My role in the civil war – Awolowo OCTOBER 8, 2012 BY AGENCY REPORTER late Chief Obafemi Awolowo Shortly before the 1983 presidential election, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo fielded questions from a panel of journalists at a town hall meeting in Abeokuta. During the session, which was aired live on Ogun Radio, Awolowo defended his actions during the civil war, countering allegations similar to the one Chinua Achebe levelled against him recently. Question: Chief Awolowo, your stand on the civil war, however unpopular it may have been to the Biafran, helped to shorten the war. Today, you’re being cast as the sole enemy of the Ibo people because of that stand, by among others, some of the people who as members of the federal military government at that time, were party to that decision and are today, in some cases, inheritors of power in one Nigeria which that decision of yours helped to save. How do you feel being cast in this role, and what steps are you taking to endear yourself once again to that large chunk of Nigerians who feels embittered. Awolowo: As far as I know, the Ibo masses are friendly to me, towards me. In fact, whenever I visit Iboland, either Anambra or Imo, and there’s no campaigning for elections on, the Ibo people receive me warmly and affectionately. But there are some elements in Iboland who believe that they can maintain their popularity only by denigrating me, and so they keep on telling lies against me. Ojukwu is one of them. I don’t want to mention the names of the others because they are still redeemable, but ….Ojukwu is irredeemable so I mention his name, and my attitude to these lies is one of indifference, I must confess to you. I’ve learnt to rely completely on the providence and vindication of Almighty God in some of these things. I’ve tried to explain myself in the past, but these liars persist. Ojukwu had only recently told the same lie against me. What’s the point in correcting lies when people are determined to persist in telling lies against you, what’s the point? I know that someday the Ibos, the masses of the Ibo people will realise who their friends are, and who their real enemies are. And the day that happens woe betide those enemies. The Ibos will deal with them very roughly. That has happened in my life. I have a nickname now, if you see my letterhead you’ll find something on top, you’ll find a fish done on the letterhead. Some people put Lion on theirs, some people put Tiger, but mine is Fish. And Fish represents my zodiac sign, those of you who read the stars and so on in the newspapers; you’ll find out that there’s a zodiac sign known as pieces, in Latin pieces mean fish. So I put pieces on top, that’s my zodiac sign being born on the 6th of March,….er well, the year doesn’t matter, it’s the day that matter. And then on top of it I write Eebudola. All of you know the meaning of that. You know I don’t want to tell a long story but………………Awolowo school, omo Awolowo, … started in Urobo land, in mid-west in those days. They were ridiculing my schools, I was building schools –brick and cement, to dpc level, block to dpc level and mud thereafter. And so the big shots in the place..”ah what kind of school is this? is this Awolowo school? Useless school” and when they saw the children..”ah this Awolowo children, they can’t read and write, Awolowo children” that’s how it started, with ridicule, and it became blessing, and now they say “Awolowo children, they are good people” no more ridicule about it, that’s how it started, so the Eebu becomes honor, the abuse became honor. And so when I look back to all my life, treasonable felony, jail, all the abuses that were heaped on me, to Coker Inquiry, all sorts, and I see what has happened to the people who led, who led all these denigration campaign, where are they today? Those that are alive are what I call Homo Mortuus- dead living, oku eniyan, that’s what they are, those that their lives have gone. So when I look back, I come to the conclusion that all these abuses which have been heaped on me all my life for doing nothing, for doing good, they have become honor, and so Eebudola is one of my nicknames. So I’ve cultivated an attitude of indifference, I’ve done no evil to the Ibos. During the war I saw to it that the revenue which was due to the Iboland – South Eastern State they call it, at that time..East Central State, I kept it, I saved the money for them. And when they …. were librated I handed over the money to them- millions. If I’d decided to do so, I could have kept the money away from them and then when they took over I saw to it that subvention was given to them at the rate of 990,000 pounds every month. I didn’t go to the Executive Council to ask for support, or for approval because I knew if I went to the Executive Council at that time the subvention would not be approved because there were more enemies in the Executive Council for the Ibos than friends. And since I wasn’t going to take a percentage from what I was going to give them, and I knew I was doing what was right, I wanted the states to survive, I kept on giving the subvention – 990,000 almost a million, every month, and I did that for other states of course – South Eastern State, North Central State, Kwara and so on. But I did that for the Ibos, and when the war was over, I saw to it that the ACB got three and a half million pounds to start with. This was distributed immediately and I gave another sum of money. The attitude of the experts, officials at the time of the ACB was that ACB should be closed down, and I held the view you couldn’t close the ACB down because that is the bank that gives finance to the Ibo traders, and if you close it down they’ll find it difficult to revive or to survive. So it was given. I did the same thing for the Cooperative Bank of Eastern Nigeria, to rehabilitate all these places, and I saw to it as commissioner for finance that no obstacle was placed in the way of the ministry of economic planning in planning for rehabilitation of the war affected areas. Twenty pounds policy That’s what I did, and the case of the money they said was not given back to them, you know during the war all the pounds were looted, they printed Biafran currency notes, which they circulated, at the close of the war some people wanted their Biafran notes to be exchanged for them. Of course I couldn’t do that, if I did that the whole country would be bankrupt. We didn’t know about Biafran notes and we didn’t know on what basis they have printed them, so we refused the Biafran note, but I laid down the principle that all those who had savings in the banks on the eve of the declaration of the Biafran war or Biafra, will get their money back if they could satisfy us that they had the savings there, or the money there. Unfortunately, all the banks’s books had been burnt, and many of the people who had savings there didn’t have their saving books or their last statement of account, so a panel had to be set up. I didn’t take part in setting up the panel, it was done by the Central Bank and the pertinent officials of the ministry of finance, to look into the matter, and they went carefully into the matter, they took some months to do so, and then make some recommendation which I approved. Go to the archives, all I did was approve, I didn’t write anything more than that, I don’t even remember the name of any of them who took part. So I did everything in this world to assist our Ibo brothers and sisters during and after the war. And anyone who goes back to look at my broadcast in August 1967, which dealt with post-war reconstruction would see what I said there. Starvation policy Then, but above all, the ending of the war itself that I’m accused of, accused of starving the Ibos, I did nothing of the sort. You know, shortly after the liberation of these places, Calabar, Enugu and Port Harcort, I decided to pay a visit. There are certain things which I knew which you don’t know, which I don’t want to say here now, when I write my reminisces in the future I will do so. Some of the soldiers were not truthful with us, they didn’t tell us correct stories and so on. I wanted to be there and see things for myself, bear in mind that Gowon himself did not go there at that time, it was after the war was over that he dorn himself up in various military dresses- Air force dress, Army dress and so on, and went to the war torn areas. But I went and some people tried to frighten me out of my goal by saying that Adekunle was my enemy and he was going to see to it that I never return from the place, so I went. But when I went what did I see? I saw the kwashiorkor victims. If you see a kwashiorkor victim you’ll never like war to be waged. Terrible sight, in Enugu, in Port Harcourt, not many in Calabar, but mainly in Enugu and Port Harcourt. Then I enquired what happened to the food we are sending to the civilians. We were sending food through the Red cross, and CARITAS to them, but what happen was that the vehicles carrying the food were always ambushed by the soldiers. That’s what I discovered, and the food would then be taken to the soldiers to feed them, and so they were able to continue to fight. And I said that was a very dangerous policy, we didn’t intend the food for soldiers. But who will go behind the line to stop the soldiers from ambushing the vehicles that were carrying the food? And as long as soldiers were fed, the war will continue, and who’ll continue to suffer? and those who didn’t go to the place to see things as I did, you remember that all the big guns, all the soldiers in the Biafran army looked all well fed after the war, its only the mass of the people that suffered kwashiorkor. You wont hear of a single lawyer, a single doctor, a single architect, who suffered from kwashiorkor? None of their children either, so they waylaid the foods, they ambush the vehicles and took the foods to their friends and to their collaborators and to their children and the masses were suffering. So I decided to stop sending the food there. In the process the civilians would suffer, but the soldiers will suffer most. Change of currency And it is on record that Ojukwu admitted that two things defeated him in this war, that’s as at the day he left Biafra. He said one, the change of currency, he said that was the first thing that defeated him, and we did that to prevent Ojukwu taking the money which his soldiers has stolen from our Central bank for sale abroad to buy arms. We discovered he looted our Central bank in Benin, he looted the one in Port Harcourt, looted the one in Calabar and he was taking the currency notes abroad to sell to earn foreign exchange to buy arms. So I decided to change the currency, and for your benefit, it can now be told the whole world, only Gowon knew the day before, the day before the change took place. I decided, only three of us knew before then- Isong now governor of Cross River, Attah and myself. It was a closely guarded secret, if any commissioner at the time say that he knew about it, he’s only boosting his own ego. Because once you tell someone, he’ll tell another person. So we refused to tell them and we changed the currency notes. So Ojukwu said the change in currency defeated him, and starvation of his soldiers also defeated him. These were the two things that defeated Ojukwu. And, he reminds me, when you saw Ojukwu’s picture after the war, did he look like someone who’s not well fed? But he has been taking the food which we send to civilians, and so we stopped the food. Abandoned property And then finally, I saw to it that the houses owned by the Ibos in Lagos and on this side, were kept for them. I had an estate agent friend who told me that one of them collected half a million pounds rent which has been kept for him. All his rent were collected, but since we didn’t seize their houses, he came back and collected half a million pounds. So that is the position. I’m a friend of the Ibos and the mass of the Ibos are my friends, but there are certain elements who want to continue to deceive the Ibos by telling lies against me, and one day, they’ll discover and then that day will be terrible for those who have been telling the lies. Sack Your Boss & Start Paying Yourself $1000 Per Month Working From Home. Click Here To Get Started. More