Photo: Camopedia DIM Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, former Biafran leader and leader of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) is dead.
The Moment learnt that the elder statesman died early hours of Saturday, November 26, at Hammersfield Hospital London, where he had been receiving treatment for about a year now.
His death has been confirmed by relations and political friends including, APGA national chairman, Chief Victor Umeh.
'Our great Leader is dead! May his great noble soul rest in peace,' Umeh said.
Ojukwu was born in Zungeru, Northern Nigeria in November 4, 1933.
He was educated CMS Grammar School, Lagos, King's College, Lagos, Epsom College, Surrey, England, and Lincoln College, Oxford University, England where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters degree in History.
Upon his return in 1956, he joined the civil service in then Eastern Nigeria.
In 1957, he enlisted in the Nigeria and posted to Nigerian Army depot, Zaria.
Ojukwu was one of the graduates that joined the military during that period.
By 1964, he had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and appointed Quartermaster General, Nigeria Army.
He was appointed Military Governor of defunct Eastern Nigeria by Military Head of State, General Aguiyi Ironsi on January 17, 1966.
By May of the same year, Nigeria was facing a serious crisis.
In a planned pogrom in Northern Nigeria, Southeasterners were the target of killing and abuses.
The attacks were said to be in retaliation for the killing of Northern politicians who were killed in the first Military coup in the country.
The crisis In May 1967, he declared Eastern Nigeria a Sovereign State named Biafra.
In May 1967, Ojukwu proclaimed himself Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of Republic of Biafra.
In July, 1967, then Head of State Yakubu Gowon declared war on Biafra.
A civil war ensued. The war raged on for another 30 months.
An attempt at peace during a meeting at Aburi, Ghana did not stop the war.
In 1970, Ojukwu handed over power to his deputy Major-General Phillip Effiong and left the country on exile.
He was granted political asylum in Cote D'Ivoire by the then President Felix Houphöet-Biogny.
The civilian administration of President of Shehu Shagari granted him an official pardon and he returned to the country in 1982 after 13 years in exile.
On his return, he joined the then ruling National party of Nigeria.
Ojukwu would later form the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
Ojukwu who celebrated his 78th birthday early in the month was an active member of APGA until his death.
Comments Post a comment
The Late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was a prominent Igbo leader. There will always be a reckoning point that there lived an undisputed, foremost Nigerian rebel leader and champion of the 'cause of the Igbos for secession from Nigeria in 1967-70 in order to become an independent Republic of Biafra, in person of the Late Chief Odumegwu-Ojukwu. As gazetted, the civilian administration of the second Republic in Nigeria under President Shehu Shagari granted him an official pardon which led to his return in 1982 to the country after 13 years in exile in Ivory Coast.
It is on record that the Late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo (Leader of Yorubas) had a meeting with the masterminder, Col. Ojukwu at the ripe of age of the first civil war warranted by the secession move of the Igbos. Chief Awolowo wanted the then Col. Ojukwu to convince him (Awo) on the justification for the planned Easterners breakaway. Unfortunately, Late Chief Awolowo was not persuaded by the reasons advanced by Col Ojukwu then, which made Chief Awolowo to pitch its tent with the Lt. Col Yakubu Gowon-led Federal Government of Nigeria. Awo stood by all efforts aimed at preserving the sanctity of Nigeria as a united Nation vis-à-vis his unhidden acceptance of the common slogan Go On With One Nigeria.
Despite the fact that Late Awolowo was prominently opposed to the Igbo secession, Odumegwu Ojukwu was at the State Burial ceremony in honour of the Late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in Ikenne in May 1987 to pay his last respect to that distinguished and revered Nigeria political leader. Ojukwu was quoted in all media reports then as he publicly attested to the fact that Late Chief Awolowo remained the best President that Nigeria never had.
Finally, in this moment in Nigerias history, it is considered auspicious by me to remark that the Late Ikemba of Nnewi, was undoubtedly a fearless soldier and sectional leader of the Igbo contraction. He fought a great war, the first civil war in Nigeria but lost the battle as his mission remains unaccomplished till his death and beyond. Adieu, Chief Ojukwu. Rest in Peace.
CHUKWUEMEKA ODUMEGWU OJUKWU AND THE BIAFRAN SPIRIT The unfortunate circumstances that led to the inevitable birth of BIAFRA continue to re occur. History has the historical capacity of renewing itself. Now I understand why our great leader and commander-in- Chief of the armed forces of the waiting state of Biafra, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu chose to study History against the wishes of his Father. Even 42 years after the 'death' of Biafra, Nigerians are still committing the atrocious sins that led to his birth. Nigerians are calling for the rebirth of Biafra. A Born again Biafra will not die for 'when a man is born again, he is a new creature, old things shall pass away, behold all things shall become new’. Yes His Excellency, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, may be dead. It cannot be taken away from him that he was the General of the people’s Army, the First Son of the Rising Sun, Ikemba Nnewi, Dike Diora Mma Ndigbo, Eze Igbo Gburugburu, The man with a provocative Igboness who meant many things to many people. The spirit he left behind is alive. He left the BIAFRAN SPIRIT. A people that had capacity to build refineries in war time to service the Biafran Nation, do not now qualify for a refinery by their Nigerian predators in peace time. Yet shortages of refined petroleum products continue to trouble them. A people that built international airports in war time Biafra do not qualify for one by their captors. Igbos are the only people in the oil rich Nigeria where school children contributed their school fees to build an airport. A people who are bomb producers, are now being bombed and killed in churches, market places, and homes while they scamper helplessly all in the name of One Nigeria.
Yes Ojukwu left us with the spirit of endurance even in the face of national provocation, and sectarian torture. No victor! No vanquished they said, yet every action towards the Igbo is clearly reminiscent of a conquered people. Ojukwu was The Nigerian Governor of Eastern Nigeria, yet a state Burial is too much for a lifeless Ojukwu. Major Nzeogwu who started it all even got a state burial. They are afraid that a state burial may wake him up. I advise Nigerians to allow our Hero have a peaceful repose. He fought a good fight, he won the race. If Nigerians refuse to own him up as a Nigerian hero, and choose to call him an Igbo war lord, rebel leader, etc., they will never have a hero so heroic like General Ojukwu. Even as he lies in his seeming lifelessness, he still remains the greatest hero of Africa's unrealized technological dream state of Biafra. Nigeria will never grow; Nigeria will never develop until they give Ndigbo their rightful place in the scheme of things. Unless Igbo marginalization ceases, Nigeria will go nowhere. The Biafran secession bid, may have failed militarily, but the spirit which propelled it remains in our minds, symbolized in the towering personality of General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. His enduring message to Ndigbo, now a most treasured legacy, is that they must always be courageous and united in their legitimate struggle for political and economic survival within the Nigerian nation. We heard you Dike! Please have a very good night rest and a sound sleep for though you are dead, Biafra lives – the spirit lives in us. For those brothers and sisters who may read me out of context, I plead with you to patiently read between the lines because great minds speak in parables. We do not all have equal Biafraness in our blood unless you are Biafranized through a Biafranization process. Even during the war, it was so. Hence we had military and diplomatic saboteurs in Biafra the same way we have socio-economic and socio-political saboteurs in Nigeria. General Ojukwu alone did not create Biafra- Biafra emerged. It needs to be noted however, that the circumstances of General Ojukwu’s emergence as a Biafran hero and the emergence of Biafra itself, all happened simultaneously. That is to say; the pogrom and the other Nigerian military infractions against Easterners on one hand, and the appointment of a loyal Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu as the Military governor of innocent Eastern Nigeria, on the other hand. In a simultaneous equation however, you make use of the value of x to derive the value of y. Therefore, the pogrom, say x, led to the inevitable derivation of Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, say y, as the leader of a people fighting for survival from the hostilities of their neighbours. The pogrom alone may not have