"I was his orderly in 1965".

The Nation Online Feb 25 2012

Alhaji Yusuf Abdukadir Kanabe, 62, was about 18 years old in 1965  when he met and worked with the late Ojukwu as his orderly in Kano. He was among the first 38 people that were trained by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu for about nine months in what is today Nigeria Army Intelligence. He spoke at his Lagos residence with Associate Editor,Taiwo Ogundipe 

 

TELL us about your first encounter with the late Emeka Odumegwu OjukwuThe late Ojukwu was my boss. As a young military officer from the military school, he picked me out from a parade and made me his door orderly in Kano as the then Commanding Officer of the 5th Battalion. Before you see him, you must first see me. You must first fill a form on my table which I would take to him. If he wanted to see you he would tell me to ask you to come in. If he wanted to give you an appointment to come at later date, he would ask to tell you that. He was a very straight forward man. If I can quote him like he said during the death of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he was also the best president we never had. If you do your work like the book says it should be done you were his friend. He was a detribalised Nigerian. However, he was misunderstood by everybody. That was why he found himself controversial. But he was a very good, down-to-earth man. I happened to work with him for over 18 months.

What role did Ojukwu play during the military and political crises that engulfed the country starting with the Major Nzeogwu’s coup?Ojukwu was not a sentimental person. When the crisis happened he aligned himself with the then Head of Government, General Aguiyi Ironsi. He did not support the Nzeogwu coup. He was, however, a lone voice. And as they say, one tree cannot make a forest. During the second coup after the death of Ironsi, he insisted that the most senior officer then would have to take over the government. His idea was not bought. During the war that later broke out, we the junior officers did not know what we were fighting for. We were only told that somebody was rebelling against the government of the republic. We did not know what actually caused the fight. We just fought blindly. When the first coup happened, the government stabilised for some time. He was appointed governor of Eastern Nigeria. To tell you how detribalised he was, his personal driver was Yusuf Azi, a Berom who hailed from Jos. His chief clerk was an Igala man, one Pius Ayegba. When he was leaving to become governor of the Eastern Nigeria he called all of us - members of the office staff together - and gave us a pep talk. He urged us to always be at our best. He told us that we part to meet and meet to part. Another person came to take over from him. The then Major Umar Sanda Ike Nwachukwu was his second-in-command. Ike Nwachukwu was the then training officer in the 5th Battalion in Kano. 

Some people are of the view that Ojukwu escaped being consumed in the crises because he was residing outside the barrack in Kano. Was this true?Ojukwu lived inside the barrack. His house was being guarded by soldiers. He was not afraid of anything. He lived in the officers’ quarters with his wife.  The first son, Dominic was born in our hands. Ojukwu’s first wife was a Ghanaian lady before he married Njideka, the mother of Emeka. He was a straight-forward human being. During the crises when the war eventually broke out, Ojukwu was painted black as somebody rebelling against the government of the day and we the troops on the side of the federal government were just fighting blindly. What he saw in 1969 when the war still on is what Nigeria is doing as Vision 2020. You can see that the man was brilliant. But he was misunderstood by the powers-that-be. 

Can you say categorically say that Ojukwu was not part of the first coup led by Nzeogwu?He was not part of the coup and he was not in the know. That was why he refused to recognize Nzeogwu who was then the training officer at the Nigeria Army Training College in Kaduna. He did not support the coup at all. He was telling Nzeogwu what he did was wrong and he even detained him in Kaduna. Ojukwu wanted to even march troops into Kaduna but he was asked to hold because it was said that Nzeogwu was not fighting everybody then but the ten percenters. Nzeogwu who hailed from Asaba was released and he left for the East. It was at Obollo that Nzeogwu was killed during the civil war and brought to Kaduna and was given a national burial. Ojukwu, as I said, did not support the coup but when the pogrom started after the second coup when they started killing the Ibos, he was prompted to declare the state of Biafra. If we are asking for a list of patriots for this Republic, Ojukwu will be number one. He wanted one Nigeria. I don’t mind being arrested for saying what I’m saying. He is the best patriot I’ve known. They are not very many. The other one like him that I know include Mallam Dogo, that is, General Muhammadu Buhari whom I served in Maiduguri as duty officer when he was the military governor of the North Eastern State then. Another person like him was my other master, Tunde Idiagbon who was the brigade major where I was brigade intelligence officer in the then 3 Infantry Brigade, Maiduguri. He was also a straight forward human being. No corner. He would tell you as it is. 

