Godwin Okeke, when people talk about marginalization in Nigeria, they mean exclusion from important positions in the Federal Government. Provide us with the list of all Nigerians that draw their salaries from the Federal Government of Nigeria, since you sound like knowing it, so that we can compare Igbo's share with other ethnic groups.
S. Kadiri
Från: 'Godwin Okeke' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Skickat: den 13 mars 2017 09:20
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: SV: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS
Skickat: den 13 mars 2017 09:20
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: SV: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS
Some of you discuss these issues as if by occupying appointive positions, full integration has ben achieved. Let us do a check. How many Igbo draw their monthly salary from the Central government of Nigeria?
GSM
--------------------------------------------
On Sun, 3/12/17, Salimonu Kadiri <ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com> wrote:
Subject: SV: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Sunday, March 12, 2017, 7:14 PM
Dear Okechukwu Ukaga,
The subject under discussion is not whether General
Yakubu Gowon declared no victor, no vanquished after the end
of the civil war or not, but if the declaration had had
desired effect or results. Kayode J. Fakinlede in his post
of 3rd March 2017 had titled
his topic : The History Of The Nigerian Civil War Should
Be Taught In Our Schools. He motivated his request thus
: No Victor, No Vanquished. This pronouncement, to
me, is the greatest blunder of our civil war. I can almost
say that it is at the bottom
of the continued aspiration by a segment of our society for
secession. Of course, one could not have blamed the
government of young General Gowon. It was reasoned then that
in declaring that neither side won or lost the war, everyone
would have learned his
lesson and our nation would be at peace forever
more.
What we see now is a blatant misplacement of
historical facts and grotesque caricatures being made of
those whose intentions were noble. But more importantly, we
are seeing agitations where none should have arisen and from
the side that was vanquished
in the war. The factual victors, having remained silent for
so long are now being painted as carnivores and murderers
etc.
On reading the above, Mr. Obi Nwakanma flared up in his
response and claimed that the declaration of no victor, no
vanquished by the Federal government was not an act of
charity but as a result of behind the scene diplomatic
negotiations at which the federal
government was exposed to a gigantic and
informed-able guerrilla army of Biafra. The fear of
Biafra's guerrilla fighters of Mao Tse-Sung calibre
forced the Federal government to enter no victor, no
vanquished with Biafra that never surrendered to the federal
army. He proceeded further to claim that after the Biafrans
had accepted the negotiated settlement and disbanded their
guerrilla fighters, the federal side reneged on the
agreement and has since the end of the war marginalized the
Igbo, mark you not Biafrans, and
treated them as second class citizens of Nigeria. It is for
this reason that younger generations of Igbo, not Biafrans,
now want to return to the trenches to liberate them from the
clutches of their Nigerian oppressors.
Kayode J. Fakinlede actually gave voice to what many of
us from Western Nigeria think about the blame game that
some of our brothers from South Eastern Nigeria have been
peddling against the Yoruba ethnic group despite the fact
that many of them risked their
lives in defending and protecting their Igbo brothers and
sisters during the terrible days of July 29 and August
1966. Although, there were some high ranking Yoruba officers
in the army at the time of the second coup, the number of
Yoruba infantry men were
negligible. The gun carriers were mainly from the Middle
Belt and mostly from TIV land. The scenes of military
operations on July 29, 1966, were Lagos, Abeokuta and
Ibadan.
Beginning at Ibadan, Middle-belters constituted 95% of
the 4th Battalion infantry situated there. Their
Commander, Lt. Colonel Arbogo Largema, was killed in the
January 15, 1966 coup. After the coup, Ironsi appointed
Major Macaulay Nzefilli to take the
Command of the 4th Battalion, but the infantry men refused
to take order from him. They asked him about the
where-about of Largema and why he, Nzefili an Igbo, was
there to take over. The military officers that were killed
in the first coup were never made
public by Ironsi. In order to calm the nerves of the
aggrieved soldiers in Ibadan, Ironsi posted a Middle-belter,
Major Joe Akahan to take over the command of the 4th
Battalion from Nzefili. It was from the 4th Battalion,
Ibadan that the then Captain Theophilus
Yakubu Danjuma recruited sub-Lieutenant Jeremiah Useni and
others to arrest Ironsi and Adekunle Fajuyi at the
government state house, Ibadan, on July 29, 1966. While
the government lodge at Ibadan was surrounded, Ironsi sent
Lieutenant Colonel Hillary Njoku,
who accompanied him to Ibadan, to return to Ikeja 2nd
Infantry Battalion and resume control of the Command. On his
way out, Njoku was shot but he escaped wounded. Yoruba
people of Ibadan took care of him until he was well enough
for them to smuggle him out
of Ibadan and guide him safely to the East. The 4th
Battalion did not limit their actions to the Barracks, they
went on rampage in the city of Ibadan hunting for persons of
Igbo ethnic group to be killed. With bare hands, Ibadan
people rose to defend and protect
their Igbo brethren against marauding Middle-belt soldiers.
Amadu Kurfi, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry
of Defence at that time, confirmed in a book written by him
that the then Military Governor of Western State, Francis
Adekunle Fajuyi, had
insisted that if they took his guest and GOC, they should
take him too. Thus, Fajuyi voluntarily followed his General
Officer Commanding the Nigerian Armed Forces, Johnson
Thompson Umunnakwe Aguiyi Ironsi, to death. Some Igbo
revisionist has belittled Fajuyi's
heroic stand which they termed suicide wish. At Abeokuta
Garrison all available Igbo soldiers, especially officers,
were killed and as usual the overzealous Middle-belt
soldiers invaded civil communities to hunt down the Igbo
but the Egba people heroically
defended and protected their Igbo brethren
bare-handed.
In Lagos, the 2nd Infantry Battalion contained over 90%
Middle-belter. After Ironsi had been adopted in Ibadan, the
next high ranking officer in the Army hierarchy was
Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe and when he tried to take
control over the Army in Lagos,
a Middle Belt Sergeant told him that he would only take
instruction from his Captain. Brigadier Ogundipe was shoved
aside and so was Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo, which paved
the way for Yakubu Gowon, a Middle-belter, to take over the
reign of office as GOC of
the Nigerian Army and Head of State. In Lagos and its
suburbs, the Middle-belt soldiers rampaged outside the
Barracks as they hunted for Igbo to kill. Many Yoruba lost
their lives while protecting and defending their Igbo
brethren's rights to life. Those of
us who resisted gun-touting Middle-belt soldiers
who invaded our homes in Lagos in search of Igbo to
kill knew what pain we went through. At Enugu, Lieutenant
Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, ran away to hide at the
Police headquarters in Onitsha. The
respected Lieutenant Colonel David Ogunewe, the Commander
of the 1st Battalion, prostrated before his Northern
dominated Battalion and begged them not to fight. And when
it was finally agreed that soldiers should be repatriated
to their region of origin, the
Northern soldiers in the Enugu 1st Battalion insisted on
leaving with their arms and weapons. Ojukwu did not return
to Enugu until the middle of August 1966 after the
Northern soldiers had left. The pogrom in the Northern
Region against the Igbo in what the
Northerners called revenge for the Northerners killed in
the first coup began in May 1966, after Ironsi had
promulgated Decree No. 34 which abolished federal system and
replaced it with unitary government. Although, Yakubu Gowon
took over in Lagos, he had
no control over the troops in the North. At the same time,
Ojukwu undermined Gowon's position by not accepting his
leadership of the Army because as he put it, he was not the
most senior officer after Ironsi. Regrettably, Igbo were
massacred in thousands in
the North between May 28, 1966 and 1st October 1966.
In the West and Lagos everything possible was done by the
Yoruba to defend and protect their igbo brethren, especially
civilian Igbo in their midst. Sadly, after the war, some
Igbo began to churn out false stories about how Yoruba
killed Igbo in their midst
as from July 29, 1966. In spite of the fact that Chinua
Achebe was helped by the Yoruba to escape arrest by the coup
makers of 29 July 1966, he manufactured an anti Yoruba
faction of his escape from Lagos.
A week before January 15, 1966 coup, Chinua Achebe had
published a small book titled,
A Man of the People. It
was a fictional book on a hypothetical African country that
was rottenly corrupt to the extent that, as Achebe
concluded in the book,
our young army officers overthrew the
government. It was on account of this book and its
conclusion, which coincided with the 15 January 1966 coup,
that made the coup makers of 29 July 1966 to suspect that
Achebe had foreknowledge of the January
coup and as such they wanted to arrest him for questioning.
Had Achebe fallen into the hands of the soldiers at that
time, it would have meant only one thing, death. The Yoruba
in Lagos protected Achebe and his family. His wife
and children were smuggled out
of Lagos by boat while he was being shifted from one place
of abode to the other around Lagos, with the hope that
tension in the country would subside and normal life would
emerge. When it was clear that the crisis was not going to
end soon, Chinua Achebe
decided to return to the East and the Yoruba drove him in a
zigzag route, from Lagos to avoid detection by his military
traducers, to Benin. But in his book, There Was A Country,
Achebe painted a very different picture of how he left
Lagos. Hear him,
"As many of us packed our belongings to return
to the east some of the people we had lived with for years,
some for decades jeered and said,'Let them (Igbo) go;
food will be cheaper in Lagos.' ...//... There were more
and more reports of massacres,
and not only in the North, but also in the West and
Lagos. People were hounded out of their homes, as we were in
Lagos, and returned to the East (p.68)" He
continued,"In any case, I set out on my own, wondering
what would come up at any point. The highway
was full of police roadblocks along the way. I was
stopped once or twice and had to show my papers - what
Nigerians call my 'particulars.' I was one of
the last to flee Lagos. ...//... When I finally got to
Benin City, which is located roughly halfway
from Lagos to Igbo land in the Mid-West Region there was
distinct atmospheric change. ...//... Crowds of policemen
recognized me when I got to Benin City and cheered, saying,
'Oga, thank you,' and let me through to continue my
journey without incident to Onitsha
Bridge, and over the Niger River to the East (p.
70-71)." Achebe who was being searched for by
the Army and the security police claimed that he was at a
motor pack in Lagos to witness how people jeered at fleeing
Igbo without being arrested. Thereafter,
he decided to flee Lagos by sitting in his personal car,
to drive from Lagos en-route East. On his way, he was
stopped once or twice to show his driving license, vehicle
ownership and road worthiness documents to non-Igbo
policemen at the roadblocks. He, a
wanted Igbo man was not arrested, harmed or killed in a
Yoruba territory where he claimed Igbo were being massacred
by the Yoruba. At Benin City, the Policemen cheered him and
said, "Oga thank you" and let
him through to continue his journey
to the East. It was plain that the Benin police did
not direct their Oga thank you
to Chinua Achebe, but to the Yoruba personality
that escorted him to Benin after the Yoruba man had
transmitted some pounds through a hand shake with bribe to
them. A Nigerian policeman don't usually say Oga, thank
you, if you don't give them something.
Chinua Achebe took glory and honour out of the Yoruba
who, out of being humane, took risk to whisk him and his
family into safety during the terrible events that led to
the Nigerian civil war.
The traditional belief in Nigeria is that any official
or public servant, whether elected, selected, appointed or
employed is deemed to be representing and acting on behalf
of his ethnic group. Although Awolowo was a Yoruba by tribe,
his political, social
and economic ideology was national. That was why he refused
to serve in a national government led by a feudalist after
December 1959 Federal elections. He was not only leader of
the opposition in the Federal Parliament but his party, the
Action Group produced
the opposition party in the Northern and Eastern
Regions' House of Assembly. By 1962, Nnamdi Azikiwe and
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa's led Federal Coalition
government, overthrew the Action Group Government of Western
Region and jailed Awolowo. After the coup of
July 29, 1966, General Gowon pardoned and released Awolowo
from prison through Government Notice No. 1507/1966. Awolowo
came out of prison to meet a destroyed people and
a chaotic Nigeria on the cliff to precipice. In his speech
to the Western Leaders of
Thought at Ibadan, 1st May 1967, Awlowo said among other
things, "The Eastern Region must be encouraged
to remain part of the Federation. If the
Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission or
commission to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the
Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the
Federation. ...//... We have neither military might nor
the overwhelming advantage of numbers
here in Western Nigeria and Lagos," he
admitted. Awolowo's statement was obviously
directed to the Federal Military Government led by Yakubu
Gowon but some mischief makers among our Igbo brethren had
touted Awolowo's speech as an agreement with Ojukwu
that both East and West were to secede simultaneously, on
which Awolowo later reneged. Since Awolowo is Yoruba,
some Igbo historian blamed all the Yoruba for betrayal of
what they thought Awolowo agreed with them to secede on
behalf of the Yoruba people but
did not fulfil. In fact, on 3rd May 1967, the Military
Governor of Western Region, Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo, in a
broadcast to the people said that his Western Region was not
in collusion with the East to secede.
On May 5, 1967, Obafemi Awolowo led a delegation of what
was called National Reconciliation and Peace Commission to
Enugu to convince Ojukwu to give peace a chance. Ojukwu
was said to have told Awolowo that their mission was a
still-born. Achebe put it succinctly
in his book, There Was a Country, thus, "many
Igbo leaders referred to the visit disdainfully as the
'chop, chop, talk, talk commission (p. 88)."
If there was an agreement between Awolowo and
Ojukwu for a simultaneous secession of the West and East
at that meeting Ojukwu would have released it before his
death. And how could Awolowo have entered such agreement
when he was not the Military Governor
of Western Region and he possessed no army of his own?
Obafemi Awolowo has been accused, by some Igbo falsifier
of history, of advocating and employing starvation as a
weapon of war against (Biafra) the Igbo. A version of that
accusation was presented by Achebe thus,
"A statement credited to Chief Obafemi
Awolowo and echoed by his cohorts is the most callous
and unfortunate: All is fair in war, and starvation is one
of the weapons of war. I don't see why we should feed
our enemies fat in order for them to
fight harder (p. 233)." This statement was
culled from Awolowo's interview in the Financial Times
of 26 June 1969. It was not a policy statement but his
reaction to the information that Biafran soldiers were
hijacking food supplies sent to civilians
in Biafra. Even if he were to say so, in which war has it
ever happened that a beleaguered troop has been supplied
food by the beleaguer-ant. Obviously, Awolowo was not
saying civilians should be starved but soldiers. A year
before that statement, Achebe recorded
on page 211 of There Was a Country
thus, "The diplomatic battles had reached a
fever pitch by the middle of 1968. Gowon, under immense
international pressure .... decided to open up land routes
for a 'supervised transport' of relief. To the
consternation
of Gowon, Ojukwu opted out of land routes in favour of
increased airlifts of food from São Tomé by international
relief agencies." Geneva convention permits
relief supplies to civilians in a war affected areas but
signatories to Geneva Conventions
are allowed to supervise the transport of such relief
assistance to its destination. Nigeria was a signatory to
the Geneva Conventions but Biafra was not. Thus, any airlift
of relief supply by international agencies to Biafra must
first land in Nigeria for
inspection before flying further to Biafra. So, it was
not Awolowo's statement in June 1969 that starved
millions of Biafrans to death, but Ojukwu's rejection of
food supply by land routes in June 1968 as testified to by
Chinua Achebe. Had there not been no
victor, no vanquish declaration after the war, Ojukwu would
have been tried for war crimes. Amusingly, Obi
Nwakanma's beloved authority on Nigerian forces
inability to hold captured towns in Biafra, Colonel Robert
Scott, wrote in the London Sunday Telegraph
of 11 January 1970 thus, "It is perhaps ironic
that this is the first time in the history of warfare that
one beleaguer-ant has permitted outside agencies to succour
its opponent." Biafrans in 1968 were
effectively and actually beleaguered
by the Nigerian Army.
Despite Ojukwu's rejection of offer of foods to
civilians in Biafra enclave by land routes, Gowon turned
blind eyes to the illegal night flights into the Biafran
enclave. At the same time the ground forces of, the 2nd
infantry division led by Col. Murtala
Mohammed and the 3rd Marine Commando led by Col. Benjamin
Adekunle were prevented from marching into the Biafran
enclave as strict orders were issued to them not to
shoot at illegal planes flying into Biafra. But towards
the end of May 1969, Von Rosen bombed
Port Harcourt, Benin, Enugu and Ughelli Electric power
station in Nigeria, with his MINICOIN planes. Von
Rosen's bombing of Nigeria's positions woke Lagos up
to action. By the 5th of June 1969, a DC-7 plane marked
Swedish Red Cross was heading towards Uli-Ihiala
air strip in Biafra before the midnight. Captain Gbadamosi
King of the Nigerian Air Force piloting his MIG 17 ordered
the DC-7 plane, marked Swedish Red Cross to land either in
Port Harcourt or Calabar for inspection but the Red Cross
marked plane ignored
Captain King's order. Captain King repeated his order
several times but the Red Cross marked plane flew
unperturbed. Thus, Captain Gbadamosi King fired at the Red
Cross plane and brought it down near Eket. The plane
exploded and the wreckage was spread over
a large area. The plane was exposed for not ferrying
relief supplies but weapons. Consequently, on 14 June 1969,
the Director of International Committee of Red Cross in
Lagos, Dr. August Lindt, was declared persona non grata by
the Federal Government, after
admitting that the shot down plane carrying weapons
belonged to the ICRC.
Telling a lie with cosmetic beauty, Obi Nwakanma said
that the renewed demand by some Igbo youths is as a result
of marginalization of the Igbo in the governing of
Nigeria. In the first civilian regime after the military
coup of 1966, Alex Ekwueme, an Igbo,
became the Vice President in the NPN controlled Federal
government. At the same time, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke was speaker
of the House of Reps. When the military government of
General Babangida surfaced in 1985, most of his civilian
administrators and supporters
were Igbo. His commissioner of Finance was Dr. Idika Kalu
Idika. When Babangida scuttled the Presidential Election of
June 1993, his backbone was Arthur Eze who obtained
mid-night court injunctions against the election performed
by the then Federal Electoral
Commission headed by an Igbo, Professor Humphrey Nwosu.
