Mr. Ayo Opadokun has taken a critical look at Professor Chinua Achebe’s latest book, “There was a country,” and declared the aspect that accused the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo of genocide during civil war as a lie. He spoke with RAZAQ BAMIDELE.
My take on the book
Well, I want to start by saying the write-up lifted from Professor Chinua Achebe’s book creates an unnecessary controversy. I believe that any living soul ought not to be dancing on the grave of a departed colleague. That is what I would imagine that Professor Achebe has done in a book of his. It is now over 25 years that Chief Obafemi Awolowo died. Achebe is busy grandstanding in his write-up that Awolowo was the cause of his (Achebe’s) so called undefined genocide in Igboland.
Let me make a clear statement that my concern is much more for what the consequences of Achebe’s diatribe against Awolowo can tell the younger generations.
I believe that the handshake across the Niger ought to be given more impetus. And those of us who are still alive should realize that we should stop sowing the seed of disunity amongst various ethnic nationalities in the country. I want to say that, l expect Professor Chinua Achebe to be much more mature in his desire to leave positive collaborative historical message along his path.
Vindication
I also want to say quite frankly that the falsehood in Achebe’s book in describing Awolowo has now been brought out by the second Military Head of State in Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon, who just debunked the lies of Professor Achebe. General Gowon restated that strongly that Chief Awolowo and himself have nothing to be ashamed of, and that the charge of genocide against them is totally irresponsible, uncalled for. General Gowon said he that is alive is ready to face International Criminal Court of Justice to know what happened under Biafra, and finally ended up by saying Professor Achebe is ignorant of the very situation he was talking about. In his response, Gowon said the Federal Government, in fact organized to have a corridor through which food and medication could be brought to Igboland.
Who to blame?
It was Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu and his Igbo leaders, who rejected it. So, how can they, for their selfish reasons transfer the guilt that normally belongs to them unto other innocent people, so to say under this circumstance? So, I believe that Professor Achebe has not helped in the build-up of much more cohesive society particularly between the Yoruba nation and the Igbo nation. I expected much more better service, better candor in his conduct of affairs in the twilight of his own life also. He too will soon depart no matter how far he is given the privilege to stay on. He cannot be here for ever. I expect that being an elder in this circumstance, he has to do his own utmost to bring people closer to make them delight to help Nigeria to build a nation out of Nigeria country, so that all of us would be happy for it.
Possible effect on Igbo 2015 presidential project
Let me tell you, people in my status are not excited about any prospect about presidency for any one, not only from the Igbo race. We keep on putting the cart before the horse. We have seen now, this is the third person that is in office in this so called democratic experiment. We are all witnesses to the great disaster that Obasanjo Presidency was even for the Yoruba nation. What is it that anybody can point to that he has done for the Yoruba race? He was there for eight years. No road was constructed. The ones he met in Yorubaland, that were fairly okay, he helped to destroy them in several ways. There were no economic reasons for uprooting the toll gates.
So, my first reaction to the implication of Chinua Achebe’s book could have for the Igbo’s presidential ambition, I want to say that the situation does not command the respect of the people like me. As I speak now, on the premises of what the Igbo young folks are already doing, there is a group called ALADIMA, in Igboland. They are pointing the Igbo race to the path of sanity. Their position, which is credible and which I subscribe to, is that what the Igbo race should be clamouring for is not the presidency but the national restructuring. I subscribe to that.
I am equally of the opinion that, were it to take an angel to occupy Aso Rock as it is today, he probably would fail until we restructure the land. The structure you have that enable the motley crowd of military upstart and jack boots that are probably not up to ten, to decide to annul the freest, fairest election won by a fellow Nigeria and got away with the murder is a structure not to be allowed to remain. And because of the evil circumstances of our country and how powerful the bad omen has had on our nation, one of the principal architects of such dismissal of pan Nigerian in person of MKO Abiola, is now the President of the Nigerian Senate! David Mark said he would rule only on his dead body. He and his cohorts got him arrested, detained him and killed him.
Faulty structure
I repeat finally on this score that while it is the prerogative of the Igbo race to campaign for Nigeria’s Presidency, my attitude is to ask the would-be presidential candidate to listen to the voice of wisdom and sanity in Igboland as currently being represented by the agenda of the ALADINMA. It will serve the Igbo race far better.
U R A FOOLISH MAN , ALL OF U WILL GET THE REWARD OF WHAT YOU DID… THE RICHES OF OTHER ETHNIC GROUP IN NIGERIA OF TODAY ARE IGBO WEALTH STOLEN DURING AND AFTER THE CIVIL WAR AND NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT THAT .. ALL THE INJUSTICES SINCE THEN , NOBODY TALKED ABOUT IT…FROM 20NIGERIA POUNDS TO ALL IGBOS AFTER THE WAR.. SEE WHERE WE”RE TODAY . NOW THE CUP IS FULL …SEE YOU YORUBA MAN ADVISING IGBO ON WHAT TO DO.TUFIAKWA… BETRAYALS… IT WILL NEVER WORK AGAIN ..WE KNOW YOU PEOPLE .. INFACT FUCK UR NIGERIA BULLSHIT .. WE WANT BIAFRA ,PERIOD.
Foolish man. He ended up saying save the usual hypocritical ranting.
Foolish man. He ended up saying nothing save the usual hypocritical ranting.
Let may say that I have no clue who Opadokun is or what he does for a living! I don’t know by what authority Mr Ayo Opadokun is advising Ndigbo to listen to his so called Aladinma.It is clear that the yoroba Awoists do not get it. They are engaging in debates with the genocidal war against Biafra. Well let me break things down for them. First of all, the Nigerian vandals,Islamists. jihadists, etc. led by Gowon and Awolowo tried to exterminate me and my people.The yorobas need to realize that this fact has become a part of Igbo history and about to be embedded into our children’s DNA.We shall pass this story of hunger as a weapon of war on through generations unborn. I am also sure that the Awoist will be perpetually aware of the role that they (Awo et al) played in trying to wipe the Igbos out of the face of the earth. Personally, I have asked my sister who is married to a yoruba man to stop coming to my house. I will be happy to fend for her for the rest of her natural life, if she leaves her yoroba husband and his five children and come back home. I can’t understand how she can sleep in the same house with a man whom his people represented by Awolowo tried to kill off my people. I just can’t! I’m sorry, but now that I have a good understanding of what happened, I will pass it all to my children. The yorobas can do something to assuage the pervasive negative feeling about them in Igboland. If they feel that debating us in the media is the best course of action, I will be one friend and inlaw that “they have lost!”
Ayo Opadokun, you are preaching to the wrong people. No matter what you wrote, the demented Achebe has won the hearts of his people, and there is nothing you can do about it. Let the Igbo carry on with their hatred. My wish is that they will just pack their stuff and leave SW for their cursed land in SE.
are u such an idiot? Awolowo himself confirmed he was behind the starvation policy, he even went ahead to justify it.
Why are you buffoons always singing an idiotic song when the issue is Igbo?
