Reflections Witnout Mirror—– Niyi Aborisade
Col. Victor Adebukunola Banjo : A Genuine Revolutionary. Part 10
Aftermath of the Assasination of Banjo & Others.
He ( Ojukwu)replaced the commander of the Liberation Army of Nigeria but there was no spirit left within that Army anymore and so as there was no longer Liberation Army of Nigeria, they were inculcated back into the Biafran Army by reverting to Biafra 101st brigade. The Biafran Army never reclaimed Benin again till the end of the war. The death of Banjo and others, the incarceration of Major Adewale Ademoyega signified the end of the Revolutionaries that fought in Biafra. According to youruba adage , ‘ when there are no elders in the city, the city will collapsed and when the good man of the house dies , the house become empty. Biafra had lost a rare gem.
From that time, the Biafran started yielding ground by force to the federal troops. The 3rd Marine Commando under Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle also known as Black Scorpion, planned his famous attack with his Chief of Staff Col. Alabi Isama to capture Portharcout within 30 days , a distance of about 380 kilometres.
With the Revolutionary Banjo and his comrades in arms out of the way, the fight was no longer as it was and what it should have been. It was a question of time and not a matter of if but when Biafra will collapse completely.
Enugu fell on 28 September 1967, but Ojukwu had quietly vacated the place on 26 September 1967. This was the headquarters of Biafran Republic and very significant loss to Biafra. Ojukwu ran before the fall of Enugu. This was a man who accused Banjo of having yielded Ore when the federal troops were about 20 kilometres away. Why did he flee 2 days before the fall of Biafra and not wait ? . The headquarters was forcefully removed from Enugu. Ojukwu took a wide decision to flee, and so Banjo took a wise decision when he withdrew from Ore , having realised that it was suicidal for him to engage the federal troops who were fighting with the State of art weapons then .
Meanwhile, in the other sectors, Biafra Army was losing ground to the federal troops, and some Igbo civillians in the Aba sector were even cooperating with the federal troops and passing vital information to the enemy. Some were even practising cannibalism which forced General Ojukwu to send Major Ben Gbulie and Dr Oyolu a civillian with a field Rank of Major to go there and restore order.
Biafra Republic was falling seriously , the igbo intellectuals who gave everything to support Biafra, they were trained to fight and they fought indeed but there were no weapons to carry through. The situation that Banjo faced in Ore then. Some of them were killed in action and so Biafra also lost many of their intellectuals in the war.
Hunger was another weapon that destroyed the spirit of Biafra after the Federal Government started the Economic Blockade and changed the currency in 1968. There were few countries that recognised Biafra as a sovereign country , countries like Tanzania, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Zambia and Haiti but the recognition failed to yield any positive result for the young Republic and nothing was provided by them to alleviate the sufferings of the people of Biafra.
The death of Banjo and other revolutionaries had brought calamities upon calamities on the Republic. It was like a curse to Biafra. Adekunle 3rd division staged an elaborate landing across the Cross Rivers and cleared all the lands of Ibibios within 7 days. Adekunle and his army of about 40,000 soldiers were on their way to Portharcourt. Tbough we can not take away the bravery and the tactical plan of crushing Biafra from Benjamin Adekunle but those who could have stopped him with a counter plan had been assassinated. There was no equal of Banjo in Biafra or Liberation Army anymore. All Ojukwu officers were complaining of inadequate weapons or no weapons at all.
I should at this stage recognise the resilience and courage of the Igbos, despite the fact that by the end of 1967, Biafra had lost several towns to The Nigerian Army, they continue to defend their mother land for another 2 years until Ojukwu himself fled the country in the night of 10 January 1970. Ojukwu took all his family with him out of Biafra using Uli Airport and left behind his people that he led to war.
General Phillip Effiong declared unconditional surrender to the Nigerian Army within 24 hours of Ojukwu flight and surrendered to Lt. Colonel Akinrinade, who took him to Col. Obasanjo .
The Igbos had suffered and the surrender by Effiong brought a temporary relief to those who remained alive and weathered the storms of the war for many were dispatched by hunger and starvation instead of Bullet.
Banjo died a dignified death though executed under the instructions of Ojukwu but he did not run away and neither did he betray the trust of his officers throughout his life. Ojukwu ran and left his soldiers to die, unbefitting of a general.
Ojukwu was later pardoned by the Government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1982 and later contested an election as a Senator under NPN Flag and lost. He was rejected by his own people. It was a message from his people to him for the atrocity he committed during the war.
Ojukwu later collected all his benefits as a Nigerian soldier, a situation that compelled Col Achuzia to berate him and told him that it was blood money. Knowing fully well that many of those who fought for him were not compensated. Ojukwu did not fight for men who fought under him to receive their benefits at all.
Col Victor Banjo was not dismissed from the Nigerian Army, but neither was his personal property or gratuity paid to his family till date. Ojukwu did not release or mention the place where Banjo was buried till date. This was so sad considering the fact that despite he Ojukwu been responsible for the death of millions of people, he was pardoned, and so even if Banjo had offended him he should have forgiven him and release his body to the family for proper burial.
I believe they must have met by now in the world beyond, a place of equality as the weapons of supremacy is only limited to this our world. Ojukwu certainly had questions to answer and owed Banjo apology for the evil he committed against him and his family. I hope Banjo will forgive him or would have forgiven him long, being a good Christian.
Niyi Aborisade is a lawyer, a Human Rights Activist and a Historian.
Note: The piece is a summary of History of Banjo during the civil war. A comprehensive Book about him will be published soon, and many details that have never been published before will be part of the new book.
