Reflections Without Mirror—Niyi Aborisade
Col Victor Adebukunola Banjo: A Genuine Revolutionary Part 4
Ore is in Odigbo Local Government in Ondo State of Nigeria, and it is very close to Benin City of Midwest . Entering Ore is entering the Yoruba land and that would have changed the face of the battle. Throughout the war , no battle did take place in any of Yoruba land save Ore that borders the Mid-West.
The command from Ojukwu was that Banjo should proceed to Lagos at all costs. Now, it is imperative to assess the team of officers and army that Banjo assembled and the weapons he had, to proceed to the heart of Yoruba land and compare it with those who were on the federal side.
Banjo had good officers, no doubt. The now promoted Lt. Col Ifeajuana , Lt Colonel Ademoyeya , Lt Col Mike Ivonso ,Major Chukwuka, Lt , Oyewole and Lt Adeleke later promoted to Captain. They were revolutionaries officers who took part in the 15 January 1966 coup. They were brave officers with the heart of Lion but they had little weapons to fight a fight of that magnitude . Banjo requested for weapons, though Ojukwu promised to deliver some weapons to him but he did not deliver. This was the case almost in all sectors of Biafra, which accounted for the fall of Biafra. In today’s warfare, Ukraine is able to hold Russians might because they are being supplied superior weapons by the USA and Europe Nato. So, having good officers is not sufficient where there are no weapons to match the bravery and experience.
On the side of the federal government were Brigadier Benjamen Adekunle, the black scorpion of the renamed 3rd Marine Commando and Col. Murtala Rufai ( later changed to Ramat) Muhammed of 2nd division who later became head of State. Murtala’s 2nd division was joined by forces from the Ibadan Garrison command under Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo. It will be recalled that Ojukwu had taught Murtala and Benjamin Adekunle at the Regular Officers Training School, Ghana, where Murtala came best. So Murtala was a good combatant but a reckless one as I will explain later. The Federal troops had more than sufficient weapons, that were bought openly from British and American Government being a sovereign State. Despite insufficient and adequate weapons, Banjo was prepared to launch his attack but there was a time delay due to the protracted argument between him and Ojukwu and other matters to be considered.
Ojukwu gave Banjo three conditions, which were difficult for Banjo to accept . Despite Banjo being under Ojukwu, he was an independent man and a revolutionary who would always speak his mind and not be subject to control. He was a friend of Ojukwu and of the same rank before the war. His position had always been made clear at all times.
The three conditions given to Banjo . The conditions were given to him by way of letter dated 22 August 1967.
1. Banjo will not have anything to do with the Miltary Administrator of the Mid-west territory during his sojourn there prior to his move to the West
2. During the period of Biafran troops’ presence in all his territory, all political measures , statements, or decrees shall be subject to the approval in writing by Ojukwu or on his authority.
3. Should the Biafra troops arrive and Liberate Lagos , the government of the Republic of Biafra reserves the right to appoint a military administrator for the territory.
Banjo wants equal partnership, after all , he was the one that planned the attack and the one to execute it , moreover the place to fight and take was his territory as a yoruba man , perhaps Ojukwu had forgotten that Banjo was a Yoruba man and all the place he asked him to fight and take were Yoruba land, a place that Ojukwu had now set his eyes on even though Banjo was the architect of the plan. Banjo demurred. Valuable times were lost in the process and by the time of real action , the federal troops under Col. Murtala Mohammed and Lt. Col Alani Akinrinade with the 2nd division and the forces from the Garrison command of Ibadan under Colonel Obasanjo, had linked up with Murtala but Obasanjo himself remain in Ibadan.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col Alabi Isama has got wind of the plan to attack Lagos, for he was in Benin then. He sent a signal to lagos . He was later captured by Biafran soldiers , they tried to recruit him into Biafra but he managed to escape.
Having seen the preparation of the federal government marshalling her troops around Ore, but before the encounter, Banjo took reconnaissance of the whole situation and devised another method to reach Lagos. Banjo knew it would be suicidal to attempt to pass through Ore without adequate weapons and they would be completely cut off from Biafra. It was at this time that Wole Soyinka visited Ojukwu in Biafra and sought an audience with Banjo. Banjo had a message for him to Obasanjo , On or around August 1967, Banjo sent Wole Soyinka to Obasanjo to give him and his army easy passage way through ibadan to Lagos without attack . According to Wole Soyinka in his book ‘ *You must Set Forth at Dawn Banjo told him ” Let them understand in West that I am leading not a Biafran army but an army of liberation, made up not only of Biafrans but of other ethnic groups. Make the governor of the West and other Western leaders understand this, Urge them not to be taken in by any propaganda by the federal government about a Biafran plan to subjugate the rest of the nation, especially the West’.* Banjo had assessed the danger of going through Ibadan, firstly, it means heavy fight will take place in the heart of Yoruba land which may lead to many casualties and destruction of properties, Banjo understood that the Yorubas would not take kindly to him should things like that happen because the yorubas were not the enemy of Biafras or the North. Indeed, the West and the Mid-West initially took a neutral ground on the war before events forced them into it. Secondly, Banjo did not have weapons to prosecute such a war but he knew for sure that he can take the Federal Capital because his full army will be intact and fresh if there were no battles in Ibadan . The majority of the Nigerian Army were already engaged in a fierce battle in Biafra, Banjo also knew he had some officers who would have joined him if he could make it to Lagos successfully.
