What type of soldier did you see in Ojukwu?

Ojukwu was a rebel with a cause who very much believed in a cause he was fighting. I will miss him. I have visited him on a number of occasions in Enugu and I saw in him a man of courage and perseverance. I can only describe him as a soldiers’ soldier. Ojukwu demonstrated sterling qualities, especially to the cause of Igbo emancipation. Ojukwu was a soldiers’ soldier and just like Gen. Yakubu Gowon, he took a tremendous risk. I respect him for his cause and his magnanimity in accepting the end of the war. I also admire him for his belief in one Nigeria

How would you describe  his action during those troubled days, especially his decision to pull the South-East out of Nigeria?

 Given Ojukwu’s position and disposition during the troubled days of the First Republic, anyone would have done what he did. Any soldier worth his salt would have acted the same way as the Ikemba did in 1966 when he ceded Biafra from Nigeria. Nobody in that position would stand aside and watch his people being killed because the situation in 1966 would have pushed anybody to do what he did, especially after the retaliatory coup of July 1966. Not many people would have had the courage to do the things that he did. He was a source of inspiration to many of us during those turbulent years.

What leadership qualities did you find in him?

Ojukwu demonstrated sterling leadership qualities so much so that he was admired by many. I very much value his Queens English and the way he comported himself. He was also quick to accept to surrender and since then his belief in one Nigeria remained unshaken till his death. I will miss him a lot because as a young officer just passing out of military school, I saw in him a model in the military. I admired his courage, tenacity of purpose and unalloyed commitment to the cause of his people.

You can see many sides of him depending on where you stand, but I can tell you that the circumstances he found himself in 1966 dictated that he could not have done otherwise.  It could have been me. Like a doctor, the first thing was to give people comfort. Most of the young officers who fought the war did not actually understood why they were fighting, especially on the federal side.  They were made to believe that they were quashing a rebellion. And they fought with that impression.

How close were you to him?

We worked closely, especially in setting up the war museum in Umuahia and I have collaborated with him on many projects as regards the war. As I told you, I have visited him on many occasions in Enugu and I found him an amiable person. I respect him for his cause.

No great quality of leadership could be more than that. His quality of leadership would amount to people following you and dying with you. Only a few demonstrated it like Adolf Hitler did. I enjoyed his cooperation when we were collecting artefacts for the war museum during the Buhari/Idiagbon regime. I was the chairman of that project and he cooperated. Without his cooperation, we would not have recovered such artefacts like Ogbunigwe, the Biafran Baby and the war ship that was captured by Biafran troops during the war. He was even present at the Concorde Hotel in Owerri when the inauguration and that showed his belief in one Nigeria.

What lesson can we learn from the civil war?

 The civil war should teach us that there is dignity in dialogue, but unfortunately we have not learnt from that. What is happening in Nigeria today is far greater than what happened before the civil war. I think we should try to avoid a repeat of that unfortunate incident because what is happening in Nigeria today could be worse than what Ojukwu saw in Nigeria of 1966.

-Punch

Posted by admin on Nov 29 2011. Filed under Latest Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry