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He was the head of the Biafran rebellion and his role in that war is the reason why the Igbo loved him passionately

He was a charismatic, larger-than-life-figure who many loved to hate. His vision, theatrical mannerism, edifying eloquence, and lion-heartedness made the stoutly built Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, former leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra, a rare personality.

As a man who is no stranger to battles, the once strong and vibrant hero of the Biafran rebellion had  for about 11  months fought spiritedly against cerebral vascular accident, commonly known as stroke,  before he died in a London Hospital on Saturday, November 26.  He was aged 78.

Ojukwu was the moving spirit behind the failed Biafran secessionist bid between May 1967 and January 1970. However, his decision to announce a breakaway of the Eastern Region under the new name Republic of Biafra in 1967, which sparked the Nigerian civil war was propelled by a sequence of events. The circumstances that forced Ojukwu into the secessionist bid started from the first military coup spearheaded by five majors led by Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu on January 15, 1966, during which Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the prime minister was assassinated. 

Although it was interpreted as an Igbo coup, it is to Ojukwu’s credit that the coup lost much steam in the north, where it had succeeded. Ojukwu, who was then a lieutenant colonel, supported the forces loyal to Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi, then the Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

After the coup, Aguiyi-Ironsi took over the leadership of the country and thus became the first military head of state. On Monday, January 17, 1966, he appointed military governors for the four regions and Ojukwu became the military governor of Eastern Region.

But then, before Ojukwu could settle down to govern the Eastern Region, another set of military officers struck with a counter coup  on July 29,1966, which led to the abduction and  killing of Aguiyi-Ironsi in Ibadan, together with Adekunle Fajuyi who was his host.   The mutiny tagged counter coup was staged by a group of Northern military officers, including Majors Murtala Ramat Muhammed, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, and Martin Adamu.  Ojukwu who was not an active participant in either coup was quite sad that Aguiyi-Ironsi, his fellow Igbo man was consumed by the counter coup. The two coups deepened Nigeria’s ethnic tension.

Ojukwu became much more infuriated when Yakubu Gowon was made the new head of state instead of Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe, a Yoruba man, who was then the most senior military officer who ought to have succeeded Aguiyi-Ironsi.  Ojukwu insisted that the military hierarchy must be preserved; in which case, Brigadier Ogundipe should take over leadership, not Colonel Gowon. However, the leaders of the counter-coup insisted that Gowon be made head of state and they had their way.

To worsen the ugly situation, there was continued pogrom in Northern Nigeria in which Ndigbo were massacred. In September 1966, approximately 30,000 Igbo were killed in the north, and some Northerners were killed in backlashes in eastern cities. As the spate of killings of easterners, especially Ndigbo, grew in the North, there was much pressure on Ojukwu from leaders of the Eastern Region to declare the   secession of the region from Nigeria.

However, Ojukwu still led a delegation of Eastern Nigeria for a peace meeting with Gowon in Aburi, Ghana, where the Aburi Accord was reached in January 1967.  At that meeting, the military leaders and senior police officers of each region in attendance agreed on a loose confederation of regions. But on their return to Nigeria, Gowon and the Northern leaders were unwilling to implement the Aburi Accord. Ojukwu insisted that the Aburi Accord must be respected. “I must warn all Easterners once again to remain vigilant. The East will never be intimidated, nor will she acquiesce to any form of dictation. It is not our intention to play the aggressor. Nonetheless, it is not our intention to be slaughtered in our beds. We are ready to defend our homeland. Fellow countrymen and women, on Aburi we stand. There will be no compromise. God grant peace in our time.”

After the federal and eastern governments failed to reconcile, leaders of the Eastern region met on May 27, 1967 and voted to secede from Nigeria. Gowon countered the move of the Eastern Region through the creation of 12 states on May 27, 1967, including the splitting of the Eastern region into three, thus separating minority ethnic groups from the Igbo. It was believed that the creation of the states was a pre-emptive move, to persuade the minorities to abandon the secession.

But Ojukwu went ahead to proclaim the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967. He was firm and unequivocal in his proclamation. With words alone, Ojukwu was able to motivate the people of the Eastern region on the need for the secession and why they should defend themselves. “Land of the Rising Sun” was chosen for Biafra’s national anthem, and the state was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Zambia. Other nations which did not give official recognition but which did provide support and assistance to Biafra included Israel, France, Portugal, Rhodesia, South Africa and the Vatican City. Biafra equally received aid from non-state actors, including Joint Church Aid, Holy Ghost Fathers of Ireland, Caritas International, MarkPress and U.S. Catholic Relief Services.

An early institution created by the Biafran government was the Bank of Biafra, accomplished under ‘Decree No. 3 of 1967’. The bank which had Sylvester U. Ugoh  as governor, carried out all central banking functions including the administration of foreign exchange and the management of the public debt of the republic.

Ojukwu explained that he was compelled to declare the sovereign state of Biafra because of the killing of Easterners in the North and the fact that his people were leaving the North in droves. To him, there was no longer any basis for the Nigerian unity. And once the “independent and sovereign state” of Biafra was proclaimed, it was only a matter of time before fighting began a few weeks later.

In a bid to quell the Biafran rebellion, the Federal Military Government, FMG, led by Gowon launched “police action” to annex the Eastern Region on July 6, 1967. The FMG’s initial efforts were unsuccessful.  The Biafrans successfully launched their own offensive, taking land in the Mid-Western Region in August 1967. After a bold move on the Mid-west region in August, a push towards Lagos failed, and federal troops recaptured the Mid-west in October 1967, after intense fighting.

In September 1968, the federal army planned what Gowon described as the “final offensive.” Initially, the final offensive was neutralised by Biafran troops. In the latter stages, a Southern FMG offensive managed to break through the fierce resistance of Biafra.  The Biafran soldiers could not withstand the federal might because the Eastern region was very ill equipped for war, out-manned, and out-gunned by the military of the remainder of Nigeria.  Besides, the FMG had the military backing of the support of Britain and the Soviet Union. The British government substantially increased its supply of arms to the FMG and, even sent British Army and Royal Air Force advisors. Egyptians also provided a squadron of MiG fighters for FMG.

The FMG then adopted the slogan: “To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done” and moved to reclaim the Eastern region which was vital to the country’s finances because of its oil resources.

However, despite their unpreparedness for the war, the Biafran soldiers still managed a noble and courageous resistance, sustained by Ojukwu’s charismatic leadership and the ingenuity of Biafran scientists who manufactured a weapon of mass destruction called Ogbunigwe and other rockets. Biafran scientists were also able to refine crude oil to get fuel supply throughout the war period. They also manufactured other weapons that sustained the war effort. They constructed airports overnight with all landing facilities without external aid. Civilian planes were converted into jet fighters overnight to boost Biafra air power; an area the Nigerian army was having great advantage. The land army was able to ensure that all lands were cultivated to shore up Biafran food reserve. The Biafrans managed to set up a small yet effective air force. The BAF commanders were Chude Sokey and later Godwin Ezeilo, who had trained with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Early inventory included two B-25 Mitchells, one B-26 Invader a converted DC-3 and one Dove.

 Later on, Biafra built five MFI-9Bs in Gabon, which were called “Biafra Babies.” They were coloured green, were able to carry six 68 mm anti-armour rockets under each wing and had simple sights. The six airplanes were flown by three Swedish pilots and three Biafran pilots.

On June 1, 1969, Ojukwu made the historic Ahiara Declaration in Ahiara town, Mbaise, in the present day Imo State.  It was a document on the principles of the Biafran Revolution. The “principles” drew heavily from traditional communal modes of governance. Modelled on Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere’s 1967 Arusha Declaration, it was one of multiple documents drafted by Biafra’s National Guidance Committee.

The declaration criticised corruption in Nigeria and Biafra, as well as imperialism on the part of western countries, and encouraged patriotism among the Biafrans. It encouraged the Biafran people to persist in their efforts, assuring them of the moral value of their sacrifices. According to Ojukwu, this was meant to make Biafra an egalitarian society.  “The Biafran Revolution is committed to creating a society not torn by class consciousness and class antagonisms. Biafran society is traditionally egalitarian. The possibility for social mobility is always present in our society. The New Biafran Social Order rejects all rigid classifications of society. Anyone with imagination, anyone with integrity, anyone who works hard, can rise to any height.”

But on June 30, 1969, the Nigerian government banned all Red Cross aid to Biafra. Biafra was landlocked and faced all forms of economic blockade unleashed by Nigeria’s leadership. To worsen the entire bad situation, hunger was introduced as an instrument of war. Obafemi Awolowo, the then economic adviser to the federal government, ensured that Biafrans were starved. Later in October 1969, Ojukwu appealed to the United Nations to mediate a cease-fire and accused the FMG of “genocide.” The federal government called for Biafra’s surrender.

In December, the FMG had taken over most parts of Biafra through the efforts of 3 Marine Commando Division of the Nigerian Army, led by then Colonel Benjamin Adekunle, popularly called The Black Scorpion and later Olusegun Obasanjo. At this stage, it became obvious to Ojukwu that the situation had become hopeless.  He was convinced to leave the country. On January 9,1970, Ojukwu handed over power to Philip Effiong, his second in command, and left for Ivory Coast through the Uli airport in search of peace.  He was granted political asylum by President Felix Houphöet-Biogny of Ivory Coast who had recognised Biafra on May 14, 1968.

After three years of non-stop fighting and starvation, the Biafran army was no longer effective enough to withstand the federal forces. Biafra collapsed shortly afterwards.

Effiong who took over from Ojukwu as the “officer administering the government” called for a cease-fire on  January 12, 1970, and surrendered to the FMG while Gowon declared that there had been “no victor, no vanquished.” The war ended on January 15, 1970.

After 13 years in exile, Ojukwu returned to Nigeria following the unconditional pardon granted him in 1982, by the Shehu Shagari administration.

With the demise of Ojukwu, Nigeria has lost one of its most courageous former soldiers and statesmen.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s tribute spoke of Ojukwu’s “immense love for his people, justice, equity and fairness which forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian civil war.”

Bob Onyema, Ojukwu’s chief of staff told Newswatch that his late boss was a unique soldier and an Igbo legend that left indelible footprints in the sands of time. He said that before Ojukwu took ill which led to his death, he had started writing his memoirs of the civil war and the book which would be published later would put in proper perspectives the myths about his role in the 30-month war. “You have been reading what other people have been writing on the war. But the authentic book has not been published. Ikemba started writing the book long before his demise and when the time comes, it will be published. Whatever has been written on the war cannot be condemned. But when his own comes out, the public will be left to judge,” Onyema told Newswatch.

Joe Achuzia, former secretary general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Ojukwu’s confidant in the Biafran Army described the late warlord as a colossus.