Stories in For the Record Limits on consolidated debt of federal, state and local governments September 8th, 2013 / No Comments Read Full Story President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2013 Budget Speech October 11th, 2012 / No Comments Read Full Story We are making progress on many fronts – Jonathan October 2nd, 2012 / No Comments Read Full Story comments powered by Disqus Delady There you have it folks. Those that were never even born before the war and peddling the twenty pound story and starvation now know what transpired. Stop all the nonsese detunji Simple answer from a very logical man, who forsaw the likes of Achebe trying towhip up cheap sentiments, personally I am disappointed in Achebe whom I came to adore after rejecting those national honors which were meant to be used to embellish their worth now I understand the real reason why he rejected the awards, simply for grudges he still carried from the war, hope he knows that thesame principal on the Ibo side tried effortlessly to become the president of this same one Nigeria, the old man should instead of trying to whip up sentiments at this his age and exposure should play a fatherly role to see that the deads did not die in vain gbenga BABA awolowo rest in peace but 4 those who want to sow seed of disunity between peaceful coexistence of ibo and yoruba they will not have rest not in this world or in grave ola_mut Tima I wasn’t born den, but dis interview gave me a view of d situation during d war. Awolowo did d best he could but the truth remains dat u cnt satisfy every1. Ojukwu started d war without taking necessary precautions. Why will he give d food meant 4d civilians 2soldier & still accuse Awo of starving his ppl? Anyway d lesson learnt here is dat nothin gud comes out of war so regardless of ur tribe let’s all come 2gether as 1 richard @detunji,i support your view.. iyke frank Read carefully before comenting. Jadetan Bravo. Keep resting in peace hezy Thanks for putting the records straight. Those unborn at that time now know the true position of the civil war. Well done “Punch” for this publication. lincoln omo, see interview of early eighties! who among our current leaders can give this kind of logical exposition? it goes to show that we don’t even need the services of harvard trained lawyers to defend baba in the face of this reccuring allegations against him. Baba is a thouruhgly grounded lawyer as compared with what is obtainable today. he is a purposeful politician as well a sound economist/accountant even though he never had a degree in them! Eze We are not kids men! Look at the question, the questioner should have answerd the question for Awo. We Igbos love u for staving us to submision so that the genoside will end sooner. ifeanyichukwu. Rubbish. No matter how much the punch news paper try to do the image cleansing Awo^lowo he remains a mass murderer of childern. The 20 pounds policy was meant to keep the Ibos perpertually poor but today the revarse is the case. Like the jews of israel, what they suffered in the hands of Adolf Hitler is not different from what the Ibos suffered in the hand Awo^lowo. Eze The facts still remain that the Nigerian govt had the policy of starving the Igbos to submision, and the archtect of that policy is Awolowo. And in today world that policy is called war crime. chukwudi that was a garnished political talk to win votes from my people. the igbos are wise men that was why awo failed the presidential election. Awo used my peoples money to fund free education in the west. the nemesis of what he did to igbos prevented him from ruling nig. and he cannot be the president of the dead. Ola As seen in our present day, Awolowo did not have to rule Nigeria before his impact can be effect. He remains a strong pillar in Nigeria. On the Starvation: If you read the above well, you’ll discover that the He said there was Starvation during the war even when the supply was still on. This supplies were cornered by the soldiers. Have you honestly yourself that question Awo asked, DID OJUKWU LOOK STARVED? If NO, then how was he getting the food while others starved. Except we separate sentiments from issues, our analysis will remain worthless. God bless Awo. GHOST Awolowo was and will remain in the history of Nigeria as a murderer of 2 million women and children. ladi I would like to advise ACHEBE to reflect on what is written in Philippians chapter four verse eight(Ph 4:8) God bless Nigeria.God bless Yoruba race,God bless Ibo race. wale olu Please lets forgive one another for PEACE to reign. john I am puzzled, pardon my ignorance. Was there an embargo on farming during the war? don ace @ifeanyi,@eze, why are you so ignorant of the truth, even when its right in front of you. Go and read the event of biafra, your leaders betrayed you not baba Awo. don ace Was it not from your lawyers,doctors and leaders suitcases hard currencies was flowing down? When dey were tryin to catch d last helicopter, so its clear, Chinua achebe is just being sentimental, n ignorant. Am nt surprised,dts y Ibo wil neva become president of dz great nation! Gym Posh tomoro, ashiwaju will deny aligning & partnering with hausa-fulanis, when all other nigerians feel it is time to deal with them! Pretenders! oche ogenyi Please my brothers, let us think of solving the present security issue. The world is full of conspiracies as such we should be very care in mixing up truths with lies. hitman I hold Achebe in very high esteem and know that he doesn’t comment without facts. However I think that because we are not a writing people, the truth about the war will always be shrouded in tribal interpretations. I have heard plenty about the war and my conclusion is that like today’s politicians, GOWON, OJUKWU, AWOLOWO and co were all playing games with all our lives. Akpunku ..if the soldiers ate the food meant for the masses, it simply means that the food was not much to take care of the masss. i mean, how many were the soldiers and their families? for how long could they store food they diverted if they did? one has to think about the masses in the whole entire iboland and what quantity of food that