Emma Okocha, Writer/Activist
Emma Okocha, author of Blood On The Niger, is one man who does not sit on the fence on any issue of national importance. The social crusader is more in his elements when it concerns the Igbo ethnic nationality. In this interview, he interrogates the position of Brigadier-General-Godwin-Alabi Isama in his book: The Tragedy of Victory.Excerpts: Read More after the cut...
What is your reaction to the contentious book written by General Alabi Isama?
My response centres on three areas: the genocide question, the book and of course, the Commander of the Third Marine Commandos. It looks like the Commander is now of vegetable status. In as much as I am not one of those who rejoice over the unfortunate indisposition of others, I am here to say that the black scorpion, Benjamin Adekunle, former Commander of the Nigerian Third division should apologise to our people. There was Gen. Mohammed Shuwa who died few months ago. He was killed by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram. There was the commander of the Nigerian Second Division who came all the way from Lagos to Asaba and confessed to the genocide in Asaba and also died with the curse of the gods. These things did not happen by coincidence. I will like to give good news to the suffering families of Benjamin Adekunle in support to my uncle’s plea that people should come to his aid. He was asking for medical assistance and that people should rehabilitate him. I am saying that what is happening to the commander of the Third Marine Commandos is as result of the curse of the gods that are alive. I am talking about the goddess of the River Niger and her name isOnishe. She was the central character in my second book- The last dance on the Niger. She was the one who cursed all these commanders because their hands are stained in blood. They committed genocide in their banditry and kind of war they fought during the Nigerian civil war. I am saying this because this is my area of research of over 20 years. I was inspired to get engaged in this mission of uncovering the genocide that happened to our people on October 6, 7 and 8 of 1967. The gods had to fight for us because we are Nigerians and were not in the Biafran map. We are Midwestern Igbos who came out to dance in their thousands to welcome the federal troops but in the end at Golgotha, Ogbosua, a village square in Asaba, thousands of youths were slaughtered like chickens and hurriedly buried. We have been able to use anthropological and forensic studies secured from the US and Europe to unearth this genocide. That has been our mission. I want to say that Isama wrote a book, a very nice book, which I acknowledge is well written and a great diary of a courageous federalist soldier. The Third Marine commando was the most feared of the Nigerian army out of the three I talked about. This is because most of the officers who fought on that side were convinced, and I do not belabour that. But my interest is why did the soldiers not fight like Abraham Lincoln in the case of the United States civil war. Why did they go killing civilians? The book talked about killings on both sides but in every war, there are types of casualties. The difference in killings bordering on genocide is that genocide can be defined and once you do that, you know the categories. There are by law, international conventions and the one that guides soldiers. In genocide trials, people who have proven cases of genocide against humanity have a process of justice. Genocide is not having a motor accident and killing one or two people, genocide is a deliberate, cold plan of the perpetrator/perpetrators to exterminate another group. Genocide is a cold, deliberate plan by the perpetrator- it could be a nation, community, Army and so on to wipe out another group.
The extermination may come in many dimensions: it may be cultural, physical or may even amount to uprooting that group from their own original environment to another environment. What happened during the war to the Igbos was very scientific.
All the divisions in the Nigerian army, especially the Second Division committed genocide. That is where I disagree with the book by Brigadier Isama. The second thing I want to say is that I have very good news for the family of Gen Benjamin Adekunle. Let them take this message that Emma Okocha, Onye amuma Ndigbo, says that Benjamin Adekunle’s problem is beyond science. The cure for his sickness is beyond Western medication. The cure can only be appreciated if Gen. Adekunle acknowledges and apologizes to our people. He should come to Asaba with white chalk and white cockerel and we shall escort him and meet the priest to seek for mercy from the goddess of the Niger. Gowon did it. Though he did not do the details but he came to Asaba and apologized to the goddess of the River Niger and asked Asaba people to forgive and forget.