Did Ojukwu never show any tendency, or threaten that he might later lead the Eastern Nigeria to secede when he was in Kano?No, there was nothing like that whatsoever because then everybody was everybody’s brother. There was no threat whatsoever. What brought about the threat and such tendency was after the second military coup that brought Yakubu Gowon to power as Head of State. Ojukwu was made the governor of Eastern Nigeria. It was after that second coup that the problem started. The senior officers were holding their meetings here and there. They eventually went to Aburi in Ghana. Although we as junior officers did not know what happened there, Ojukwu came back to issue that famous statement that it was on Aburi Accord they stood. He insisted that the Aburi Accord should be upheld otherwise there was not going to be any deal. It was from that point that they started having problem. What I think happened was that somebody was not sincere about whatever was the outcome of the meeting. There was no secession after the first coup. Everything was going until when they killed in Ibadan, General Ironsi and his host, Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi . 

How was he as a boss?He was a very good listener and a team player. He would always approach issues with an attitude of collectivism. He would always acknowledge and consider your point of view, but if he is not convinced about it he would then say, what if we do it like this and not what if I do it like this. He would talk to a private soldier like he would talk to an officer. He would bring himself down to the level he thought you would be able to understand him as a person. The Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, was a very good friend of his. He used to come even at odd hours to see him. The Emir like my Commanding Officer, Ojukwu was a very young man then. Ojukwu spoke Hausa language very well. He was too good a man.

What was his typical day like?He unfailingly used to inspect muster parade every morning. He would assess the appearances of the soldiers and officers on parade. He would then go and settle down in his office to carry out his official tasks.  The office hours then usually ended at one o’clock to one thirty. Ojukwu would stay back for a while, if it was necessary, to attend to official matters. And when he was done he would get up, UnCloth, put on his sports dress, take his squash racquet and go to the PT ground to play squash. And after the game, he would come back to the office, remove his sports dress, he would dress up and drive to his house which was a short distance from his office within the barrack. Sometimes on Wednesdays when every soldier would go to the training ground, Ojukwu would go to see how each company was performing - especially when they returned from Congo.    

Did you have any further interaction with him after he became governor of Eastern Nigeria? During the crisis I was moved first to Makurdi and then to Garkem, the boundary between Tiv land and Ogoja, where the war started in July 1967. It was one Major Opallo and a man called Nasko who were in the artillery that fired the first shot that declared the war open after the police action. I did not see Ojukwu for many years until when he was pardoned. I visited him at Bassilica House in Ikoyi on two occasions after he returned from Ivory Coast.

How was Ojukwu as a family man?I was not working in his house but to the best of my knowledge, he was a good family man. He would buy things and ask somebody to take to his house. I also took that habit after him. I also do the same things for my family. Ojukwu knew what a woman wants. A woman wants good food to eat and she wants to wear good clothes around her body. He would go out and buy these things and send to his house. This would always make a woman happy. And he would not bring a strange woman to the house. And his wife, Njideka never came to interfere with him in his office. What were his likes and dislikes?Ojukwu liked the good things of life. He liked beautiful women. If you were not beautiful, you were not his type of woman. One thing I really liked about him was that he was a very bold man. He would tell you to your face what he felt about an issue no matter what you thought about him. He would always make his point. I learnt boldness from him. He was never easily intimidated. Although he had a wide knowledge but he would always put his ear to the ground learn of people’s opinions on issues. He also sought advice from people. 

