Wednesday, 19 June 2013
If “There Was A Country” – Let Them Have It
By Omodunni Ishola
I have resisted the urge to join in comments on the memoirs of Prof. Chinua Achebe hoping that someone will arise amongst the Ibos who will be temperate in his comments. So far, all the commentators from among the Ibo tribe have toed the line of Achebe’s “impression”. The only moderate exception so far, in my opinion, has been Chimamanda Adichie, who in her article “We Remember Differently” tried to present a balanced view of the memoir of Chinua Achebe. Even then, what I considered “moderate” has been the subject of a number of protests.
The young woman said, “... but I do not believe the blockade was a calculated power grab by Awolowo for himself and his ethnic group; I think of it, instead, as one of the many dehumanizing acts that war, by its nature, brings about”. In making this statement, she identified the real murderer of innocent lives from 1967 – 1970, on both sides of the conflict. It was “WAR”. It should not have been started. Once you start it, you lose control of its consequences. The only way to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe is to prevent war. The people that should be held responsible for the deaths during the civil war were the persons that caused the war.
She opined further, “I wish THERE WAS A COUNTRY had been better edited ...” I agree with her.
WHERE ARE THE ELDERS?
In every society, elders are expected to act as restraining agents to the coming generation and use their experiences in life to guide their descendants into a life of peace and prosperity. I find the opposite in the “impression” of Chinua Achebe. The encoded message in that book seems to be, “my fellow Ibo people, I am 82 years old and I can die any moment from now. Do not forget, the Yorubas are your enemies, they killed two million of our children during the civil war because they wanted power at all costs.”
This is how Ibo leaders have interpreted the “impression” of Chinua Achebe. Almost all the Ibo leaders, as well as notable columnists and Ibo bloggers have claimed, “the truth has been told”. Since when has a man’s impression become the “truth”? So, if I say “it is my impression that you are a paedophile”, would it be right for those who hear me to say, “the truth has been told”. As I mentioned earlier, THERE WAS A COUNTRY is a coded message to the Ibos and they decoded it correctly.
I am of the opinion that it is in the best interest of the Ibo people that Chinua Achebe should correct the wrong impression that he has created. If he does not do that before he dies, he would have laid the foundation for a terrible calamity to befall his people. Sooner or later, they are going to act on this “impression”, and the consequences will be disastrous. Achebe has distorted reality for the Ibos and created a wrong world view for them. The result of such mind set can only be disaster.
The attitude of the Ibos to the civil war is quite opposite the attitude of the Germans to the Second World War. The Germans accepted responsibility for causing the war and moved to prevent a re-occurrence. They actually built a house in Bonn named “Haus der Geschichte”, which means “house of history” in which they documented the Second World War. They preserved vehicle, train, guns, books and videos of the war. They did not exclude the videos of the holocaust. The impressive part of it is that when their sons reach the age of 9, or thereabout, they will take him to the “Haus der Geschichte” and show him the horrors of the war and the atrocities that the German army committed against the Jews and impress on that child, “it must never happen again”. I was actually at the Haus der Geschichte and I witnessed a father taking his child round. The young boy was weeping profusely but his father kept taking him round.
This is what elders are supposed to do; they are NOT expected to transfer the poison that caused destruction in their generation to their descendants. The Ibos pride themselves that in Iboland there is no king; is it that there are no elders either?
What Professor Achebe has done is wrong. He did the wrong thing at the wrong time. There are emerging windows of opportunity for complete healing and restoration from the civil war. In the first term of governor Fashola, an Ibo man was appointed a Commissioner in Lagos State. A responsible and sagacious elder would have urged the Ibos to reciprocate by appointing a Yoruba man a Commissioner in Ibo land. If he had done that, healing and restoration from the hurts of the past would have been accelerated. As it is, Chinua Achebe has re-opened old wounds and driven a wedge between the Yorubas and the Ibos. I am yet to see what the Ibos will gain from what Achebe has done, but I can foresee what they will lose, both in the short and long terms. For one, you can forget the prospect of an Ibo president in 2015. Let us face the truth, no Hausa man, in the foreseeable future, will support an Ibo presidency. You must first wipe out the memory of the death of the Sardauna and Tafawa Balewa from their brain. It will take the intervention of the West, as it happened for Goodluck Jonathan, for an Ibo president to emerge.
