War drums: The lies of history and the last Nigerian By Obadiah Mailafia
IT is said that history repeats itself, first, as tragedy and then as farce. We are now in the farcical stage. Historical lies are fuelling our latter-day war drums; threatening the fragile foundations of our sinking ship of state. We do not realise that no nation in history has survived two civil wars.
One of the biggest lies of all is that the January 1966 coup was not a tribal jamboree. It may well be that the likes of Majors Chukwuma Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna made themselves believe that their bout of ethnic cleansing was a “revolution”. But what kind of revolution was it that targeted officers and politicians almost exclusively from only one region with such coldblooded, unrepentant violence? Wise men always look to what people do rather than what they say.
The “revenge” coup by Northern officers in July 1967 was also replete with lies. Was it right or even necessary to wipe out so many Igbo officers? The Northern officers went on a killing spree in the erroneous belief that revenge has a part in politics. And the northern elites did nothing to stop the wholesale massacre that followed. Many in the North deny that they contemplated leaving the federation until the British warned them that they would end up as just another landlocked, poverty-stricken Sahelian Ruritania like Niger, Chad or Mali.
I was a child at that time, but even with my child’s eye, I could see that a great evil had covered our skies like a nuclear mushroom cloud. People went berserk hunting down Ndigbo as if they were wild game in the ancient savannah. My own dear father of blessed memory did all he could to protect some of the families who fled to our modest home. I remember a woman who gave birth on the day they had to flee. The spectacle of fear in the eyes of grown men and women haunts me to this day. It could have been prevented, but Northern leaders chose to look the other way.
Another big lie is that the entire war was an act of genocide perpetrated by Muslims against Igbo Christians. Gowon, a missionary boy from the Anglican Diocese of Wusasa, believed in his heart of hearts that the whole thing was a quarrel between brothers. He had intended to marry his beautiful Igbo heartthrob, Edith Ike, until his colleagues warned that it was impolitic in a time of belligerence to marry from the enemy. Field commanders such as Murtala Mohammed — whom Gowon nearly court-martialled — had their own ideas about the war. But Gowon himself was, and is, a statesman of moderation and compassion. His post-bellum settlement of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction was one of the most successful post-conflict settlements in our long twentieth century.
I once challenged the young novelist Chimamanda Adichie for portraying the civil war in her Half of a Yellow Sun as though the only victims were the Biafrians. The simple demographic statistical fact is that more Nigerians died in that war than did Biafrans. Gowon resorted to conscripting underage youths from the Middle Belt. Most were unused to the primeval rainforest and were tragically mowed down in their legions.
Another big lie is that Biafra was a viable country. The vast majority of the South-South peoples were and are, opposed to it. Was Emeka Ojukwu on a personal mission to fulfil his own ambitions for power? Why did he execute Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Victor Banjo and Philip Alale as early as September 1967? Why did Nnamdi Azikiwe abandon ship in 1969? And was it true that both Nzeogwu and the poet Christopher Okigbo were set up to be killed at the war front because they were obstacles to Ojukwu’s ambition? Why did he blatantly refuse the free passage of food by humanitarian organisations that would have saved thousands from starvation? Was the great mathemati thing was a quarrel between brothers. He had intended to marry his beautiful Igbo heartthrob, Edith Ike, until his colleagues warned that it was impolitic in a time of belligerence to marry from the enemy. Field commanders such as Murtala Mohammed — whom Gowon nearly court-martialled — had their own ideas about the war. But Gowon himself was, and is, a statesman of moderation and compassion. His post-bellum settlement of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction was one of the most successful post-conflict settlements in our long twentieth century.
I once challenged the young novelist Chimamanda Adichie for portraying the civil war in her Half of a Yellow Sun as though the only victims were the Biafrians. The simple demographic statistical fact is that more Nigerians died in that war than did Biafrans. Gowon resorted to conscripting underage youths from the Middle Belt. Most were unused to the primeval rainforest and were tragically mowed down in their legions.
Another big lie is that Biafra was a viable country. The vast majority of the South-South peoples were and are, opposed to it. Was Emeka Ojukwu on a personal mission to fulfil his own ambitions for power? Why did he execute Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Victor Banjo and Philip Alale as early as September 1967? Why did Nnamdi Azikiwe abandon ship in 1969? And was it true that both Nzeogwu and the poet Christopher Okigbo were set up to be killed at the war front because they were obstacles to Ojukwu’s ambition? Why did he blatantly refuse the free passage of food by humanitarian organisations that would have saved thousands from starvation? Was the great mathematics.
