Ojukwu and the True Nigerian Spirit


01 Mar 2012

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Guest Columnist By Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Tributes

One of the best things about the passing of Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu is the kind of tributes which the news of his passing has elicited across the country. The former leader of Biafra has enjoyed the distinction of being eulogised across the political, ethnic and religious spectrum. From every part of Nigeria, Nigerians, high and low, prominent and ordinary, old and young have stepped forward to honour him with moving tributes. For a man whose life was defined by the role he played in the turbulent three years of the Nigerian Civil War, a man for whom the prefix “rebel” was once de rigeur, this was quite an achievement. The praise is also very well deserved because the life of Ojukwu exemplifies what can happen when principled courage meets patriotism. Here was a man who went to war out of conviction but who also, out of conviction, decided to stop fighting and come home to contribute to achieving the purposes for which he went to war, this time through civil and democratic means. The Eze Igbo Gburugburu was indeed a rare man who without giving up his principles, made peace with his enemies and joined hands with other patriots to seek solutions to the challenges of nationhood.

For me, and I am sure many other Nigerians of my generation on the Biafran side who are old enough to remember the cataclysmic events of the Civil War which largely defined our youth, the wave of tributes triggered by Chief Ojukwu’s passing has evoked a sense that things have come full circle. Many young Nigerians do not know that the Nigerian Civil War was one of the most tragic landmarks of the 20th century, a conflict whose horrendous human suffering inspired the founding of one of the most important humanitarian organisations in the world, Medecins san Frontierres (Doctors without Frontiers). In all, an estimated one million persons perished in the war; some estimates cite double that figure.

The response to Ojukwu’s passing has, simultaneously, recalled the nightmare years of war and also acted as a balm of healing for those deep pains of yesterday. The memories are many. I remember helping my mother and a collective of other women in Port Harcourt cook for Biafran soldiers, making “dry packs” of preserved foods to feed soldiers at the war front. I remember my father, a Brigadier in the Biafran Army and head of the Biafran Organisation of Freedom Fighters (BOFF) in his uniform. I remember young men relatives, friends, and neighbours – who waved goodbye as they went off to war – and never came back.

It is against this background that one can best appreciate the balm the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Ojukwu’s death. The man whose name some saw as a symbol of division has, in death, done so much to unite Nigerians. That is the spirit that I want us to celebrate and share with our children. It is the positive spirit of renascent Nigeria, a spirit that acknowledges the problems and the pain, yet refuses to give up on the shining possibilities of a brighter future. It is the spirit that refuses to be defined by glib negatives, a spirit that insists on doing the difficult but necessary work of building a strong foundation for a better future, even as we learn from the mistakes of the past. It is this kind of spirit that inspires hope for Nigeria. It is the spirit of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Thank you, Ikemba, Eze Igbo Gburugburu, thank you for sharing your strong but resilient spirit with us. Thank you for teaching us how to fight and how to make peace while standing strong. Thank you, Bianca for being there till the end, thank you Odumegwu-Ojukwu family for your great gift to Nigeria. And thank you Nigeria for celebrating and honouring our remarkable brother and son.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ojukwu-and-the-true-nigerian-spirit/110408/

History has not always failed to repeat itself. The Jews urged Pilate to release Barrabas, the rogue for them and killed Jesus, the innocent man in his stead. Today, everywhere, Jesus is venerated as the Saviour of the world. When Patrice Lumumba sought the unification of Congo, Tshombe connived with the Belgian government and killed. Today, Lumumba is a national hero and martyr in Congo. Can we forget Kwame Nkrumah, the Ghanaian leader who was driven out by his people to die in exile because he wanted to reform Ghana. Today, Ghana observes a public holiday in honour of Nkrumah. What of our dear Ikemba, he told the Nigerian government the truth and they labelled him a rebel and sought to killl him. He survived and today, he is being full military honours in death and history has become kind to him. Most often, heroes are not recognized in their life time.

Igbos and indeed nigerians should at this time be courageous to stand againt any form of injustice and corruption in the country going forward while stepping up on the line of hardwork and human development.
Adiu the IKEMBA

Ojukwu na King of Ndi igbo

Everyone eulogizes Ojukwu now because they now see what Nigeria is all about.
What the Biafran war was really all about.

It had always been about a dynamic against a retrogressive ideology.
You can see shock in the face of Nigerians when they see their fellow citizens carrying out suicide bomb attacks.

With the leaders so scared to say what everyone is thinking, they wish they had another Ojukwu.
Yes I will say it again,
NIGERIA NEEDS A NEW OJUKWU !!!!

RoadStar:

Everyone eulogizes Ojukwu now because they now see what Nigeria is all about.
What the Biafran war was really all about.

It had always been about a dynamic against a retrogressive ideology.
You can see shock in the face of Nigerians when they see their fellow citizens carrying out suicide bomb attacks.

With the leaders so scared to say what everyone is thinking, they wish they had another Ojukwu.
Yes I will say it again,
NIGERIA NEEDS A NEW OJUKWU !!!!

Honestly, I was thinking same thing yesterday. We really need another Ojukwu at this time in Nigeria, but am sure as soon as another one emerges they will label him an enemy of the state just to undermine his cause.

my father fought during the Biafra war and once in a while we his children often ask him to tell us the war stories, one thing i usually notice is that he never gets tired of telling us about the war and at the end of he beams with smile and says he never regretted one bit for fighting for a course even after losing out, when we were young we usually play with the gun he used during the war, at was actually placed somewhere in our old family house even till today whenever i go home i make sure i have a feel of that gun, you see to me Biafra is more than a state that was desired it more like an ideology to me, a mind set, something that keeps me going and wanting to achieve the best in a society that discriminates me because of my ethnicity, when i had wanted to rent an apartment and the first question the landlord asked was if i was igbo, i dot give my house to ibo he said. I was booted out from a security job interview with zenith bank when Gadafi the then chief security officer sighted my state of origin, while growing up in the north i was not allowed to seat for my common entrance because of my nationality, the list goes on and on but one thing is sure whoever God blesses no man can curse and to my igbo brothers and sisters, Igwe buike!!

PointB:

Ojukwu and the True Nigerian Spirit


01 Mar 2012

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Guest Columnist By Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Tributes

I remember helping my mother and a collective of other women in Port Harcourt cook for Biafran soldiers, making “dry packs” of preserved foods to feed soldiers at the war front.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ojukwu-and-the-true-nigerian-spirit/110408/

My love for this woman just increased a hundred fold. Love you ma.

Let me state that while ojukwu is an admirable leader he has failed to be the model of a great nigerian leader.
He failed to die for the cause, the man sought to divide nigeria ,his desire admirable and his resolve great, but his actions unforgivable. He has sown a seed of discord and hate in this great nation and helped to found a notion that the country can never be truly one. May God grant his soul peace, he had honest intentions but ultimately could not match that with adequate solutions. His effort has contributed to the current despicable situation in the country , however his are minor to the several leaders and characters that have shaped our history.
Ojukwu I salute you , a truly good Nigerian

sweet_gala:

Let me state that while ojukwu is an admirable leader he has failed to be the model of a great nigerian leader.
He failed to die for the cause, the man sought to divide nigeria ,his desire admirable and his resolve great, but his actions unforgivable. He has sown a seed of discord and hate in this great nation and helped to found a notion that the country can never be truly one. May God grant his soul peace, he had honest intentions but ultimately could not match that with adequate solutions. His effort has contributed to the current despicable situation in the country , however his are minor to the several leaders and characters that have shaped our history.
Ojukwu I salute you , a truly good Nigerian

I dont know how old you are, but can you tell us how you have contributed positively to the growth of Nigeria. nonsense!

sweet_gala:

Let me state that while ojukwu is an admirable leader he has failed to be the model of a great nigerian leader.
He failed to die for the cause, the man sought to divide nigeria ,his desire admirable and his resolve great, but his actions unforgivable. He has sown a seed of discord and hate in this great nation and helped to found a notion that the country can never be truly one. May God grant his soul peace, he had honest intentions but ultimately could not match that with adequate solutions. His effort has contributed to the current despicable situation in the country , however his are minor to the several leaders and characters that have shaped our history.
Ojukwu I salute you , a truly good Nigerian

If you didnt write the above under the influence of alcohol then I wont forgive you. You should blame what lead to Ojukwu wanting out of Nigeria, he didnt wake up one morning and decided to secceede. Pick your damnnn book son

It is in the spirit of decency and  conciliation than many Nigerians who fall on the Nigerian side of the Biafra dehiscence line up to pay tribute to a man who is clearly revered by many of his people. I think many of these people are in danger of capricious triumphalism or going wide astray in misinterpreting these tributes as a vindication of the "BIAFRA EFFORT" by his erstwhile enemies.

Positions and opinions are as entrenched and uncompromising as ever and it is prudent that all shades of opinion allow decency to prevail at least till the soldier is interred . That is decency as a reciprocal phenomenon

aribisala0:

It is in the spirit of decency and conciliation than many Nigerians who fall on the Nigerian side of the Biafra dehiscence line up to pay tribute to a man who is clearly revered by many of his people. I think many of these people are in danger of capricious triumphalism or going wide astray in misinterpreting these tributes as a vindication of the "BIAFRA EFFORT" by his erstwhile enemies.