General Babangida was married to an Igbo woman, born Mary
Ndidi Okogwu, who adopted the Muslim name Maryam after
marriage with Babangida. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo honoured
Babangida with the traditional title,
Ogugua Ndigbo, in appreciation of what Babangida's
regime did for the Igbo. In the sixteen years of PDP
government (29 May 1999 to 29 May 2015) the only
position an Igbo ethnic person never held is the
Presidency. The Igbo has had five Senate Presidents, Deputy
Senate President, Deputy Speaker, Minister of
Defence, Chief of Army Staff, Director General of
Immigration, Director General of Prison, Director General of
Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Central Bank Governor and
Deputy Governor, Secretary to the Government
of the Federation (SGF), Ministers in key Ministries such
as Power, Education, Petroleum, Health, Labour and
Productivity, Aviation and Finance. Up to May 29, 2015,
the Minister of Finance was Igbo and all other Agencies
related to the Ministry of Finance
such as Director General- Budget Office, DG of PENCOM, DG
of RFMAC, DG of SEC, CEO of NSE, DG of AMCON, Chairman of
Sovereign Wealth Fund and Governor of Central Bank were
headed by Igbo. In spite of the afore-listed key positions
that were held, and in some
cases are still being held, by persons of ethnic Igbo in
Nigeria, perverted ethnic mandarins are still
claiming that Igbo people are marginalized in Nigeria.
It is very sad to observe that Obi Nwakanma has chosen to
have no respect and value for history simply
because the facts of history are opposed to his wishes. He
has been engaged in the destruction evidential facts of
history by twisting facts and propounding unfounded lies and
fallacies about the Nigerian civil war. Victims of past
tragedies should be less
gung-ho about future ones. The Biafran Major-General,
Philip Effiong, who signed the surrender document that
ended the civil war remarked thus, "Until the
end of the war on 12 January 1970, the Biafran soldier
fought an impossible war under conditions
that were totally inhuman and uncalled for. It was
the result of one man turning what was the people's will
to fight a war of survival into a desperate and reckless
attempt to achieve a personal ambition - even if it meant
destroying the very people
he purportedly was fighting to preserve (p. 237, Nigeria
& Biafra: My Story by Philip
Effiong)." At this stage of our development,
I don't think the ethnic origin of any Nigerian office
holder should be of concern to any normal and intelligent
person
but the capability of the official to produce what the
office is designed for. I stand to be corrected by you if I
am wrong.
S. Kadiri
Från:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> för Okechukwu
Ukaga <ukaga001@umn.edu>
Skickat: den 9 mars 2017 21:14
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE
HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR
SCHOOLS
The most important
fact is that the best authority on this matter, General
Gowon himself concluded and declared that there is no victor
and no vanquished. I don't see that any of the
contributors to thread or others they are referencing
are in a better position (than Gowon) to accurately assess
and describe what happened. So enough of the spinning and
gymnastics!
OU
On Mar 9, 2017 6:20
AM, "Rex Marinus" <rexmarinus@hotmail.com>
wrote:
I post here a recording of Philip Effiong's
statement in Dodan barracks, circa 1970. Pay particular
attention that even both Col. Obasanjo and General Gowon bit
their tongues - paused - to avoid the use of the word
"surrender." It was "acceptance" and it
was official. Philip Effiong himself fully reported as a
General, and the Officer administering, "the
government of the republic of Biafra." And just out
of curiosity, would somebody point out the difference? I do
not know that there is any significant semantic
or material difference between " after
removing the factors that has made reconciliation
impossible" -
my paraphrase of Philip Effiong's statement, and
Salimonu Kadiri's full quote of Effiong's
"I am also convinced that the people are now
disillusioned and those elements of the old
government regime who have made negotiations and
reconciliation impossible have voluntarily removed
themselves from our midst ."
It is typical of Kadiri to sweat small and irrelevant
stuff, just simply to maintain a hard-headed recrudescence
that offers nary a fresh insight.
Obi Nwakanma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=dGSRa6KE_rg
Major-General
Gowon and Colonel Obasanjo Accept Biafra's Surrender
- January 1970
www.youtube.com
This is the official surrender ceremony that ended the
Nigeria-Biafra civil war. At Dodan Barracks the Nigerian
head of State Major-General Yakubu Gowon shoo...
From:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups
.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroup
s.com> on behalf of Salimonu Kadiri <ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 10:29 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups
.com
Subject: SV: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE
HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR
SCHOOLS
Doctor Obi Nwakanma has doctored the history of the
Nigerian civil war and has injected it with 419 virus with
which he hopes to infect unsuspecting and gullible
Nigerians. I identify his 419 history virus of the
Nigerian civil war from his post below as
follows : If you listen, for instance, to Philip
Effiong's statement at Dodan barracks in 1970, there was
not a single use of the word "surrender" in his
speech. He said, "we are returning to Nigeria, after
removing the factors that has made reconciliation
impossible. We accept the current authority and structure
of the federal government, and on the promise that we shall
all be part of the move towards the transition to
constitutional rule and a new constitution." Not a
single word about surrender. Words
to that effect. And he addressed himself in his full rank
as Major-General - so was it asserted in writing by Dr. Obi
Nwakanma.
Obi Nwakanma wrote as if to say he was present at
Dodan barrack, on the 15th of January 1970, when Philip
Effiong made the statement he, Obi, is attributing to him.
Obi Nwakanma's pretence to being an eye witness at
Dodan barracks when Philip Effiong declared
(which Obi called a statement) the death of Biafra, is a
419 ploy aimed at gaining plausibility for
his fraudulent history.
With inverted komas begin and closed, Obi
Nwakanma gave false impression that he was quoting Philip
Effiong verbatim. Thus, he credited Effiong with having
said, "we are returning to Nigeria,
after removing the factors that has made reconciliation
impossible." Philip Effiong never made such a
statement at Dodan barracks on the 15th of January 1970. Obi
Nwakanma has doctored and distorted part of Philip
Effiong's broadcast on Radio Biafra
at 16:40:00 hours, on January 12, 1970, to the Biafrans.
In paragraph 3 of the printed version of that broadcast,
Effiong said, "I am also convinced that the people are
now disillusioned
and those elements of the old government regime who have
made negotiations and reconciliation impossible have
voluntarily removed themselves from our midst (p.
294-295, Nigeria & Biafra: My Story, by Philip Effiong).
Philip Effiong has never at anytime
between, January 11 and 15, 1970, said that 'we are
returning to Nigeria after removing factors that has made
reconciliation impossible' as asserted in writing by Dr.
Obi Nwakanma. That, to me, is a historical fraud of the
highest order.
Immediately after Philip Effiong's broadcast
of 12 January 1970, Nigeria's Commander of the third
marine division, Lt. Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo, issued
operation order to all his Brigade Commanders thus,
"Philip Effiong today issued what amounts
to unconditional surrender. Tactical movement will
continue until every inch of 'Biafra' is physically
occupied and all rebel soldiers disarmed. Troops will
not open fire unless they are fired at. No change from ops
order on treatment of POW and refugees
(p.123, My Command by Olusegun
Obasanjo)."
Contrary to Dr. Obi Nwakanma's 419 history,
the following was read and signed by Philip Effiong at Dodan
barracks on 15 January 1970. I, Major General Philip
Effiong, Officer Administering the Government of the
Republic of Biafra, now wish to make
the following declaration: (a) that we affirm we are loyal
Nigerian citizens and accept the authority of the Federal
Military Government of Nigeria. (b) that we accept the
existing administrative and political structure of the
Federation of Nigeria. (c) that
any future constitutional arrangement will be worked out by
representatives of the people of Nigeria. (d) that
the Republic of Biafra hereby ceases to exist.
I signed and dated the document "15th January
1970" Philip Effiong wrote on page 306 of his book,
Nigeria and Biafra: My Story.
Dr. Obi Nwakanma is arguing that the word
'surrender' was not used by Philip Effiong in his
declarations, which Obi called statement. However, Philip
Effiong knew what he was at Dodan barracks to do. Thus, on
page 303 of his book, Nigeria & Biafra:
My Story, the sub-title therein is: SURRENDER INSTRUMENT.
It was under that headline that he narrated what he signed
at Dodan barracks. And if one may ask, what is the
difference between
SURRENDER AND THE REPUBLIC OF BIAFRA HEREBY CEASES TO
EXIST? For a pettifoger and a 419 historian, half a
dozen is not the same as six, and therefore that Biafra
ceased to exist is not the same thing as Biafra
surrendered.
Dr Obi Nwakanma referred to Banjo's treachery
in the Midwest campaign but he failed to tell us what
exactly constituted Banjo's treachery. After the
invasion of the Midwest, two-pronged attack on Lagos was
planned. Lt. Colonel Festus Akagha was to
lead Biafra's second battalion through Benin, Ore, and
Ijebu-Ode to seize Lagos, while Biafra's third
battalion led by Lt. Colonel Humphrey Iwuchukwu Chukwuka
was to lead his troops through Sapele, Warri and advance
along the coast to attack Lagos. Biafra's
first battalion led by Lt. Colonel Mike Ivenso was to move
through Owo, Akure and seize Ibadan. Beside those
Battalion Commanders, Lt. Colonel Emmanuel Ifeajuna was
together with Banjo in the Midwest. Symbolically, Banjo was
the leader of Midwest invasion
but the real commanders of the invading army were Biafrans
(Igbo) and the fighting soldiers were all Igbo Biafrans.
That Biafrans met their waterloo at Ore and other fronts in
the West was not as a result of treachery by Banjo as
being fraudulently touted
by 419 historian.
