Colonel Conrad Dibia Nwawo, one of the most distinguished and highly decorated military officers in the country, died last week at 92. With the passage of this outstanding ex-military officer, Nigeria lost a fine gentleman whose exemplary life of service to the nation is worthy of emulation by all.
Col. Nwawo belonged to the generation of pioneering military officers like ex- Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and former governor of Western Region, Maj- Gen. Robert Adeyinka Adebayo, who took over from British colonial officers before independence. His passage is a great loss to Nigeria, as it has further depleted the ranks of our elder statesmen who stood out for their patriotism and unflinching commitment to the development of the country.
Born in 1924 in Onicha-Olona in Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State, Nwawo attended School of Agriculture, Ibadan. He began his working life as a civil servant at the Moore Plantation, Ibadan, Nigeria and then the Cameroons. He enlisted in the Nigerian Army as an infantry soldier in 1950. Later, he went for officers training at the prestigious Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, the United Kingdom. Nwawo was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in 1954 in the then Queen’s Own Regiment, as the colonial Nigerian Army was then called. He was also the 10th officer (NA/10) to be commissioned. He was part of the Nigerian contingent to the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission in Congo in the 1960s under Gen. JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Nwawo and Col. Adekunle Fajuyi were decorated with the prestigious award of the Military Cross by Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second of England for their gallantry in the Congo campaign. Later, he was the Defence Attache at Nigeria’s High Commission in London when the January 15, 1966 military coup took place. Following the military takeover of government, Nwawo returned to Nigeria and was reputed to have persuaded the leader of the coup, Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, to surrender and hand over to the then head of the Army, Gen. JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi.
At the beginning of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967, Col. Nwawo was the Commander of the 4th Area Command, Benin-City, Mid-West Region. But, after being accused of aiding Biafran troops to take-over the Mid-West Region through the Niger Bridge at Onitsha, Nwawo fled to Biafra and fought on the secessionists side as Federal troops took control of Mid-West.
As one of the commanders of the People’s Army trusted by the Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Nwawo’s military exploits in the civil war, from 1967-1970, are legendary. Of great note were his gallant military campaigns in the Onitsha, Abagana and Umuahia sectors. Some of the positions he held in the Biafran Army include Administrative Officer, Biafran Army Headquarters and Commander, 11th and 13th Divisions of the Biafran Army, as well as the Guerilla Commando Unit.
At the end of the war in 1970, Nwawo was among the Biafran Commanders who travelled to Lagos for final negotiations that led to the formal surrender of Biafra and the end of hostilities. While many of those who fought the war went about their normal duties thereafter, the same cannot be said of Nwawo. He and a few other officers who fought on the Biafran side were found guilty by the Board of Enquiry which evaluated the role of specific officers in the January 15 coup and the Mid-West invasion of 1967. Most of these officers, including Nwawo, were detained until 1974, when they were granted amnesty during the October 1, Independence Anniversary.
In all, Colonel Nwawo was a disciplined and brilliant officer. In retirement, he lived a quiet and contented life, but remained a hero among his people. He will be particularly remembered for his services to the Nigerian and Biafran Armies. He will also be remembered for his strong commitment to the Nigerian nation since the end of the war. We commiserate with his family, the Nigerian Army and the Delta State government on his passage. May God grant his soul eternal repose.