FEATURE ARTICLE

Dr. Wumi Akintide
Wumi3@aol.com
Springfield Gardens, NY, USA

Ojukwu's trumpcard to the Presidency of Nigeria - a big joke!

like to add a voice to the very thoughtful piece by Shaka Momodu published by your widely read website on the 20th of March, on the well publicised ambition of the Ikemba to run for the Presidency of a country he once, unsuccessfully, tried to break apart.

In a Democracy, all law-abiding citizens, including a one time fugitive offender like the Ikemba, should normally have the right to aspire to any office in the land. I will be the first to admit, however, that the Ikemba, on face value, can boast of a resume that qualifies him to want to be President of Nigeria, if he has the moral rectitude, the character and track record in patriotism that validate that ambition.

Like the renowned Biblical personality Naman, Emeka Ojukwu, sure, has all the paper qualifications to be president, but unfortunately, he is a political leper.

He had all the opportunities and was born with the sliver spoon in his mouth, as the first son of the late Sir Odumegwu Ojukwu, one of the early millioneer transport magnates in Nigeria. That, of course, gave him the priviledge of attending one of the elitist secondary schools in Nigeria, before moving on to Oxford for what most rational and informed people would regard as a first class education. For that reason, and using his father's powerful connection at the time, he had a slot waiting for him in the Nigerian Army when qualifications still stood for something in our national psyche.

Ojukwu was probably one of the first crop of Nigerian graduates to be commissioned into our Military when the British officers were still in charge. He therefore rose through the ranks very quickly on merit, like his fellow compatriots like Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Chukwuma Nzegwu, Banjo and others who were not nearly as qualified as Emeka, but who, in any case, could boast of passing thru the few elite secondary schools, unlike the bulk of their colleagues from the North and the Middle Belt from where most of our enlisted northern officers came from, at the time.

Armed with a degree in History from Oxford with his impeccable mastery and fluency in English language and a rich father from the other side of the Niger, and a congenial personality and a first class intelligence, it was only a matter of time before Emeka became one of the rising stars in the Nigerian Army in those days. That probably explains how and why he so quickly rose to power becoming the first Military Governor of the Eastern Region following the first Military Coup in Nigeria which was highjacked by Aguiyi Ironsi, while the real master mind that led the coup - Chukwuma Nzegwu, was cruelly pushed aside, and locked up in jail, some where in the East.Ojukwu, ofcourse, held on to his position as Governor, and used it as a veritable platform to declare war on Nigeria, when it became clear to him and his people that a progrom of sort was unleached against the igbos in Nigeria through a scheme presumed to have been masterminded or orchestrated by the North, while the West passively stood on the sideline weighing the various options open to her, if the East were to be allowed to secede.

Up until that point, Emeka was an individual to watch and emulate as a man who was out to fight for justice for his people who were evidently seen as being victimized and persecuted by the power brokers in the old North. He behaved and acted like a man who had some principle he was not prepared to sacrifice on the altar of sheer expediency, and who would readily lay down his life, if that was what it took to protect his people.

There were men like Wole Soyinka, Tai Solarin and others at the time who believed that Ojukwu was fighting a good cause, and they said so publicly, We thought he conducted the war like a smart, brave and resourceful "General" until things began to fall apart for his rag tag army, and the true Emeka began to unravel. Taking over the East regional Branch of the Central Bank, and looting the treasury was considered a smart move, because he was essentially using Nigerian money to fight against Nigeria, until the immortal Awo used sheer brain power to neutralize the move for Nigeria with a stroke of the pen by having the Federal Government change the Nigerian currency. Thereby forcing Biafra to print her own currency, which was not worth the paper on which it was printed because the international community did not recognise it as legal tender.

The currency debacle marked the beginning of the end for Biafra. Awo thought it was time to stop the hemraging of Nigeria by War Commanders on both sides of the isle, who had already begun to commercialise on the war for their own selfish gain. Most of them had wanted the war to go on and on, "ad infinitum" with the poor foot soldiers and civilians on both sides being the real victims. Awo as Federal Commissioner for Finance and Deputy Chairman of the Federal Executive Council at the time, would have none of that, as he saw the war as likely to end in a pyrrhic victory for both sides if no action was taken to stop the financial attrition and very painful bloodshed.

After the Abagana disaster and other notable battles in PortHarcourt and other places which had led to the Federal side changing her tactics and strategy and forcing the rebels to retreat on all fronts, Ojukwu had clearly seen the handwriting on the wall, and he had started planning his escape, unknown to many in his Command and Control heirarchy until he was actually air-borne taking off from Uli Ihiala Air strip with one or two cars in his plane and a lorry load of items he might need in exile. He deserted his people to save his own head. Very few of us can afford to let Ojukwu do to Nigeria what he had done to Biafra.