S.Kadiri
Från:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups
.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroup
s.com> för Rex Marinus <rexmarinus@hotmail.com>
Skickat: den 7 mars 2017 13:30
Till:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups .com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE
HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR
SCHOOLS
Mr. Fakinlede, maybe at this point, I should remind you
to call me by my proper name: I am not "Mr.
Marinus" - and I am not "Mr. Nwakanma" since
I'm not a surgeon. I am Dr. Nwakanma, and I earned my
plaudits, not
honoris causa. If you prefer, it is simply "Obi
Nwakanma" - and that too would be my preference. And I
should let you know that part of the test of competence in
the use of any language by which knowledge is transmitted is
the test of "comprehension."
I see, very clearly that you do not comprehend the thrust
of my response on this Biafran question. One, I did not
infer, suggest, or say that the Biafrans were
"tricked" into anything. I said that the
Federal authority's decision on the "no victor, no
vanquished"
declaration was not simply an act of charity, it was a
"pragmatic" policy based on the reality of the
situation, and the negotiations that had gone on leading to
the end of the conflict. Agreements were reached and
reneged. If you listen for instance, to Philip
Effiong's statement at Dodan barracks in 1970, there
was not a single use of the word "surrender" in
his speech. He said, "we are returning to Nigeria,
after removing the factors that has made reconciliation
impossible. We accept the current authority and
structure of the federal government, and on the premise
that we shall all be part of the move towards the transition
to constitutional rule and a new constitution." Not a
single word about surrender. Words to that affect. And he
addressed himself in his full
rank as Major-General.
All the references I made regarding the Biafran soldier,
and the possibility of a guerrilla war were not mine, but
from neutral sources, including on the spot British
intelligence field assessment. I do not know who would have
won the war had the Biafrans
chosen that option of guerrilla war, but clearly, and I did
say this, the option for formal, conventional warfare had
become untenable with the Federal Military advantages. Once
Biafra began to fight a defensive war after Banjo's
treachery in the Midwest campaign,
it was only a matter of time for Biafra to be overwhelmed
in a formal war. But had they been compelled to launch the
guerrilla phase of the war, which had all the infrastructure
already designed for it, the civil war may have led to
different outcomes: Biafran
sovereignty at the most, or a long drawn war that would
expand beyond the Eastern frontiers to a Southern Nigerian
frontier at the least. Urban warfare is far more
complicated. Besides, as the British report indicated, the
Federal Army was in no position to hold
and secure captured fronts for a long period given the
topography and advantage that the Biafrans were in their
natural homes, and had proved with arms, to capture and
recapture areas often held by the Federal forces. This is
simply elementary tactical logic.
Finally, I did not say that Biafrans released war prisoners
mainly because they were kind - but from pragmatic
considerations: they could not carter for war prisoners. By
the way, I did not say it. It was from a source that I
quoted. It is left or you to verify
it.
I think you're far too invested in the idea of a
"vanquished" Igbo. That seems to give you some
erection. But where were you during the war when 15 year old
boys from the East volunteered as soldiers to fight for
their freedom? Did you see combat or are
you one of those who "saw the war" from the
sidelines, but who speak with such pontificatory eloquence
and certainty about war and the "vanquished" that
you read about in newspapers? Those who did not fight speak
of war, and many of us who actually lived through
it, either as war babies or child soldiers, or combatants
talk with the kind of experience of that war that will not
be available to you because you read about war in
newspapers. The Igbo were not "vanquished" in war.
I don't know if you actually know the
exact meaning of that word you use with such gusto. But
step back a bit from your sick triumphalism, and look, and
listen to words other than that only inside your head, Mr.
Fakinlede. As a matter of fact, an old friend and mentor
mine just died: Ben Obumselu
was Biafra's official war historian and recorder. I am
not sure you met him, but it'd have been illuminating
for you to have had the privilege of insight that should
have given you a far more nuanced sense of the history of
the civil war rather than your black-and-white
narrative of the "vanquished" Biafrans which you
like so much to believe just to stiffen your third leg.
Obi Nwakanma
From:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups
.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroup
s.com> on behalf of Kayode J. Fakinlede
<jfakinlede@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2017 4:39 AM
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE HISTORY
OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR
SCHOOLS
From Mr. Marinus’write-ups, I
have garnered the following:
1.
The
decalration of ‘No victor, no vanquished’made by Gowon
to end the Nigerian civil war was made to save the federal
side from certain defeat.
2.
The Biafrans
did not lose the war. They stopped fighting because they
were tricked into stopping by certain negotiations to which
they and Nigeria agreed,
only later for Nigeria to renege upon it after the Biafran
side already wrote a letter of surrender. Let us not forget
that they were tricked into secession in the first place by
‘Ali Baba’Awolowo. It wasAwolowo who made the
pronouncement that if the East
were to seceed, the West would certainly follow.
3.
In the
prosecution of the war, the Biafran soldiers clearly
demonstrated more military dexterism than the Nigerian
soldiers who were really no more than
bumbling idiots and were getting snuffed out like Birthday
candles.
4.
Benjamin
Adekunle’s soldiers were a collection of touts, louts and
never-do –wells; a highly indisciplined bunch who could
not hold the candle up to Achuzia’s
fighting tornadoes.
5.
As a matter of
fact, the Biafran soldiers were more humane than the federal
soldiers. Having captured a copious number of the federal
soldiers, the Biafran
soldiers let them go becuase the Biafrans were filled with
the milk of human kindness.
6.
It would seem
that it was the Nigerian soldiers who were really dying and
not Biafran civilians since the Nigerian soldiers chose to
stick to the highways
where they were easily snuffed out.
7.
Ojukwu did not
really flee the country. He was persuaded to leave, leaving
Phillip Effiong in charge. Effiong, a non-Ibo simply
disappeared, probably due
to cowardise, only to reappear to sign the letter of
surrender.
8.
Zik, of
course, did not abscond. He was only convinced that he was
of no use to Biafra and decided to say away. Uwechue,
Achebe and some other prominent
Ibos probably had their own reasons – but not
abscondence.
All in all, everyone, except the
Ibos, had something unsavory to do with the Nigerian civil
war, according to Mr. Marinus. The Ibos were wronged,
and wronged and wronged again by all other Nigerians while
they maintained their legendary equanimity until they were
forced to respond or tricked into responding by others. The
Biafrans, according to Mr. Marinus, with guerilla warfare
would have overrun Nigeria
had it not been that they were persuaded not to do so.
Let me say this, I have dealt with
Ibo people from before the war till now. I have always found
them to be gregarious, highly intelligent and not
given to gulibility. The claims made by Mr. Marinus is only
undermining the ability of the Ibos of that period to make
independent decisions and the intelligence of present day
Ibo’s to use their brains.
It is no wonder those Ibos who
actually saw the war are clearly reticent when the drums of
secesion and of war are being beat by their youngsters.
Certainly many of these have swallowed the hogwash being
bandied by the modern day war mongers.
The history of the Nigerian
civil war must be taught to Nigerian children and really, we
Nigerians, the Ibos in particular, should make it a point
to point it out to our young ones exactly what mistakes we
made that led to that level of carnage.
FAKINLEDE
On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 12:23:42 PM UTC+1, Kayode J.
Fakinlede wrote:
‘No victor, no
vanquished.”
This pronuncement, to me,
is the greatest blunder of our civil war. I can almost say
that it is at the bottom of the continued aspiration by a
segment of our society for secession.
Of course, one could not
have blamed the government of young Ganeral Gowon. It was
reasoned then that in declaring that neither side won or
lost the war, everyone would have learned his lesson and our
nation would be at peace forever more.
What we see now is a
blantant misplacement of historical facts and grotesque
caricatures being made of those whose intentions were noble.
But more importantly, we are seeing agitations where none
should have arisen and from the side that
was vanqished in the war. The factual victors, having
remained silent for so long, are now being painted as
carnivores and murderers.
Anyone who was an adult
during the civil war will definitely not wish another one on
Nigeria. Lessons have been learned and honestly, not too
many of these people agitate for secession or any form of
upheaval, regardless of his tribal origin.
It is those who were yet unborn or too young to experience
the realities of war that would think it is child’s
play.
But the truth is that they
do not know better. They receive information, not history,
from their parents. In most instances, while the intenions
of the older ones may not be for agitation, a vanquished
people will always tell a story of
their mistreatment and their heroism in the face of all
odds.
A factual history of the
civil war must be taught in all our schools to all our
children. This is not to put any segment of our nation down.
It is reasonable because this event marks the singular
greatest period when, but for providence
sake, Nigeria would have disintegrated. Moreover, people
badly informed of the mistreatment of their forebears are
bound to react negatively to their perceived malefactors.
This subject needs not be
given a name that would be derogatory to any side. It can
just be called ‘The Nigerian Civil War’. Therein all our
young ones will learn as a subject matter: the events that
led to the war; attempts to resolve
the issues so war could be averted; who were the initial
aggressors; who took part militarily in the war; who were
the heroes; the parts played by our own leaders either in
preventing or agitating for war; the parts played by others
in trying to prevent war;
how the war was prosecuted; how the war was brought to an
end; life after the war; attempts to rebuild; the lingering
issues arising from the war; the effects of the war on our
present political life; important dates in the process;
etc.