Another thing popularly known about him was his high level of intelligence and intellectual capacity, how did you see him in this light.He spoke Queens English fluently. He was an avid reader. He had a shelf of rich choice books in his office. Was Ojukwu carrying himself as a son of a very rich man?No! It was just as if he was bearing his name like any other Ibo name. That period, if ten big passenger buses passed on the highway, his father had six or seven of among them.  The then Ojukwu Transport Company was a big outfit. If he had thought of his father’s wealth, he would not have joined the army. He wanted to be an individual man. He was interested in people. He was always curious to know them well. I also learnt truthfulness from him. He could not stand liars. 

How did he spend his leisure hours when you were with him in Kano?Ojukwu was a very good cigarette smoker. He was also a good mixer who interacted with officers and men.  There was no soldier, sergeant or warrant officer who would ever say that Ojukwu snubbed him. He was not like your run-of-the-mill officer who just went to NMTC (Nigeria Military Training College) and got commissioned into the officer’s corps. This was somebody who left King’ College, Lagos to Eton and Oxford in Britain and he came in, I think, as one of the first two graduate officers in the Nigerian Army. He was well-polished and a gentleman to the core. Talking about his social life, was there any scandal involving him and women?None! There was no scandal involving him and any woman as far as I knew. But he liked fine women. There was no scandal. How could there have been scandal? Ojukwu as a commanding officer as at that period was a very big man. Which woman would make a scandal with him? He was just like a honeybee. They would want to come and suck from him. He didn’t have to go and start looking for any woman. They would come and look for such a person as him. Even an average man like me would attract any woman if they see that I dress well. They will think I have much money stacked up somewhere. Let alone, somebody like Ojukwu.  He used to ride a Mercedes Benz car painted in Army colour as a staff car. Not many people enjoyed that privilege that time. He also had other imported cars which were very rare inside the whole town. Naturally with this kind of status he was a big attraction to women. So there was no basis for scandal.

In the barrack, we had what we called tombola. People used to come from outside to play the tombola on Friday nights. They were drinking as they were playing. Ojukwu was often part of it. He had so many friends. Kano is a metropolitan city just like Lagos. 

At the end of every year there was what we called Battalion WASA. Ojukwu never joked with it. He would gather every ethnic group. Each group would bring its own type of dance. A good number of cows would be slaughtered. Different dishes and delicacies would be prepared by the various ethnic groups. Everybody would have a good time. He was very friendly with officers and men. As a human being Ojukwu would have had some bad sides. Which ones did you know him with?            I don’t know. To the best of my knowledge he had none.  

Are you saying he didn’t have some fault or vices as a human being?The only thing I knew of him was that he liked very beautiful women. Even you sitting in front of me, I’m sure, you would not see a beautiful woman and take your eyes off. He was also a serious smoker and he drank beer. As a smoker he loved Craven A which was the cigarette in vogue then. His favourite beer was Star beer.

What should the government do in his remembrance?I want the Federal Republic of Nigeria to immortalise him by naming one particular gigantic edifice after him. He did so much for Nigeria. You will not complete the history of Nigeria without mentioning him. He was not among the stealing caucus. That was why most of his ideas could not see the light of day. They should find a good barrack and name it after him because he did so much for the Nigeria Army. As the Quarter-Master General of the Nigeria Army before he was posted to Kano, he changed the Nigeria Army Uniform from the colonial style of khaki shirt and short knickers as well as the ancient type of stockings which were rolled round the legs up to the knees. He commissioned the Kaduna Textile Mill to design using local fabrics to save the country foreign exchange. The British never forgave him for this because he stopped them from making money. He also changed the architecture of the Nigeria Army Barracks from the hut structures to modern brick buildings. If a barrack could not be named after him, they should find a befitting monument to honour him with because, as I said, you cannot complete the history of Nigeria without talking about him. He should also be given a state burial like a head of government.

Do you think Nigeria would want to immortalise him in view of the fact that he triggered a war that cost so much in terms of men and material?Which war? Ojukwu did not cause the war. Nigeria caused the war. What is happening now, as I said, was not up to what happened before they took up arms. If I was in the position of Ojukwu and I saw my people being twisted the way they were, I would take up arms. If you as a person cannot do what Ojukwu did if you see your people being treated the way Ibos were, you are not a human being. I lost my commission in the army because of principles. They said if I advanced more than I was I was going to jail all of them. I am enjoying my pension despite the fact that it is not coming as it should when it is due. Ojukwu is my hero up till tomorrow because there is nobody like him.   Do you think even his fellow Ibos have appreciated him well enough?I think they have. We are in a republic of deceit. So many people do not want to say the truth. What he did for the Ibo nation even Azikwe did not do it for them.

Some people believe it was not right of him to have abandoned his people and absconded to Ivory Coast on exile during the war…  If it were you wouldn’t you have run? A living hero is better than a dead one because he will be alive to tell stories. If he had allowed himself to be killed as Gaddafi like a chicken you would not be talking about him today. And if he had come back to join the Nigerian Peoples Party, the Zik or Ibo party, people would have branded him a tribalist. If I were him I would have done the same thing. It is the man who gave me a stick or rope as a lifeline to get me out of the well that I will lay by his side. And when the situation had cooled down I would then know where I belonged like he did with people of like minds to later form APGA now controlling two states, Anambra and Imo. This is like what Tinubu is doing in the Southwest with ACN. I will urge the entire Igbo nation to belong to APGA. Ojukwu will feel well and turn in his grave with satisfaction to say this is what I fought for. I want an Ibo man to become the head of the government this republic in 2015 so that Ojukwu would know that he fought and fought well for the Ibos. He was not looking for anything personal. If he was looking for anything personal, his father had money for him. He would not have joined the army. He wanted to be a man of his own. By the reckoning of Nigerians then, his father was the richest Nigerian alive. The population of the country then was about 57 million. His father was the richest Nigerian alive. During that period, the general notion of the average Nigerian was it was only those who were not well-to-do that joined the army. Some of us who came from a humble background did so because we wanted to contribute our own little quota to the republic and make Nigeria became what it became. 

Do you think the Biafran ideology is dead with Ojukwu?    It cannot die with him. It is just like what Osama Bin Laden said: If you kill me, Osama Bin Laden, there are a thousand and one Osama Bin Ladens right inside America. We have Uwazurike and we have more than 50, 000 Uwazurike in Ibo land. What we are experiencing now in the country is not even as bad as what was happening as at 1966/1967. What we are experiencing now in Nigeria is not up to what we had that made him to take up arms against the republic. It is worse now and if these things are not properly looked into, we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder. Let Jonathan not be the last president of Nigeria. Let him think very properly and meet with the people he has to meet with and make sure things go on very well. In 1966 there was no Boko Haram. We do not know where they are going to strike next. 

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/saturday-magazine/weekend-treat/interview/28484-‘i-was-his-orderly-in-kano-in-1965’.html

This is truly a loyal orderly and friend.

Fronpage please

More truth is still coming out now R.I.P ikemba Nnewi the man who saw tomorrow

May he R.I.P

It shall never be well with the death that took you.Wish money can buy you sir.RIP BIG DADDY

Bump

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FRONTPAGE PLEASE!!!

A truly fearless and honest officer.
The type of people that would have made Nigeria a truly united powerful country.

Waiting for the usual suspects. . .
YakoDanu, Ike Elo, ToothBlue etc

GENERAL OJUKWU IS INDEED A GREAT MAN

yoruba ruler :
GENERAL OJUKWU IS INDEED A GREAT MAN

When did he become a general? He was a mere Lt. Colonel not even a full Colonel. Read your history and stop engaging in shameful propaganda!