SOURCE: Vanguard
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One of the biggest lies of all is that the January 1966 coup was not a tribal jamboree. It may well be that the likes of Majors Chukwuma Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna made themselves believe that their bout of ethnic cleansing was a “revolution”. But what kind of revolution was it that targeted officers and politicians almost exclusively from only one region with such coldblooded, unrepentant violence? Wise men always look to what people do rather than what they say.
The “revenge” coup by Northern officers in July 1967 was also replete with lies. Was it right or even necessary to wipe out so many Igbo officers? The Northern officers went on a killing spree in the erroneous belief that revenge has a part in politics. And the northern elites did nothing to stop the wholesale massacre that followed. Many in the North deny that they contemplated leaving the federation until the British warned them that they would end up as just another landlocked, poverty-stricken Sahelian Ruritania like Niger, Chad or Mali.
I was a child at that time, but even with my child’s eye, I could see that a great evil had covered our skies like a nuclear mushroom cloud. People went berserk hunting down Ndigbo as if they were wild game in the ancient savannah. My own dear father of blessed memory did all he could to protect some of the families who fled to our modest home. I remember a woman who gave birth on the day they had to flee. The spectacle of fear in the eyes of grown men and women haunts me to this day. It could have been prevented, but Northern leaders chose to look the other way.
Another big lie is that the entire war was an act of genocide perpetrated by Muslims against Igbo Christians. Gowon, a missionary boy from the Anglican Diocese of Wusasa, believed in his heart of hearts that the whole thing was a quarrel between brothers. He had intended to marry his beautiful Igbo heartthrob, Edith Ike, until his colleagues warned that it was impolitic in a time of belligerence to marry from the enemy. Field commanders such as Murtala Mohammed — whom Gowon nearly court-martialled — had their own ideas about the war. But Gowon himself was, and is, a statesman of moderation and compassion. His post-bellum settlement of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction was one of the most successful post-conflict settlements in our long twentieth century.
I once challenged the young novelist Chimamanda Adichie for portraying the civil war in her Half of a Yellow Sun as though the only victims were the Biafrians. The simple demographic statistical fact is that more Nigerians died in that war than did Biafrans. Gowon resorted to conscripting underage youths from the Middle Belt. Most were unused to the primeval rainforest and were tragically mowed down in their legions.
Another big lie is that Biafra was a viable country. The vast majority of the South-South peoples were and are, opposed to it. Was Emeka Ojukwu on a personal mission to fulfil his own ambitions for power? Why did he execute Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Victor Banjo and Philip Alale as early as September 1967? Why did Nnamdi Azikiwe abandon ship in 1969? And was it true that both Nzeogwu and the poet Christopher Okigbo were set up to be killed at the war front because they were obstacles to Ojukwu’s ambition? Why did he blatantly refuse the free passage of food by humanitarian organisations that would have saved thousands from starvation? Was the great mathemati thing was a quarrel between brothers. He had intended to marry his beautiful Igbo heartthrob, Edith Ike, until his colleagues warned that it was impolitic in a time of belligerence to marry from the enemy. Field commanders such as Murtala Mohammed — whom Gowon nearly court-martialled — had their own ideas about the war. But Gowon himself was, and is, a statesman of moderation and compassion. His post-bellum settlement of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction was one of the most successful post-conflict settlements in our long twentieth century.
I once challenged the young novelist Chimamanda Adichie for portraying the civil war in her Half of a Yellow Sun as though the only victims were the Biafrians. The simple demographic statistical fact is that more Nigerians died in that war than did Biafrans. Gowon resorted to conscripting underage youths from the Middle Belt. Most were unused to the primeval rainforest and were tragically mowed down in their legions.
Another big lie is that Biafra was a viable country. The vast majority of the South-South peoples were and are, opposed to it. Was Emeka Ojukwu on a personal mission to fulfil his own ambitions for power? Why did he execute Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Victor Banjo and Philip Alale as early as September 1967? Why did Nnamdi Azikiwe abandon ship in 1969? And was it true that both Nzeogwu and the poet Christopher Okigbo were set up to be killed at the war front because they were obstacles to Ojukwu’s ambition? Why did he blatantly refuse the free passage of food by humanitarian organisations that would have saved thousands from starvation? Was the great mathematics.
SOURCE: Vanguard
Read Also: 6 Must Famous Books You Must Read With Different Endings
For Publication of your:
©Articles
©Short Videos and Stories
©News,
©Advert
©Election Campaigns e.t.c.
Contact JK D'Prince of Information
Call/ Whatsapp: 08161829919
Email: educationblogger01@gmail.com
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