Sonnie Ekwowusi
19 November 2008
Lagos — After the hijacked planed taxied to a halt at the runway, Inyagha assured the pilot and the passengers that their lives were safe. The hijackers quickly arranged for vehicles to convey the pilot, plane crew and some of the passengers back to Benin where the plane earlier took off.
The author highlighted in the book that at the declaration of Biafra on 30 th May 1967, Biafra had nothing except two Alouette 11, two Alouette 111 helicopters, one hijacked F27kA, a seized DC3 and a few pilots. As soon as Biafra was declared, the author assisted
in no small way in airlifting the new freedom fighters to different places and countries to solicit for support and acquire weapons and Fouga Magister jets.
The writer recalls in his book how death and acts of sabotage, especially the death of Chude Sokei on 15 th March 1968 and Alao in 1968, rendered the young Biafra helpless and powerless. Contrary to the view that Yakubu Gowon initially declared a Police Action against Biafra, the author writes that as soon as Biafra was declared, Nigeria started making full preparation for a full-scale war against Biafra . Nigeria dispatched technocrats to Europe and other places to secure arms and ammunitions for the war. The procurement of arms and ammunition reached its peak in March 1967 with the signing of a "Cultural" Agreement between Nigeria and Russia . The author recalls the first air battle in the war. He and Johnnie Correa were flying Biafran helicopters when suddenly they heard the sounds of bombs and some thick smokes that engulfed the air. Overtaken by fear and trepidation, co-pilot Correa started yelling in English-Igbo; "Oh Chineke, I can see two sources of smoke close by each other and, no doubt, they must be sources of explosion and not barbecue grills". Amid heavy shelling and firings from various angles, the author and his co-pilot kept flying the choppers.
The author narrates what looked the encounter between David and Goliath. One day the writer and his co-pilot ran out of bombs as they flew. Correa did something unusual. He brought out a pebble from his pocket and threw it down from the helicopter. The next day, it was reported that a Nigerian soldier was killed by a stone that fell from the heavens. Initially Biafran enjoyed air superiority with its helicopter operations until the Opi junction disaster when Biafran troops became confused and frustrated.
The beginning of the end started when the Nigerian troops marched from Nsukka through Ekwegbe and Ukehe and gained control of the Biafran territory despite the deployment of the locally-manufactured Biafran armoured vehicles to the battle. In chapter 17 of the book, the writer narrates the activities of the Biafran Air Force, and how after losing many native pilots, Biafra had to rely on the services of mercenaries. That, according to the writer, was Biafra 's greatest undoing. On page 307 Okpe describes how he almost died after one bombing operation. He was returning to his military base after one bombing operation when he heard a loud explosion and a volley of bullets hitting his airplane. At first, he thought his plane had
been shot down by the enemy plane. Several thoughts ran through mind. He remembered his old father, his colleagues who had died in the war. But he picked up courage and continued flying until he got to safe airport. When he landed, his aircraft he discovered that his airplane had been ripped apart with bullet holes. He was just lucky to be alive.
Okpe reveals how in his book that starvation and misery ravaged the Easterners. He narrates the bombing of civilian settlements, bombing of the Catholic priests attached to Caritas and the World Council of Churches supplying food and relief materials to Easterners. Okpe was a member of the International Red Cross (ICRC) and National Airport Board (NAB) during the war. The ICRC thought that the Nigerian Air Force would not attack facility dedicated to humanitarian purpose. But the ICRC was mistaken. The bomb was not a respecter of any body or institution. The author recalls his nightmarish flight experiences with Von Rosen, Martin Lang and other foreign mercenaries on the side of Biafra . The reader gets the impression that Okpe and his co-pilot were highly-experienced and committed professionals. With readable prose, the writer engages the reader's imagination in narrating his several memorable flight experiences outside Nigeria .
In the closing chapters of The Last Flight, Okpe shows a Biafra suffering from starvation, fatigue, air-crew losses, air mishaps, heavy military and civilian casualty. He recalls how spate of accusations and counter-accusations, recriminations, calumnies unsettled the minds of many members of the Biafran Air Force. The matter worsened when some European pilots and technicians of the T6 group left Biafra . By January 4 th 1970 the Nigerian army had advanced towards Mbaise from where it would capture Owerri the second time before approaching Oguta and the famous Uli Airport .
The last flight, from where prodigious writer Okpe derived the title of his magnum opus, took place on January 5, 1970. A directive came from Biafran State House that Captain Okpe should organize the last flight. "Take off, look around and find out how fast the enemy is approaching and do something about it" these were the words fro the State House to Captain Okpe. Without any procrastination, Captain Okpe took off from Uga Airport . Time: 4.30 p.m. Flight Lieutenant Willy Bruce, one of the remaining Biafran mercenaries, joined him later. They headed in the direction of the North. Surprisingly, the Nigerian army, savouring the euphoria of its war victory, ignored the two roving
Biafran airplanes. It then dawned on Okpe that the Nigerian Civil war had ended. He refrained from firing or bombing anything. Willy remained confused and perplexed. But Okpe's mind raced to Hitler and the Second War and the possibility of a nuclear weapon being used to wipe off the vanquished.
On 7 th January 1970 the unexpected happened. Although the war had ended, the Nigerian army sighted the two Biafran airplanes respectfully manned by Captain Ibikare Allwell-Brown and Flight Lieutenant Godwin Njoku and fired at them. Njoku's airplane was badly battered. Its fuel tanker got burst and Njoku had no option than to embark on forced landing. He later landed on the road, but got trapped in the cockpit. No help came his way while the plane was engulfed in fire. Later he managed to escape from the wreck and was rushed to the hospital. But Captain All-Well Brown was not so lucky. The last flight claimed his life. Okpe quarrels in his book why All-Well Brown was coerced to carry out that last minute assignment that claimed his life. He was a fine man, a fine pilot, and a courageous officer.
Certainly The Last Flight is the most explosive book on the Nigeria-Biafra war today. It is simply a master piece, a painstakingly researched work; it is the work of a genius littered with exciting accounts of air strikes. You who hunger and thirst for war justice; you who search for political and military intrigues in both sides of the divides during the Nigerian hostilities, The Last Fight is your best book. There is no doubt that Captain Okpe has written from the heart. He has left nothing to imagination in his account of the humble beginnings of the Nigeria Air Force and the Biafran Air Force and their awesome exploits during the Nigerian Civil war. The Last Flight is a must read.
However Captain Okpe's book is bound to provoke public controversy as soon it hits the newsstands. Some of the questions that will agitate the minds of most readers, students of history, war combatants and critics include: what does Captain Okpe hope to achieve with his book? Is Captain Okpe biased in favour or against anybody in the book? Is The Last Flight still relevant in the scheme of things today? Is Captain Okpe a saint or sinner?
Different respondents will answer the above questions differently. But I think all will agree with Air Marshal Paul Dike, Chief of the Air Staff, that with The Last Flight, Captain Okpe has indeed made a valuable contribution to our Civil war literature. Captain Okpe's new book challenges other Nigeria-Biafra War warriors to sit down and write their own account of the Nigerian Civil war.
-Concluded
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