HERE IS ANOTHER OFAL NAMED GEDEON. THIS IDIOT WITH VACOUS HEAD WISHES THAT THE IGBO TO LEAVE SOUTH WEST. BUT HE WILL NOT TELL HIS COWARDLY CROWED OF LOOTOCRATS/POLITICIANS TO PASS A LAW THAT WOULD MAKE THE IGBO (OR ANY OTHER GROUP FOR THAT MATTER TO LEAVE NIGERIA PEACEFULLY IF THEY WISH. YOU IDIOTS DO NOT WANT THE IGBO BUT YOU SHED BLOOD TO FORCE THEM BACK INTO YOUR FAILED NIGERIA. YOU ARE A CONFUSED FOOL , MY REDUNDANCY EXCUSED.
Do not worry Mr. Gideon it is only a matter of time now
before we Ibos check out of Nigeria . This time no jupiter
will bring us back because now the world can see what
made us leave before — animals that destroy school
buildings and property in 21st century world; animals that
in 21st century attack churches and christians .
@GIDEON: USELESS MAN FROM THE MINORITY TRIBE. YOU WILL SOON SEE THE BIAFRAN FLAG FLYING. EWU UGWU HAUSA.
What is Opadokun trying to say or prove. The war I saw and experienced? Opadokun, an Abacha apologist. You are a BIG FOOL
He is probably looking for some political appointment or recognition amongst his people.
Why waste our time re-writing what the likes of Odia Ofeimun and Femi Fani Kayobe had already written?
I will advice these men to stop wasting there time trying to re-write history.
Do they really expect the Igbos not to stand up for the truth just because a fraction of them (Igbos) reside in Lagos or because they (Igbos) are hoping to win the Presidency come 2015? What a treat, as if they have ever backed the Igbos politically before.
May be the awoist are defending Awolowo because they think the Igbos who experience the civil war are no longer alive. Mr. Opadokun we are still alive. I experienced the war, so as millions of other Igbos. However, that does not make me hate the Yoruba tribe. Only god will judge.
It is laughable that Opadokun that was even sacked from Awolowo’s Afanifere is now rehabilitating himself through Prof Achebe’s latest Book and quoting idiotic statements from mass Babies’Killer-Gowon.He should also exonerate Gowon from master-minding the brutal slaughter of Murtala Muhammed.
Awo himself during the interview before 1983 general elections accepted responsibility for the following actions;-
1.Ordering 3rd Infantry Brigade led by Brig.Adekunle to shoot down anything that fly in the air,thereby stopping Red Cross and Caritas Airplanes from dropping food supplies and Medicine to women and children trapped behind Biafran lines.This led to mass hunger,starvation and kwashiokor diseases which Awo accepted he saw himself but has give the order just per chance Biafran Soldiers were benefiting from the Food supplies.In his words he said he knew that women and children will suffer but that the Biafran Soldiers will suffer too.
Gowon talked about creating food supply corridor for food that was supplied by International Red Cross and Church Group Caritas,ask him what was his business in distributing the food that he did not procure.When two groups are fighting will Red Cross give the food meant for one side to their enemy to take to them.It is patently sickening to hear that empty head Gowon make that callous and idiotic statement about satanic decision he took that killed 2 million women and children.
2.Awo accepted in the interview that he was responsibility for changing the Nigerian currency according to him to make sure Easterners do not use the ones in their hands to procure food and arms to sustain the freedom struggle.Of course you know that the action rendered the monies with Easterners useless and led to untold hardship.
3.Awolowo agreed that he took the decision as Finance Minister to give all the Igbos that had account in the then Standard Bank now First Bank and Barclays Bank now Union Bank owned by Britain before they were nationalised by the same Gowon/Awo Govt later in the Seventies.Ndigbo who had monies deposited in their Account in Banks,after verifying their account just after mere 30 Months of non-operation were given only 20 pounds.Have you heard that if you have money in a Bank and per chance travelled abroad for 30 Months,when you return the Govt will intervene as third party into the contractual relationship between the Bank and their Depositors? The question to ask Awo’s defenders is where did he keep all the outstanding balances of Igbo account holders’ ? If during June 12,1993 mandate struggle,when some Yorubas went into exile for over Four Years,did Finance Minister declare their bank accounts lost hence pay them 20 Naira when they came back?
Opadokun is semonizing about handshake across the Niger,I dare say that we do not need only
It is laughable that Opadokun that was even sacked from Awolowo’s Afanifere is now rehabilitating himself through Prof Achebe’s latest Book and quoting idiotic statements from mass Babies’Killer-Gowon.He should also exonerate Gowon from master-minding the brutal slaughter of Murtala Muhammed.
Awo himself during the interview before 1983 general elections accepted responsibility for the following actions;-
1.Ordering 3rd Infantry Brigade led by Brig.Adekunle to shoot down anything that fly in the air,thereby stopping Red Cross and Caritas Airplanes from dropping food supplies and Medicine to women and children trapped behind Biafran lines.This led to mass hunger,starvation and kwashiokor diseases which Awo accepted he saw himself but has give the order just per chance Biafran Soldiers were benefiting from the Food supplies.In his words he said he knew that women and children will suffer but that the Biafran Soldiers will suffer too.
Gowon talked about creating food supply corridor for food that was supplied by International Red Cross and Church Group Caritas,ask him what was his business in distributing the food that he did not procure.When two groups are fighting will Red Cross give the food meant for one side to their enemy to take to them.It is patently sickening to hear that empty head Gowon make that callous and idiotic statement about satanic decision he took that killed 2 million women and children.
2.Awo accepted in the interview that he was responsibility for changing the Nigerian currency according to him to make sure Easterners do not use the ones in their hands to procure food and arms to sustain the freedom struggle.Of course you know that the action rendered the monies with Easterners useless and led to untold hardship.
3.Awolowo agreed that he took the decision as Finance Minister to give all the Igbos that had account in the then Standard Bank now First Bank and Barclays Bank now Union Bank owned by Britain before they were nationalised by the same Gowon/Awo Govt later in the Seventies.Ndigbo who had monies deposited in their Account in Banks,after verifying their account just after mere 30 Months of non-operation were given only 20 pounds.Have you heard that if you have money in a Bank and per chance travelled abroad for 30 Months,when you return the Govt will intervene as third party into the contractual relationship between the Bank and their Depositors? The question to ask Awo’s defenders is where did he keep all the outstanding balances of Igbo account holders’ ? If during June 12,1993 mandate struggle,when some Yorubas went into exile for over Four Years,did Finance Minister declare their bank accounts lost hence pay them 20 Naira when they came back?
Opadokun is semonizing about handshake across the Niger,I dare say that we do not need only handshake but even embrace across the Niger.Those mouthing these peaceful repproachment do not even mean it but merely grand standing.
It is only Yorubas that will tell you that an Igboman will never become President of Nigeria as if they are presidential givers in the country,then they will turn round and talk about handshake across the Niger.We’ve made our position clear we need to stay on our own in Biafra and we have right in line United Nations 2007 Resolution for Self Determination and African Charter and Peoples’ Right.They were massively supported by Egypt,England and Russia to decimate Baifra in 1967-70 we shall see if the World will allow them come kill us again sooner than they know it.
Opadokun, you should just support an Igbo man to be president, then after his tenure, we can talk about restructuring. Lets also give them chance to see if the will be president, shall be the one that will take us to promise land. As you know, there is no harm in trial. Let us see if he also will be an egghead like the rest.