He had led Biafra into war, but became the first to jump ship leaving Philip Essien- his reluctant war weary Deputy from Cross River State, to be the one to surrender to "Osagyefo" Olusegun Obasanjo who as Commander of the third Marine Commando finally ended the war. Ojukwu gave the impression he was leaving Biafra to recoup and regroup and to start a Government in exile. But once he escaped with his life and booty, he quickly abandoned all those promises, leaving Phillip Essien and those left behind to their own devices. That is hardly the stuff that a good leader is made of in my judgment. Who can guarantee that Ojukwu would not repeat the same offence, if for any reason the country has to face a similar cul-de-sac in the foreseeable future which is quite conceivable - if Ojukwu is a more visionary leader who truly love the country, rushing back to partisan politics after his return from exile, should have been the least of his worries.

He had just led an insurrection that had revealed so much about the potential resourcefulness of the Igbos of Nigeria who found a way to refine the Nigerian crude oil in support of their war effort. They also managed to improvise devices like the "Ugbunigwe" that proved so effective in stopping the Federal troops at Abagana, forcing them to consider driving a herd of cattle ahead of the advancing troops in the hope the cattle would trip off the mines, and save the troops from walking into them without notice, like they did in Abagana. If Ojukwu had focussed all his attention in getting the Federal Government to put more money in developing such resources and scientific breakthrough in Biafra, perhaps Nigeria would have gained something, and that achievement would probably have turned out to be one of the silver lining to come from the civil war.

In other civilized countries a man like Ojukwu would have written several books providing future generations with useful lessons from the war. Ojukwu was the exact opposite of a man like Saddam Hussein of Iraq who tried to mobilize the limitless resources and determination of his people to rebuild Baghdad and Iraq after the Gulf War without outside help.

Second, when Ojukwu returned to Nigeria following the unconditional pardon or amnesty granted him by Shaghari with the hope of securing the Igbo vote in his epic battle with Awolowo and Azikiwe,Ojukwu did so in a way and manner that betrayed his flawed character as a leader. Few would have expected him to go into partisan politics soon after coming back. That was precisely what he did, having signed off his discretion and objectivity, by joining the party of his estwhile implacable enemies in the North while deserting the Party floated, in large part, by the people he had led into fighting a war he knew he could not win. Little wonder therefore that he ran for a senatorial seat, and lost badly to a relatively unknown opponent. A man who could not win a senatorial seat at Nnewi - his own base at the height of his political power in the East, now want to run for national office as President of the whole Federation.

And guess what? He now wants to run for the sole purpose of making sure that the Igbos were not maginalised again. He forgot the poor image and reputation of the Igbos as "political prostitutes" who will settle for anything as long as the price is right, actually began with the propensity of individuals like Ojukwu who will abandon a cause just to salvage his own selfish interest. He was ready to take anything from Shaghari once he was promised the abandoned properties of his father, taken over by the Federal, would be returned to him, if he returns to Nigeria to join the party of the great majority of those he had accused of progrom against his own people in the Biafran war. What kind of leader is that?

The only thing good about Ojukwu is his gift of the garb.But it takes more than sheer eloquence to rule a country as complex as Nigeria. How could any national leader worth his salt, begin his campaign for the presidency by tellinig all and sundry, that he wanted that office just to be able to champion the interest of only a unit in what is supposed to be a Federation of equal partners. He seems to have forgotten that the rest of Nigeria and especially the North is ever so suspicious of the Igbos under his leadership , having once tried to break up Nigeria. The general feeling is that the igbos could try it again if they find themselves in a position of power like Ojukwu is foolishly trying to do..

In my judgment, Ojukwu cannot be taken as a serious candidate. Only the likes of Alex Ekwueme and other prominent and rational igbos can be saying that kind of thing with some credibility.Most Nigerians view Ojukwu at best as a naked Emperor who is not aware he is indeed naked. He cannot win, and does not deserve to win any elected office in Nigeria. He was lucky he was not even tried for treason for his role in the Bifran war from 1967 to 1970. Ojukwu loves nobody but himself. His professed candidacy should be taken for what it really is - a joke or at best a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. If selfishness were to be a sport in the Olympics, Ojukwu will, sure, be a gold medalist. I cannot for the life of me, imagine how a person with that kind of profile could believe that he can ever be president of Nigeria. It is a dog's dream that will never come to pass.