Chief Nnia Nwodo |
I saw
the Biafran war with my two eyes. My father, Chief John U. Nwodo, was the Minister for Local Government in the
Eastern Regional Government of Dr.
Micheal Okpara but I fought on the front lines. I was a full Lieutenant in
the Biafran Army. I fought in Ore. I fought in Orlu. I fought in Enugu. I
taught at the Biafran School of Infantry. I worked for several months at the
Biafran Airport at Uli and I saw firsthand, the unimaginable carnage suffered
by our people. Available records show that 1.5
million Biafran were killed in battle. About 1 million were killed by hunger and malnutrition while another 1 million remained unaccounted for. I
saw our mothers, wives and daughters being violated.
At the
Uli Airstrip, I saw the C160 planes that brought supplies for us as they
carried hundreds of Biafran babies that were sick and malnourished. Most of
them were less than a year old. They were packed into the planes like sardines.
More than half of them didn't survive the rigors of the flight as their tender
heads hit the iron body of the planes during flight turbulence or air attacks.
Among the ones that survived, more than half never came back home.
I told
Kanu that war is not an option. I made that point clearly to him. I also told
him to tone down his language. He should stop abusing the President of the
Country and stop calling Nigeria a zoo. A zoo is where wild animals are kept.
If you say Nigeria is a zoo, it then means that all of us are wild animals.
Even if you don't like the President as a person, you must respect the office
he occupies. In Igboland, we respect our elders. We don't abuse them in public
no matter the level of difference. I told him to stop abusing our Governors. In
particular, I told him to stop abusing the Imo State Governor by calling him
Okoroawusa and questioning his paternity except you have the result of a DNA
test which proved that his father didn't give birth to him. By questioning his
paternity, you are indirectly abusing our wives and mothers. That is
unacceptable.
I told
him to stop calling the President a pedophile. That is wrong and I won't
condone that. My own mum had her first child at the age of 13. In the olden
days, once a girl attains puberty in Igboland, forms breast and starts
menstruating, she is ripe for marriage. So, you are indirectly abusing the
culture of our people. IPOB wants an independent Biafra. Ohaneze Ndigbo wants a
restructured Nigeria with strong regions and a weak center where each region
will control her resources, have their own constitution while royalties are
paid to the center to manage foreign affairs, immigration, defence, currency
matters, etc. Instead of talking tough and threatening fire and brimstone,
let's work together and push for a restructured Nigeria. Let's sit down and
talk with Abuja. If we form a common and united front, the Federal Government
will listen to us.
Abusing
the President will not give us Biafra. Abusing other tribes and calling them
names will not give us Biafra. Telling Igbos to stop attending churches with
Yoruba pastors will not give us Biafra. It will rather widen the gaps between
us and these other people who themselves are victims of the injustices in
Nigeria. It will annoy them and they will abandon us. We can't push this alone.
We need the support of our neighbors. By abusing and threatening others, you
put the lives of our people who live there in danger.
I said
all of these to him and he refused and kept going on and on. At a point, they
started abusing me too. Calling me names. I was never offended. They are my
children. That is burden of fatherhood and I am prepared to bear it. Our people
have a saying "what an elder sees sitting down, a young person cannot see
standing up.”
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