Guilty conscience needs no accuser and that is why opadokun and other so called awoist are restless since Achebe dropped his time bomb, they have told all sorts of lies to cover up their evil deeds but the master writer has written and no amount of propaganda can stop the truth that awolowo is a murderer, a wicked pursuer of genocide, a candidate of hell fire, even in death he will continue to suffer till infinity. As for opadokun you will die unsung, nwamkpi.
Despite the wickedness of Nigeria to Igbos, it is only an Igboman that can go anywhere in this country and make it a home. Anywhere he is he settles down build a house there. I don’t how many yorubas or hausas that has built a house in igboland or outside their domain. Yet they that never trusted others will turn back and accuse the Igbos. It is only the Igbos that believe in one Nigeria others like Okpadokun are just noise makers.
Mr. Ayo Opadokun , you are living 42 years behind today’s generation. We are now in information Society, where everyone have access to information. Not 42 years ago where information are filtered and manipulated for certain group of people. Today we know that even AWO defended his action as legitimately an instrument of WAR. Therefore if over 2 Million died of it? It implies that his action killed over 2 million of people belonging to certain group of people. That is GENOCIDAL. Inform yourself very well before you start to put up such outdated argument which is no longer ecceptable to this generation. We have heard the whole side of the story. Even the side of Britain has been heard. There was GENOCIDE!
Thanks alot
Scumbag Yorubas, we have read the history and put it at the back of our mind. Thanks to proffs Achebe for telling those of us who didn’t witness Biafra civil war. Never in my life see a Yoruba person as my brother. They are all betrayals and connyish in nature. And for my Igbo brothers who still invest outside our Igbo land, Doom awaits you all!!!
Time will tell,a snake must begat a snake,Awo was Yoruba saint indeed.
Mr Opadokun you have spoken well. Let he who ear listen.
It is a pity Achebe did not tell his people Ndigbo the whole truth. He based the so called book on sentiment. The Igbos are fooling themselves thinking they are better than other tribes. The real issues that caused the war was started by the Igbo themselves. That was the issue of 1st coup in January 1966 where young Igbo Soldiers slaughtered leaders from Western, Mid Western and Northern Region. The like s of Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa and Akintola were killed. The Hausa got annoyed and carried out a counter coup in July 1966 same year and slaughtered many Igbo in their domains. Yorubas did not kill Igbos that are living in Yoruba land. It was this action that made Ojukwu to ask his people to come back home and declared Republic of Biafra. Awolowo persuaded him from going ahead with war but he (Ojukwu) bluntly refused. …. to be continued.
@Adeleke Lawal May I remind you that 1966 coup have at least one Yoruba in it. May I also remind you if you were born then that Yorubas hailed the coup and jumped to the street jubilating because Akintola was killed who happened to be an arch enemy of Awo and hoped for Ironsi to release Awo. Yorubas were more concern about the release of Awo than Akintola’s death. May I also remind you that the coup planners agenda was to release Awo AND MADE HIM Head of state. Will I also remind you that it was Ironsi and Ojukwu that quenched 1966 coup for further action on their plan. Will I also remind you that it’s on record that Yoruba joined the north to fight their brother the Igbos instead of remaining neutral, since by you that Yorubas did not join the north to kill Igbos. I expect Yoruba and Awo to accept the responsibility of their action like Gowon did instead of this act of cowardice. Yoruba joined the north to fight Igbos down and it is for a reason why is it difficult for them to stand for their action and damn the consequence. Why will they now ask Igbos to forget about it for What? Why will the igbos cares about restructuring Nigeria which they articulated and presented at Aburi stand and died for it. The yoruba after their romance with north which in turn left them with sour taste now wants Igbos to push for restructuring Nigeria, are they not the people that own Nigeria they got through war? It is because the North gambled them, used them and dumped them. Awo was denied power, MKO was denied power and was killed they are now want Igbo to concentrate in restructuring instead of aspiring to be president, can you imagine? Yorubas are cowards that is why for all the years of military rule the north ruled Nigeria from Lagos, without no yoruba attempting his on coup on his own land… cowards, but they will be quick to say that they will pursue Igbos from lagos ..jokers. It was a coup planned by Igbos, ss and middle belt that sent IBB from Lagos to Abuja these are real men.
Don’t waste your time preaching to an unrepentant coward….the sour in the country will someday get to his own doorstep.
Finish the story Idiot…Awo then angrily teamed up with the federal side and started making satanic genocidal policies to decimate the igbos…etc etc
THIS Adeleke Lawal U R A COMPLETE MUMU.. WHY DON’T U TRY GO TO SCHOOL ??? HAVE U EVER HEARD OF ABURI ????? IDIOT JUST GO AND SEARCH … AREA BOY .
Lawal, you don’t know anything about the 1966 coup. I will advise you to keep quite for your own interest. The killings of civilians did not start in the North rather in Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Ibadan, Ikorodu before the Northern region.
I respect every tribe in Nigeria but warned that until the event of January 1966 has been put in proper perspective, Nigeria would not be able to make any progress or see any good.
Time will tell,a snake must begat a snake,Awo was Yoruba a saint indeed.
Yoruba devils…their own nemesis will come soon
U must b a drunk old man for calling Ikemba a selfish man, u r nothing bt a faillure nd a coward…..
This man is probably looking for some political appointment or cheap recognition amongst his people.
Why waste our time re-writing what the likes of Odia Ofeimun and Femi Fani Kayobe had already written?
I will advice these men to stop wasting there time trying to re-write history.
Do they really expect the Igbos not to stand up for the truth just because a fraction of them (Igbos) reside in Lagos or because they (Igbos) are hoping to win the Presidency come 2015?
What a treat, as if they have ever backed the Igbos politically before.
Honestly, l specifically want to tell any Igbo man or woman that subscribed to Achebe’s point to go and hug live-powered 3000KVA transformer.
To hell with your stance, you people are fools who always feel convenient to play a second fiddle in any national politics and economy.
You have no core values and moral tenets that you set for yourselves, and you expected us the Yoruba who have set goals, moral and core values that we are pursuing to form a senile group with your backward reasoning mentality.
Time will tell when the Igbo will be completely flushed out of the Yoruba existence. I don’t know your values to us. Foolish people with demented leaders, ZIK a Dr in English served under Tafawa Balewa who could pronounce his name well, yet the Yoruba was in government but we had a fairer deal through out the 1st republic than these wolves called Igbo.
2nd republic, Ekueme also a Dr, accepted to serve under a grade II teacher Shagari who was far less than average secondary school leaver in southwest as at 1979, yet we got the better wealth and economic power of the nation than these good for nothing people called Igbo. 2015, we will see your gain and you will dream till eternity to see our black.
Honestly, l forward to the day l will see the idiots fleeing away from our land with their cancerous diseases they have brought here. No wonder boko haram is always after them to wipe them out to cure the north.
Stupid people.
If you just mentioned economic power of the nation because of Individuals like Dangote, Danjuma and Adenuga, then you must be the greatest fool of all time.
Check your society very well and you will realise these people I mentioned has the highest number of Paupers (tribesmen) living amongst them.
I still prefer my Igbo society where the wealth atleast circulates than your society where we have very few kings and then millions of people living below poverty line.
God has really blessed the people of S/E and S/S.
