Odumegwu-Ojukwu: The President Nigeria Never
Had
Farouk Martins Aresa
As we pray for the recovery of Ikemba for the good
old days just before the war, the man is a leader amongst equals in and outside
the military. It has been said and written many times that we should not wait
until a man is dying before rushing them abroad for treatment when we can
provide a suitable hospital in each of the six geopolitical zones of the Country
specializing in different areas. The wear and tie of taking them abroad only
make their situations worse since they must have some stability to make the
journey. Let us hope this is not a goodbye as others.
Children
tend to have certain memories adults forget or care little about; and for those
children in the Eastern Region then, it was when Odumegwu-Ojukwu became a
military Governor that he abolished differential treatment on scholarships for
none indigenes. Fair to say, school fees in the East was not waived or free for
indigene and scholarships had to be reserved. No matter how long it lasted, that
temporary relief gave many Nigerians a head start. Yes, Western Region had the
same thing in place, but that did not take away the intention of Odumegwu-Ojukwu
as a dedicated Nigerian.
When Odumegwu-Ojukwu had a master, it did not make a
difference in what but it came from some far place like Oxford in England when
many of his cohorts were happy with high school education. Many of them got to
the height of their careers in private businesses and government while this man
settled for the Army. In those days, the caliber of children going into the Army
was those from poor homes and with no opportunities. Asking us to go into the
military is like forsaking your dearest. The only exceptions were doctors and
nurses because their humanitarian services were not limited.
In the case of Ikemba, we just could not wait to hear him speak wondering
about the vocabularies that would come out of his mouth.
It must be quickly pointed out that in the North, the royals
go into Army and many of them were highly educated in Arabic. The problem is
transferring Arabic training which was geared to prayers into English practical
adaptation of everyday life. In other words, most Arabic scholars were Muslims
religious men while most English scholars may not even be Christian religious
men. Indeed, some of those that went into the Army from both South and North had
political power in sight, as some would later say of Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
There was this aunt of ours that told us if she had known that
Odumegwu-Ojukwu was going to be the rebel leader, she had the power to crush the
little kid with her foot on his way to primary school in those days. She never
suspected that the little tiny kid would become Odumegwu-Ojukwu the war hero to
many of us. The way she talked, you would think she had that power herself.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu later gave us his own story about growing up in Lagos and how he
had to be sent home to Nnewi because he was behaving badly with difficulty
identifying with Igbo ways.
Don’t blame our aunt; she must have heard us singing the
praises of Odumegwu-Ojukwu just before the war as secret lovers of that young
handsome man. We used to listen to Radio Biafra and sometimes got carried away
with Odumegwu-Ojukwu propaganda.
You come by road, we finish una!
You come by sea, we finish una!
You come by air, we finish una!
What did we know until Odumegwu-Ojukwu bombed Row Park and our
eyes become opened that this war was for real and could have taken many of us as
it did many people that lost their lives as the war itself progressed or
degenerated.
The man Odumegwu-Ojukwu hardly talked. In those days, men that
attended universities had so much knowledge, only God has more. The fact that he
was a soldier did not diminish any of his polished or imagined sophistication.
So it is strange that some of us will grow up to disagree with this man in any
area of his philosophies. Could that be the same Odumegwu-Ojukwu or we just grew
up and become educated like him?
Our point was made when he took those soldiers to Aburi,
Ghana. It was a mismatch from start: An Oxford-educated hero taking some
soldiers to Aburi. We actually forgot that he was a soldier too or refused to
accept that he belonged in that khaki uniform. Even when we see him as a
military governor, this one has a touch of class and decency. If it has to do
with his father and upbringing, children like us cared very little about those.
The man himself is a dignified hero.
As we waited for the result from Aburi, we knew he had them by
his fingers. When they brought the agreement to bureaucrats, they yelled and
threw their hands in the air. He had them real good. It could not be implemented
as it stood and had to be renegotiated. He must have known that he took
advantage of their soldier mentality and low caliber of class and education. On
Aburi we stand, declared Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Therefore no matter what our differences is with
Odumegwu-Ojukwu later in life, that awe we had for him never disappeared
completely because it actually inspired many of us as children. Some of us
rationalized that if Odumegwu-Ojukwu had not gone into politics after he
returned from exile, he could have remained bigger than life. When he returned,
Lagos was at a standstill no matter what part of Nigeria we came from. Everyone
wanted a glimpse of him. He remained majestic, quiet, and thoughtful or so we
imagined.
So the first mistake was joining the National Party of
Nigeria. Though many of us might have been greatly disappointed, we still gave
him the benefit of doubt. That was, if he had not agreed to their terms he would
still be in exile. Knowing Odumegwu-Ojukwu as we did, some thought that would
not be him. Nobody dictates to Odumegwu-Ojukwu. No way!
As Odumegwu-Ojukwu went further into politics, he fell from
grace of a national hero loved or respected for his stand no matter which part
we sided with during the war to a regional hero. Even then, there was no
agreement on him within his region. In retrospect, many wondered if it could
have been better for the Igbo nation if he had accepted compromised Aburi
agreement instead of insisting on everything.