The Ibos caused the war, and till today, they refused to accept responsibility for it. Chinua Achebe was one of the people that drafted the Ahiara Declaration and he has not let go of the dream of Biafra. Inwardly, he is blaming Obafemi Awolowo, as the skilful manager that enabled the Federal side to win and scuttle the Biafran dream. The claim that two million Ibo children were killed during the Civil War is calculated to whip up sentiments. Did Achebe conduct a census before and after the war? The original figure that was made known after the war was that one million people died during the Nigerian Civil War; and it was not only among the Ibos that people died.
IT WAS ALL MADNESS
It is on record that Awolowo did persuade Ojukwu to desist from secession. Hilary Njoku, the head of the Biafran army at the beginning of the war, stated in his memoirs, A Tragedy Without Heroes, “ When Ojukwu moved too fast recklessly in his ostrich strategy, the same Chief Awolowo led a delegation of Western and some Midwestern leaders to Enugu on 6th May, 1967 and pleaded with Ojukwu not to secede, reminding him that the Western Region was not militarily ready to follow suit in view of the weaknesses of the Western Command of the Nigerian Army and the dominant position of the Northern troops in the West. Ojukwu turned a deaf ear to this advice maybe because of his wrong concept”. (p.141) No Ibo man shouted here, “the truth has been told!”
I watched Ojukwu on NTA after his return from exile. He was asked what was responsible for the civil war and he responded “it was all madness”. If Chinua Achebe now claims that “2 million” Ibo people died as a result of the civil war, Obafemi Awolowo did not kill them; they were killed by the war which was the result of “madness” and “recklessness”.
Sun Tzu on The Art of War said, “Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.” Awolowo analyzed the situation and concluded that the West was not ready to initiate war. That is not cowardice that is common sense. You do not start what you lack the capacity to finish. He gave the same advice to Ojukwu in May 1967, but Ojukwu with the likes of Chinua Achebe rejected the counsel and led the Ibos into a path of destruction. 42 years after the war, they are still looking for someone to hang the blame upon.
Sun Tzu further said “He will win who know when to fight and when not to fight.” You fight when you are ready for war. You do not precipitate a war situation under a burst of emotional anger. War is a serious matter because once you start it you lose control over its consequences. What kind of a leader will precipitate a war against a sovereign state with 120 rifles?
SOWING THE WRONG SEED
I am pained to write on this subject because I have some decent, civilized and broad minded Ibo people as my friends. Some of them are out rightly upset whenever they hear of Biafra. There are Ibos living in the West who are willing to integrate and forget the past and move forward. They believe that every nation has its history and every relationship has its downside. Unfortunately, with poison spewing tribal leaders like Chinua Achebe still around, the dream of cultural integration and unity in Nigeria will remain a mirage.
I foresee that sooner or later, an emotionally charged group of Ibo people are going to act on the false impression created by Professor Chinua Achebe and the consequences will be disastrous for the Ibo people. You see, war is a scourge and no human society is ever ready for it. What Nigerians call “gra gra” is not courage; it is presumption. On the other hand, moderation and temperance, which the Yorubas exhibit is not cowardice; it is cultural maturity. In a multi ethnic society, you cannot have an attitude of “me first, and me only”, it will always bring you into conflict with other ethnic groups.
If there should be a skirmish between the Yorubas and the Ibos, arising from this false impression of Chinua Achebe, the Hausa/Fulani do not need an invitation to join. You do not need a soothsayer to tell you which group they are going to attack. They will launch the attack from the North.
DISTORTION OF REALITY
Based on Achebe’s “impression”, the Ibos are vociferously insulting the Yoruba people, forgetting that the safest place for the Ibos presently in Nigeria is in Yorubaland. Even in his ancestral home, the Ibo man is not safe. The only place in Nigeria today, where the Ibo man can make his money peacefully and flaunt it is in the West. If he tries it in the East, he will be kidnapped by his own people. If he tries it in the North, the Hausa man will set his house on fire.
What this saga has exposed is the amount of hatred and ill-will that some Ibo people have towards the Yorubas. It is frightening that people can harbour such hate culture against another group of people, without any justifiable reason, and yet live in their midst. It is increasingly clear that nothing would please some Ibo people more than witnessing a terrible calamity befalling the Yoruba people. As a matter of fact, one gets the general impression that it is the silent prayer of the ilk of Achebe that another civil war should occur and the location should be Yorubaland. The Ibos have forgotten that while the Hausa man was killing them in the North and the Rivers people were taking their properties in the South-South, the Yoruba was helping them to collect rent on their properties in the West and handed both their properties and their rent to them after the war. Besides, during the civil war, was it not the Biafran army that first attacked the West?