There is so much to teach
our children and they should be properly and factually
taught. Some smart person once said that whoever forgets the
past is bound to repeat it, or something of that nature.
I rest my case
Fakinlede K
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--------------------------------------------
On Sun, 3/12/17, Salimonu Kadiri <ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com> wrote:
Subject: SV: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Sunday, March 12, 2017, 7:14 PM
Dear Okechukwu Ukaga,
The subject under discussion is not whether General
Yakubu Gowon declared no victor, no vanquished after the end
of the civil war or not, but if the declaration had had
desired effect or results. Kayode J. Fakinlede in his post
of 3rd March 2017 had titled
his topic : The History Of The Nigerian Civil War Should
Be Taught In Our Schools. He motivated his request thus
: No Victor, No Vanquished. This pronouncement, to
me, is the greatest blunder of our civil war. I can almost
say that it is at the bottom
of the continued aspiration by a segment of our society for
secession. Of course, one could not have blamed the
government of young General Gowon. It was reasoned then that
in declaring that neither side won or lost the war, everyone
would have learned his
lesson and our nation would be at peace forever
more.
What we see now is a blatant misplacement of
historical facts and grotesque caricatures being made of
those whose intentions were noble. But more importantly, we
are seeing agitations where none should have arisen and from
the side that was vanquished
in the war. The factual victors, having remained silent for
so long are now being painted as carnivores and murderers
etc.
On reading the above, Mr. Obi Nwakanma flared up in his
response and claimed that the declaration of no victor, no
vanquished by the Federal government was not an act of
charity but as a result of behind the scene diplomatic
negotiations at which the federal
government was exposed to a gigantic and
informed-able guerrilla army of Biafra. The fear of
Biafra's guerrilla fighters of Mao Tse-Sung calibre
forced the Federal government to enter no victor, no
vanquished with Biafra that never surrendered to the federal
army. He proceeded further to claim that after the Biafrans
had accepted the negotiated settlement and disbanded their
guerrilla fighters, the federal side reneged on the
agreement and has since the end of the war marginalized the
Igbo, mark you not Biafrans, and
treated them as second class citizens of Nigeria. It is for
this reason that younger generations of Igbo, not Biafrans,
now want to return to the trenches to liberate them from the
clutches of their Nigerian oppressors.
Kayode J. Fakinlede actually gave voice to what many of
us from Western Nigeria think about the blame game that
some of our brothers from South Eastern Nigeria have been
peddling against the Yoruba ethnic group despite the fact
that many of them risked their
lives in defending and protecting their Igbo brothers and
sisters during the terrible days of July 29 and August
1966. Although, there were some high ranking Yoruba officers
in the army at the time of the second coup, the number of
Yoruba infantry men were
negligible. The gun carriers were mainly from the Middle
Belt and mostly from TIV land. The scenes of military
operations on July 29, 1966, were Lagos, Abeokuta and
Ibadan.
Beginning at Ibadan, Middle-belters constituted 95% of
the 4th Battalion infantry situated there. Their
Commander, Lt. Colonel Arbogo Largema, was killed in the
January 15, 1966 coup. After the coup, Ironsi appointed
Major Macaulay Nzefilli to take the
Command of the 4th Battalion, but the infantry men refused
to take order from him. They asked him about the
where-about of Largema and why he, Nzefili an Igbo, was
there to take over. The military officers that were killed
in the first coup were never made
public by Ironsi. In order to calm the nerves of the
aggrieved soldiers in Ibadan, Ironsi posted a Middle-belter,
Major Joe Akahan to take over the command of the 4th
Battalion from Nzefili. It was from the 4th Battalion,
Ibadan that the then Captain Theophilus
Yakubu Danjuma recruited sub-Lieutenant Jeremiah Useni and
others to arrest Ironsi and Adekunle Fajuyi at the
government state house, Ibadan, on July 29, 1966. While
the government lodge at Ibadan was surrounded, Ironsi sent
Lieutenant Colonel Hillary Njoku,
who accompanied him to Ibadan, to return to Ikeja 2nd
Infantry Battalion and resume control of the Command. On his
way out, Njoku was shot but he escaped wounded. Yoruba
people of Ibadan took care of him until he was well enough
for them to smuggle him out
of Ibadan and guide him safely to the East. The 4th
Battalion did not limit their actions to the Barracks, they
went on rampage in the city of Ibadan hunting for persons of
Igbo ethnic group to be killed. With bare hands, Ibadan
people rose to defend and protect
their Igbo brethren against marauding Middle-belt soldiers.
Amadu Kurfi, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry
of Defence at that time, confirmed in a book written by him
that the then Military Governor of Western State, Francis
Adekunle Fajuyi, had
insisted that if they took his guest and GOC, they should
take him too. Thus, Fajuyi voluntarily followed his General
Officer Commanding the Nigerian Armed Forces, Johnson
Thompson Umunnakwe Aguiyi Ironsi, to death. Some Igbo
revisionist has belittled Fajuyi's
heroic stand which they termed suicide wish. At Abeokuta
Garrison all available Igbo soldiers, especially officers,
were killed and as usual the overzealous Middle-belt
soldiers invaded civil communities to hunt down the Igbo
but the Egba people heroically
defended and protected their Igbo brethren
bare-handed.
In Lagos, the 2nd Infantry Battalion contained over 90%
Middle-belter. After Ironsi had been adopted in Ibadan, the
next high ranking officer in the Army hierarchy was
Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe and when he tried to take
control over the Army in Lagos,
a Middle Belt Sergeant told him that he would only take
instruction from his Captain. Brigadier Ogundipe was shoved
aside and so was Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo, which paved
the way for Yakubu Gowon, a Middle-belter, to take over the
reign of office as GOC of
the Nigerian Army and Head of State. In Lagos and its
suburbs, the Middle-belt soldiers rampaged outside the
Barracks as they hunted for Igbo to kill. Many Yoruba lost
their lives while protecting and defending their Igbo
brethren's rights to life. Those of
us who resisted gun-touting Middle-belt soldiers
who invaded our homes in Lagos in search of Igbo to
kill knew what pain we went through. At Enugu, Lieutenant
Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, ran away to hide at the
Police headquarters in Onitsha. The
respected Lieutenant Colonel David Ogunewe, the Commander
of the 1st Battalion, prostrated before his Northern
dominated Battalion and begged them not to fight. And when
it was finally agreed that soldiers should be repatriated
to their region of origin, the
Northern soldiers in the Enugu 1st Battalion insisted on
leaving with their arms and weapons. Ojukwu did not return
to Enugu until the middle of August 1966 after the
Northern soldiers had left. The pogrom in the Northern
Region against the Igbo in what the
Northerners called revenge for the Northerners killed in
the first coup began in May 1966, after Ironsi had
promulgated Decree No. 34 which abolished federal system and
replaced it with unitary government. Although, Yakubu Gowon
took over in Lagos, he had
no control over the troops in the North. At the same time,
Ojukwu undermined Gowon's position by not accepting his
leadership of the Army because as he put it, he was not the
most senior officer after Ironsi. Regrettably, Igbo were
massacred in thousands in
the North between May 28, 1966 and 1st October 1966.
In the West and Lagos everything possible was done by the
Yoruba to defend and protect their igbo brethren, especially
civilian Igbo in their midst. Sadly, after the war, some
Igbo began to churn out false stories about how Yoruba
killed Igbo in their midst
as from July 29, 1966. In spite of the fact that Chinua
Achebe was helped by the Yoruba to escape arrest by the coup
makers of 29 July 1966, he manufactured an anti Yoruba
faction of his escape from Lagos.
A week before January 15, 1966 coup, Chinua Achebe had
published a small book titled,
A Man of the People. It
was a fictional book on a hypothetical African country that
was rottenly corrupt to the extent that, as Achebe
concluded in the book,
our young army officers overthrew the
government. It was on account of this book and its
conclusion, which coincided with the 15 January 1966 coup,
that made the coup makers of 29 July 1966 to suspect that
Achebe had foreknowledge of the January
coup and as such they wanted to arrest him for questioning.
Had Achebe fallen into the hands of the soldiers at that
time, it would have meant only one thing, death. The Yoruba
in Lagos protected Achebe and his family. His wife
and children were smuggled out
of Lagos by boat while he was being shifted from one place
of abode to the other around Lagos, with the hope that
tension in the country would subside and normal life would
emerge. When it was clear that the crisis was not going to
end soon, Chinua Achebe
decided to return to the East and the Yoruba drove him in a
zigzag route, from Lagos to avoid detection by his military
traducers, to Benin. But in his book, There Was A Country,
Achebe painted a very different picture of how he left
Lagos. Hear him,
"As many of us packed our belongings to return
to the east some of the people we had lived with for years,
some for decades jeered and said,'Let them (Igbo) go;
food will be cheaper in Lagos.' ...//... There were more
and more reports of massacres,
and not only in the North, but also in the West and
Lagos. People were hounded out of their homes, as we were in
Lagos, and returned to the East (p.68)" He
continued,"In any case, I set out on my own, wondering
what would come up at any point. The highway
was full of police roadblocks along the way. I was
stopped once or twice and had to show my papers - what
Nigerians call my 'particulars.' I was one of
the last to flee Lagos. ...//... When I finally got to
Benin City, which is located roughly halfway
from Lagos to Igbo land in the Mid-West Region there was
distinct atmospheric change. ...//... Crowds of policemen
recognized me when I got to Benin City and cheered, saying,
'Oga, thank you,' and let me through to continue my
journey without incident to Onitsha
Bridge, and over the Niger River to the East (p.
70-71)." Achebe who was being searched for by
the Army and the security police claimed that he was at a
motor pack in Lagos to witness how people jeered at fleeing
Igbo without being arrested. Thereafter,
he decided to flee Lagos by sitting in his personal car,
to drive from Lagos en-route East. On his way, he was
stopped once or twice to show his driving license, vehicle
ownership and road worthiness documents to non-Igbo
policemen at the roadblocks. He, a
wanted Igbo man was not arrested, harmed or killed in a
Yoruba territory where he claimed Igbo were being massacred
by the Yoruba. At Benin City, the Policemen cheered him and
said, "Oga thank you" and let
him through to continue his journey
to the East. It was plain that the Benin police did
not direct their Oga thank you
to Chinua Achebe, but to the Yoruba personality
that escorted him to Benin after the Yoruba man had
transmitted some pounds through a hand shake with bribe to
them. A Nigerian policeman don't usually say Oga, thank
you, if you don't give them something.
Chinua Achebe took glory and honour out of the Yoruba
who, out of being humane, took risk to whisk him and his
family into safety during the terrible events that led to
the Nigerian civil war.
The traditional belief in Nigeria is that any official
or public servant, whether elected, selected, appointed or
employed is deemed to be representing and acting on behalf
of his ethnic group. Although Awolowo was a Yoruba by tribe,
his political, social
and economic ideology was national. That was why he refused
to serve in a national government led by a feudalist after
December 1959 Federal elections. He was not only leader of
the opposition in the Federal Parliament but his party, the
Action Group produced
the opposition party in the Northern and Eastern
Regions' House of Assembly. By 1962, Nnamdi Azikiwe and
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa's led Federal Coalition
government, overthrew the Action Group Government of Western
Region and jailed Awolowo. After the coup of
July 29, 1966, General Gowon pardoned and released Awolowo
from prison through Government Notice No. 1507/1966. Awolowo
came out of prison to meet a destroyed people and
a chaotic Nigeria on the cliff to precipice. In his speech
to the Western Leaders of
Thought at Ibadan, 1st May 1967, Awlowo said among other
things, "The Eastern Region must be encouraged
to remain part of the Federation. If the
Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission or
commission to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the
Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the
Federation. ...//... We have neither military might nor
the overwhelming advantage of numbers
here in Western Nigeria and Lagos," he
admitted. Awolowo's statement was obviously
directed to the Federal Military Government led by Yakubu
Gowon but some mischief makers among our Igbo brethren had
touted Awolowo's speech as an agreement with Ojukwu
that both East and West were to secede simultaneously, on
which Awolowo later reneged. Since Awolowo is Yoruba,
some Igbo historian blamed all the Yoruba for betrayal of
what they thought Awolowo agreed with them to secede on
behalf of the Yoruba people but
did not fulfil. In fact, on 3rd May 1967, the Military
Governor of Western Region, Colonel Adeyinka Adebayo, in a
broadcast to the people said that his Western Region was not
in collusion with the East to secede.
On May 5, 1967, Obafemi Awolowo led a delegation of what
was called National Reconciliation and Peace Commission to
Enugu to convince Ojukwu to give peace a chance. Ojukwu
was said to have told Awolowo that their mission was a
still-born. Achebe put it succinctly
in his book, There Was a Country, thus, "many
Igbo leaders referred to the visit disdainfully as the
'chop, chop, talk, talk commission (p. 88)."
If there was an agreement between Awolowo and
Ojukwu for a simultaneous secession of the West and East
at that meeting Ojukwu would have released it before his
death. And how could Awolowo have entered such agreement
when he was not the Military Governor
of Western Region and he possessed no army of his own?
Obafemi Awolowo has been accused, by some Igbo falsifier
of history, of advocating and employing starvation as a
weapon of war against (Biafra) the Igbo. A version of that
accusation was presented by Achebe thus,
"A statement credited to Chief Obafemi
Awolowo and echoed by his cohorts is the most callous
and unfortunate: All is fair in war, and starvation is one
of the weapons of war. I don't see why we should feed
our enemies fat in order for them to
fight harder (p. 233)." This statement was
culled from Awolowo's interview in the Financial Times
of 26 June 1969. It was not a policy statement but his
reaction to the information that Biafran soldiers were
hijacking food supplies sent to civilians
in Biafra. Even if he were to say so, in which war has it
ever happened that a beleaguered troop has been supplied
food by the beleaguer-ant. Obviously, Awolowo was not
saying civilians should be starved but soldiers. A year
before that statement, Achebe recorded
on page 211 of There Was a Country
thus, "The diplomatic battles had reached a
fever pitch by the middle of 1968. Gowon, under immense
international pressure .... decided to open up land routes
for a 'supervised transport' of relief. To the
consternation
of Gowon, Ojukwu opted out of land routes in favour of
increased airlifts of food from São Tomé by international
relief agencies." Geneva convention permits
relief supplies to civilians in a war affected areas but
signatories to Geneva Conventions
are allowed to supervise the transport of such relief
assistance to its destination. Nigeria was a signatory to
the Geneva Conventions but Biafra was not. Thus, any airlift
of relief supply by international agencies to Biafra must
first land in Nigeria for
inspection before flying further to Biafra. So, it was
not Awolowo's statement in June 1969 that starved
millions of Biafrans to death, but Ojukwu's rejection of
food supply by land routes in June 1968 as testified to by
Chinua Achebe. Had there not been no
victor, no vanquish declaration after the war, Ojukwu would
have been tried for war crimes. Amusingly, Obi
Nwakanma's beloved authority on Nigerian forces
inability to hold captured towns in Biafra, Colonel Robert
Scott, wrote in the London Sunday Telegraph
of 11 January 1970 thus, "It is perhaps ironic
that this is the first time in the history of warfare that
one beleaguer-ant has permitted outside agencies to succour
its opponent." Biafrans in 1968 were
effectively and actually beleaguered
by the Nigerian Army.
Despite Ojukwu's rejection of offer of foods to
civilians in Biafra enclave by land routes, Gowon turned
blind eyes to the illegal night flights into the Biafran
enclave. At the same time the ground forces of, the 2nd
infantry division led by Col. Murtala
Mohammed and the 3rd Marine Commando led by Col. Benjamin
Adekunle were prevented from marching into the Biafran
enclave as strict orders were issued to them not to
shoot at illegal planes flying into Biafra. But towards
the end of May 1969, Von Rosen bombed
Port Harcourt, Benin, Enugu and Ughelli Electric power
station in Nigeria, with his MINICOIN planes. Von
Rosen's bombing of Nigeria's positions woke Lagos up
to action. By the 5th of June 1969, a DC-7 plane marked
Swedish Red Cross was heading towards Uli-Ihiala
air strip in Biafra before the midnight. Captain Gbadamosi
King of the Nigerian Air Force piloting his MIG 17 ordered
the DC-7 plane, marked Swedish Red Cross to land either in
Port Harcourt or Calabar for inspection but the Red Cross
marked plane ignored
Captain King's order. Captain King repeated his order
several times but the Red Cross marked plane flew
unperturbed. Thus, Captain Gbadamosi King fired at the Red
Cross plane and brought it down near Eket. The plane
exploded and the wreckage was spread over
a large area. The plane was exposed for not ferrying
relief supplies but weapons. Consequently, on 14 June 1969,
the Director of International Committee of Red Cross in
Lagos, Dr. August Lindt, was declared persona non grata by
the Federal Government, after
admitting that the shot down plane carrying weapons
belonged to the ICRC.
Telling a lie with cosmetic beauty, Obi Nwakanma said
that the renewed demand by some Igbo youths is as a result
of marginalization of the Igbo in the governing of
Nigeria. In the first civilian regime after the military
coup of 1966, Alex Ekwueme, an Igbo,
became the Vice President in the NPN controlled Federal
government. At the same time, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke was speaker
of the House of Reps. When the military government of
General Babangida surfaced in 1985, most of his civilian
administrators and supporters
were Igbo. His commissioner of Finance was Dr. Idika Kalu
Idika. When Babangida scuttled the Presidential Election of
June 1993, his backbone was Arthur Eze who obtained
mid-night court injunctions against the election performed
by the then Federal Electoral
Commission headed by an Igbo, Professor Humphrey Nwosu.
