The July 6, 1967, operation at Gakem near Ogoja, in present-day Cross River State, Nigeria was an attempt to invade and arrest Ojukwu. That was not war. No territory was taken.
Why are Biafrans so full of falsehood? They have formed a subculture of using propaganda to advance their positions. They did this during the war and lost.
What makes them think this method will work again? This is their insanity. They think they can use intimidation and emotional subterfuge to cow Nigerians who are armed with the truth.
This generation of Nigerians will not give them the confusion they crave. No one will give them a war. They will be given oblivion.
Looking back now, all that would have been done is blockade and their Biafra will wither on the vine.
Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu declared Biafra, fought a war for three years and put together a book (Because I am Involved) to explain his decisions. It is nothing but self-congratulation and evasive polemics. There is nothing in that book that gives meaning to the restiveness we are dealing with today.
Serious minded figures wrote books of a thousand pages. Gowon wrote a book of about a thousand pages. Ojukwu wrote that pamphlet in Nigeria, after he was pardoned. For him, the war was an afterthought. This means he never spent his years in exile to reflect and give us a more honest and dispassionate assessment of his thoughts on Biafra, his hope for his people in the future. As it is now, no one can quote any line from his book. There was no national benefit from his pardon.
His public utterances after a thirteen-year exile spent in the C’ote d’Ivoire were exercises on hedging. This is why a lot of Igbo people including his wife will come out and say this is not the “outcome” they expected.
What were they expecting? Were they expecting a royal welcome for the man who desecrated everything we hold dear in Nigeria? Were they expecting the man spearheading the mayhem in the East should be vindicated and continue with his criminality? Until we have a constitution that allows secession, no one should declare his enclave a republic. Ironically, all the chains binding us together were weaved by people of Igbo extraction.
Read your history. Biafrans introduced the unitary system that is our yoke today. Instead of finding ways to loosen the chains, the Biafrans are wearing blindfolds to look for an exit.
I am appalled because Ojukwu did not leave behind a blueprint for his people. His acolytes have used this lacuna to insert their angst and misdirect their people.
Nnamdi Kanu and resurgent Biafra is Nigeria’s failure to secure and guard the sovereignty of this nation. This is the failure and recklessness of the civilian administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari.
If Ojukwu had remained in exile, he would have perhaps written a more solemn and honest book that would have prevented the likes of Nnamdi Kanu to emerge and threaten our peace because he was involved and he did not care to talk about his reminiscence.
In advanced societies, people like Ojukwu will only receive a posthumous pardon. The pardon of Ojukwu was a colossal mistake. This pardon is what has given rise to the murkiness and emboldened Biafrans like Kanu to engage in revisionist history that insults Nigerians who died in the struggle and threaten our sovereignty.
The Presidential pardon of Ojukwu shows we did not take our sovereignty seriously and we have empowered the imbeciles to threaten our nation with the failed arguments of the past. This should be a lesson to all those who want the president to wield the power of pardon with a high level of responsibility. The pardon of Ojukwu is the main reason why these Biafrans have caused the breakdown of law and order. Alhaji Shagari did not take the responsibility of the pardon seriously and those agitating for Biafra think our sovereignty is a joke.
Why do Biafra agitators think the best way to advance their case is to insult people? A Biafra agitator wrote to me when I said it was the Biafrans who declared war on Nigeria. He is acidic and his reply is full of venom and revisionist history. He made no attempt to shed light on his position. His writing is an exercise in verbosity and insult meant to create murkiness. An alliterate person could have done a better job. His anger is contrived because he knows the truth but chose to be intellectually dishonest. This shows that he does not have any responsibility to the truth because all he knows is propaganda.
Make your points and let the facts speak for themselves. If you have to insult and intimidate people, it means you lack the intellectual depth necessary to sustain an argument and the truth is not on your side. It means you have no decorum and what it takes to be a civilized human being looking for solutions.
Biafra agitators want everyone to swallow the lies without protest. They are giving revisionist history to their young ones who are drawn into a vicious cycle of anger and hatred. They are too emotionally suffused to be considered rational. This is the reason for killing their own because they want to protect them. Is that logical?
The Biafran at this time has descended to an irrational level. He lacks common sense and has surrendered his environment to nihilistic lots who see no point in preserving humanity.
Until Biafrans evolve, Nigerians have to devise a way to contain their irrationalities that are becoming uncomfortable to live with. In this country, we must learn to be good citizens. Part of being good citizens means we should have the understanding to owe each other the truth.
At this point, the Biafran can only be dealt with by feigned civility. No Nigerian in his right mind will treat Biafra agitators as fellow citizens in good faith, if all they subscribe to is the lies and destructive polemics of Nnamdi Kanu.
We saw that trial live. No judge in the world will tolerate the disrespect Nnamdi Kanu exhibited in the court. He defended himself and he lost. He should accept the consequences. His appeal will be denied because he has no grounds to appeal. If the appeal is rejected, he should go to the Supreme Court.
I doubt if the Supreme Court will agree to hear his case. It is the responsibility of those who subscribe to him to advise him of the right conduct and strategy for legal defense if he would listen.
Nnamdi Kanu told us he knows the law more than his lawyers and the judge. For those of you sheepishly shouting the law, you have shown the level of ignorance that is frightening.
Nnamdi Kanu was tried under the laws of Nigeria and was found guilty of treason. If Buhari was interested in jungle justice like the Biafrans, he could have eliminated him in Nairobi. This is what a lot of the Biafrans are doing in Igbo land. They are killing people in the name of Biafra. The government did the right thing by arresting him and giving him a fair hearing in a court of law.
How many people killed by the Biafrans had the opportunity to go to court and defend themselves? What separates us from the animals in the jungle is the rule of law. Those who have no respect for the court of law are uncivilized and champions of anarchy.
The anarchy in the East is the reason why no one can do any legitimate business in that environment. Is this what you want?
DR AUSTIN ORETTE WRITES FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS
