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Topic: Chinua Achebe Foundation Interviews: Okechukwu Ikejiani Speaks

Onyemaechi
Senior Advocate
Advocate # 37

posted

Folks:

I just finished reading the Interview of Dr. Okechukwu Ikejiani which was published under the auspices of the Chinua Achebe Foundation. It is clear that Dr. Ikejiani has a lot to say. Particularly, Ojukwu got lambasted for failing to consult and failing to compromise in his war decisions. Here are some excerpts.

quote:
Ibe: Zik was opposed to Ojukwu waging the Nigeria-Biafra civil war….

Dr. Ikejiani: [cuts in]…he wasn’t opposed to the civil war until later…

Ibe: …he wasn’t opposed to the civil war until later; so initially what was [Zik’s] feeling?

Dr. Ikejiani: His feeling was that when a leader of a nation wants to go to war, he should consult people. Primarily Ojukwu should have consulted Zik. Secondly, he should have consulted [Michael] Okpara [premier of eastern Nigeria]. Thirdly he should have consulted other leaders. The only people that Ojukwu consulted were [Louis] Mbanefo and [Francis] Ibiam. I have Ibiam’s letter here. It was a great mistake. I told Ojukwu [to] invite these people [and inform them]. He told me they would compromise. That’s what he said. He didn’t invite them, never asked them questions. That’s not how to lead. That’s what led us into trouble. There are many areas we would have compromised. Ojukwu did not compromise. That’s one of the mistakes we made in the war.

Dr. Ikejiani: I don’t want to mention them….When Okpara went to Abyssinia, he should have compromised. We didn’t. There are two or three areas where he should have compromised….We were bringing one planeload of ammunition from Israel every week; one planeload of weapons from Tanzania every week, but we couldn’t carry tanks. If we had a boat that brought tanks, we could have fought. The tank we captured was when [Nigerian soldiers] came to Abagana trying to bypass to Nnewi without going through Onitsha; we captured one tank. We made a lot of mistakes during the war. It wasn’t that Zik opposed the war. Anybody with sense would consider the war. War is destructive. There’s no country that went to war that didn’t suffer, not one. When we went to war, we destroyed everything we had. That’s true.

Ibe: Many of us, Nigerians, do not have the advantage of being so close to some of these historical figures you mentioned – Zik, Ojukwu, among many others. What do you think are Odumegwu Ojukwu’s reflections these days regarding his decision to wage a war of secession?

Dr. Ikejiani: He did not go to war. We were attacked and he replied. He did not compromise at any time; that was the mistake he made. What he thinks now I don’t know. He came back [from exile in Ivory Coast] and joined the National Party of Nigeria NPN. I don’t think that was brilliant. Second, the man who fought a war in Nigeria thinks he can run as president. He picked a northerner, the brother of the Emir of Kano. I think that’s wrong. What does he want to run for president for, for what? What does he hope to achieve? I don’t know what he’s thinking that he has done, but it’s unfortunate that we had to go to war, that we did not compromise. That has put the Igbo in the position they are in today.

Feel free to highlight other parts of the interview.

Posts: 127 | Registered: Mar 2001 | IP: Logged

Biafra
Supreme Advocate
Advocate # 5

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Onyemachi

I did not read Ikejiani's views as lambasting Ojukwu, he even defended Ojukwu when the Interviewer insinuated that Ojukwu waged war of seccession. He said that Ojukwu defended us. I think Ikejiani have more problem with Ojukwu's actions since he came back from exile, than his actions during the war. On that Note I and many agree with Ikejiani completely that some of Ojukwu's action since he came back from exile have diminished the Value of what he did during the war.

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Posts: 2953 | From: Inland Empire California | Registered: Mar 2001 | IP: Logged

Excalibur
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[ March 09, 2005, 09:22 PM: Message edited by: Excalibur ]

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