General Babangida was married to an Igbo woman, born Mary
Ndidi Okogwu, who adopted the Muslim name Maryam after
marriage with Babangida. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo honoured
Babangida with the traditional title,
Ogugua Ndigbo, in appreciation of what Babangida's
regime did for the Igbo. In the sixteen years of PDP
government (29 May 1999 to 29 May 2015) the only
position an Igbo ethnic person never held is the
Presidency. The Igbo has had five Senate Presidents, Deputy
Senate President, Deputy Speaker, Minister of
Defence, Chief of Army Staff, Director General of
Immigration, Director General of Prison, Director General of
Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, Central Bank Governor and
Deputy Governor, Secretary to the Government
of the Federation (SGF), Ministers in key Ministries such
as Power, Education, Petroleum, Health, Labour and
Productivity, Aviation and Finance. Up to May 29, 2015,
the Minister of Finance was Igbo and all other Agencies
related to the Ministry of Finance
such as Director General- Budget Office, DG of PENCOM, DG
of RFMAC, DG of SEC, CEO of NSE, DG of AMCON, Chairman of
Sovereign Wealth Fund and Governor of Central Bank were
headed by Igbo. In spite of the afore-listed key positions
that were held, and in some
cases are still being held, by persons of ethnic Igbo in
Nigeria, perverted ethnic mandarins are still
claiming that Igbo people are marginalized in Nigeria.
It is very sad to observe that Obi Nwakanma has chosen to
have no respect and value for history simply
because the facts of history are opposed to his wishes. He
has been engaged in the destruction evidential facts of
history by twisting facts and propounding unfounded lies and
fallacies about the Nigerian civil war. Victims of past
tragedies should be less
gung-ho about future ones. The Biafran Major-General,
Philip Effiong, who signed the surrender document that
ended the civil war remarked thus, "Until the
end of the war on 12 January 1970, the Biafran soldier
fought an impossible war under conditions
that were totally inhuman and uncalled for. It was
the result of one man turning what was the people's will
to fight a war of survival into a desperate and reckless
attempt to achieve a personal ambition - even if it meant
destroying the very people
he purportedly was fighting to preserve (p. 237, Nigeria
& Biafra: My Story by Philip
Effiong)." At this stage of our development,
I don't think the ethnic origin of any Nigerian office
holder should be of concern to any normal and intelligent
person
but the capability of the official to produce what the
office is designed for. I stand to be corrected by you if I
am wrong.
S. Kadiri
Från:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
<usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> för Okechukwu
Ukaga <ukaga001@umn.edu>
Skickat: den 9 mars 2017 21:14
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE
HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR
SCHOOLS
The most important
fact is that the best authority on this matter, General
Gowon himself concluded and declared that there is no victor
and no vanquished. I don't see that any of the
contributors to thread or others they are referencing
are in a better position (than Gowon) to accurately assess
and describe what happened. So enough of the spinning and
gymnastics!
OU
On Mar 9, 2017 6:20
AM, "Rex Marinus" <rexmarinus@hotmail.com>
wrote:
I post here a recording of Philip Effiong's
statement in Dodan barracks, circa 1970. Pay particular
attention that even both Col. Obasanjo and General Gowon bit
their tongues - paused - to avoid the use of the word
"surrender." It was "acceptance" and it
was official. Philip Effiong himself fully reported as a
General, and the Officer administering, "the
government of the republic of Biafra." And just out
of curiosity, would somebody point out the difference? I do
not know that there is any significant semantic
or material difference between " after
removing the factors that has made reconciliation
impossible" -
my paraphrase of Philip Effiong's statement, and
Salimonu Kadiri's full quote of Effiong's
"I am also convinced that the people are now
disillusioned and those elements of the old
government regime who have made negotiations and
reconciliation impossible have voluntarily removed
themselves from our midst ."
It is typical of Kadiri to sweat small and irrelevant
stuff, just simply to maintain a hard-headed recrudescence
that offers nary a fresh insight.
Obi Nwakanma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=dGSRa6KE_rg
Major-General
Gowon and Colonel Obasanjo Accept Biafra's Surrender
- January 1970
www.youtube.com
 | www.youtube.com Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. | |
This is the official surrender ceremony that ended the
Nigeria-Biafra civil war. At Dodan Barracks the Nigerian
head of State Major-General Yakubu Gowon shoo...
From:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups
.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroup
s.com> on behalf of Salimonu Kadiri <ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 10:29 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups
.com
Subject: SV: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE
HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR
SCHOOLS
Doctor Obi Nwakanma has doctored the history of the
Nigerian civil war and has injected it with 419 virus with
which he hopes to infect unsuspecting and gullible
Nigerians. I identify his 419 history virus of the
Nigerian civil war from his post below as
follows : If you listen, for instance, to Philip
Effiong's statement at Dodan barracks in 1970, there was
not a single use of the word "surrender" in his
speech. He said, "we are returning to Nigeria, after
removing the factors that has made reconciliation
impossible. We accept the current authority and structure
of the federal government, and on the promise that we shall
all be part of the move towards the transition to
constitutional rule and a new constitution." Not a
single word about surrender. Words
to that effect. And he addressed himself in his full rank
as Major-General - so was it asserted in writing by Dr. Obi
Nwakanma.
Obi Nwakanma wrote as if to say he was present at
Dodan barrack, on the 15th of January 1970, when Philip
Effiong made the statement he, Obi, is attributing to him.
Obi Nwakanma's pretence to being an eye witness at
Dodan barracks when Philip Effiong declared
(which Obi called a statement) the death of Biafra, is a
419 ploy aimed at gaining plausibility for
his fraudulent history.
With inverted komas begin and closed, Obi
Nwakanma gave false impression that he was quoting Philip
Effiong verbatim. Thus, he credited Effiong with having
said, "we are returning to Nigeria,
after removing the factors that has made reconciliation
impossible." Philip Effiong never made such a
statement at Dodan barracks on the 15th of January 1970. Obi
Nwakanma has doctored and distorted part of Philip
Effiong's broadcast on Radio Biafra
at 16:40:00 hours, on January 12, 1970, to the Biafrans.
In paragraph 3 of the printed version of that broadcast,
Effiong said, "I am also convinced that the people are
now disillusioned
and those elements of the old government regime who have
made negotiations and reconciliation impossible have
voluntarily removed themselves from our midst (p.
294-295, Nigeria & Biafra: My Story, by Philip Effiong).
Philip Effiong has never at anytime
between, January 11 and 15, 1970, said that 'we are
returning to Nigeria after removing factors that has made
reconciliation impossible' as asserted in writing by Dr.
Obi Nwakanma. That, to me, is a historical fraud of the
highest order.
Immediately after Philip Effiong's broadcast
of 12 January 1970, Nigeria's Commander of the third
marine division, Lt. Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo, issued
operation order to all his Brigade Commanders thus,
"Philip Effiong today issued what amounts
to unconditional surrender. Tactical movement will
continue until every inch of 'Biafra' is physically
occupied and all rebel soldiers disarmed. Troops will
not open fire unless they are fired at. No change from ops
order on treatment of POW and refugees
(p.123, My Command by Olusegun
Obasanjo)."
Contrary to Dr. Obi Nwakanma's 419 history,
the following was read and signed by Philip Effiong at Dodan
barracks on 15 January 1970. I, Major General Philip
Effiong, Officer Administering the Government of the
Republic of Biafra, now wish to make
the following declaration: (a) that we affirm we are loyal
Nigerian citizens and accept the authority of the Federal
Military Government of Nigeria. (b) that we accept the
existing administrative and political structure of the
Federation of Nigeria. (c) that
any future constitutional arrangement will be worked out by
representatives of the people of Nigeria. (d) that
the Republic of Biafra hereby ceases to exist.
I signed and dated the document "15th January
1970" Philip Effiong wrote on page 306 of his book,
Nigeria and Biafra: My Story.
Dr. Obi Nwakanma is arguing that the word
'surrender' was not used by Philip Effiong in his
declarations, which Obi called statement. However, Philip
Effiong knew what he was at Dodan barracks to do. Thus, on
page 303 of his book, Nigeria & Biafra:
My Story, the sub-title therein is: SURRENDER INSTRUMENT.
It was under that headline that he narrated what he signed
at Dodan barracks. And if one may ask, what is the
difference between
SURRENDER AND THE REPUBLIC OF BIAFRA HEREBY CEASES TO
EXIST? For a pettifoger and a 419 historian, half a
dozen is not the same as six, and therefore that Biafra
ceased to exist is not the same thing as Biafra
surrendered.
Dr Obi Nwakanma referred to Banjo's treachery
in the Midwest campaign but he failed to tell us what
exactly constituted Banjo's treachery. After the
invasion of the Midwest, two-pronged attack on Lagos was
planned. Lt. Colonel Festus Akagha was to
lead Biafra's second battalion through Benin, Ore, and
Ijebu-Ode to seize Lagos, while Biafra's third
battalion led by Lt. Colonel Humphrey Iwuchukwu Chukwuka
was to lead his troops through Sapele, Warri and advance
along the coast to attack Lagos. Biafra's
first battalion led by Lt. Colonel Mike Ivenso was to move
through Owo, Akure and seize Ibadan. Beside those
Battalion Commanders, Lt. Colonel Emmanuel Ifeajuna was
together with Banjo in the Midwest. Symbolically, Banjo was
the leader of Midwest invasion
but the real commanders of the invading army were Biafrans
(Igbo) and the fighting soldiers were all Igbo Biafrans.
That Biafrans met their waterloo at Ore and other fronts in
the West was not as a result of treachery by Banjo as
being fraudulently touted
by 419 historian.
S.Kadiri
Från:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups
.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroup
s.com> för Rex Marinus <rexmarinus@hotmail.com>
Skickat: den 7 mars 2017 13:30
Till:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups .com
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE
HISTORY OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR
SCHOOLS
Mr. Fakinlede, maybe at this point, I should remind you
to call me by my proper name: I am not "Mr.