Positions and opinions are as entrenched and uncompromising as ever and it is prudent that all shades of opinion allow decency to prevail at least till the soldier is interred . That is decency as a reciprocal phenomenon

This is a no time for the above nonsense. Fulanis have been sacking Yoruba villages from one to another, yet you guys hardly see it because it is not Igbo.
Use your brains .

abadaba:

This is a no time for the above nonsense. Fulanis have been sacking Yoruba villages from one to another, yet you guys hardly see it because it is not Igbo.
Use your brains .

We don't see it because we don't have the seed of hate sown deep in our soul that causes us to "jump the gun" Nigeria is already in a state of emergency with several people feeling agitated.

sweet_gala:

We don't see it because we don't have the seed of hate sown deep in our soul that causes us to "jump the gun" Nigeria is already in a state of emergency with several people feeling agitated.

Does it mean you are all blind except when it is an Igbo issue?.

feel free to express yourself.
I happen to think that on the contrary your view is nonsense so we might do something like

It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours
It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours
It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours
It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours
It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours
It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours
It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours
It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours It is your own that is nonsense no it is yours

and maybe after a few hours call it a DRAW ??

Ask your father to use his brains

abadaba:

This is a no time for the above nonsense. Fulanis have been sacking Yoruba villages from one to another, yet you guys hardly see it because it is not Igbo.
Use your brains .

A hero even in death.
Igbo south south and south east, Nigerians worldwide celebrate him.

sweet_gala:

Let me state that while ojukwu is an admirable leader he has failed to be the model of a great nigerian leader.
He failed to die for the cause, the man sought to divide nigeria ,his desire admirable and his resolve great, but his actions unforgivable. He has sown a seed of discord and hate in this great nation and helped to found a notion that the country can never be truly one. May God grant his soul peace, he had honest intentions but ultimately could not match that with adequate solutions. His effort has contributed to the current despicable situation in the country , however his are minor to the several leaders and characters that have shaped our history.
Ojukwu I salute you , a truly good Nigerian

when i read your text, few things came into my mind. is either your a fool or mischievous or ignorance of every thing that  constitute nigeria.

please for ur information,  you just express the height of your stupidity.

abadaba:

Does it mean you are all blind except when it is an Igbo issue?.

I doubt if yoruba people have an appetite and or tendency for persecuting Igbo people for any reason, or over any period of time cast a cloud of suspicion upon their fellow Nigerian where such is not warranted.
There seems to be this apprehension that some elements in the Igbo community want to dislodge from the country, which might seat uncomfortably with every Nigerian and create distance . Look at lagos and see diversity and how they all get along. You tell me is that the same attitude enjoyed by igbo's in kaduna or if yoruba people enjoy such warmth in onitsha?

Ngozi, and the vanquished team, are now revamping the enormous economic damage done by the victors . Bartho is improving power supply . In the Army, the most competent can now lead, whatever his tribe or religion. For the first time, NNPC now submit their budget for Senate approval. Ngozi and Bartho are also attracting Foreign Direct Investments. Zik's vision is for the Restoration of the Dignity of the Black Man. But let no one forget that after giving out Foreign-owned companies, to the victor's cronies, through indigenisation decree in 1973, all the companies became bankrupt by 1983, and the new owners beame millionaires. The same thing happened to schools, like abandoned properties. The TRANSFORMATION AGENDA is a task that must be accomplished.

iiiyyyk:

when i read your text, few things came into my mind. is either your a fool or mischievous or ignorance of every thing that  constitute nigeria.

please for ur information,  you just express the height of your stupidity.

I've not failed to acclaim the man as being of great integrity all I have done is question his decisions and actions. We all see where we are.  The Nigerian nation is paying tribute to this charismatic man but we can't ignore the feeling that his decision to breakaway and draw the nation into civil war was in no one's interest and at the conclusion of the war no one's benefit. Several decades later that region that provided our first president is yet to provide another. A constant elevation of the biafra nation over nigeria does not help such region.
Igbo people love their ikemba for no other reason but because he is Igbo. You try view him through the eyes of a nigerian, and you'll know how I feel. He betrayed the nation. History is written on the account of the victors, it's a good time to chose whose side you are on biafra or nigeria!!!,

The goodwill and praise ojukwu is receiving now is nothing but polite people being decent. You never speak ill of a dead man it is said.

can you people just bury this wuruwuru man and let us rest? I'm not surprised everyone now praising him knowing fully well that the only thing Nigerian govt know how to celebrate is mediocrity. persin wey no fit win election from his own people, someone they all abandoned when he his life was ebbing away in london but now being celebrated sometimes i wonder why Igbos prefer to spend more on the dead than those alive.