could make an impact to thier lives, and ask one question; could soldiers finish food meant for the entire iboland? Decky I am surprised that after everything hausa/fulanis have massive poor and starving populace. Lets be frank, that is the main cause of Boko haram, otherwise one who works and earns a good living will never indulge in it Axeman777 Looking through the comments above, the rabid hatred amongst u nigerians is just horrible. its obvious Nigeria is a failed state. I REALLy hate that country… Omooba Has anybody reason to ask what the roles of Chinua Achebe were, before, during and after the war, to bring solution or succour to his ‘people’. Afterall, we knew or read of efforts of good Nigerians like Profs Wole Soyinka and Sam Aluko, yet on the war. Let him state his efforts (even if the efforts were not measurable) for people to judge. oche ogenyi Did Achebe fight the war if not what was he doing then. Or was he only listening to infomation from people? sanmi Awo did the Right Thing. War is not a Civil Right movement. Obviously the soldiers stole the food. Then who in his right mind feeds a enemy in war ?. But we should let the past be in the past. Today leaders steal from everyone….that is the new war to be fought We need a RAWLINGS effect in Nigeria…. We need to clear the rubbish. Save the Future…. There are parasites amongst us. Revolutions is needed. Resistance is futile. Dayo Gbesan Ibos want to be a nation and they can’t provide their own food,tell me if a child says he want to leave his father’s house and stay on is own,will d father keep feeding him?Awo has helped stop the war and safe the IBOS from their Red sea,picture it this way Art of war for the sake unity….. Olukayode Moses Many people in Nigeria today have not experince what is WAR , l have seen war in modern europe in former Jugoslwia and l know the methods apply @ wars, if the younger generation of IBOs don’t believe the interview of Pa Awolowo, then that is their problem because they have been brain wash by their leaders, who went to war for their own selfish purposes, l think Achebe wouldn’t have write his nonesense if OJUKWU was not permitted to return back to Nigeria in the first place,then he was given a state burial for taking Nigeria to a CRAZY war, if it were to be another country Ojukwu will never see his country of birth again but NIGERIA is a Corrupt Nation and the leaders are Visionless. If you want to die because of my comment good luck. Udoji Freedom of specch and information indeed. The problem is that some of the people who have commented couldn’t even read inbetween the lines. They were only shrouded in ethnic bigotry. From Chief Awo’s line of arguement, did he not starve the the Igbos during the war? Did Chief Awo not approve 20 pounds for the Igbos? What is the fuss then? In simple analysis, that story from Chief Awo is far from the truth. If he were honest in his show of sympathy, what other alternatives did he explore? One early Greek philosopher, stated that moderation in war is an imbecility, but events of any war are still aspects of history. So, no matter for whatever reason you apply any strategy to win a war, the truth can never be obliterated from the annals of history of the war when the story is told. The incidence of the atomic bomb remains an accessible history today.Bombing Heroshima was for a purpose and the history remains that it was planned and executed killing over 400,000 mortals, you can’t change the facts. Therefore, being careless with what we say doesn’t ncessarily change anything. It is a national problem that many of us have refused to be educated, we have chosen to remain myopic and gullible. Let us appreciate our peculiar circumstances and learn to situate things appropriately. We don’t have a choice other than to live in peace, because, those who watch simulated wars or on televisions do not understand that it is not a child’s play. It is actually a whirlwind, that blows nobody good. Sanky Certainly Awolowo must lie to defend himself. (1) are there no starvation ? (2) are there no season of properties and cash then who masterminded all this , The genocide was collectively between the north and the west , let no one believe all this cock and buss story. this is the time the North should come up and defend themselves about the war crime that the west has refer all to them. Gowon should confess before he goes to grave , Obj, is part of the crime he knows who ordered the blockade of food from the Biafran people . the should confess before the die. Sanky Certainly Awolowo must lie to defend himself. (1) are there no starvation ? (2) are there no seizure of properties and cash then who masterminded all this , The genocide was collectively between the north and the west , let no one believe all this cock and buss story. this is the time the North should come up and defend themselves about the war crime that the west has refer all to them. Gowon should confess before he goes to grave , Obj, is part of the crime he knows who ordered the blockade of food from the Biafran people . the should confess before the die. Kenuch A desperate attempt at telling face-saving lies, for a man who was desperate to be given opportunity to be president for even a day. He begged and begged for this post, realizing what he had sacrificed including his humanity during the war. But his masters for whom he committed the atrocities refused him the presidency. He later died a used and discarded politician. The Patriot I feel sorry for a lot people who comment on this forum in support of achebe and the mindless war waged by ojukwu against his fatherland. They have consistently refused to answer the following key questions: 1) would it have been strategically right for Nigeria to continue to feed the biafran army that was at war with her? 2) did all the awo’s strategic moves such as changing the currency not shorten the war and ultimately saved the lives of millions on both sides? Until they can provide answers to these questions, they should just shout up. Akobi Eledumare If the interview shared above was made today, one might have doubted it, but fortunately, it was made some 29 years ago and it is still apt to respond to current issues. Yes, starvation ravaged the Igbos during the war…but was it Awolowo that starved them? Was it not Ojukwu and his propagandist machineries that tagged the food being supplied to them as poisoned instrument of war and in turn used it for the benefit of his soldiers then? Awolowo said he visited Igboland during the war to convince Ojukwu to abandon his rebellious campaign but Ojukwu refused? Before the Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, the American Government warned them of the coming atomic bomb…but the Japanese ignored them, chosing to commit harakiri/suicide rather than surrender. Didn’t the Japanese know the consequence of attacking Pearl Harbour, killing American when they did? Has any Igbo alive or Ojukwu before his death ever come out to deny that Awolowo actually supported the ACB with $3million, kept their N900,000 monthly allocation for 30months of the war and ensure that the ministry of Planning actually recontructed the South east? Has the Igbo ever questioned the wisdom of Ojukwu secceeding from Nigeria and subsequently fought the Biafran war without adequate preparation against a UN recognnized country like Nigeria? Why did Ojukwu desert his people and left Effiong to surrender with the French airplane meant to evacuate kwanshiokor ridden children? What some of the Igbos are willing to believe is that Awolowo/Yoruba are their enemies…well, if like the Germans, who hated the Jews masacred them, why then hasn’t the Yoruba maltreat Igbos in Lagos, but rather accommodate them and all other tribe on their land and allow them to prosper? We need to accept the fact that the responsibility of the war lies strictly in the hands of the leader who approved all that happen. History has always proven that in any war, the collateral damages are always women and children…its unfortunate that Ojukwu did not put this into consideration before embarking on a war with mostly stick and crudely made bombs. Lanre Awolowo could have prevented the war by taking west out Nigerian as the North would not have been able to prosecute two wars at the same time. What about the might in number so we thank Awolowo for helping us retain Nigeria. People should go & read stories of modern day civil wars & then make comparison with Nigeria’s Frank The interview says it all…. So why are you guys making noise about Achebe’s comment, Awolowo going by the interview is not a friend of the Ibos, because he stopped food meant for the masses because the soldiers were having part of it, and for that reason he stopped it and starved the masses to death. However the lesson and points are well noted. Highly favoured What was the job of lazy people like Azikiwe and Achebe during and after the war? The Patriot Akobi eledumare, May God bless you plentifully. Over to all the achebe’s apologists. Let them prove all the things papa awo said wrong – mind you, records of FEC activities are there for all to see. The truth of the matter is there is no other place in Nigeria that welcomes the igbos like yoruba land. They come here, they engage in their business unhindered, they acquire properties without any problems, they contest for elective positions and even get appointed to political posts such commissioners. Go to some of our ministries and you will find them all over. With all these, how then can the yorubas be the igbos greatest enemies? Rather than us, they should turn their gaze inwards in the direction of such people like achebe. Mazi Kenny who burnt the CBN records that contained the amount deposited by Ibo´s? why was it only the records containing Ibo´s account records were burnt? North, West did not have issues with the money they deposited, their account records were intact, but only Ibo´s. i believed that there was something fishy. the comment above is inconclusive. why did the Nig Govt refused to grant Ibo´s loan to acquire shares from the companies they indigenized? if we can answer these questions, we get the true fact and the role of Awolowo. the main truth will come out one day. I´m likening these. hahahahahahahahhaha. these are new twist to Biafran war, more revelation will be made. Achebe KUDOS to you. Semiu Adedayo Agbaje what is Achebe looking then , what is own contributions during the war , is crying when head of off , Achebe with is old age , which papa Awo unite the country then. depreye This man is a criminal and will continue to rost in hell wehere he belong. DABARS LOOK @ THIS DISTORTED TRUTH from the INTERVIEW, “We were sending food through the Red cross, and CARITAS to them, but what happen was that the vehicles carrying the food were always ambushed by the soldiers. That’s what I discovered, and the food would then be taken to the soldiers to feed them, and so they were able to continue to fight. And I said that was a very dangerous policy, we didn’t intend the food for soldiers. But who will go behind the line to stop the soldiers from ambushing the vehicles that were carrying the food? And as long as soldiers were fed, the war will continue, and who’ll continue to suffer? and those who didn’t go to the place to see things as I did, you remember that all the big guns, all the soldiers in the Biafran army looked all well fed after the war, its only the mass of the people that suffered kwashiorkor.” WE KNOW THE CARITAS & RED CROSS are international organizations more than able to offer food and other Humanitarian Aids in War time in many Countries. How come this claim that THEY sent the foods. Gowon cum Awolowo SHOT DOWN PLANES WITH RELIEF. CORNED THEM TO LAGOS . the POLICY OF NIGERIA WAS COMPETE BLOCKADE OF HUMANITARIAN AID FROM ANY INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AGENCY. thus the selling of Bakassi. in this light the Man actually evolved a genocidal plot period razaq lalas @depreye,chukwudi and the rest that are still castigating Awo,i know u are still angered by most of the policy that was implemented by Awo to stop the war but i believe with these type of your comment i doubt it if your lineage can make a strategic plan to stop a neighborhood riot instead of war………….Despite the fact that these interview was granted almost 3 decade ago,yet is still conform with the present situation on our desk.Awo has said it all,Let Achebe tell us his own position about the war.Apart from ‘Things falll apart’,tell me what the like of Achebe did to the betterment of the Igbos???// Mazi Kenny answer these questions rationally, who burnt the CBN records that contained the amount deposited by Ibo´s? why was it only the records containing Ibo´s account records were burnt? North, West did not have issues with the money they deposited, their account records were intact, but only Ibo´s. i believed that there was something fishy. the comment above is inconclusive. why did the Nig Govt refused to grant Ibo´s loan to acquire shares from the companies they indigenized? if we can answer these questions, we get the true fact and the role of Awolowo. the main truth will come out one day. I´m likening these. hahahahahahahahhaha. these are new twist to Biafran war, more revelation will be made. Achebe KUDOS to you. japheth I never new that the almighty nigerian army couldn’t have defeated the so called rag taged biafran soldier on a level playing ground. Is it not a shame that awolowo took 3million children of biafrans through starvation for him yo be able to defeat the gallant Biafran soldiers. awo is a typical nigerian politician and can do anything to hide the truth, don’t forget that the question was thrown to him during election period and no one will expect awo to say the truth while expecting votes from the ibos. even if the biafran soldiers were hijacking some of the food meant for the civilians, is that enough reason to stop the food that is being sent by the international organisation from reaching their destination thereby killing as many as 3million civilians. upon all the hungry for power and accumulation of wealth through any means by awo, none of his children have tasted leadership since his demise. if the yorubas so much adore him, why haven’t they deem it feet to bring one of his children to repeat the feat of their father. Ibos pls, i beg u to be united. julius olowookere One day the Yorubas will know deep down that they have no real friends amongst the tribes in Nigeria except Ebiras. A third of their land has been excised to swell the population of the North – Kwara and Kogi upto Kaba. These people call themselves northerners for crumbs only; while referring to their kinsmen as BEEREBE OR YOOBA.. SORRY. The Yorubas lust Akintola and Fajuyi for the Ibos yet the Ibos hate them. bp ”So I decided to stop sending the food there. In the process the civilians would suffer, but the soldiers will suffer most.”. . . he said it all in his own words. please, please thank you prof Achebe. awolowo starved my grand father, my father, my mothers sibling died because of awolowos’ decision. beter not be in heaven Awo cause am angry with u. the rights u did after the war cant correct that 1 mistake. the blood of millions is in ur head. how heavy can 1’s head get? bp his most recent effort is the truth he just told the youths Emmanuel Kalu PUNCH! PUNCH!, PUNCH! , PUNCH!, PUNCH!, PUNCH!, PUNCH!, PUNCH!, PUNCH!, Are you a YORUBA newspaper of a National Newspaper? You bias on this topic amazed me and I am bitterly hating this newspaper! Who is digging out this reports in defense of Awolowo? Individuals could do it but not PUNCH carrying it on top of their head. PUNCH is a tribalistic newspaper olurotimi i dont get it…how do u stop food to a whole region because you claim it was going to their technocrats???…lawd!!! the tribalism of today obviously started long ago….his rarely used towns by their names…he persistlently called it…iboland!! im not from the east but many things in this interview sadden me!! Kunle I am very surprised that Nigerians are speaking ill of the dead. We should learn to respect our leaders in this country(both present and past). If you have constructive advice to offer your current leaders, please do instead of just writing things that do not reflect proper upbringing. Those that cherish family virtues and values will be cautious to speak ill of great leaders like Ojukwu, Pa Awolowo, Michael Okpara, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello and the likes. They have done well to create the value we are wishing the current leaders to emulate. Please let us be constructive and not destructive! Jijek War is not evil. Between Ojukwu & Awo, they are both right. Ojukwu is fighting for the cedesion of Igbo Land from Nigeria and the interest to rule his people, while Awo want the unity of this country and of course the interest to rule Nigeria in the near future. But what Awo fought for in 1967 is not what we enjoying today. Nigeria is not united. We need to get it right, otherwise Nigeria will be perpetual under-develop. The labour of our past heroes is going in vain. Our past heroes are not united, and that is affecting our nation today. Jijek War is evil. Between Ojukwu & Awo, they are both right. Ojukwu is fighting for the cedesion of Igbo Land from Nigeria and the interest to rule his people, while Awo want the unity of this country and of course the interest to rule Nigeria in the near future. But what Awo fought for in 1967 is not what we enjoying today. Nigeria is not united. We need to get it right, otherwise Nigeria will be perpetual under-develop. The labour of our past heroes is going in vain. Our past heroes are not united, and that is affecting our nation today. Rommel Ever since the end of the war,what has been the love of the Yoruba for the Ibo? is there any evidence that justifies Awolowo’s tales by moonlight today,why this vituperations against Achebe’s recollection of the war? is GOWON dead today? all these holier than thou attitude of some characters is shameful,apart from the AWOLOWO part,what other thing did Achebe write that is being contested? again,I heard that Azikiwe was the first elected premier of western Nigeria,is this true and why did he not become the premier? Maazi conscience Yoruba,tribalism,punch.yorubas so na una spoil naija.ogun leaders seach ur conscience.well I don’t have to saymuch bt d ibos