Ojukwu And His Declaration Of ‘War’

By

Solomon Iliya

smitronix@gmail.com

 

 

I have been reading with amusement the ranting of our erstwhile Lt Col (General??? Self declared) Ojukwu that there will be another war with him as Commander-in-Chief if… To be honest, we the Nigerians are to blame for the idiotic ramblings of jokers like him. Those were people who got the best of this country and what have they left for my generation and future generations of Nigerians? A country that is seen as a joke for the fact that we have all it takes to have become a force to reckon with in our 49 years of autonomy.

 

Let us look at the credentials of this fellow. Yes, as at the time he joined the army he had a master’s degree. He was supposed to be a sound military officer, but then what did he do with his education and military training? He dragged his people into a war that his academic and military background should have told him he could not win. Apparently, he did it for selfish reasons. After all, to date, Igbos still fall victim of misdirected violence in some parts of Northern Nigeria, but in the true enterprising and inner strength they possess, they still return, pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives. Running away, they have learnt, is not the solution.

 

Ojukwu dragged them into a war and like the proverbial rat, he abandoned the sinking ship. In erstwhile marine tradition, a captain goes down with his ship. He never abandons it just because it is going down. That is the path of honour. However, this man ran with his tail between his legs. He had an escape strategy, but what about his foot soldiers? What about the civilians? They did not declare war. He did. Yet they suffered (and are still suffering) for it.

 

He got a state pardon (for committing treason for which some other people paid with their lives). Today he wants to rule the same country he tried to break up (sometimes I wonder at our myopia) when he should be in jail. That is why he has the audacity to bay at the moon. To avoid being offensive to those who might consider him a hero (as our country lacks true heroes- wait a minute there- Gani Fawehinmi IS a hero, after all he stood up to every regime in this country and he refused to run out and shout from a safe distance even though he could have done so) I would not want to go too far. However, I am glad that more Nigerians are seeing this “General” (I think he absconded from the Nigerian army as a Lieutenant Colonel-they call it desertion or AWOL in military parlance I think) who is receiving a pension he did not work for, as he is. This time round we should lock him up and throw away the key. He is a part of our history that a lot of us would rather not remember. I rest my case.