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Until his death, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was the most idolised Igbo personality. With his demise, the question now being asked is: Who is the next Igbo leader?

The day was March 27, 2007, and the setting was the Concorde Hotel, Owerri. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba of Nnewi had arrived the capital city of Imo State to campaign for Martin Agbaso, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, gubernatorial candidate in the election of that year  in the state.

At about 7.00 pm,  a mass of people began to gather at the hotel premises, leading people to suspect that a rally was about to take place. By 8.00 pm, the entire vicinity had been taken over by a mammoth crowd. Before long, chants and choruses in Igbo language began to rent the air. What they said in Igbo when interpreted meant that “whether good or bad, no matter the situation, I will follow Ikemba (Ojukwu)”. It was then that guests at the hotel and some  people around realised that Ojukwu, popularly known as the People’s General, lodged in the hotel. The songs and choruses continued all night, and into the next morning. By this time, the crowd had swelled, with people taking over the adjourning streets leading to the hotel. At exactly 10.00 am, the following day when Ojukwu came down from his suite to the hotel lobby, the atmosphere became charged. But then,  the Biafran National Anthem had to be sang. For ten minutes, the crowd sang the  national anthem, thus eliciting emotions of the past, before leaving for a rally scheduled for Dan Anyiam Stadium, where  Agbaso was to be presented to the people. But the journey to the stadium which ordinarily should not take more than  five-minutes, gulped more than three hours. Commercial motorcyclists  and virtually every youth that heard about the presence of Ojukwu, many of who probably weren’t even born in 1967 when the Nnewi-born soldier, as a 33-year-old Lieutenant Colonel, announced the secession of the  Eastern region from the federation, an action that led to the civil war, joined the crowd. It was a rowdy scene.

A journalist who witnessed the parade,  described it as tumultuous, a moving display of affection, and one that proved, for the umpteenth time, just how the average Igbo man views Ojukwu.

Sham Mohammed, a Lebanese, who lodged in the hotel, was amazed at what he saw. “ Since my 40-year sojourn in Nigeria, I have not seen such a following and love for a hero like this,” he said.

Such scenes were common with Ojukwu, wherever he visited in Igboland. Cases of the man being literally held hostage by his own people, people  desperate or eager to shake him, embrace him or carry him shoulder high, as proof of their love for him, were  common tale. He was, among many Igbo, the authentic hero, a man who could do no wrong and a man whose word was law. “It is my last wish: vote him again,” was a statement that appeared on a poster with Ojukwu’s picture on it, soliciting votes for Peter Obi, governor of Anambra State. Some political pundits believe, even without proof to that effect, that many Anambra indigenes heeded that call.

Given the spontaneous show of love that erupted anytime Ojukwu was sighted in public by people of his ethnic group, it is hard, with the benefit of hindsight, to imagine any other leader, living or dead, who commands as much respect or following as Ojukwu did. Ojukwu, the Eze Igbo Gburugburu (overall king),  commanded a cult-like following bordering on even veneration.

What is it about him, that attracts such respect? Was it his gift of oratory or his intelligence or sheer power of persuasion. There are many theories to it but one of which probably has to do with his perceived sacrifice and courage in the face of adversity. Not many people, his admirers argue, would have done what Ojukwu did in 1967, given the circumstances. The son of a millionaire businessman, Ojukwu could  easily have chosen to preserve his family’s business and wealth and guarantee a life of comfort for himself and members of his own family. He chose not to toe that line. 

His declaration of an independent state of Biafra, is interpreted by many as an attempt at protecting members of the Igbo ethnic group. “Wherever the Igbo man domiciled, once he was able to make it to  Biafran territory, his life would be guaranteed, was the essence of Ojukwu’s message to his people,” said Theophilus Eze, an admirer of Ojukwu. 

Many bought into it. From that moment, 1967, the man’s image and role as an Igbo leader had been established, and not even the fact of his later separation from his people, on account of  a 13 years  exile  in Ivory Coast, could diminish his worth.

If there was any doubt about Ojukwu’s place in the heart of most Igbo folks, the reception he received on his return from exile in 1982, erased that. It proved how much  the people love him. After his return, his Nnewi community crowned him Ikemba(a people’s symbol of strength) while the Igbo nation gave him the title Dikedioranma Ndigbo (beloved hero).

In Igbo land, traditional titles speak volumes  and confer certain responsibilities and expectations on their holders. If there were still uncertainties as to Ojukwu’s impending role  upon his return from exile, such doubts were dispelled by the responsibility attached to his new titles. From that  period and up to when he took ill, leading to his death, Ojukwu never shied  away from speaking out in defence of  the right of the Igbo whenever the opportunity presented itself. He was the outspoken spokesman and a symbol of resistance and defiance against all forms of injustice which, in his view, was what the Biafran struggle represented.  In his book, Because I am Involved, Ojukwu wrote that  the difference between him and Nnamdi Azikiwe was that, where Zik would appear to wish to lead the Igbo people, he, Ojukwu, would be content to serve them.

His death in London on November 26, following a protracted battle with stroke, has cast a pall of sadness in the land, leading many Igbos, and Nigerians of other ethnic groups, to pay  him tributes.

Ralph Uwazuruike,  the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, a group that its founder said was inspired by Ojukwu’s struggle for an egalitarian society, said that the Ikemba’s love for his Igbo kinsmen is unparalleled. “He was one man who had sincere love for Ndigbo. When he was still alive, I sometimes  asked him why he was always fighting for the emancipation of Ndigbo and he told me that he would not relent, he would continue the struggle until every Igbo man is liberated. To him, the beginning and end of his life had to do with the welfare of Ndigbo; that was the totality of his life, and until every Igbo man was liberated, he would continue to fight.”

Emeka Onyemelukwe, Ojukwu’s lawyer and confidant, also hailed the late soldier’s love and commitment to his people, saying it was second to none. He narrated an encounter Ojukwu had with Obasanjo that bordered on the welfare of the Igbo people. At a stage, Onyemelukwe said, Ojukwu stormed out of the meeting. “ He was angry and stormed out of the place, banged the door and broke the windows in Aso Rock. This was at a time Andy Uba was Obasanjo’s special adviser on domestic matters. Andy ran to him and told him to take it easy. He was a symbol of protection for the Igbo man. If certain people wanted to do certain things, when they remembered that Ojukwu was there, they will beat a retreat,” he said.

Emejulu, Okpalaukwu, a lawyer and pioneer youth leader of Ohanaeze, a pan Igbo socio-cultural organisation, also told Newswatch that Ojukwu motivated “our people to fight for a Nigeria where every Nigerian will be seen as equal,” and, for that reason, his struggles “should not be  in vain.”

There are, however, those who see him not just as an Igbo hero, but a Nigerian leader as well.

“I want to take note of his momentous contributions to the evolution of the Nigerian modern state, as well as his effort at galvanising his Igbo people to self defense,”  said Ethelbert Okwaranyia, a former House of Representatives member. He added  that Ojukwu demonstrated his statesmanship by participating actively in the enthronement of the rule of law and justice in the country. “Ikemba will be missed by all the tribes in Nigeria, but most especially the Igbo whom he stood for in their darkest hour of need. It is not easy for an Oxford graduate cum aristocrat to fight on the side of the masses. He is immensely qualified to be called  a national leader because he never shied away from taking a position that would advance equity, justice and fairness in the Nigerian state. Ojukwu will be remembered as the conscience of the nation,” said Okwaranyia.

Beyond the tributes, many people wonder whether there could be a replacement.

 “When I heard of his death, the question that agitated my mind was: who is going to replace this man in Igbo land? Who is that Igbo leader who can sacrifice his time and money for his people like Ojukwu?” asked  Onyemelukwe.

Reported by Chris Ajaero and  Sebastine Obasi