Reality has been distorted for the Ibo man. His friend has been presented to him as his enemy and his enemy as his friend. This seems to be the pattern of the Ibo leaders from time immemorial.
• In 1959, Azikiwe claimed to have “won” election in the West, but there was “carpet crossing” by the Yoruba people. No, sir. That is not what happened. Three parties contested the election in the West – AG, NCNC and Ibadan Communal Party. None of them won enough seats to form a government. Ibadan Communal Party formed an alliance with AG leaving NCNC in the opposition. Rather than stay and head the opposition, Azikiwe headed for the East with the story of “winning” the election but there was “carpet crossing”. Do not forget that this is exactly was Azikiwe himself did in 1979 when he broke his merger with UPN and his NPP forged alliance with NPN. Did you hear any Yoruba man complain?
• Ojukwu claimed that Awolowo promised that if the East seceded, the West would follow suit. That is also wrong. Awolowo addressed Yoruba leaders on 1st May 1967 that if the East was allowed to secede, the West would have no other option, but also to leave. He was not talking to Ojukwu. On the contrary, Awolowo led a delegation of Western and Mid-Western leaders to Enugu on 6th May, 1967, to dissuade Ojukwu from seceding. As Hillary Njoku made clear in his memoirs, Ojukwu turned deaf ears. Today, the average Ibo man believes that Awolowo led them into the war. It is a lie.
• Ojukwu told his people that he released Awolowo from prison. Haba! Oga, take it easy now. Gowon is still alive and the newspapers cuttings are still available. An Ibo man did not release Awolowo from prison; Yakubu Gowon did.
Whenever Ibo leaders want to manipulate their people, they play on their Yorubaphobia. A recent occurrence is the Ifeanyi Uba and Coscharis debacle. Uba simply told Cosmas Maduka that “Yoruba people” wanted him out of business in Lagos and against every professional advice, Cosmas Maduka became “emotional” and teamed up with him. It was a 21 billion naira lesson that Yoruba people are neither vindictive nor envious. If they were envious, Coscharis himself would not be operating in the West. Coscharis lost 21 billion naira due to Yorubaphobia, I wonder how much the Ibo people will ultimately lose from this “impression” of Chinua Achebe?
MENTION YOUR FRIEND
Who then is the friend of the Ibos? With the Hausa/Fulani, it is a constant dog and cat relationship. At the slightest provocation, even without any provocation at all, the Hausa/Fulani seem to derive satisfaction in attacking the Ibos in the North. A few days ago, (in November ’12), an Ibo tailor mispronounced a Hausa word in Kano and he was charged with blasphemy. Before you could say “calm down”, Ibo people have been attacked. Three people have been killed, houses were burnt, and shops were looted and destroyed. Down south, there is still animosity between the Ibos and the Rivers people over abandoned property.
That is why I recommend, if THERE WAS A COUNTRY let them have it. The world has moved beyond 1967, when declaration of ethnic independence must be opposed with force. On 18th December 1992, the United Nations adopted resolution 47/135 for the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. All that the Ibos need do is to convene a referendum and take the result to the United Nations. Peacefully, they shall actualize Biafra. I strongly suggest that the Ibos should hold a referendum and settle this Biafra issue once and for all.
Rather than remain in the entity called Nigeria and be at loggerheads with the other ethnic groups, you can have your country. I do not expect Chinua Achebe to correct the wrong impression that he has handed down to his tribe. The only other option, is for the country that was, to become the country that is, if majority of the Ibo people want it so.
If there was a country, you can have it.
Omodunni Ishola
omodunni77@yahoo.com
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
Comments
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comments on there was a country
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 14, 2013 - 07:38.
There was no actual difference between the people who caused the war and people who finally lead the war.if You actually go back and compere several accounts of the civil war and the actions from 1964 in Nigeria,but before the war some of them have been killed but but the ones still alive lead the war in both sides.
Every one has their own
Submitted by negruvoda (not verified) on March 4, 2013 - 12:33.
Every one has their own hobbies that aid them to cope with the daily routine and to cherish the best moments in their life. Mine is traveling, a great hobby, but sometimes a little expensive. I love to travel around the world, especially Dubai because it has a lot of tourist destinations and I enjoyed this region very much, it's like a second home for me. Right now I am searching for tips to find the best offer for Dubai.