The commander of this ferocious and brutal army is very safe now. He has apologized to Asaba people. The same thing goes to the family of Murtala Muhammed. We have been begging them to come and apologize. Murtala Muhammed was found guilty of genocide. Anthropologists and forensic experts came to Asaba and we were able to use modern instruments beyond reasonable doubt. As I am talking to you now, Asaba has been established in the map of genocide of the world. So, the good news to Benjamin Adekunle is come to Asaba and apologize. The goddess of the River Niger with her breast as big as a door would appear and he would wake up. This goddess does not forgive. They are not like human beings. They do not come out all the time but the Nigerian soldiers saw her. I am talking as a priest, Onye amuma Ndigbo. It was given to me by Eze Nri, the custodian of Igbo civilization. I cannot tell lies or fly a kite.
There is General Ali, former Chief of Army Staff, he did not taint his hands in blood. He did not kill anybody. He is married to my sister. He prevented many Asaba people from being buried alive. He was there when people, including sons and fathers were being buried alive. I cannot sit down here and allow a serious book based on my over 20 years of research to be discountenanced.
I will like to meet (General TY) Danjuma for a debate. I will also like to meet Gen. Mohammed Shuwa. He was the best and most disciplined Nigerian officer. He never shot anybody. He was the commander of the First Division from Enugu to Onitsha. I will equally like to meet Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo. He was very disciplined. He saved my uncle in Ibadan, former Economic Adviser to Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Prof. Emmanuel Edozien. And the way he ended the war was commendable because if it were to be Murtala Muhammed, it could have been disastrous. So, in criticizing and analyzing, let us remember the good ones. Obasanjo was the commander of the Third Marine Commando and he ended the war the way nobody has ended any African war. It was peaceful. He was the foremost Nigerian army commander that averted genocide after the Asaba debacle.
But in the case of Asaba, it was a war situation
Wars are governed by international laws and conventions. In the case of Nigeria, I am happy that many acknowledge according to my book that it was genocide. Gen. Isama should be happy that he wrote a book as a General because he kept diaries. I would say that up till now, there has not been a very serious book coming from the Nigerian war veterans. My Command (Written by Obasanjo) and others are merely based on hearsay. I do not have a problem with the diary of Gen Isama, my problem is with the civilian casualties. He showed us the maps, photographs which they used in giving the Biafrans a black eye but why touch the civilians? As far as I am concerned, his fingers are not tainted with blood.
The Generals that managed the Nigerian Army are still bitter over the circumstances that started the war. Asaba, Agbor and Ogwashi-Uku were the first part of Igbo land they invaded because you know that (late Major Kaduna) Nzeogwu was from that axis. As I am talking to you, I am an orphan. My father was shot dead and I lost my brothers.
What caused the genocide?
Their anger was against Nzeogwu, who according to them, led the coup but in our post-war research findings, Nzeogwu came in at the last run.
When we talk about January 15, 1966, Nzeogwu that was ostensibly crowned the leader of that coup was not the leader according to record. As I told you, the leadership came from Ibadan. Nzeogwu was not to make any speech. He made a spontaneous speech when the coup in Lagos failed but our record shows that the man who was supposed to make the announcement was Adewale Ademoyega who wrote the book Why we struck. He was part of the Ibadan school. He was an Ibadan boy and that was where they started with Emmanuel Ifeajuna. Ifeajuna’s close friends were never Igbo. And when you talk about the killing of Okotie Eboh, our research shows it was not done by any Ibo man. It was the Warri boys who had something to settle in the Warri politics – the Urhobo and the Itsekiri. The Ibos have up till now been very lazy, they have not done deep research on who was Ifeajuna, who was Nzeogwu for you to understand why the January 15 coup was tagged as an albatross. Until they remove that albatross, they will not do well in Nigeria politics and that was why Murtala Mohammed leading the Second Division came to Asaba and massacred everybody. He thought Nzeogwu was from there and not knowing that Nzeogwu was from Okpanam. So, I wrote this book as an orphan because my people were massacred.
