|
A leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has faulted extracts from Prof. Chinua Achebe’s latest memoirs on the Nigerian Civil War accusing the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as the initiator of the pogrom against the Igbo.
The memoirs coming 42 years after the war, Adebanjo said, reinforced “Achebe’s pathological hatred for Awolowo and the Yoruba race.”
According to him, the renowned novelist need to be cured of his Awophobia.
Reacting to Achebe’s memoirs entitled “There was a country,” the Afenifere leader in a statement on Tuesday said it was Awolowo who rather tried to prevent the war.
He said, “At the risk of his life, and against the advice of his cabinet colleagues, Chief Awolowo made contact with Ojukwu and met him in Enugu to dissuade him from going to war. In his one-on-one meeting with Ojukwu, Chief Awolowo tried to persuade Ojukwu to come to a roundtable conference with the Federal Government to iron out his differences with the government.
“Fair minded persons cannot accuse Awolowo of being part of the intellectual arm of a cabinet that intentionally initiated the pogrom of the Igbo, when in fact the record shows he took positive steps to persuade Ojukwu to avoid the conflict.”
Adebanjo said when the late politician visited Enugu prison during the war, he was surprised to see malnourished people even when adequate quantity of food were sent through international agencies to the civilians in the areas.
Following this, he said the Federal Government stopped the delivery of food meant for the civilian population hijacked by Biafran soldier.
He added, “This is what Achebe mischievously called the deliberate starvation of the Igbo. I would like Prof. Achebe, if he can; to make reference to any publication where Awolowo made the statement that starvation was a legitimate tool of war.
“One would have thought the charge of genocide should have been better directed at the leaders of Biafra who had first hand knowledge of the starvation in the area they controlled, and yet did not as they could, to bring an end to the war sooner before two million people, mainly members of future generations had died of starvation as Prof Achebe claimed.”
On change of currency, Adebanjo said since Biafran soldiers looted Nigerian currency from Central Bank locations in Biafra occupied areas and were using them to buy arms, Awolowo, as the Federal Commissioner for Finance, had to stop that.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
Not even Slobodan Milošević overtly pronounced his genocidal strategy against fellow Yugoslavs, so Adebanjo should not send us on a wild goose chase to provide publications reporting that Awolowo enunciated or formulated a starvation strategy against the Igbo nation.
ReplyDeleteMy question is: would the Igbo have acted compassionately had they been in Awo's shoes? Go and read more about the Igbo people when they were prima inter pares in Nigerian politics, education, business, military and what have you. Other Nigerians were infra dig as far as they (Igbo ethnic group) were concerned.
Know what Nigeria needs? A patriot -- any Nigerian, regardless of identity --for a leader, who will put food on our tables. Chinua Achebe is a refugee in need of award to justify his FREE accommodation abroad. An idle mind, they say, is a devil's workshop.
Achebe is a man of great interlect and an outstanding elder states man. What he intends to achieve by his write-up is hidden as one will think the situation in the country should have ring a bell in Achebe's mind. Ofcourse an already overheated polity is been brought to bare by conscious aggravation. Could it be that he wants a second civil war so as to pay the country Nigeria in its own coin? A war he and his people recklessly went into without adequate provision? Perharps he cannot come to terms with the knowledge that he has failed but still alive to attempt again. At 82 what can he possibly do?
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr. Adoke.There is need to let him(Chinua Achebe)know that;if he and his people want war again in this land,they need to prepare for it very well.A noble man indeed.
ReplyDeleteChief Ayo Adebanjo and his likes are the problem of this country.How can a man as old as he is be lying and trying to falsify objective reality?To cure your ignorace sir,please request for any magazine of the late 60s in England and you will but hide your face in shame for the way your said AWO WAS DEFENDING without shame his food blockade strategy.What are we talking about here?Chief,it is either you are blind or that you just wanted to say something,not that you have something to say.Chinua Achebe is an eagle soaring high in the sky,and the likes of you-voltures are envious of him.Our country needs people like Achebe who would always say the truth regardless of who is involved.As it is in the nature of fish to swim,so it is in Achebe's character to always speak the truth.He is my hero and forever shall i wish him well.Chief Awolowo cannever rest in peace because the souls of the millions of igbos he killed will continue to pursue him even in the land of the spirits.All hail the igbos,the eagles amongst envious voltures.
