My memories of Ojukwu (1)

My memories of Ojukwu (1)
By Robert Obioha, robobioha@yahoo.com
Friday February 17, 2012

I saw Biafra as a child. I was still in the early stage of primary education when the Nigerian Civil War, known variously as the Nigeria-Biafra War, or the Biafran War, broke out. The only language I knew very well then was Igbo. Though we were taught in both English and Igbo, my knowledge of English could not enable me communicate effectively in it or understand others using it for discourses outside the classroom environment.

When I listen to my older brothers speak English, it sounds strange like the Latin language used by Irish reverend fathers during Catholic mass. All the same, I was in love with the flow of both English and Latin. While the pronunciation of Latin words resembles the Igbo pronunciation patterns to a large extent, those of English is entirely different.

At times, two teachers do not pronounce the same words alike thereby creating more confusion. We depend on our teachers as models to copy in speaking the language. Regrettably, some of the models, as I later discovered, were themselves bad in articulation of some of the English words. Their knowledge of the language was not deep enough.

English names were difficult to pronounce because the way they are written is not the way they are pronounced. We have corrupt versions of almost all English names. The Igbo names do not have such problems. This might explain why some people dropped their English names and not necessarily because of nationalistic feelings.
Thank God today that I have overcome my earlier linguistic problems and even majored in English at both undergraduate and post-graduate studies.

So, when the first military coup d’etat took place on January 15, 1966, I was wondering the meaning of ‘coup’ plus ‘d’etat.’ The word did not quite make sense to me then. Though, I have heard the word ‘army’ and ‘soldier’, I have not seen one in my then rustic inhabitant of Amaokwe, Awo-Idemili. I have seen policemen and court messengers but never a soldier.

In all the calendars called almanacs that my dad, Nwadiugwu Obioha, used to decorate his parlour, I was conversant with the images of the then major political actors like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello, Kashim Ibrahim, M.I Okpara, Mbazulike Amaechi, Adegoke Adelabu, S.A. Akintola, K.O Mbadiwe and others.

Each year, I relish my dad’s collection of these political calendars and the education it gave me. It raised my political consciousness to know that we have Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other tribes in Nigeria. From them, I learnt of the major political parties then, the NPC, NCNC and AG.
In my village, most people speak Igbo. I listened to my father and other elders converse in Igbo. They laced their speeches with Igbo proverbs and aphorisms. At times, they speak only in proverbs that I find it extremely difficult to decode.

My dad was a traditional religious worshipper which white missionaries called ‘pagan’ or ‘heathen’ in ignorance. All traditional worshippers bore Igbo names. They did not have Christian names as me and my friends. I love their names because they are Igbo and sound sweet when pronounced. I had wished that the Christian missionaries never came to Africa at all, so that all of us can have Igbo names, worship Igbo gods and use Igbo language for all our education. I still dream of such possibility.

The traditional religion is good. It has lots of rituals and ceremonies that adherents feast on. Almost, every month, there is a ritual to perform either with chicken or a goat but mostly chicken. I relish the foods and the ritual incantations or prayers. Traditional modes of worship and prayers are still the best. Even as a Christian, I still add that mode of prayer.

After the army take over of January 1966, the calendars in my father’s parlour changed. Instead of men in agbada, I saw men in starched military uniform. There was the picture of the then Head of the State and Commander-in-Chief of Nigerian Armed Forces, Major-Gen J.T. U Aguinyi-Ironsi. Lt.Col C. Odumegwu-Ojukwu became the governor of Eastern Region and Lt.Col Hassan Usman Katsina was that of the Northern Region while Lt Col Adekunle Fajuyi and Lt Col David Ejoor were governors of Western and Mid Western regions respectively.

When I was told that Aguinyi was the new leader, I asked, where is Zik whom I knew was President? My only reference to Aguinyi then was the crocodile, which his name means in literal translation. And behold the man had a crocodile swagger, which he brandished along.
My reference to Ojukwu then was the type of palm nut by that name that we don’t eat of either the kernel or the palm oil. Our not eating them might stem from cultural practices. We sell them to others. As an infant, I did not know that people can bear such name we call a certain palm nut.
That was my first encounter with the name Ojukwu.

Before I knew what was happening, there was another coup. We were told that the Head of State was kidnapped. To me, the word meant two things, ‘kid’ and ‘napped.’ While I could liken ‘kid’ to mean a child, I could not understand ‘napped.’ I could not understand then why a big and brave soldier like that, bearing the name of a dangerous sea animal, could be kidnapped like that in such a way that his whereabouts was unknown. I was terribly confused with events unfolding in my country.

Later, we were told that Lt-Col Yakubu Gowon had assumed power as the new Head of State and that Ojukwu kicked against that because he was not the next most senior ranking officer in the army. The July 1966 counter coup led to the death of Ironsi, many Igbo officers and many civilian Igbos. It led to the massacre of Igbos in the North, Lagos and other Nigerian cities. That led to the exodus of many Igbos to the East for safety.

Our teacher showed us a cartoon in the Daily Times showing a tree with three branches, with one of the branches about to be cut-off from the rest, an allusion that the East will assert its independence. But I could not decode the riddle then. To me, let the branch fell off if it wants to and let the tree remain with two branches if those branches wish. I did not see anything wrong in that then and even now.

With time, we began to hear that there will be war. In my little understanding, I thought that war will be like street fight. I didn’t know that the war will change my nationality overnight from Nigeria to Biafra and later back to Nigeria again within a space of three years.
Before one could shout Orie Awo, the name of a market in my town, Biafra was born with great pomp and enthusiasm. The aroma was in the air.

There were great expectations from the new nation with the rising sun emblem. I transited from Nigeria to Biafra but my village and town did not change in nomenclature. The green-white-green Nigerian flag was replaced with a more colourful Biafran flag with half of a yellow sun embossed in the centre. That flag has been appropriated by MASSOB, a pressure group that wants to actualize Biafran Republic. Its leader is Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.

With time, I started seeing soldiers in my town in Biafran Army uniforms, some with rifles and some without. Their uniforms had the Biafran sun emblem with eleven straps on both sides of their arms. The war had started in far-flung areas like Gakem and Nsukka. Apart from the news that the war was on and the soldiers that return from the war fronts to inundate us with their heroic exploits, often exaggerated, there was nothing yet to suggest to me that the war was on. I still went to school and carried on with my life as if nothing was happening.

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