MISINTERPRETATIONS
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on February 19, 2013 - 21:26.
It is quite wrong for Chiamanda Adichie to be suggesting to Achebe the lines to use...i would wish we read and read and read, deviod of sentiments and tribal insinuations....these are surely Achebes interpretation of the Civil War he saw.If we begin to imagine what may be or what would become, we are wrong...Nigeria has definitely past that level. Lets not even imagine.
festus the unfortunate
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on January 29, 2013 - 14:18.
kai festus u r such an unfortunate being, i thought u reserve ultimate respect elderly people. Omo ale nio....omo ale. For calling ur grandfather's mate a baboon. Oni she orire. Ur children will always be embarrased by your presence and pray u just die. The world will be a better place if we have less villainous people like Festus Toju the Undesirable. Thank you
Ishola, Illorin Nko
Submitted by Igbofact (not verified) on January 29, 2013 - 14:08.
Psychologically i understand their was so much adrenaline in your system when you were writing this piece. You were Angry about Acehebe's book but that only how far you can go. let me punctuate some of your submissions- "If there should be a skirmish between the Yorubas and the Ibos, arising from this false impression of Chinua Achebe, the Hausa/Fulani do not need an invitation to join. You do not need a soothsayer to tell you which group they are going to attack. They will launch the attack from the North". So they are now your comrade-in-arms?, how about when you decide to liberate your kiths and kins in illorin and kogi who are under perpetual "emirate" slavery, i'm sure they will welcome you with their open arms and kiss your yoruba feet. I really laugh at these Oduduwa Scion called Ishola and his ilk who only remember their fellow vandals in north when they want to take a swipe at Igbo. I just dey laugh
For the record
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on January 29, 2013 - 13:15.
dele, when u talk like that you betray the respect i have for few sensible yourbas( i'll take ur senile case as an isolated one) So the Adekunle that could only produce a Igbo juvenile as a war trophy and POW is now your hero. Yes i am Igbo; we lost the war, you won the war by standing behind cheering the infanticide and market bombing committed by you and the hausas,of course with british and russian war machinery and merceneries emptying into lagos ceaselessly. Read The Biafra Story By Frederick Forsyth. It was written not by and Igbo or Yoruba man.There are so many other book on the war Dedicate some fraction of your time to learn the history of your Nigeria and stop being loudmouthed. I believe that Igboland would have being invaded like illorin by the H/F, if the Igbo did not resist the total ethnic cleansing that was about to befall them
reply
Submitted by onyeigbo (not verified) on January 21, 2013 - 17:03.
Why are the yoruba people afraid whenever the Igbos bring up the issue about how their people were slaughtered en masse during the civil war? Yoruba cowards like you attack our elder who has decided to open the eyes of we the young ones of igbo origin to the hatred of our kin by the yoruba who together with your masters the Hausa,seek to destroy the igbo man. You have tried, killed us in millions but you don't need a "soothsayer" using your own words to tell you that the igbo man cannot be crushed. And besides it is not in our intrest for another civil war to occur whether in the West or anywhere else. Biafra will be actualized peacefully
Daoud Akano & the Masterpiece for Cowards and Pimps
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 16, 2012 - 10:49.
Daoud Akano and Owodumni Ishola sure deserve each other-both oodua cowards. Daoud, a lesser coward, probably a unless dog has entered the competition for coward-in-chief. Who wins this ignoble race is a matter for another day. Suffice it to say that Dauod has proved more stupid, more puerile more unprincipled, more opportunistic and more lily-livered a coward than his erstwhile useless mentor Owodunmi. Whoever wins the race of the spineless will occupy the place in hell meant for vile crooks, cowards and despicable chameleons.
Many thanks,Omodunni! Mr S.
Submitted by Daoud Akano (not verified) on December 15, 2012 - 17:22.
Many thanks,Omodunni! Mr S. Kadiri, in another masterpice contibution has shown Igbo leaders (and i hope, not people) as greedy, unprincipled opportunists who have consitently teamed up with the Hausa-Fulani to block the road to Nigeria's progress out of puerile jealousy (and unfounded fear) of the Yoruba. Achebe hid himself away until Awo, Zik and Ojukwu died before having his vile and hideous "impression" that Awo decided to starve Biafrans so that "his Yoruba people" might advance. What a gratuitous insult! Maybe he thought Awo should have gone to Ikene to prepare gari and oha soup for daily shipment to Biafran soldiers to prove his love for Igbo. But let us always remember that the Igbo is a great race that has produced extra-ordinary human beings like Maj CK Nzeogwu who remains my hero for ever and patriots like Ndubuisi Kanu, Ebitu Ukiwe, Joe Igbokwe, etc.
Dele, i never knew
Submitted by Chika (not verified) on December 15, 2012 - 07:19.
Dele, i never knew psychiatric patients like u can still comment. It is either u r suffering frm amnesia, or depression, or schizophrenia. Pls someone tk him to d hospital, he is really sick, he needs help.
re: Listen I Have Read Odunsi's
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 19:10.
You father is Yoruba and your mother is "delta". That is meaningless. Delta is not an ethnic group or are you ashamed of your group?. Achebe was not looking for any villain neither was he writing to please you or anyone else.
Awolowo made himself a villain when he proclaimed that starvation was an instrument of war and targeted women and children with the policy which claimed 2 million Ibo lives. He also proclaimed his policy on the roof top inviting the world media to hear him even as he committed war crimes. You are asking Achebe to conceal the truth so you can build a"great nation" on a foundation of falsehood. That has not happened. So live with the truth or hug the nearest transformer and take yourself out of the scene.
Ishola, u r more or less
Submitted by Chika (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 17:54.
Ishola, u r more or less blaming d igbos 4 d war. U hv only aggravated d issue. U r as guilty as u claim achebe is. I dont beliv in war nor in biafra, however, its not a crime if biafra wanted to stay on their own, it hasnt made them d cause of d war. D fact is gowon n britain were fighting 4 d oil, not one nigeria. As 4 awolowo of blessed memory, he wouldnt say he wasnt instrumental to wot happened to over one million biafran children. He hands were soiled tk it or leave it. He remains d legacy of western nigeria, personally i admire him.
Owodunmi Ishola- The Coward-in-Chief
Submitted by Yellowe Briggs (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 17:01.
A coward is a coward. Owodunmi Ishola is one spineless buffon who shoots his mouth widely. This cowardly Odua cockroach is already counting on Hausa help to fight. The same way Afonja sought Fulani help only for them to seize Illorin where yorubas are now slaves. Northerners have no respect for Yoruba cowards. Usman Farouk recalled telling them to shut up in 1967. Every generation of Yoruba produces its own coward-in-chief. Awolowo committed suicide after his close allies betrayed him. Abiola was chained to the floor like a dog until he died like a dog. Obasanjo slept with his son's wife for awure. Among a brood of spinless cowards, who wears the coward-in-chief crown now? Would lily-livered Omodunmi Ishola fit the bill? Time will tell.
The igbos hate Yorubas and are our political enemies...2
Submitted by Dele Awogbeoba (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 16:42.
They wanted the Yoruba to secede so that the Nigerian army focuses its fire power on the west first whilst allowing the East to have the breathing space to arm.
They joined with Abacha as the chief instigators in order to provoke the Yoruba to go to war.
They objected to the speakership going to the west after Jonathan's victory.
In our history, the IGBO's have always been the existential threat to Yoruba political interest!
They hide their true intent by accusing us first!
The igbos hate Yorubas and are our political enemies...1
Submitted by Dele Awogbeoba (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 16:41.
The great thing about the debate is it exposes the igbos:
They accuse Yorubas of joining the hausa during the war. It is now discovered that they joined the hausa NPC government to marginalise and exclude all southern tribes from federal positions.
They joined the hausa to divide the west and create the mid west and so weaken the Yoruba.
The igbo allied with the hausa to put Awolowo in jail.
They (igbos) financed the killing and destruction in the west after the 1965 elections in order to subjugate the Yoruba and the west.
They igbo coupists killed Yoruba public officials and army officers and their pregnant wives in their naked power grab.
Ironsi kept Awolowo in prison and only promoted 30 igbo officers and 3 northerners. He Overlooked all Yoruba officers (incl OBJ and adekunle who kicked their ass on the battle field)
The IGBOS are our enemies!!
Submitted by Dele Awogbeoba (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 16:32.
The great thing about the debate is it exposes the igbos:
They accuse Yorubas of joining the hausa during the war. It is now discovered that they joined the hausa NPC government to marginalise and exclude all southern tribes from federal positions.
They joined the hausa to divide the west and create the mid west and so weaken the Yoruba.
They (igbos) financed the killing and destruction in the west after the 1965 elections in order to subjugate the Yoruba and the west.
They wanted the Yoruba to secede so that the Nigerian army focuses its fire power on the west first whilst allowing the East to have the breathing space to arm.
They joined with Abacha as the chief instigators in order to provoke the Yoruba to go to war.
They objected to the speakership going to the west after Jonathan's victory.
In our history, the IGBO's have always been the existential threat to Yoruba political interest!
They hide their true intent by accusing us first!
@achebe and Osita Dioka and igbo "Superiority"
Submitted by Dele Awogbeoba (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 15:47.
These igbos claim to be superior..but what is their history.....
The Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Nupe, Edo and Yoruba are the tribes of pre- colonial Nigeria that were major powers and had great historical achievements at different times.
Western education had been acquired by the Itsekiri, Edo and Yoruba as early as the 16th through 18th century. The first educated igbo man obtained his degree in the 1930's.
Their greatest warrior (Ojukwu) has the curious distinction of being the first leader that abandoned his forces in the thick of a war. Their greatest politician abandoned Biafra a year before its collapse in order to get back its ACB bank. Yet they call an outsider a traitor!
They travel in their millions to western Nigeria (as if it is lined with milk and honey). People never leave great places to reside in backward places. It is the other way round.
Which book specifies IGBOS as the chosen people??
@osita Dioka and Achebe and igbo "Superiority"
Submitted by Dele Awogbeoba (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 15:41.
These igbos claim to be superior..but what is their history.....
The Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Nupe, Edo and Yoruba are the tribes of pre colonial Nigeria that were major powers and had great historical achievements at different times.
Western education had been acquired by the Itsekiri, Edo and Yoruba as early as the 16th through 18th century. The first educated igbo man started in the 1930's.
Their greatest warrior (Ojukwu) has the curious distinction of being the first leader that abandoned his forces in the thick of a war. Their greatest politician abandoned Biafra a year before its collapse in order to get back its ACB bank. Yet the call an outsider a traitor!
The travel in their millions to western Nigeria (as if it is lined with milk and honey). People never leave great places to reside in backward places. It is the other way round.
Which book specifies IGBOS as the chosen people??
Odua Republic Minus Lagos-Awori Ronu!
Submitted by Awori Ronu (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 10:04.
No amount of concocted lies in Wikipedia will change the truth. All Yoruba tricksters itching for impoverished economic backwater called Odua republic should remember that Lagos will never be part of it. Lagos belongs to Aworis not Yorubas. Lagos was a separate colony for Aworis and was never part of the western region. Aworis would rather have their Lagos Republic than join the South West. A word is enough for the wise.
Leave Aworis alone and concentrate on Ibadan, your abandoned capital.
I agree totally.
Submitted by Wale Adeeko (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 09:01.
Enough of this hatred.
We were all children during the sixties,and as grown adults,deep down in our hearts and minds know better than to keep on with this sad show of tribalistic hatred.
I have igbo friends and they mean me no harm.
It doesnt take 40years of fake freindship to find a reason to hurt me,and yet our businesses and families prosper.
Nigerians beware O,
No be civil war and tribal hatred we need right now.
Ask those who fought to the death and took others lives.
They will tell you say "Una NEVER SEE ANYTHIN".
Meaning do not even think you know what is war.
I close mouth.
I agree totally.
Don't be sentimentally
Submitted by chinedu (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 04:15.
Don't be sentimentally foolish.
Biafra can still be achieved and there are
Civilised way to doing that. Ishola offered
Us d solution. We need nt insult him. We shld
Knw who our enemies are, indeed. Definitely, nt
D yoruba race
Dr Tony Nwaezeigwe is a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute
Submitted by dele Awogbeoba (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 02:53.
joins the issue from a historians perspective....
http://thenationonlineng.net/new/politics/awo-and-the-civil-war-the-deba...
@Awori Ronu aka IGBO fool
Submitted by Dele Awogbeoba (not verified) on December 14, 2012 - 01:37.
Odua Republic Minus Lagos.
Submitted by Awori Ronu (not verified) on December 13, 2012 - 15:19.
All Yoruba loudmouths itching for impoverished economic backwater called Odua republic should remember that Lagos will never be part of it. Lagos belongs to Aworis not Yorubas. Lagos was a separate colony for Aworis and was never part of the western region. Aworis would rather have their Lagos Republic than join the South West. A word is enough for the wise.