Its not in the Nigerian spirit for a man leading his people to flee from the warfront

It seems ones it comes to an Igbo issue a good number of non Igbos on Nairaland gets irritated. I thought Igbos too had the same right as every other Nigerian to express his/her thought as an Igbo person on this forum.

Igbos certainly have the right to express their views and others have the right to be irritated that is life. I believe irritability is a normal human reaction from which Igbos are not immune. If different people occupy the same space and don't get irritated then something is definitely wrong
I personally am irritated by what I call a VICTIM COMPLEX which I must confess I have only encountered online.

sweet_gala:

I've not failed to acclaim the man as being of great integrity all I have done is question his decisions and actions. We all see where we are.  The Nigerian nation is paying tribute to this charismatic man but we can't ignore the feeling that his decision to breakaway and draw the nation into civil war was in no one's interest and at the conclusion of the war no one's benefit. Several decades later that region that provided our first president is yet to provide another. A constant elevation of the biafra nation over nigeria does not help such region.
Igbo people love their ikemba for no other reason but because he is Igbo. You try view him through the eyes of a nigerian, and you'll know how I feel. He betrayed the nation. History is written on the account of the victors, it's a good time to chose whose side you are on biafra or nigeria!!!,

The goodwill and praise ojukwu is receiving now is nothing but polite people being decent. You never speak ill of a dead man it is said.

  It is clear u dont know the course of the war, i will advise you go and read more and also go and study the document released after the aburi accord on how nigeria should be govern.  ojukwu didn't just wake up to go to war,

He saw what others then could not see 46yrs ago. the  situation of nigeria today has vindicated him hence the huge accolades he is receiving both locally and internationally.

i will also like u to know that he is not receiving praises just becouse he is death, rather his death has provided a rare opportunity for people to air their mind about him and nigeria in general.

He called for a restructuring of the way Nigeria is being governed. i put it to you today unless that  is done, nigeria has no future.

i dont want to talk about presidency and igbos gains or lose in the war because you are yet to understand the basics
please dont pity the igbos for us, we dont need your pity. igbos are still economically and academicaly better than others in nigeria.
we have no regret for the war.

the truth is that we need another ojukwu today.

This was exactly my first point!Respect for a dead man is not vindication of anything!

Certainly that remains the Nigerian position . This sort of posturing is a rather unfortunate triumphalism not dissimilar to another type that was seen at an earlier time.

We live together but understand little about each others sensitivities.

Of course we all hold different opinions but if we want peace then circumspection is needed now.Boastfulness,I told you so and similar pontifications are easy but achieve nothing

tellmemore:

It seems ones it comes to an Igbo issue a good number of non Igbos on Nairaland gets irritated. I thought Igbos too had the same right as every other Nigerian to express his/her thought as an Igbo person on this forum.

Yep you are right and that does not give them the right to lie or try to incite hate on others.

Such rights is what cause the holocaust

aribisala0:

Igbos certainly have the right to express their views and others have the right to be irritated that is life. I believe irritability is a normal human reaction from which Igbos are not immune. If different people occupy the same space and don't get irritated then something is definitely wrong
I personally am irritated by what I call a VICTIM COMPLEX which I must confess I have only encountered online.

I think you may have a point there, I'm just writing what I have observed the few times I have managed to come on Nairaland. While this is going on here a Nigerian in the US who has been arrested for stealing or attempting to steal a laptop of all things and many more is about to be jailed.
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/02/29/police-arrest-oluwafemi-t-charles-for-break-on-maryland-campus/

I am not really sure what the relevance of the arrest story is to this thread.Though Nowhere does it tell us he is Nigerian unless you know him personally.
If it is of such great interest to you why not create a thread.

ojukwu is nigeria's greatest legend of all time. the only visionary leader this country has ever had.

All those that fought against his ideology of restructuring the way the nigeria state should be governed most be ashamed of their moyopism now. because, the nigeria project is a failed project.

The aburi accord was the only time in the history of this country that a leader(Ojukwu) sat down to discourse the future of this nation with the welfare of the people in mind

I pray northern nigeria do not become another somalia, as a result of millions of youths without hope,job or voice socially abused by their own leaders and  deceiving them with religious antics.

while the south continue to lose investors as a result of the activities within the north and a federal government without vision, combined with millions of frustrated paper graduates that might one day turn to become chain of militants and kidnapers.

   one nigeria is shadow of its potential. because some illiterates refuse to harken to the voice of vision and reason of Dim ojukwu b4 the war.