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The Soldier in the Man

By newswatchngr.com 08/12/2011 00:29:00

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As a soldier, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu showed exceptional qualities in courage and hardwork which informed most of the things he did

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu made history as the first Nigerian university graduate to join the Nigerian Army in 1957 as a recruit. With a master’s degree in history from the prestigious Oxford University, England, the least his father expected from him was to join the army. He did not even want him to work for anybody. Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, a businessman who was then one of the richest Nigerians had wanted his son to help him run his business empire. But Ojukwu had other plans. He wanted an organisation where his father’s influence would be minimal. Rather than join his father’s expansive business empire, he first opted for the civil service as an assistant district officer before joining the army.

Several reasons have been advanced why the highly educated Ojukwu joined the army. To him, that was the only way he could be taken away from his father’s influence. Despite his father’s objection and effort to frustrate the move, he had his way, though with its attendant consequence. For three years, father and son were allegedly not on talking terms. But that did not bother him as long as he achieved his heart’s desire. He became a cadet officer and was posted to Eton Hall, England, for further military training.

He later attended the school of Infantry at Warminster and Small Arms School at Hythe and finally Joint Service Staff College, JSSC, at Latimer, Buckinghamshire, England. He served in various units in Nigeria and as an instructor at the Royal West African Frontier Force Training School, Teshie, Ghana, in 1958. In Ghana, he taught infantry tactics. One of his students was Murtala Mohammed, who later became Nigeria’s head of state in 1975.

After spending two years, he returned home to the military headquarters in Lagos. His return coincided with Nigeria’s independence in 1960.

He got rapid promotion and by 1964, he was already a lieutenant colonel. At 29, Ojukwu took over as the first quarter master general of the Nigerian Army. Ojukwu was among the 15 Nigerian officers in the United Nations, UN, peacekeeping force, sent to restore peace in the Congo. After serving in the peace keeping force led by Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, a major-general, Ojukwu was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1964 and was posted to Kano, where he was in charge of the 5 Battalion of the Nigerian Army. Ojukwu was in Kano when Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, a major, staged the first military coup on January 15, 1966, during which many prominent northern politicians were killed. It is to Ojukwu’s credit that the coup lost much steam in the north, where it had succeeded. Ojukwu supported the forces loyal to Aguiyi-Ironsi, the Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Nzeogwu was in control of Kaduna, but the coup failed in other parts of the country.

Ojukwu actually came into national prominence when he was appointed military governor of Eastern Region in January 1966, by Ironsi and his actions thereafter. By May 1966, there was a pogrom in northern Nigeria during which Nigerians of South Eastern origin were targeted and killed. This presented problems for Ojukwu. He did everything in his power to prevent reprisals and even encouraged people to return home. On July 29, 1966, a group of officers, including Murtala Muhammed, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, and Martin Adamu, all majors led the majority Northern soldiers in a counter-coup. Aguiyi-Ironsi and his host Adekunle Fajuyi, a colonel, were abducted and killed in Ibadan. Ojukwu insisted that the military hierarchy must be preserved; in which case, Babafemi Ogundipe, a brigadier and chief of staff, supreme headquarters, should take over leadership, not Yakubu Gowon, who was junior in rank. However, the leaders of the counter coup insisted that Gowon be made head of state.

The pogrom against the south easterners continued unabated in major towns in the Northern Nigeria. He led talks to seek peace with the Gowon administration and possibly end the crisis. Both Ojukwu and the Nigeria military leadership met in Aburi, Ghana, where they reached the famous Aburi Accord. Unfortunately, the agreement was not implemented to the satisfaction of all parties upon their return to Nigeria. Subsequent events led Ojukwu to announce a breakaway of the Eastern Region under the new name Biafra Republic in 1967. This was after consultation with prominent leaders of the Eastern Region.

In his public address to the people of Biafra, he said: “Having mandated me to proclaim on your behalf, and in your name, that Eastern Nigeria be a sovereign independent republic, now, therefore I, Lt.-Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, military governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters, shall, henceforth, be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of The Republic of Biafra.” But Gowon would have none of that.

On July 6, 1967, Gowon declared war and attacked Biafra in a bid to stop Ojukwu’s secessionist attempt. The war lasted for 30 months. When it became obvious that the war had been lost, he handed over to Phillip Effiong, the second in command of the Biafran Army, and fled. The war ended on January 15, 1970. The tragic war was said to have consumed no fewer than one million people. After more than 12 years in exile, the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Shehu Shagari granted him an official pardon which opened the road for a triumphant return in 1982. The people of Nnewi gave him the now very famous chieftaincy title of Ikemba (Power of the people), while the entire Igbo nation called him Dike di ora mma (the beloved hero).

Ralph Uwazuruike, leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, said Ojukwu made a good soldier while in the army. “Ojukwu was the first graduate to join the Nigerian Army as a recruit. This is very significant. Throughout his stay in the army, he was incorruptible. That was why when they wanted to organise the first military coup; they didn’t include him because he was a refined officer.

“He would not have allowed the military to take government by force. So, they did not tell him because he would not have agreed. He would never admit illegality. That is the type of person he was, a good example of what used to obtain in other lands like Britain where he studied,” he said.

Adeyinka Adebayo, a retired major-general and former governor of old Western Region, said Ojukwu was a good and hard working officer which aided his rapid promotion in the army. “Ojukwu was hard working officer, who rose rapidly to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1964,” he said.

John Shagaya, former minister of internal affairs, said Ojukwu was a rebel with a cause, who very much believed in a cause he was fighting. “I saw him as a man of courage and perseverance. I can describe him as a soldier’s soldier. Ojukwu demonstrated sterling qualities, especially to the cause of Igbo emancipation. Any soldier worth his salt would have acted the same way he did in 1966 when he ceded Biafra from Nigeria,” Shagaya said.