Marinus" - and I am not "Mr. Nwakanma" since
I'm not a surgeon. I am Dr. Nwakanma, and I earned my
plaudits, not
honoris causa. If you prefer, it is simply "Obi
Nwakanma" - and that too would be my preference. And I
should let you know that part of the test of competence in
the use of any language by which knowledge is transmitted is
the test of "comprehension."
I see, very clearly that you do not comprehend the thrust
of my response on this Biafran question. One, I did not
infer, suggest, or say that the Biafrans were
"tricked" into anything. I said that the
Federal authority's decision on the "no victor, no
vanquished"
declaration was not simply an act of charity, it was a
"pragmatic" policy based on the reality of the
situation, and the negotiations that had gone on leading to
the end of the conflict. Agreements were reached and
reneged. If you listen for instance, to Philip
Effiong's statement at Dodan barracks in 1970, there
was not a single use of the word "surrender" in
his speech. He said, "we are returning to Nigeria,
after removing the factors that has made reconciliation
impossible. We accept the current authority and
structure of the federal government, and on the premise
that we shall all be part of the move towards the transition
to constitutional rule and a new constitution." Not a
single word about surrender. Words to that affect. And he
addressed himself in his full
rank as Major-General.
All the references I made regarding the Biafran soldier,
and the possibility of a guerrilla war were not mine, but
from neutral sources, including on the spot British
intelligence field assessment. I do not know who would have
won the war had the Biafrans
chosen that option of guerrilla war, but clearly, and I did
say this, the option for formal, conventional warfare had
become untenable with the Federal Military advantages. Once
Biafra began to fight a defensive war after Banjo's
treachery in the Midwest campaign,
it was only a matter of time for Biafra to be overwhelmed
in a formal war. But had they been compelled to launch the
guerrilla phase of the war, which had all the infrastructure
already designed for it, the civil war may have led to
different outcomes: Biafran
sovereignty at the most, or a long drawn war that would
expand beyond the Eastern frontiers to a Southern Nigerian
frontier at the least. Urban warfare is far more
complicated. Besides, as the British report indicated, the
Federal Army was in no position to hold
and secure captured fronts for a long period given the
topography and advantage that the Biafrans were in their
natural homes, and had proved with arms, to capture and
recapture areas often held by the Federal forces. This is
simply elementary tactical logic.
Finally, I did not say that Biafrans released war prisoners
mainly because they were kind - but from pragmatic
considerations: they could not carter for war prisoners. By
the way, I did not say it. It was from a source that I
quoted. It is left or you to verify
it.
I think you're far too invested in the idea of a
"vanquished" Igbo. That seems to give you some
erection. But where were you during the war when 15 year old
boys from the East volunteered as soldiers to fight for
their freedom? Did you see combat or are
you one of those who "saw the war" from the
sidelines, but who speak with such pontificatory eloquence
and certainty about war and the "vanquished" that
you read about in newspapers? Those who did not fight speak
of war, and many of us who actually lived through
it, either as war babies or child soldiers, or combatants
talk with the kind of experience of that war that will not
be available to you because you read about war in
newspapers. The Igbo were not "vanquished" in war.
I don't know if you actually know the
exact meaning of that word you use with such gusto. But
step back a bit from your sick triumphalism, and look, and
listen to words other than that only inside your head, Mr.
Fakinlede. As a matter of fact, an old friend and mentor
mine just died: Ben Obumselu
was Biafra's official war historian and recorder. I am
not sure you met him, but it'd have been illuminating
for you to have had the privilege of insight that should
have given you a far more nuanced sense of the history of
the civil war rather than your black-and-white
narrative of the "vanquished" Biafrans which you
like so much to believe just to stiffen your third leg.
Obi Nwakanma
From:
usaafricadialogue@googlegroups
.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroup
s.com> on behalf of Kayode J. Fakinlede
<jfakinlede@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2017 4:39 AM
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: THE HISTORY
OF THE NIERIAN CIVIL WAR SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR
SCHOOLS
From Mr. Marinus’write-ups, I
have garnered the following:
1.
The
decalration of ‘No victor, no vanquished’made by Gowon
to end the Nigerian civil war was made to save the federal
side from certain defeat.
2.
The Biafrans
did not lose the war. They stopped fighting because they
were tricked into stopping by certain negotiations to which
they and Nigeria agreed,
only later for Nigeria to renege upon it after the Biafran
side already wrote a letter of surrender. Let us not forget
that they were tricked into secession in the first place by
‘Ali Baba’Awolowo. It wasAwolowo who made the
pronouncement that if the East
were to seceed, the West would certainly follow.
3.
In the
prosecution of the war, the Biafran soldiers clearly
demonstrated more military dexterism than the Nigerian
soldiers who were really no more than
bumbling idiots and were getting snuffed out like Birthday
candles.
4.
Benjamin
Adekunle’s soldiers were a collection of touts, louts and
never-do –wells; a highly indisciplined bunch who could
not hold the candle up to Achuzia’s
fighting tornadoes.
5.
As a matter of
fact, the Biafran soldiers were more humane than the federal
soldiers. Having captured a copious number of the federal
soldiers, the Biafran
soldiers let them go becuase the Biafrans were filled with
the milk of human kindness.
6.
It would seem
that it was the Nigerian soldiers who were really dying and
not Biafran civilians since the Nigerian soldiers chose to
stick to the highways
where they were easily snuffed out.
7.
Ojukwu did not
really flee the country. He was persuaded to leave, leaving
Phillip Effiong in charge. Effiong, a non-Ibo simply
disappeared, probably due
to cowardise, only to reappear to sign the letter of
surrender.
8.
Zik, of
course, did not abscond. He was only convinced that he was
of no use to Biafra and decided to say away. Uwechue,
Achebe and some other prominent
Ibos probably had their own reasons – but not
abscondence.
All in all, everyone, except the
Ibos, had something unsavory to do with the Nigerian civil
war, according to Mr. Marinus. The Ibos were wronged,
and wronged and wronged again by all other Nigerians while
they maintained their legendary equanimity until they were
forced to respond or tricked into responding by others. The
Biafrans, according to Mr. Marinus, with guerilla warfare
would have overrun Nigeria
had it not been that they were persuaded not to do so.
Let me say this, I have dealt with
Ibo people from before the war till now. I have always found
them to be gregarious, highly intelligent and not
given to gulibility. The claims made by Mr. Marinus is only
undermining the ability of the Ibos of that period to make
independent decisions and the intelligence of present day
Ibo’s to use their brains.
It is no wonder those Ibos who
actually saw the war are clearly reticent when the drums of
secesion and of war are being beat by their youngsters.
Certainly many of these have swallowed the hogwash being
bandied by the modern day war mongers.
The history of the Nigerian
civil war must be taught to Nigerian children and really, we
Nigerians, the Ibos in particular, should make it a point
to point it out to our young ones exactly what mistakes we
made that led to that level of carnage.
FAKINLEDE
On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 12:23:42 PM UTC+1, Kayode J.
Fakinlede wrote:
‘No victor, no
vanquished.”
This pronuncement, to me,
is the greatest blunder of our civil war. I can almost say
that it is at the bottom of the continued aspiration by a
segment of our society for secession.
Of course, one could not
have blamed the government of young Ganeral Gowon. It was
reasoned then that in declaring that neither side won or
lost the war, everyone would have learned his lesson and our
nation would be at peace forever more.
What we see now is a
blantant misplacement of historical facts and grotesque
caricatures being made of those whose intentions were noble.
But more importantly, we are seeing agitations where none
should have arisen and from the side that
was vanqished in the war. The factual victors, having
remained silent for so long, are now being painted as
carnivores and murderers.
Anyone who was an adult
during the civil war will definitely not wish another one on
Nigeria. Lessons have been learned and honestly, not too
many of these people agitate for secession or any form of
upheaval, regardless of his tribal origin.
It is those who were yet unborn or too young to experience
the realities of war that would think it is child’s
play.
But the truth is that they
do not know better. They receive information, not history,
from their parents. In most instances, while the intenions
of the older ones may not be for agitation, a vanquished
people will always tell a story of
their mistreatment and their heroism in the face of all
odds.
A factual history of the
civil war must be taught in all our schools to all our
children. This is not to put any segment of our nation down.
It is reasonable because this event marks the singular
greatest period when, but for providence
sake, Nigeria would have disintegrated. Moreover, people
badly informed of the mistreatment of their forebears are
bound to react negatively to their perceived malefactors.
This subject needs not be
given a name that would be derogatory to any side. It can
just be called ‘The Nigerian Civil War’. Therein all our
young ones will learn as a subject matter: the events that
led to the war; attempts to resolve
the issues so war could be averted; who were the initial
aggressors; who took part militarily in the war; who were
the heroes; the parts played by our own leaders either in
preventing or agitating for war; the parts played by others
in trying to prevent war;
how the war was prosecuted; how the war was brought to an
end; life after the war; attempts to rebuild; the lingering
issues arising from the war; the effects of the war on our
present political life; important dates in the process;
etc.
There is so much to teach
our children and they should be properly and factually
taught. Some smart person once said that whoever forgets the
past is bound to repeat it, or something of that nature.
I rest my case
Fakinlede K
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