Your moral value is collecting N16Bn from Jonathan overnight to support him instead of your Presidential Candidate Ribadu,that must be principled moral and ethical value.
Your moral value is your avowed democrat Awolowo to bend backwards to serve Gowon’s junta for Six Years on the promise that Gowon will hand over to him after the war.Did you hear that Lt.Gen Usman Katsina slapped your respected Awolowo in a cabinet meeting reminding him that the North did not fight the war to come and make him President and that he has been fully paid for the job he did for Gowon’s Junta.
Did you know that the Judge and Prosecutor that tried and sentenced Awo to prison were all Yorubas? Do you know that all the people that fought Awo politically in Nigeria during the First and Second Republics were all Yorubas-Akintola,OBJ,Richard Akinjide,Ama Akinloye and Moshood Abiola?These acts must be Yoruba principle,that Awo was kept in prison by Ironsi/Gowon Govt in Clabar Eastern Region but was released by Ojukwu after the polgrom and hosted to state banquet at Govt House Enugu,only for him to be lured by Gen Adebayo then Gov of Western Region to do business with Gowon’s military junta,going to Enugu to find out if he had foreign backers or enough resources to prosecute the war,only to turn the information back to Gowon and hausa officers.
It was agreed inAburi for semi regional Govt which is the same as restructuring that you are now clamouring for but was rejected by Awo on the ground that Northern Officers were in the West,even when you asked them to stay back in your region.
Honestly, l specifically want to tell any Igbo man or woman that subscribed to Achebe’s point to go and hug live-powered 3000KVA transformer.
To hell with your stance, you people are fools who always feel convenient to play a second fiddle in any national politics and economy.
You have no core values and moral tenets that you set for yourselves, and you expected us the Yoruba who have set goals, moral and core values that we are pursuing to form a senile group with your backward reasoning mentality.
Time will tell when the Igbo will be completely flushed out of the Yoruba existence. I don’t know your values to us. Foolish people with demented leaders, ZIK a Dr in English served under Tafawa Balewa who could not pronounce his name well, yet the Yoruba was not in government but we had a fairer deal through out the 1st republic than these wolves called Igbo.
2nd republic, Ekueme also a Dr, accepted to serve under a grade II teacher Shagari who was far less than average secondary school leaver in southwest as at 1979, yet we got the better wealth and economic power of the nation than these good for nothing people called Igbo. 2015, we will see your gain and you will dream till eternity to see our back.
Honestly, l look forward to the day l will see these idiots fleeing away from our land with their cancerous diseases they have brought here. No wonder boko haram is always after them to wipe them out to cure the north.
Stupid people.
Idiot, If you just mentioned economic power of the nation because of Individuals like Dangote, Danjuma and Adenuga, then you must be the greatest fool of all time.
Check your society very well and you will realise these people I mentioned has the highest number of Paupers (tribesmen) living amongst them.
I still prefer my Igbo society where the wealth atleast circulates than your society where we have very few kings and then millions of people living below poverty line.
God has really blessed the people of S/E and S/S.
Hugging transformer was the wish of Yorubas after they failed to exterminate Igbos. Now are you not damn shameless? Your brain is as thick as two shot plank.
Let me react to your stupid post :
You claimed that yorubas have core value, but does that include stealing and fraud which epitomise yorubas.
You said that Zik served under Belewa may I just remind you that Zik is Governor General in 1960 and in 1963 when Nigeria becomes a Republic he became the president. That position was not in a way under the prime minister. In the 1st republic Yoruba did not get any fair deal. Infact they was dealing with both East and North together that made Zik to call you two headed snake. Yoruba failed in dealing with both East and west and frustratedly went into opposition. Out of that frustration Akintola hated Igbos with passion claiming that Igbos have took everything and therefore desired to have alliance with the north under Belewa. It was Akintola’s looking for a fair deal that saw him romancing with the north that landed Awo into prison for criminal charge.
In 2nd republic may I remind you that the same Shagari a grade 2 teacher defeated Awo. I will remind you that Awo served a very much young illiterate Gowon and was later boated out, after he was used.
Yes you got better wealth deal not in 1979 but in 1972 through indigenization decree, £20 issue to Igbos and abandoned property policy and all the diabolic policies hatched by Awo which Achebe wrote and has been confirmed by you. It was these policies that made some yorubas rich. This is a poor people who can’t sent their children to school that made Awo to give them free education. Yorubas became rich because Igbos did not compete with them. After the sale of our collective national assets to yorubas what happened?because of entrenched poverty mentality they could not make anything out of it. Today they still remain poor. The collapse of stock market have rendered them all useless. Igbos have so far create more wealth by themselves and not through any deal. Right in your domain we are more richer than you, then go to Abuja you are not seeing our back, even in the north we hold the wealth there. So my brother go and castrate your fathers because they are failures. You come from a generation of cowards. You are a goat talking to a lion because it is internet.
Good.
Hear is the $1million question-
Now that some REBELS are making Borno State ungovernable, will it be cool to cut off the food supply going into the state, send British fighter jets to bomb every farmland and the farmers, blow up Institutions where civilians maybe taking refuge, target both Boko haram members and their Sympathizers which includes women and children and Probably change the present Nigerian Currency to make sure that every living thing in Borno State suffers?????????
Well I guess it has not gotten to that stage, or better still let’s wait till a similar crisis starts in the west, then the Federal Government can experiment Awolowo/Gowon’s great battle tactics on the Yoruba people.
The more venoms the Igbo are spitting out on this genocide or pogrom the more we’ve got to celebrate the failure of the opportunist educated Igbos. They often times display how flippant their intelligence are no matter how learned they are.
These people have benefited a lot from the Yoruba more than from their fellow Igbo, the calabar were also affected in the war, but they always behave mature and see that the Igbo are so wicked , they even short-changed the calabar and relegated them to nothing till now they don’t see them as their good brothers that was why the people of Akwa Ibom and Calabar opted for southsouth region instead of sterile Biafra land.
When Ojukwu saw that the casualty was more from his side why didn’t he surrender on time before millions of children died. The Igbo are inept in skill and strategies, what stopped him from owning up when the number of the kwashiorkor children were merely hundreds and thousands, he dragged the war for 3yrs and scoundrel bedevilled the people he falsely protected.
It was the ineptitude ability of the evil Biafran warlords that destroyed them and l pray they don’t continue in this condition for everlasting. Prof Achebe never said anything bad about Ojukwu who also blocked the federal aids to the civilians saying the food the Nigeria was bringing could be poisoned to kill them shame on the vanquished, they lacked mental skill to fight war they foolishly initiated.
Exactly Mekus, they haven’t back us up b4 and certainly will not now. They will surely back up their slave masters (Hausas)
They no dey tell person. Very few of them supported Goodluck Jonathan, and even till date they condemn his government more than any other tribe….certain things can’t just be hidden again.
There is no need for vulgar words. Although Ayo Opadokun is wrong. The book is a history of Nigerian-Biafran civil war and Achebe side of the story. The did has been done and can not be changed. We don’t need to hate one another. Yes Awo did it. It’s him and his colleague, not all yorubas. Please let there be change in this country, starting from every one. I mean you and i. Thanks
Yea you have a point, but just watch your back while dealing with certain people.
Onyema, u are a brand among others. I mean within ur tribes men. Pls keep it up and reach out to them more.
Thanks and God bless.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF NIGERIA ?,NIGERIA IS A COUNTRY ?…PLEASE SPERA ME THE ONLY GOOD WILL HAPPING TO THAT SO CALL NIGERIA IS THAT ANY WE’RE IN THEY WORLF ONE’S THERE IS CIVIL WAR THEY WILL NEVER HAVE PEACE AGAIN,..SO MY ADVICE IS THEY SHOULD JUST TELL THEM SELF THEY TRUTH AND DIVIDE THAT SO CALL NGERIA
After all those hide and seek game Awo played with the then Nigerian leadership what happened at the end? The same people stood in his way of becoming the !st president after the civil war. having lost two consecutive elections, Awolowo became seriously depressed that he had to commit suicide. Their lousy explanation that they had no strong Yoruba military structure to defend their land should they object to Gowon’s leadership is always Yoruba like and inconsistent. The Achebe book sold like hot cake world over and who care what jadi-jadi butt from west says about it. If they are men, they would fight Babangida for denying their countryman (Abiola)the presidency he won hands down. if they are men, they would fight Abacha for pushing shonekun out and taking over the leadership of the country. If people like Opadokun are men, they would fight for a man to make General Biya cry like a baby before the nation and for Abacha to make Obasanjo leak his behind while he was sitting in jail. Igbos do not go for junks like that for sake of keeping Nigeria one.
I wonder why this men are wasting their time trying to rewrite history. Awo and Jack Gowon are murderers period. With their policy of blockade they murdered millions of Biafran children. Awo in one of his interview said that he cannot feed his enemies fat to continue to fight. The food in question was not supplied by Nigerian Government but by Caritas ,Red Cross and other friendly nation like Tanzania. All Gowon wanted was to create corridor and ship in poisoned food to exterminate those they could not kill by bullet. On the policy of 20 pounds to all the Igbos that had account with banks irrespective of how much they have they wanted to make the Igbos perpetually poor. Today Igbos are better off than them. All they keep on saying is that the record got burnt. If the record in Enugu got burnt how about those in Lagos and Kano where majority of Igbo traders reside, are those of yorubas and hausas burnt as well.
before you talk again, they will tell you that the Abandoned property case never happened in the west…..How can it happen when they enjoy pushing others to fight themselves?
One American statesman said ” if I may chose between righteousness and peace, I will chose righteousness.” if the truth Achebe expressed in his book will bring disunity, may be we do not need unity. Because unity based on lies and injustice is the type unity Ojukwu himself described as the unity of Jonah in the belle of the whale.To Jonah, that unity is oppressive. Igbos do not need that type of unity with people across the Niger.
Gowon knows very well the ICC is reserved for people of the “third world” who offend Western imperialist interest. Since Gowon knows that he did the bidding of his British masters, there will be no consequence for his war crimes in terms of ICC trial. If Gowon is so innocent why did he apologize twice: first for Asaba massacre and to Igbo people in generally, claiming that his war policies was not motivated by hatred for Igbos.
You said that Gowon said the Federal Government, in fact organized to have a corridor through which food and medication could be brought to Igboland.
My response to you on that is akin to Malcolm X’s admonition of civil right campaigners in American who were carrying out sit ins in “white only” restaurants and coffee shops. Malcom X commented that if you been enslaved, lynched, discriminated and done all kinds of hideous things by people who now do not what to serve you in their restaurants and coffee shops. Then you go in to their restaurants and coffee shops and insisting on being served. Long after they have attempted pushing you out but you will not go and suddenly they changed their mind, went and got you food or a cup of coffee you were asking for, according Malcolm, you will be out of your mind to drink that coffee or eat the food. The same applies to the Biafran situation. This is a Nigerian side that has shown no regard what so ever for Igbo lives – Nigerian side that insisted on total blockade and starvation. Suddenly they changed their mind and said ok, give us the food and we will pass it on to Biafrans. Because essentially that is what the land corridor means. Biafrans will be out of their mind to eat that food unless they intend on mass suicide.
You said we should blame Ojukwu for the starvation, but when ever you hear any comment on Awolowo that is not praise, who ever made that comment is bring disunity
Well spoken
WHAT ONE SOWS IS WHAT ONE WILL REAP. THOSE WHO COMMITTED GENOCIDE WILL BY THEMSLVES DIE BY GENOCIDE. SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE BAUCHI AND JOS AREAS WHERE GOWON COMES FROM . THE WAR HERO IS DEAD. WHO ELSE. I DO NOT KNOW. GOWON WHO SHOULD SAY SORRY FOR WHAT HAPPENED THEN SAYS HE HAS NO REGRETS. LET US NOW WATCH AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. I AM NOT HOLDING BRIEF FOR THE IGBOS. I AM ON THE SIDE OF TRUTH. THOSE WHO KILLED BY THE SWORDM WILL PERISH BY TRHE SWORS.
Mr. Adeleke i will have to advise u to stop worry urself about these nigerian jews cos nothing u n i can say to change their mind about what their Achebe wrote in his stupid memoir. In support of ur contribution, it was nigerian jews that actually caused de civil war cos de coup of january 1966 which was carried out by de jews of nigeria n de jews were so pompous cos they thought de Hausa / Fulani are stupid but they find de truth out de hard way . De rest they say is history. Know what i mean?. When de fisrt coup was staged by de jews led by major Kaduna nzeguw, they killed Sadauna, Balewa, Akintola n Okotie Ebor, but surprisingly both other jews in govt then were not kill. Am talking about Zik n Michael Opara. It was this that led to jews been slaugherted in de not in retaliation for their leaders been killed by de first coup. Before Ojukwu declared de war , it was on record that sage Awo asked time to talk to other Yorubas leaders to seek their opinion about which way Yorubas should follow, but Ojukwu did not give Awo de time cos two days later Ojukwu declared de war. Nigerian jews can’t u see for urself that Ojukwu made lots of blunders. How could he had thought. Biafran soldiers will be able to with stand Nigerian sepuperior fire power. It is on recoerd that both sage Awo n Gen Gowon actually sent foods to nigerian jews but Ojukwu will not allow these foods inn n some that got through were high jacked by biafran soldiers. It is also on record that cos Ojukwu would not allowed foods to be delivered , biafran UN representative resigned cos of that. U see if anybody was to be charged for genocide, that person should be “Ojukwu”. Am surprised that Acehbe never mentioned de actrocity that Biafran soldiers committed against de south south people n most importantly, de “Calabar women “. He also failed to talked about biafran act of “canibalism”. Why was Ojukqu in haste to declare de war? Part of de reason was to corner south south “Black Gold(oil). If anybody. Should be accused of being greed n selfish, nigerian jews will anyday get de award. U really think u can dominate any other tribes in this country of ours? If that’s ur believe, i will advise u to erase that believe cos u never dominate anybody except ur very self n am afraid u will never dominate no one. Ask Gen Philip Effiong, who was de second in command to ojukwu, he will let u know that , ojukwu care more about himself n his family than de rest of biafran. Why? Cos when he did de runner to Ivory Coast, de condition became so teririble for de biafran, Gen Effiong had to do de honourable thing by waving de white flage, what did ojukwu say? He “if he was in biafra then he would under no condition surrender” forgotten that nobody i say nobody forced him to ran away, and what do u call that statement of ojukwu? That is a genocide. We in de south west will like u to carry out ur threat out vacate south west to ur region. Do u really think that Yorubas care about whatever u do. No we don’t n if it’s de war u really want with us i can tell u minnows something “we Yorubas can take as much as we give” can u do de same?. All u have is mouth. Remember before Nigeria was born, Yorubas fought wars, have u forgotten OYO EMPIRE. Take note n beware. No matter what u nigerian jews has lots of Yorbas has more Yorubas. Will always be ahead of u jews. Yorubas are head n will never become tail. Can u honestly compare any zone in nigeria with south west zone?. Yorubas take pride in making sure that south west is develop cos our home is south west. Wherever, a Yoruba man may be, even if his in America, he will still count it village but home is south west, that is why south west will always be ahead of jews nation. Maybe u jews should learn from Yorubas that hone is south west, it could help u. U jews can sacara de Hausa/FUlani but u know u can’t. Sacara de Yorubas. Am sure u wouldn’t even try de Hausa/Fulanis cos u know they will “BOKO HARAM ” u all.
Hahaaaa….pathetic
mumuni, thats what you are…continue to make a dead murderer awo ur god.
otunba mumuni like u
Mr Ayo, prof Achebe said the truth and only the truth.
We the younger generation know the truth and what Achebe said is again the truth. Mr Ayo, Gowon and Awo are the same.
Mr Ayo, i was a child of the war. Am from Enugu. I could narrate the war story well. I mean you are lying, And do not forget that you are lying on the heads of three million Biafrans killed by Awo, Gowon etc.
There is no cohesive society between the lgbo and the yoruba. And there will never be one.
Even if Prof Achebe dies today but God forbid, the truth he exposed will save him.
We are not interested in how OBJ ruled and we are not interested in lgbo presidency. So you can keep it for yourself. We are pushing for Biafra and we will get it.
Abiola was killed by the likes of David Mark, yet you are blaming Ojukwu whos people were being killed in hundreds untill he could not bear it no more.
Hallo, you are contradicting yourself.
Well, the wise should school the rest and as you can see, feel and know, the lgbos are wiser than you and your advice.
The lgbo race are well served by God. We have increased and multiplied human and wealth wise.
The greatest problem of many yoruba people is that they hardly accept their fault. I have lived and mingled with many of them to understood this fact. I dont hate anybody but for peace to reign we must first of all admit our fault and make an apology and then forge ahead and that is what i expected the yoruba nation to do just like gowon did.
God bless everyone.
So much hatred.
No Nation on the face of earth has ever survived in the face of so much distrust.
Let my people go.
To kinsley try n get ur fact right, Akintola never served FG, he only served as premier of western region. Mr clifo, how i hope u get ur aburi n ur biafra. Do u really think Yorubas care about aburi n ur biafra i hope u get both soon. My advise to u is to stop or warn ur repesentative in Abuja to stop selling u out. If it is biafra u want , tell ur honourable n senator to ask for that in de N assembly. As for Yorubas if u jews want to leave we as a people of south west have no problem with that . U can even do that today. Let me ask u jews one question , is u jews are faultless before n after de civil war?. Ur professor never said or appointed any blame to U jews n most importantly to ur warlord Ojukwu. U i mean nigerian jews can n will never do anything to Yorubas, u’re only kidding urself. Yorubas know u more than u know urself. Keep on dreaming.
Acusations and counter acusations.insult and counter insult. Where is ur Education? Am just ashamed and suprised at d way we handle issues so sentimentally in dis country. Ah God pls help us ooooooooooo
Awo NEVER course civil war but he contributed massively.Gowon picking up a GUN and Awo picking up PEN as finance minister and advicer to Gowon,they are both partnership in crime,thereby comitting GENOCIDE in Igboland.Yorubas elders should tender unreserved apology,along with norths arewa.
@kingsley,welldone for educating the ignorance of those pathetic ‘area boys’.
@kingsley,welldone for educating the ignorance of those pathetic ‘area boys’. @kola amodu,the Adolf hitler of Ndiofe mmanu,grow up jews hater cos dats the only thing u can do. We’ll keep marching strong despite ur evil wishes n deeds jst like the isrealites.And in time of Biafra we’ll do to those hausa cows and their cohorts what isreal is doing to Hamas,hezbollah n their friends
@kingsley,welldone for educating the ignorance of those pathetic ‘area boys’. @kola amodu,the Adolf hitler of Ndiofe mmanu,grow up jews hater cos dats the only thing u can do. We’ll keep marching strong despite ur evil wishes n deeds jst like the isrealites.And in time of Biafra we’ll do to those hausa cows and their cohorts what isreal is doing to Hamas,hezbollah n their friends
hahahahaha, Niger bridge is falling down,this an old song buh now it is a heat track,though it s nt a laughin matter,there is no unity in nigeria,tell me how can nigeria stand as a nation state,with tribalism,acrimony,disunity,falsehood,and ethnicism d bedrock of the national foundation,i dont see any reason why nigeria should remain as one,for christ the mind is biased,stained with falsehood and wounds,do you know that collateral damage is a war crime akin genocide then who is faulty ?i am an ibo buh cherishes peace so much,imperfection is human,to err is human and to forgive is divine,umunnem eletaa ahara bu uto,let us decide for the best way to unite or disintegrate nigeria.
Behold another civil war
in war of words among brothers
I still need to know,still seriously searching for a country that is made up of but one nation
Am still searching!
America is a nation-metamorphosed-country structured from various divergent nations but with just one outside-view nation…Inside? They are many!
In similarity with Nigeria,its people also had fought a war against separation.
So rapaciously, still, it stands strong afterward.All after its independence in 1776 just like our–after 1960!
Where do we go from here my brothers?
Americans never talked about their war in negative terms
Why must we continue to hold on to the past as if we have something still we forgot therein?
The more we think of the past, the more we stop to move forward.
Lets stop carrying different nations in our mind–for when we do that,we stand divided still.
I laughed with tears in my eyes as I read every Contributor on the pages trying to dissect various bombs and missile as been unleashed by brothers.
I laughed, I cried!
The way of the Nobles is not to open wounds but to heal them.
Story telling is actually a different art from telling a history
In the previous,the Writer is authorized to manipulate and frame events to achieve a purpose but that is not allowed in the later. It must be objective with the faults and praises of both sides presented.Why? Because it is a real event that actually took place–It cannot be framed or sentimentalized.Both sides must be objectively reported in their pron and cons.
However it may be,if we tend the part of division again:
The water we drank and still drink together
The food we eat together
The love we once shared so jealously
The game we played together
The song we sang together
The marriage vows exchanged among our people
The promises we shared
The pains and joy we once shared with one another
[ALL WILL HUNT US] !
The children produced by our union will ask us questions:
Dad,who am I? Yoruba,Hausa or Igbo? Please mummy,tell me! Where do I belong to?
“My friend-Obinna,abused me as a boy of a Yoruba father but I could not retaliated because I carry the blood of an Igbo mother in my blood and my uncle–your brother,married from the North. Dad, why this hatred”?
With tears in the eyes,they will ask.
