EDITORIAL: LESSON FROM OJUKWUISM

“From every nonsense, there is a sense”, so says an old adage which in the context of Ojukwuism much lessons could be derived from his way of life and actions.

As the man in the forefront of a people seeking redress or the right of the people concerned, he could be called a leader or a rebel. Though he is gone to the great beyond, the memories of what prompted his actions as a leader or a rebel still lingers on in as much as Nigeria, our dear country is concerned.

Ojukwu, firstly showed his discontentment against injustice when in 1944 as a student of the Kings College, Lagos dealt with and assaulted a white British colonial teacher who humiliated a black woman at the college thereby recording his first public show of ‘rebellion’.

After being punished by the law, Ojukwu left for studies overseas and his background as the son of the richest man then and even now coupled with his education earned him rapid promotion at the time when the Nigerian Army had only 250 officers, 15 of which were Nigerians.

Now having been so licensed, Ojukwu who climbed the Nigerian Army ladder up to the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel on May 30, 1967 announced a secession of the breakaway Eastern Region where he was governor and proclaimed it as the Republic of Biafra while he then assumed office as the Head of State.

Since, according to the elders wise saying that two cocks cannot at the same time crow on one roof top, that is having Lt. Col. Jack Yakubu Gowon as Nigeria’s Head of State and Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu as Biafra’s Head of State also in Nigeria.

Before, during and after the 30 months civil was, which erupted as a result of the Military and Civil Crisis, Ojukwu maintained his stand as a leader, rebel, patriot, fine soldier, an elite and what have you pointing out to the world that he had the interest of the people at heart especially when thinking about the pogrom and the killing, maiming of people in the North in their hundreds of thousands which did not go down well with him, hence he termed it as a genocide.

Be it as it may, the same maladies are what the nation is fighting against and as true citizens the nation should eschew those tendencies that could bring about conflicts religiously, politically or otherwise.

A near  incidence that brought about Ojukwu’s discontent are taking place now in the country especially, as usual up North where thousands of souls of Nigerians are being lost almost on a daily basis in the name of religion or politics.

We, therefore, condemned these acts of hooliganism and call on Nigerians to learn lessons from what prompted Ojukwu to embark on a civil strife for considering what people might have termed nonsense on his part, there seem to be some senses in the nonsense.

Now that Ojukwu is gone for ever, Century Newsfront joins friends, associates and indeed Nigerians to say, Ojukwu bye bye for you deserve whatever adjective one uses to qualify you. Again we say; Bye Bye Ojukwu.

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