ReplyDeleteMr adoke,your comment above only brings to the fore how ignorant and misconceived you are.The Biafrans only defended themselves from Nigeria's aggressive strength and for 3years running,a tiny enclave nearly defeated the mass of about 250 ethnic groups.You should cover your face in shame and pray that another war doesnt erupt because the result might surprise u.The igbos are very brave and industrious,no wonder we are the most prosperous of all others in Nigeria!
ReplyDeleteMr Eruwa,u sound like one who thinks from his anus.I dont know your tribe,but from the sound of your name,you should be from the former midwestern region,and if so,you shouldnt talk when real men are talking.The region you hail from has a yet unbroken record of being the most cowardly in the history of Africa.The great Biafrans only coughed and your people capitulated in a matter of hours.Men of valour indeed.
ReplyDeleteAdoke, Safari and other fools like that will one day use their eyes to see their ears. Whoever is in support of the pogrom called Nigerian civil war is a Devil's advocate. It is harsh weather that made the tortoise body thick. If the Ibos were able to manage and survive the pogrom why will Chief Awo years after the war Sieze Ibo people's money stored in banks and opted to give them 20 naira in exchange? God is not sleeping. Just look at the level where Ibos are today and compare that with the section of the country that held leadership position for over 35 years only to start killing people in the guise that poverty in their land which they termed BOKO HARAM. An average Ibo man and an average man from any other part who feeds well?
ReplyDeleteWhy all this abuse? Those that have been distoring history cannot do it for very long but the truth will come out in the end no matter how much people shout it down. Why are we not taught about civil war in history classes? If you hate the Igbos so much why do you all not just let them go in the first place? We all know that nigeria without an Aburi accord type of agreement that Gowon agreed to then betrayed is doomed to fail and we are now seeing the empirical evidence of that now, unless your an ostrich. Why do you have to abuse people with a different opinion like a fashists? If you want to debunk Achebe's narration of event give it a contructive go and let the honest people be the judge. Awolowo is a Youruba hero. If you want an example of a national hero we can say its Zik
ReplyDeleteEvery war comes with collateral damage. When a sanction or embargo is imposed on a territory, civilians suffer -- women, children, the elderly, and the disabled -- not the protagonists. We saw this with Saddam's Iraq, and even under Abacha's regime when we were labeled a pariah state. Biafra/Nigeria war couldn't have been an exception. Talking about the duration of the war. It lasted that long because initially, Nigerian government led by Gowon pussyfooted on compassionate grounds, not that the Igbo ragtag army had a superior fighting force. In fact, the crisis was not considered a war by Nigeria at the outset.
ReplyDeleteI still insist that had the Igbo had an upper hand, God knows if other ethnic groups, including the Yoruba would have lived to tell the story. The selective assassination of Nigerian political elites in Nzeogwu's putsch should serve as a pointer.
If the North who have ruled this country for over 38 years out of 52 will out of hardship and poverty form BOKO HARAM that means the Ibos who have never ruled and were able to survive government sponsored pogrom and starvation to be at the level they are presently should be applauded. Indeed that is the greatest tribe ever.
ReplyDeleteGuys...what is intent of the write up and why is it coming up now?...is it to further promote or threaten or disintegrate our coexistence.I see no debate and argument here at all.Lets consolidate diversity and move forward with stronger vigor... Just think about it!I love Nigerians and I love and love the entity called Nigeria.
ReplyDeletehttp://thewillnigeria.com/opinion/16571-OBAFEMI-AWOLOWO-AND-CHINUA-ACHEBES-TALE-FANTASY.html
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for some peole who can not see above their nose, Imagine a vision someone saw over 40years ago is still not clear for some people, I wonder when you will wake up from your slumber.
ReplyDeleteis it that the prof has been sleeping for the past 42 years since the end of the war?
ReplyDeleteplease can someone answer this for me: if awolowo was responsible for starvation of the ibos during the civil war how come ojukwu said that awolowo was the best president nigeria never had?
ReplyDeleteIn what context did he say that?
DeleteIf he did at all
Delete