Leave Aworis alone and concentrate on Ibadan, your abandoned capital.
Lagos Belongs to Awori Ethnic Nationality not Yorubas.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 13, 2012 - 15:06.
Get it in your useless and cowardly thick skull: Lagos is Awori territory. Aworis are not Yorubas. So you may declare your useless Odua republic but leave Lagos out of it. Aworis will declare a LaGOS REPUBLIC INSTEADY OF JOINING THE LAZY, SLEAZY, COWARDLY AND CHAMELEONS IN THE SOUTH WEST. lAGOS WAS A SEPERATE COLONI OF Aworis, NEVER part of Yoruba. Once Aworis declare their lAGOS REPUBLIC, Ibos, Hausas and others will recognise it, Then the Aworis will be assisted to reclaim their land stolen from them by Awolowo and Awoists e.g MAROKO.YORUBAS migrants will vacate Lagos to their rotten villages or face the consequences. Up Aworis. Long Live Republic of Lagos.
Balogun Babatope the Cowardly Pig
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 13, 2012 - 13:47.
Your gutter language shows what an unwashed cowardly pig you are. Fact is Achebe doesn't even know a cockroach like you exists to start with. You will probably drop dead next minute unmourned, unremembered having done or said anything remarkable in your entire miserable life. Do yourself a favour, take cyanide and die miserably like your hero Mr Awolowo the baby killer and war criminal. Do it now and save your family the embarrassment of having a liability like you in their midst.
Let the Yoruba Awoist, ponder and think for once
Submitted by Bola seye (not verified) on December 13, 2012 - 13:46.
when in 15 January 1966 Akintola my uncle was assassinated, Yorubas on the other political divide all trooped out to the street jubilating because both Akintola and Belewa who they consider enemy were killed. While the north reacted to the death of their premier the Awolowo political group were more concern on the release of Awolowo by Ironsi. The deep political conflicts in yoruba is caused by Awolowo inordinate desperation for power.Awolowo don't want another yoruba man to control power. That is why he appropriate the success of his regime to himself.Awolowo is a simple plain fool who was deceived by Gowon, that made him to betray his igbo collaborators who helped him during 1965 general election. During the igbo coup they left Awolowo and killed Akintola and Belewa why?Awolowo collaborated with igbos in that coup to kill his political enemy. Up till today the seed of discord sown by Awolowo still exist between his followers and the rest.
@Ishola, YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MUST BURN IN HELL FIRE.
Submitted by Ike (not verified) on December 13, 2012 - 13:41.
@Ishola. you and the members of your family must burn in a hell of fire any of these days. 2 million innocent children were starved to death in a genocide called civil war; and all that matters to you is that Achebe accused Awolowo of complicity in the deaths. Ishola, you can never die a good death. Few Yorubas have been as wicked as you are throughout this period since Achebe released the book.. Ishola, it is hereby decreed, you and yours must die a painful death.
Ishola - A Cesspool of Cowards & Empty Barrels
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 13, 2012 - 11:30.
Ineffectual noise making in obscure internet pages has become the full-time jobs of Yoruba cowards. If that is their response to Prof. Achebe's well received book, they are doomed. None of them has written anything that will pass the desk of a student intern at Penguin. Bereft of any ideas, the cowards are talking about presidency, the same one Abiola was chained like a dog and murdered for! Idiots among them talk about Lagos, a land belonging to Aworis. How are the mighty fallen! Achebe has exposed the nyash of these gutless cowards. Try Ibos today and see your butts kicked relentlessly, lily-livered cowards.
Recently the list of top 100
Submitted by pee (not verified) on December 13, 2012 - 11:30.
Recently the list of top 100 thinkers that have influenced society positively was released. May i inform Ishola and his company of Awo worshippers and idle writers who take delight in insults that two Nigerians featured in that list. Incidentally both are Igbos and one is the much reverred Achebe they are busy insulting and the other is Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala. They must know that Achebe is not one to play to the gallery. He says it as it is. He demands neither rewards nor praises. This is why what he said in 'There was a Country--' will endure while these ethnic stained vituperations of fake Awoists will not be remembered few months from now. That is why 'Things Fall Apart' he penned about 50 years ago remains the best selling and influential novel in Africa today.
So if you want to wise and have a bright future, learn at the feet of the wise instead of deriding him.
