Though I had immersed myself in the world of the institution and had given my all, I was as nervous as hell. I had never before failed any task I set out to achieve, but there was no telling what the results of this selection board would be. The waiting period was a period of severe anxiety for me. To my profound relief, I passed this selection and the board recommended me for Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England (RMAS). We (the successful cadets) went wild with joy. For the rest of our stay at Teshie, we conducted ourselves with licentiousness that would have been unthinkable only a few weeks before.
Britain
Prior to Sandhurst, cadets were sent to Mons Officer Cadet School in the UK for a period of three months. The objective of the Mons training was to separate cadets for either a long or a short training course. The older cadets were sent on the short course, while the younger or more able cadets were sent to Sandhurst. The Mons training was to be my first experience outside my native country and nothing in my interactions with expatriates in Africa prepared me for the culture shock I experienced in those first few months in Britain.
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