survived and will continue to top both home and abroad.ngbati stop marginalizing other tribes in lagos which u v turned to a tribalistic state. sorry I Never knew that, that man called Awolowo was so wicked, hunnmmm nawaaao Eze Ojukwu was a myopic, young and inexperienced leader; how can you go to war expecting your enemy to feed you? Same Ojukwu executed Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna during the war; he fled and abandoned Ndigbo; leader my foot! Ojukwu would av been another crazed megalomaniac! Ojukwu, Gowon and the top military brass on both sides should have been tried for war crimes. It was a war of ego, not principles! Rommel Did Awolowo deny starving the Ibo? what he did in this interview was it not to justify why? did he deny giving the 20 pounds? even a thief if given the chance will seek to justify his reasons for stealing,did we expect Awolowo campaigning for votes in a presidential election to admit his guilt? was Awolowo a saint?,Awolowo business as a small boy was to gather rejected cocoa beans and selling same to unsuspecting produce buyers,he used the proceeds to pay his tuition,I love his ambition but what will the business be called today? I heard that Nnamdi Azikiwe was the first elected premier of western Nigeria,is this true? and if yes why did he not become the premier? macaw laycon u, yur product, the like of u and the likes of yur products will die with a victim mentality if you dont change. For the sake of your product, please change so that the future will be better than yur presence. awo and his compatroit did not do well in the war. its a vengeance on ibo children of which if they have another opportunity they will do it again evron Is a pity that we are now fighting the past among ourselfs, to know who was right or who was wrong. My view is that, if you want to fight war that means you are independent of yourself in all areas. Why must you expect or want to engage in war and expect ur enermy to be feeding u? I don’t understand that part at all becos is very funny. My Ibo brothers, pls is time u realise that your leaders at time of civil war gambled with you lifes. U are intelligent, just think of it, if it make sense. The war was for self centered Ibo leaders at that time and is what is still going on now with some of the ibo leaders. I would like to see any tribal Nigerian person become president as far as he as the interest of nigeriasn and nigeria at heart. But listen and seeing Ibo man with the mind set of taking us back to the past Nigeria experience of civil war, by demanding d state of biafra, sorry to say brothers, that means they are not ready, until they start speaking one nigerian language of ONE NIGERIA and work with all nigerians for better Nigeria. That dream of an Ibo man becoming president will remain a dream likewise any one that want to be tribalistic with tribal agenda to be president. Long live Nigeria. Rommel If the dream of the Ibo to produce a president will remain a dream as some say,so also will be the dream of Nigeria becoming a developed nation,the best we will ever see will remain GEJ, what have we gained by the locust years of leadership from our detractors? Ekyty A man left in own blood and people in hunger and went to live and write abroad. Another went to see the victim of kwashiorkor. So who is patriotic? I think Achebe can now correct his errors in his memoir. Mike An Ibo presidency wll forever be a pipe dream if the Igbos should continue with statements like these. On other sensible Nigerian will ever vote for them The Patriot For those that might be interested in another angle to all these, see Ordia Ofeimun’s response in today’s Guardian Jide In all, I salute the bravity of the igboman. Despite the calculated attempt by the Yourubas to subdue the Igbos and have them less economically relevant, they still overcame these devilish plot and still remains a force in the Nigeria arrangement. Come on Ndi Igbo, stand tall and still make your mark. Yomi Okeowo, Ibadan,Nigeria Igbo kwenu! Igbo Kwenu!! Igbo Kwenu!!! I think the best thing for my Ndigbo brothers now is to begin to strategize and garner as many friends as possible in order to attain Igbo presidency come 2015. The likes of Achebe could only set the South Eastern Nigeria further backward. Think my brothers. The Yorubas are your only dependable ally for the 2015 project. ok IBO PEOPLE THINK THEY WERE WISE U ARE FIGHTING NIGERIA U WANT TO EAT NIGERIA FOOD, IS THERE ANY EMBARGO ON AGRICULTURE DURING BIAFRA WAR ok I DO NOT UNDERSTAND U OJUKWU AND IBO PEOPLE, OJUKWU SAID AWOLOWO COULD HAVE BEING BEST PRESIDENT IN NIGERIA EVER , IF GIVEN CHANCE, END OF DISCUSSION Igwe Truth will always surface no matter how anyone tries to cover it. Awo starved powerless civilians to death, during the war. He gave only 20 pounds to igbos from alll they ve after the war, saying it is because the account records were distroyed. Is it only igbos that bank in the east before the war? what about the hausas and yorubas? did they get 20pounds too? I believe that a new dawn has come in nigerian history. All who praise awo should bury their faces in shame because of the endemic hatred he had for the igbos. Awo cannot be defended, No matter how u look at it. No logic can turn his evil deeds around as fair or good. The hatred is still at its peek till date. But the igbos will never give up their quest for freedom. We re strong, enterprising and industrious. We will continue to survive no matter what the awos of today do. MY VOICE THEN YOU CLAIM THAT IGBOS WONT RULE NIGERIA, FOR THE 50 YEARS YOU AND YOUR BROTHERS RULES WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY YOU RULED FOR 52 YEARS NOW,??? THIS PEOPLE ARE NOT ASHAMED OF THEIR USELESS SELF TO SAY THEY RULE NIGERIA, IGBOS ARE STRONG AND ARE SOMETHING IN NIGERIA, THE DAY IGBOS WILL GO, YOU SEE THAT YOUR NIGERIA WILL BE EMPTY, I BET YOU, YOU HAUSA AND YERUBA RULE FOR 52 YEARS NOW THEN HOW HEALTH IS NIGERIA TO THE WORLD? omobaba hmmm, this is a good and thought provoking comment, what where they really expecting? A tea party? Obviously Ojukwu entered into a war he never thought through, ill prepared and latched in on ethnic sentiments. Some one was thinking! and the guy is on the cross here! I guess self propelling reasons drove Ojukwu into the war, as the bible says, count the cost before embarking on war. A lesson for us, we should not make spur of the moment decisions. If he gave a good thought about his people, he would not have started the war, ego tripping I guess. Yes Awo is not a saint though, but this interview made me rate him even higher, I do not agree with some of his thoughts, but on this, let’s give it to him, don’t forget he was the commissioner of finance of Nigeria and not Biafra! What where his counterpacts in Biafra doing? Pls biko make we give am some slack. Last time I checked they were both gone. ezeomali Nigeria can only be built on truth and that includes redressing percieved injustices of past era. We will never forgive and forget until all those involved in the Genocide show a contrite heart and appeasement done in the form of reparations to the Ibos. Femi Pedro got to laugh. well said Femi Pedro I guess my Igbo brothers and sisters didnt believe in Ojukwu either hence he couldnt even win a senatorial seat of a ruling party from his own people – so much for a honest and rightful thinking warlord. thought provoking isnt it? Abel Always learn how to seperate emotions from logical arguments. Abel Guys like you cry like babies when the worse happen. At a future date, you will learn to put up with the hausas when we divide. Believe me, they will make life uncomfortable for you. Don Nkes The interview says it all. There was starvation policy that affected both civilians and soldiers and there was a policy approved which gave certain amount to people irrespective of the amount of savings they had before the war. These are facts we must accept! Joseph BS Pa Awo you are my man.You are such an intelligent man,rest in peace.Achebe should tell his hatred to the marines. Tiimy O Tunde Wait a minute! What’s this nonsense about us starving you during the war? Couldn’t you provide your own food? Na we born you? You’re holding gun at me and you’re still askng me for food? Are you mad? Thanks, same thing I am thinking here! Could not the Ibos grow and provide their own food? You are fighting the rest of the nation and you expect the north to send you truck load of yam, tomato, etc or the west to send you fish, cassava, vegetables or to import/ship foodstuff and send to you? Get a life, Ojukwu was ill-prepared and ill-advised. He should have realistically counted the cost before going to war. What Govt did with Awo’s input was not war-crime because they did not steal Ibo’s food, rather it was Ojukwu and his solders that did that. Alabi Olugbenga O macaw Awos posture and answers says it all. Yorubas have hatred for ibos and awo is their leader. His starvation and monetary policy during the civil war was designed to punish his ibo enemy. Awo and his yoruba permsecs tore to shred the aburi accord tabled and approved in ghana. Their was an undercurrent of yoruba chauvinism throughout the civil war. They rejoiced and danced at their ibo enemy being being deliverd to them. The war was originally between the north and east as Awo told his people on release from prison, but getting his terms from the north, yorubas hijacked it and prosecuted it by themselves. OBJ set up the oputa panel to disgrace the north over abila case but non have been done to implicate yorubas on their war atrosities. History will judge and as long as the yorubas do not come clean on this, future Ibo children will not let them go unpunishe. No wonder the Yorubas are terified when ibos come close to leading nigeria. the future will placate them in one way or the other Don’t be silly and vulgar in the way you respond to issues but be objective and reasonable. It is natural to want to live because the instinct for survival is in everyone including even animals. The war apparently was between Ojukwu and Gowon because Ironsi’s actions and inaction s boomeranged which led to massacres in the North. In reaction Ojukwu occupied a position by which he could defend his people, of course any reasonable person will do, but he failed for his own selfish ambition. He was not ready for war when it started and he forced his people into it. He even killed some of Ezeogwus men who could assist him and Yorubas who enlisted in the Biafran army. Moreover his over ambition to come to Lagos finished him at Ore. You must have heard of ” O LE KU O, IJA ORE” The advancing Biafran army met their Waterloo there. If you were wise like the late sage Awolowo, what would you do? The new generation of Igbos should learn a lesson from all those events and never nurse any evil against the Yorubas or any tribe. The Yorubas are hospitable people and kept or rather hid many of the Easterners in various farms here. To cap it all people applauded Awo and voted for him in Igbo land both in 1979 and 1983 elections even-though he was defeated by the twelve two-third argument and the electoral college Rita It was an ego-driven clash of the titans by the political leaders of that time. History has in its record the role of each and everyone one of them. Please let us properly accord them the praise or blame for their respective roles which they have already taken glory for in their lifetime. That is the only way the present generation will not wallow in fantasy just as we are already doing by trading in words volatile enough to lead to another war, God forbid. Rita Okonji Sir, you have said it all. It was an ego-driven clash of the titans by the political leaders of that time. History has in its record the role of each and everyone one of them. Please let us properly accord them the praise or blame for their respective roles which they have already taken glory for in their lifetime. That is the only way the present generation will not wallow in fantasy just as we are already doing by trading in words volatile enough to lead to another war, God forbid. YUGO WHERE IS LOVE ? IS IT JUST A WORD? GOD IS LOVE AND IF YOU
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 11:16:10 +0000
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