Never. I say never again should we be made to trek that part of war again!
Those who blow the trumpet never fight in the war. They won’t raise a gun! They fight from outside the battle field,they fight from across the sea.Only children;the unborn child;the women;the crippled fight without a strength to fight!
I once worked at an establishment which is owned by a South-Westerner but tribes in Nigeria were evenly represented.That is how it should be and that is the message we should preach.
I have brothers and sisters who intermarried with Easterners and South-Southerners and happily they live together till date.
If Americans can stand strong for it after the civil war, with their multiculturalism and ethnic components, we too,we can.YES WE CAN!
Did you ask who I am?
I am he from the West,
Who schooled in the North,
Dared to serve the fatherland and received in the East
Find my daily bread in the South-South
And about to do the nuptal in the S.?
On the biological? I reserve my comment.
I am a ONE-NIGERIAN!
God bless you and increase ur wisdom.
Uzotex, u’re really a fool if u think israel can beat party of God(hezbollah) then u are living in another planet. Did u remember what happened during de last fight btw isreal n de Hezebollah in yr 2008. Most of u jews don’t really know de kind of problem isreal face n u will just be opening ur mouth n n start saying what never happen. Let me ask u fool one question ,uzotex,who did u think drove isrealis out of Leberno? De answer is Hezbollah (party os God). De problem with nigerian jews is that they don’t like to face fact. Most. Of ur claim about ur 2million dead, how did u come about ur figure?. Were u keeping record then n if u were, show us de record. Nobody own this country , i mean no one single tribe own this country. Ur believe that u dominate other tribes is just historical fallacy. U never n will never dominate anybody. If u think without u nigeria can not move forward then i will tell u to keep on dreaming. U really think if u get ur biafra, u can survive on ur own without other people, i mean other nigerian tribes. Remember no country can be an island. Nigerians can call ur bluff , but can jews call our bluff.
THE YORUBA ELDERS ARE ALREADY SHYING AWAY FROM THE TRUTH. BUT I BELIEVE THAT THE TRUTH WILL HOUND ALL OF THEM DOWN VERY SOON.
I have known this for a very long time ago that Igbos is their worst enemies. They are simply allergy to truth no matter who is saying it. I ask a question, what will it serve this bunk of imbeciles if for aquement sake Awo is found guilty of the offense as charged by Achebe? Has the Igbo ever supported Awo politically? These set of okirika experts are just living to conform who they have always been but pretending to be something else, mumunatu.
In all honesty, this is not a time for Igbo race to start a war that serves them no good more so that they want one of them to be the president of the nation. Politics is a game of number, by starting unsolicited war with a major race such as Yoruba is not going to favour these second hand products experts.
Awo is no more, or would someone put his family members to jail for what the baba committed according to Achebe and his army of rotten heads?
It is so painful that Nigeria went through the civil war but it is again another lesson that when one is not ripe enough to fight to defend d oneself, it will not be sensible to start such defence as it may end up in disaster. Igbos are indeed fools, and they expect the rest of us to behave in that manners, just an example, during the struggle to actualise June 12, Igbo had expected the Yoruba’s to start a war with who? I asked, just because MKO happened to be a Yoruba man therefore, Yoruba’s must rush into fighting war, for him to realise his political ambition, forgetting that not all Yoruba’s voted for the man and even if they all did, the election was to elect a president for the entire nation and not for the Yoruba’s alone. Instead of joining in the struggle, Igbos decided to jump the ship by declaring they are going home to celebrate new yam festival in October/November! What a fool. Well they came back the worst for it only to discover that there was no war. Yoruba’s are no fools, we calculate, we think and reason before acting. Now a bit of sense is here by borrowed to Igbos by Opadokun, instead of them to embrace and appreciate what you have from lunatics here are abusive words. And who is the loser at the end of the day, the same Igbos anyway.
They act before they think. Unfortunately, they think that they are smart, but I call that stupidity, of course they are smart when it comes to faking medication, spare parts of all kind and kidnapping, etc. If they like let them start another senseless war with baba Awo in the grave.yeye people, bunch of rotten minds, yesteryears people. At the same time a segment is clamouring to have one of them as the president of the country, another segment is fighting and declaring Biafra nation, tell me who will trust such people and what a confused people!!
omoba
Omoba thanks for your wisdom at least now we know how deep the hatred and jealosy for the yorubas are by the igbo. Ati beri si ni ronu
Kola Amodu,u’re comprehensively pathetic, u still need some growing up to do. 1 thing with truth is dat it’s very bitter but it must be told no matter whose ox is gored. Who told u we need a disgruntled element like u for Biafra to stand.I rest my case ‘child’.
I will not agree that what chinua said about awolowo was incorrect, because awolowo in an interview he had with journalists actually claimed responsibilities for for the starvation tactics used against biafrans durring the war. Even wole soyinka( a truthful man) has always spoken against the genocides, perpetrated against biafrans, and is still speaking against it today. And i dont think that igbos or ojukwu should in any way be blamed for rejecting nigerians food corridor. Because no sensible man will succumb to accepting food from an enemy. Abiola who tried it, died from tea poisoning. And I’d like to see my yoruba brothers, also going to settle in the east. And stop seeing igbos, who have displayed the attitude of unity, by going to settle everywhere in the world, as domineering.
Uzotez or whatever u call urself do u really think Yorubas care whether ur aburi n biafra is achieved? No we don’t but for information , we can’t really wait for ur dream to be realised so u can stop ur stupid noise. We. Yorubnas wish u will vacate our region soonest we reall can’t wait for that day. I tell u something jews, when u leave south west that is when u we know what starvation means. What u call starvation during de war will be a child play. Onye ara people
scumbag yoruba foooooooooooooools
we shall see who is the fool Ibos are nothing but loosers. Just wait and see who will laugh last, Loosers Born to Loose
Is upto d Yorubas to mistake d Igbos for anything other than enemies to them which they ‘ve been comes 2015…As for us in d North we have never mistaken d Igbos and will never do so.We are therefore oncemore ever ready.No amount of deceit including use of religion will make us take side with arrogant,wicked,vindictive and greedy Igbo people.Yoruba ‘RONU”
Opadokun is a man many of us know too well. He is a good man, an uncompromising AWOIST. The depth of Opadokun’s indoctrination into the Awoistic cultism makes radicalized islamism child’s play. It would be time-wasting, if not utterly dangerous, to argue with a blinkered, robotic freak with the mentality of a zombie. This is good for the man, don’t get me wrong. The Igbo is not immune to these doctrinal externalities, either. To many Igbos, it is Odumegwu-Ojukwu, after God himself. You cannot wean those Igbos from that mindset, more so when it is premised on a feeling of righteous indignation, the fall-out of gross injustice and brutal abuse by the Nigerian state.
So, Opadokun has not break any grounds to controvert Achebe’s memoir which he based on facts of our recent history. He chooses the hypocritical paths of sentiment and blackmail to defend criminal behavior. On the grounds of Opadokun’s chauvinistic, ethnic-oriented philosophy, Achebe committed what he (Opadokun) believes to be sacrilegious transgression by “dancing on the grave of a departed colleague” that qualifies him for a “FATWA”. In other words, Awo does no wrong. Is it not, therefore, idiotic on Opadokun’s part to insinuate that Awo’s wartime “good” decisions that turned out to be flat-out indiscretions, had Yoruba consensus? By extension, Opadokun believes strongly that the Yoruba race should gladly inherit the ingenuousness of one man without question. But, Awolowo cannot be characterized Achebe’s “colleague”; they were never in the same league; rather, he was Zik’s.
Secondly, because the murderous Gowon, whom Opadokun promotes to the ranks of an infallible Popes, “is alive (is) ready to face International Criminal Court of Justice to know what happened under Biafra…. saying (that) Professor Achebe is ignorant of the very situation he was talking about”, therefore Achebe’s memoirs cataloged falsehood. Opadokun does not do Gowon any favor with this reminder that Yakubu Gowon should be a person of special interest to the International Criminal Court. Just as other common criminals, Gowon can say or do anything to save his pencil-sized neck fro the hangman’s noose. That would include lying about his criminal past. If there is anybody that was ignorant of the goings on in Biafra, it is cowardly Gowon. He was hunkered down in his Dodan Barracks spider’s hole throughout the duration of that war. He never fired a shot in any war front, let alone a firs-hand experience of what transpired. He is the most counterfactual person to do an evaluation on Achebe’s report.
Then thirdly, Opagokun invokes vengeful blackmail. He is an angry and grumpy man who thinks he is destined to outlast Prof. Achebe. It informs why most Yoruba’s you interact weave this impression that they are all spring chickens, born only yesterday. Just as the islamic fundamentalist, Opadokun rails the Awoistic fatwa: “He (Achebe) too will soon depart no matter how far he is given the privilege to stay on. He cannot be here for ever “. Is he looking to being the heir to inherit what Achebe’s leaves behind or what? Opadokun then goes ominous, warning that the controversy could freeze the Igbo-Yoruba handshake, choke off Yoruba support for the venture and truncate any prospect of an Igbo presidency.
But, little does Opadokun know that, for the average Igbo man, woman and child, an Igbo as president is the least of their worries. It does not translate into every Igbo man walking our streets is a president as well. During Olusegun Obasanjo’s 16-year streak, Opadokun never went around deluding himself and parading as Nigerian president. All the Igbos want is for justice to prevail and for Nigeria to be a nation with respect for the rule of law, justice and equity.
Should Opadokun want to know, the average Igbo man has given up on the Nigerian system as presently configured, and that is fundamental. Igbos hate the word GOWON with indescribable passion and nobody can change that. It is a name that can cause them bellyache and nausea. Gowon knows it that you do not cause the death of 3 million of their kin and expect love in return. It never works that way in real life.
In all, Opadokun came out pathetic and totally empty handed in his defense of the indefensible. He was absolutely unable not make one fact-based argument to disprove Achebe’s assertions in “There was a Country”. All he could do was kicking and screaming over the ‘desecration’ of Chief Awo, deified and idolized by small minds like Opadokun.
This man needs to be challenged with these three simple posers and we look forward to his honest answers:
1) Can he explain why Gowon turned his back on the people of his home State of Plateau, preferring to hobnob with awusa and tie himself to the apron strings of Arewa instead?
2) Why was a “corridor through which food and medication could be brought to Igboland (he labors to avoid the word BIAFRA)” become an issue for debated or consideration?
3) What in the whole interplay “hastened the end of the war”, and what inherent factors within that paradigm did the trick?
Chief Opadokun is old enough to shun playing the hypocritical chicken and politics with the criminal behavior of individuals who had their hands in the genocidal cookie jar of Biafra. Opadokun needs to be real. We wait for his answers to those 3 simple questions.
One of those who saw it all, Gen. Alabi Isama says “In my opinion, Achebe’s book is tribal and inconsistent with the truth. The Hausa did not deny killing the Igbo. And as Gen. Haruna said at the Oputa Panel in 2001, he had no apology for that. Bringing the 3MCDO into it and Awolowo in a derogatory way is evil and ungodly.” He said contrary to the starvation stories being bandied, the 3MCDO were feeding natives and Biafran soldiers to the extent that the federal troops under his command were feeding once in a day. He also argued that since independence in 1960, the Igbo have always been in the ruling class. In the First Republic, he said, it was NPC/NCNC (Hausa/Igbo); Second Republic, NPN/NPP (Hausa/Igbo); Third Republic, –PDP/PDP (Hausa/Ibo); Fourth Republic, it is PDP majority in the North, in the East and Delta State, again Hausa/Igbo. “So, who is Achebe writing about?” he queried. He said in the Balewa cabinet of 1960, there were 12 Hausa-led NPC ministers and 11 Igbo-led NCNC ministers. The army, the police, the navy, the air force were all from the East. He wondered why the Igbo ran back to the North after the civil war if they were so marginalised. “It is so easy to kill the Igbo because they own the sales of attractive items like cars, electronic items, building materials and others. The Yoruba man in the North or East is a low-lifer. The man drives a taxi, while the wife sells amala. As soon as there is unrest, the wife puts the cooking pot in the taxi and home they go. “I am sure that we all know the number of Igbo in western states and Lagos compared to the number of Yoruba in eastern states. Let’s get real. If the union of Igbo and Hausa is not working since 1960 till date, then change your direction. You cannot repeat the same thing and get a different result.” He said he had put his war memoirs into print and it would be out soon.
He described Achebe as a story teller, noting that on many pages of his book, he either said ‘the story I heard’ (Page 133), ‘I was told’ (Page 138) or ‘we were told’ (Page 150). On Achebe’s cattle story, Isama said: “In 3MCDO, we had not enough cattle to do that. I am only concerned about the Atlantic sector of the war. The other sectors, if they wish, may defend their honour for posterity. “When Achebe spoke about bombing markets and many more, he forgot the first bombing of the war in Lagos in early 1967 when, despite the fact that the Igbo were killed in their hundreds in the northern part of the country during the unrest at the time, it was Yaba market and Casino, the most populated part of Lagos that the Biafran B-26 bomber came to throw bomb at civilians. Nigeria had no planes to bomb at that time. And in any case, 3MCDO while at Calabar had no planes capable of bombing beyond Uyo and Eket. Not even Ikot–Ekpene or Opobo and beyond.” Isama said whatever starvation was experienced in Biafra was self-induced. He alleged that during the war, planes and ships, which supposedly carried relief materials, were caught shipping arms into Biafran zone. Not only that, Ojukwu preferred to ship in the so-called relief materials in the night, which the federal troops were uncomfortable with. WELL, ACHEBE HAS NEVER CLAIMED TO BE AN HISTORIAN, HE IS A WORLD ACCLAIMED STORY TELLER WHO IS ENTITLED TO HIS OPINION. THE GOOD THING IS THAT WE CAN ALWAYS CHOOSE WHAT TO BELIEVE
why are the ibos so angry at everybody your anger will distroy you people. Who forced you to fight a war in the first place, A war you couldn,t win anyway. the yoruba s told you to wait, but your leaders was eager to fight. now you are all angry at everybody. I think if you still want to form your country you can still do it .. I am tired of all these insults and anger
No unity among the Igbo race, so, the dream of igbos to aspire for the number one seat should not even come up, because the igbo race are too greedy, too selfish, they claim too wise and too know. Useless set of people.