automatically led to Biafra. But Because I am Involved.... (read). If Col. Effiong was the Military governor of Eastern Nigeria at that time, what would have happened? Similarly, if Col. Ogundipe was the Head of State of Nigeria at that time, what would have happened? The history would have been different. We cannot take away the fact that certain things happen at certain times for God to manifest Himself on certain people. Hence in Exodus 9: 16, God said unto Pharaoh ‘In very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power, that my name may be declared throughout all the earth’. Since after the departure of Israelites, there have been no other such plagues in Egypt till today. What is happening in Nigeria today is pestilence and plagues as a result of the un-repentance of Nigerian pharaohs. So shall it continue for God has hardened their hearts. Many other instances abound. In similar vein, Joseph’s dream at the age of 17 (Gen. 37) was made manifest by Pharaoh’s dream at age 30 (Gen. 41:46), and since after the manifestation of Josephs dream, there has been no such famine in recorded history in Egypt till today. Since after the passage of the Israelite in the red sea, there have been no other times in recorded history when the red sea divided and made dry land, the type we read in Exodus 14:21. So many other instances abound to show that Ojukwu was one such person whose time was ripe for God to manifest Himself that the world would attest to his extraordinary qualities. The life and times of Ojukwu is full of history, indeed he is history personified. Biafra and Ojukwu are synonyms. No nation rises above its leaders. The actions and heights attained by any nation, depends, to a large extent on the abilities, capabilities, visions and missions of its leaders. Ojukwu was a visionary leader, and the circumstances of the war led to, and gave credence to its manifestation. The war threw up two major actors – Ojukwu and Gowon. In the eye of the world who is a hero? Why is it difficult for Nigerians to apologize to Biafrans and cease hostilities on them? The war seemed to have ended in 1970, but sectarian brutalities and killings, political ethno-marginalization, sectional isolation, infrastructural geo-partitioning, socio-economic deprivation etc continues unchecked by war captors.
With all these, we recall the reminiscence of Biafra, the land of the rising sun, and the Biafran heroes who laid their lives, innocent children who died of hunger, diseases, and bullets of Nigerian soldiers. I wonder, like the Israelites in Babylon, how we can sing the Lords song in a strange land-Nigeria. Igbos in Nigeria live by the day. On Nigerian soil we live, but we only survive because the spirit of Biafra is in us. Yes, we live in Nigerian soil with Biafran Spirit. May God Save our Souls.....
Engr. Francis Orji Unwana
CHUKWUEMEKA ODUMEGWU OJUKWU AND THE BIAFRAN SPIRIT The unfortunate circumstances that led to the inevitable birth of BIAFRA continue to re occur. History has the historical capacity of renewing itself. Now I understand why our great leader and commander-in- Chief of the armed forces of the waiting state of Biafra, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu chose to study History against the wishes of his Father. Even 42 years after the 'death' of Biafra, Nigerians are still committing the atrocious sins that led to his birth. Nigerians are calling for the rebirth of Biafra. A Born again Biafra will not die for 'when a man is born again, he is a new creature, old things shall pass away, behold all things shall become new’. Yes His Excellency, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, may be dead. It cannot be taken away from him that he was the General of the people’s Army, the First Son of the Rising Sun, Ikemba Nnewi, Dike Diora Mma Ndigbo, Eze Igbo Gburugburu, The man with a provocative Igboness who meant many things to many people. The spirit he left behind is alive. He left the BIAFRAN SPIRIT. A people that had capacity to build refineries in war time to service the Biafran Nation, do not now qualify for a refinery by their Nigerian predators in peace time. Yet shortages of refined petroleum products continue to trouble them. A people that built international airports in war time Biafra do not qualify for one by their captors. Igbos are the only people in the oil rich Nigeria where school children contributed their school fees to build an airport. A people who are bomb producers, are now being bombed and killed in churches, market places, and homes while they scamper helplessly all in the name of One Nigeria.
