Flashback: Ojukwu speaks on Benjamin Adekunle’s success and Obasanjo’s claim of victory over Nigeria-Biafra confli!ct

Flashback: Ojukwu speaks on Benjamin Adekunle’s success and Obasanjo’s claim of victory over Nigeria-Biafra confli!ct

Flashback: Ojukwu speaks on Benjamin Adekunle’s success and Obasanjo’s claim of victory over Nigeria-Biafra confli!ct

When he turned 70, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Bïafran leader between 1967 and 1970 spoke to TheNEWS where he was asked about the acclaimed heroism of Olusegun Obasanjo during the civil wār. Below are excerpts of Ojukwu’s response:

“The Obasanjo concept of the war is an extension of the Nigerian war time propaganda. Otherwise I ask you, a people without weapon whose battalion weapons were seized at Makurdi, those who held you at bay for three years with all your alliances with all your support, how do you find a hero out of that. Not on the Nigerian side, if anything I don’t like calling names, Benjamin Adekunle was more of a hero.

If there was anything that was done from the Third Marine Commando, it was under (Benjamin) Adekunle. It was right at the end because of Adekunle’s excesses that Obasanjo was put there. And he only came in to take the surrender. Obasanjo is certainly not a hero.

What campaign did he go for? Which battle did he win? And that’s another thing about Nigeria, your great soldiers with all due respect are political soldiers. People who have killed their masters. Not professionals. I don’t see actually how he became a hero, except when you read his own books which are so typical – the concept that he alone understand the wãr, fought it and won it. I don’t see what to reconcile. As a man, which campaign did he lead and what results did he get? I will tell you, singlehandedly I fought the recapture of Oguta.

When Nigeria captured the town, I went down and took personal command. In less than four days we got Oguta. I am not here to put feathers to my hat but I would imagine that is how to look at your military and military commanders.

No matter what anyone would say, my movement from Enugu to Ore was well conceived, that is the dash that any commander should do.

Please when I use my own, I am saying it in opposition to the Nigerian side. I am sure that inside Nigeria there were those who did great things. What I am saying to you is that I have never heard Obasanjo’s name in purely military exploits.”