— Says Nigerian troops made costliest mistake in Awka
— Narrates how he nearly lost his life after Biafra ambush
— Adds: Nigeria lucky to survive the war

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has given insight into the cause of the animosity between the then governor of the Eastern Region, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, and the then Head of State, Yakubu Gowon.

The revelation is contained in the autobiography of General Abubakar, “Call of Duty”, which was publicly presented on his 84th birthday in Abuja.

According to the autobiography, Ojukwu, who was the governor of the Eastern Region at the time, had insisted on the observance of military hierarchy in the choice of who should succeed Major General Aguiyi Ironsi after his brutal murder by Northern military officers in retaliation for the Kaduna Nzeogwu January 1966 coup, which saw prominent Northern leaders killed.

Recalling some of the reasons behind the ethnic tension in the country, Abubakar said, “There were complaints about the reported hubris over the killing of the northern leaders. Some Northern officers also complained that Igbos were being promoted above others in the military.

“Quickly anti-Igbo sentiments exploded in the North, leading to protests against Aguiyi-Ironsi, mainly in Kano, Kaduna and Jos. Riots broke out, and Igbos were targeted and killed, with their properties set on fire in places like Kano, Sokoto and Kaduna. It was a disturbing period for young, passionate Nigerians like me.

“Some senior Northern officers in the military thereafter overthrew and killed Aguiyi-Ironsi. Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon became the new head of state. But the crisis was just gathering pace.

“Lt. Colonel Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Governor of the Eastern Region, refused to recognise the new head of state, insisting that in the absence or death of Aguiyi-Ironsi, the next in command was Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe, the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters.

“Ojukwu refused to pledge loyalty to Gowon. Tensions were building across the nation. Communal and ethnic clashes continued. Killings did not stop in the North, and Igbos were being evacuated and returned to the East. Revenge killings also took place in the East.

Declaration of Biafra

“On 30 May 1967, Ojukwu announced that Igbos would leave Nigeria for good to form their own country. He felt they were being victimised and marginalised in Nigeria and that the only solution was to secede. He declared the Republic of Biafra.

“All efforts to prevent secession failed. Meetings and agreements, including the famous Aburi Accord, served no useful purpose. A political solution was not looking likely. Economic sanctions also failed. We eventually went to war in 1967. Gowon insisted on one indivisible country. His famous mantra was: ‘To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done.’ His name became an acronym: Go On With One Nigeria (GOWON).

Civil war could have been prevented

“To this day, I believe that the Civil War, like most other conflicts in life, could have been prevented. I feel that rising tempers, anger, and the cycle of retaliation didn’t leave room for understanding and reconciliation.

“There was one side wanting to break away and the other insisting on maintaining the unity and sovereign integrity of the country. A lot of arguments have been made about the fact that our leaders were very young and hot‑blooded. Whatever the case, I want to believe we learned valuable lessons from the war.

“I want to hedge a bet that we would never go to war again. We have a bitter experience to learn from. I would also say we were lucky as a country to survive the war. We were able to reconcile and make peace. Those who felt they were being marginalised eventually returned to the fold.”

General Abubakar recalled what he described as the costliest mistake made by Nigerian troops that claimed some lives after capturing Awka in Anambra State.

“Capturing Awka in present-day Anambra State was one of the toughest battles we fought. It was also the one in which we made the costliest mistakes.

“When we captured Onitsha in February 1968, Colonel Muhammed, our division commander, felt we were done and dusted.
He believed victory was already assured. Believing the war was over, he lined up vehicles and asked us to move with all our troops and ammunition. It was a tactical miscalculation. Indeed, it was an error. We didn’t know the Biafrans had other plans, attacking us with rocket fire and bombs. Our vehicles caught fire.

“The tankers supplying us with fuel for our operational vehicles also exploded. It was a most terrifying scene. Many soldiers died. I was lucky to escape.

Fatal attack that nearly ended his life

“There was another fatal attack I was involved in, and this almost ended my life. We had just captured Awka and wanted to consolidate our position. I was on my way back from briefing Colonel Femi Daramola, the Commander of the 8th Brigade and Rear Command.

“I needed to know the next line of action. In a flash, I was ambushed by the Biafrans. I was travelling in a Land Rover. Four of us were inside: me, my driver, a radio operator and my runner, whose responsibility was to carry messages between units during the war. It was late evening, between 5pm and 6pm. The village where we were attacked was between Awka and Udi. Our Brigade HQ was in Udi. We were on our way back when we got into the ambush.

“Now, an ambush is usually set in a place where the target is not just injured but killed outright. Before we knew what was happening, bullets were coming from both sides of the road. We were clearly the target. The ambush was all the more surprising because we had earlier swept through that area while on our way to the Brigade Commander.

“As far as we were concerned, the area was safe since it had already been cleared. We were caught unawares. But then, it was a war situation. It was evident that some Biafran troops had spotted us. The ambush was perhaps intended to cut off our supplies. It was all part of war strategy.

“I lost two people instantly: my orderly and my signal operator. Both of them sat at the back of the Land Rover. My driver was the only one lucky not to have been hit. I was hit in the arm as I tried to protect him. I was sitting by his side. I knew I had to protect him. If he had been killed, there was no way any of us would have survived the attack.

“But the driver dexterously drove through the ambush. If we had somersaulted at the speed at which we were moving, I would most likely have ended up in a body bag that day.

“By the time we escaped the ambush and reached a safe zone, I was already covered in blood. I was shot in my right arm. I also sustained another injury to my left arm.

“When we reached the friendly area, they received and rushed us to the Medical Reception Service. Because the ambulance conveying us couldn’t go through Awka or Onitsha since the Biafrans had recaptured the latter by then, we had to go from Udi to Agenebode, then to Lokoja and from Lokoja to Benin Military Hospital, where I was admitted and treated. We really suffered heavy casualties on that Awka axis; we didn’t wear bulletproof vests.

Shattered arms

“My arms were shattered and dangling. A surgery was later done in Benin and I recovered fully. To this day, I know I have only God and that doctor to thank for the fact that I’m still able to use my hand. Usually, emergency treatment would be needed in that situation, but it took more than 24 hours before I was treated. Till today, I still have pellets in my body.”

Child soldier

He said fighting and killing one another on the battlefield was a tough and harrowing experience, and to sustain the war the Biafran side, which was ill-equipped, recruited mercenaries to confront the Nigerian Army, which was better armed and better equipped.

“Biafra even had child soldiers. I found this quite heartrending,” he said.

The post Civil war: Why Ojukwu refused to recognize Gowon as head of state — Abdulsalami Abubakar appeared first on Vanguard News.