Yes Ojukwu left us with the spirit of endurance even in the face of national provocation, and sectarian torture. No victor! No vanquished they said, yet every action towards the Igbo is clearly reminiscent of a conquered people. Ojukwu was The Nigerian Governor of Eastern Nigeria, yet a state Burial is too much for a lifeless Ojukwu. Major Nzeogwu who started it all even got a state burial. They are afraid that a state burial may wake him up. I advise Nigerians to allow our Hero have a peaceful repose. He fought a good fight, he won the race. If Nigerians refuse to own him up as a Nigerian hero, and choose to call him an Igbo war lord, rebel leader, etc., they will never have a hero so heroic like General Ojukwu. Even as he lies in his seeming lifelessness, he still remains the greatest hero of Africa's unrealized technological dream state of Biafra. Nigeria will never grow; Nigeria will never develop until they give Ndigbo their rightful place in the scheme of things. Unless Igbo marginalization ceases, Nigeria will go nowhere. The Biafran secession bid, may have failed militarily, but the spirit which propelled it remains in our minds, symbolized in the towering personality of General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. His enduring message to Ndigbo, now a most treasured legacy, is that they must always be courageous and united in their legitimate struggle for political and economic survival within the Nigerian nation. We heard you Dike! Please have a very good night rest and a sound sleep for though you are dead, Biafra lives – the spirit lives in us. For those brothers and sisters who may read me out of context, I plead with you to patiently read between the lines because great minds speak in parables. We do not all have equal Biafraness in our blood unless you are Biafranized through a Biafranization process. Even during the war, it was so. Hence we had military and diplomatic saboteurs in Biafra the same way we have socio-economic and socio-political saboteurs in Nigeria. General Ojukwu alone did not create Biafra- Biafra emerged. It needs to be noted however, that the circumstances of General Ojukwu’s emergence as a Biafran hero and the emergence of Biafra itself, all happened simultaneously. That is to say; the pogrom and the other Nigerian military infractions against Easterners on one hand, and the appointment of a loyal Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu as the Military governor of innocent Eastern Nigeria, on the other hand. In a simultaneous equation however, you make use of the value of x to derive the value of y. Therefore, the pogrom, say x, led to the inevitable derivation of Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, say y, as the leader of a people fighting for survival from the hostilities of their neighbours. The pogrom alone may not have automatically led to Biafra. But Because I am Involved.... (read). If Col. Effiong was the Military governor of Eastern Nigeria at that time, what would have happened? Similarly, if Col. Ogundipe was the Head of State of Nigeria at that time, what would have happened? The history would have been different. We cannot take away the fact that certain things happen at certain times for God to manifest Himself on certain people. Hence in Exodus 9: 16, God said unto Pharaoh ‘In very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power, that my name may be declared throughout all the earth’. Since after the departure of Israelites, there have been no other such plagues in Egypt till today. What is happening in Nigeria today is pestilence and plagues as a result of the un-repentance of Nigerian pharaohs. So shall it continue for God has hardened their hearts. Many other instances abound. In similar vein, Joseph’s dream at the age of 17 (Gen. 37) was made manifest by Pharaoh’s dream at age 30 (Gen. 41:46), and since after the manifestation of Josephs dream, there has been no such famine in recorded history in Egypt till today. Since after the passage of the Israelite in the red sea, there have been no other times in recorded history when the red sea divided and made dry land, the type we read in Exodus 14:21. So many other instances abound to show that Ojukwu was one such person whose time was ripe for God to manifest Himself that the world would attest to his extraordinary qualities. The life and times of Ojukwu is full of history, indeed he is history personified. Biafra and Ojukwu are synonyms. No nation rises above its leaders. The actions and heights attained by any nation, depends, to a large extent on the abilities, capabilities, visions and missions of its leaders. Ojukwu was a visionary leader, and the circumstances of the war led to, and gave credence to its manifestation. The war threw up two major actors – Ojukwu and Gowon. In the eye of the world who is a hero? Why is it difficult for Nigerians to apologize to Biafrans and cease hostilities on them? The war seemed to have ended in 1970, but sectarian brutalities and killings, political ethno-marginalization, sectional isolation, infrastructural geo-partitioning, socio-economic deprivation etc continues unchecked by war captors.
With all these, we recall the reminiscence of Biafra, the land of the rising sun, and the Biafran heroes who laid their lives, innocent children who died of hunger, diseases, and bullets of Nigerian soldiers. I wonder, like the Israelites in Babylon, how we can sing the Lords song in a strange land-Nigeria. Igbos in Nigeria live by the day. On Nigerian soil we live, but we only survive because the spirit of Biafra is in us. Yes, we live in Nigerian soil with Biafran Spirit. May God Save our Souls.....
Engr. Francis Orji Unwana