Death of Odumegwu Ojukwu

To me, Ikemba (Dim) Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu remains a Nigerian icon. He might not necessarily be seen as hero to many Nigerians, but he was one of those leaders, worthy, who shaped Nigeria. Methinks it was unfortunate he was born in this era, and probably a younger Ojukwu today, or in the last decade would have made very significantly positive contributions to the progress of this country.

To me, I will never lose respect for him. It is often the case that when people like Ojukwu die, all kinds of encomiums and eulogies will be written. Nobody will ever see him in a bad light.

To me he was a Liberator of his people; to me, he was the “Rebel Leader of Biafra”, as we used to hear in those days of the Civil War; but he was not a tribal leader, never a tribal leader. The man was too liberated, too intelligent and too educated to descend that low. This I hope we will all agree on. He did all he could to keep Nigeria one but under a very different and difficult circumstance when he could no longer see any alternative.

A privileged upbringing and best education with one of the then richest men in Nigeria as a father, Odumegwu, rather than rely on the wealth of his father, chose to enter the common workforce by joining the Civil Service and was then inclined to join the Army, all against the wishes of his father. This, even at the early beginnings, show


Mind you, Ojukwu was not a Hero, but an Icon; the reason being that it is difficult and not appropriate to label him such because, ultimately, he should take and share the blame for the millions of Igbos and other Nigerians who lost their lives as a result of the Biafra War. This is purely my opinion, and I am sure others will not agree with my use of those nouns, but one thing is that I have never perceived him as a villain of the piece. He will always be my hard-faced, bearded, strong and intelligent leader. He did what he felt he had to do then.

A true Nigerian Icon has gone. May his soul rest in perfect peace.