Wole Soyinka took the message and made an arrangement with Col. Olusegun Obasanjo, the Garrison commander of Ibadan. They agreed to meet without any weapons; time and place were fixed. They met at Ibadan in August 1967.
*The Revolutionaries vs The Reactionaries*
The revolutionaries under Banjo put up a brilliant fight but with little weapons whereas Murtala and Akinriade had adequate supply of weapons and manpower, the battle was fierce , the Liberation Army of Nigeria determined to gain entrance into the heart of Yoruba land on their way to Lagos, the Federal troops repelled the attack and beat them back under superior weapons. It was more a battle of weapons and numbers. Banjo entered Mid-west with 3000 soldiers but not all of them were fighting in Ore of course, there were some of them who were to hold the ground of Mid-west and strengthen his defence and some were concentrating on other sectors of Mid-west. It was only the 12th Battalion that were entrusted with Ore sector of the war. In any event, they were driven back by Col Murtala 2nd division . It was probably the toughest part of the war , first, it was where the revolutionaries ( some of the original coup plotters) fought and displayed extreme bravery in the face of the enemy. Capt. Ganiyu Adekeke, one of the Yoruba officers who took part in January 15,1966 coup, distinguished himself in this battle and inflicted serious damage against the federal side. He later became an instructor in Biafran infantry. Due to his brilliant performance at Ore and the hardship that he brought against the federal side, when all other officers who took part in the Mid-West invasion were pardoned and released by General Gowon in 1974, Capt Adeleke was not released.
Secondly , it was the first attempt by Biafra to gain entrance into Yoruba land, which would have changed the face of the war completely. The federal government knew that if Banjo was successful in making his way to Lagos, he would enlist the support of the Yorubas and there would be no hidden place for the Northern troops again. It will be too much to fight against two enemy at the same time. The federal government therefore concentrated much of their firepower at Ore . It was a great battle such that is difficult to describe,both sides put up their best efforts. it was indeed like David and Goliath, but on this occasion, Goliath triumphed against the small but strong army of Banjo. This was not a movie where three men could take the whole city. It was the fierce and the deadly battle and the amount of loss of lives that made Yoruba to conclude and said, ” Oleku Ija Ore. ‘ the fierce deadly battle of Ore’
*Entered the war, the Black Scorpion*
The newly named 3rd Marine Commando under Benjamin Adekunle, also known as Black Scorpion, seized koko, Sapele, Warri , Ugheli, Orerokpe , umutu Itagba in the Midwest. Adekunle’s order of the battle was to ‘shoot anything that moves’. Adekunle led from the front, he was a great yoruba warrior and the most popular man of the civil war. As the war progressed He later had the assistance of Lt. Col Alani Akinrinade and Alabi Isama. Alani Akinrinade was formerly with Murtala Mohammed as stated above but he disagreed with Murtala on his reckless plan to cross into Onitsha after the success of capturing Benin. Adekunle engaged the 18th Battalion in the Delta area , a well planned diversionary tactic from the federal side. At around 6 pm on 20 September 1967, Benin City fell into the hands of the federal government . Murtala made a broadcast in Benin on 21 September 1967, having captured the place. There were reprisal and incessant killings by officers under Murtala, where many able bodied men of Igbo extracts were just lined up and shot. It also came to light that Murtala did not treat the Central Bank of Benin as a sacred institution and looted the Bank completely. Whereas, when Banjo captured Benin, he treated the bank as a sacred institution and did not allow his troops or anyone to touch the place. It would therefore, be a monumental lie for anyone to suggest that Banjo took money from the federal side to sabotage Biafras and allowed the federal side to take Mid-west. A man who had the whole Central Bank of Benin under him and did not take a dime from it certainly can not be bought by anyone.
Wole Soyinka met …….
To be continued
Niyi Aborisade is a lawyer, a Human Rights Activist and a historian
