Daily Trust - the online edition
| 888 days in Biafra (7) |
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| Sunday, 04 May 2008 | ||||||
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"The stage was now set for Ojukwu to have his own back on Banjo and his aides. Vehicles fitted with powerful public-address systems went round the streets telling people that those responsible for the shelling were Emmanuel Ifeajuna and his disgruntled and disloyal gang; that these saboteurs would be officially tried sometime in the day" We had just had our breakfast and our first round of drinks in the lounge on a very bright Monday morning, September 17th 1967, when we heard a very loud noise of explosion followed by another in the direction of the Secretariat buildings. These buildings were only about 800 yards from us. We were very much startled, but guessed that this might be the first federal artillery shelling of Enugu. If this was correct then it meant that federal troops would not be more than about 10 miles away. We could now see the reason for the heavy and continuous day and night movement of Biafran troop carriers. We came out to investigate and saw workers, men, women and unarmed soldiers running helter-skelter. The fashion for women at that time was tight-knee shirts. But on this fateful morning, as an Ibo proverb says, "This was no longer a dance where one smokes pipe while dancing". These tight-kneed skins had been ripped at the sides either intentionally or accidentally to enable the wearer run for dear life with much more ease. As for shoes and handbags, they automatically became secondary and a hindrance where the battle for survival was concerned. In the evening more shells fell in the direction of the prison yard, 600 yards to our left. During the stampede we saw Assistant Commissioner of Police (CID), Mr WilliamUgbaja, hurrying by. Mr. Adeola called him to inquire what was happening. It is amazing that Mr William Ugbaja took us for fools. He gave Adeola the official salute and said "Nothing Sir, it is our boys testing their OGBUNIGUE" (these were Biafran home made bombs, one of which, according to propaganda at the time, was supposed to be able to kill a million people at a blow!). He did not wait for any more questions before hurrying away in the direction of the blast. We understood later, when Mr Joe Obi visited us, that sadly, civilian lives were lost and property damaged as a result of Federal artillery shelling on that day. The armed police and security men guarding No 2 Ridgeway never spoke to us for our first two weeks there. We were, therefore, somewhat surprised when one of them peeped through the lounge window and announced that the proclamation of the creation of the Republic of Benin was announced that morning—September 20th, 1967. We took the news calmly and unconcerned, without raising our heads from the novels we were reading. If we were going to rejoice in the hope that we might soon be released to go home, we were certainly not going to do so in the presence of the very Igbo man who was holding us captive. We believed that his motive for telling us was not because he was sorry for our plight but because he was happy about the expansion of their Biafran Empire. Nevertheless, I went upstairs to start packing. When I had finished I came back to the lounge and kept a constant watch in the direction of the gate with the hope to catch the first glimpse of the man that was to come and effect our release. It was a disappointing self-imposed task. The truth dawned on us later in the evening. For the first time since we came to 2 Ridgeway Road we heard the sound of music from a radio. I came out to investigate and found a small transistor set with our steward in his "Boys’ Quarters". He too must have been so elated at the "good news" of the proclamation of the Republic of Benin that he wanted to hear it again during the 6 pm Biafran news. At 8.45 pm, Adeola called and begged him for the use of the radion in anticipation of the news at 9 pm. Offered one free bottle of beer from the fridge, this request was promptly granted with the understanding that we were to keep the volume low. However, in my attempt to tune to BBC at 9 pm, I stumbled into "Voice of America" while the news headlines were being read. To our greatest amazement the first news item was that federal troops had recaptured the Midwest Capital—Benin City. This newsflash sent us wild. I ran from the lounge to the kitchen and back again for the full news. We listened attentively and when it was done, I tried BBC and got it as the announcer was starting the last reading of the news headlines. And again it said, "To end the news here are the headlines. Benin City, the capital of Midwest State of Nigeria, has been recaptured by Federal forces". I switched off the set and returned it to the steward. I never saw Akpata, Adeola and Imokhuede so happy before in my life. By age I was the most junior and without being told I acted the part of a steward whenever the situation warranted. This was an occasion for jubilation and Akpata sent me to his room to fetch a bottle of Brandy he had reserved for such an occasion. We poured ourselves tall shots of drinks and settled to discuss the full implications. 1. It means that our families are now free and safe. The questions of starvation are now ruled out because the federal government would now remove the blockade imposed on the Midwest with the entry of Biafran troops. 2. It means that Biafra is suffering heavy defeats and may sooner than expected call off the rebellion. 3. Unfortunately it also means that our hopes of release have faded to near zero. Our only remaining hope now rested on the generosity of Ojukwu to hand us over to the Red Cross for transportation to our homes. It turned out that this last hope was the last thing Ojukwu would ever grant. We jubilantly discussed far into the night and by 3:30 am when we eventually moved upstairs to our bedrooms we had emptied another bottle of whiskey in addition to the Brandy. It was the sound of shells that woke me at 7 am, but I was unable to get out of bed as a result of a terrible hangover. I even refused to go down for breakfast. But at l0 am I needed no ghost to compel me to rush out of bed. There was an air raid, which lasted for about 30 minutes. The sound of the exploding bombs, the double barrel guns and MK 4 police rifles was very terrifying and deafening. To make the situation more complicated, four shells whizzed a few hundred feet above our building and landed with shattering and devastating effects some distance away. To this day I still wonder what made me seek shelter in the toilet with the passage of the third and fourth shells. When, eventually, the situation became normal, Akpata and Adeola started to look for me. They were scared stiff lest something had happened. They too had hidden, flat and face downwards, under the settees in the lounge but away from the glass windows. At last they found me crouching tightly by the toilet sink in the most frightening manner one can ever imagine. Akpata jokingly promised to tell my wife how timid I was in the face of apparent death. This sort of situation continued for days with additional shelling and air raid sessions in the evenings. At the rate things were going we could predict almost with certainty that shelling would start at such and such a time, and with the brightness of the day say whether there would be an air raid or not. There was now real panic in Enugu, judging from the frantic movements of civilians and army vehicles. Civil Defence activities heightened. Brainwashed matchet-swinging civilians sang war songs like "Enyi ba Enyi" and "Ojukwu nye anyi egbe, nye anyi mma" round the streets. The stage was now set for Ojukwu to have his own back on Banjo and his aides who had since been placed under arrest after their hurried evacuation of the Midwest. Vehicles fitted with powerful public-address systems went round the streets telling people not to panic or attempt to leave town; that those responsible for the shelling were Emmanuel Ifeajuna and his disgruntled and disloyal gang; that they had been fetched out of their hideouts in the disused coal mines with their shelling machines; that these saboteurs would be officially tried sometime in the day; and that the general public was invited to the football ground at 4 pm to give their verdict. Coincidentally, there was neither air raid nor shelling for the next two days. This gave Ojukwu’s propaganda the desired effect it wanted. All such propaganda meant for wholesale consumption was never put out on the radio lest the enemy got wind of it. The fates of Banjo, Philip Alale, Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Samuel Agbam had been sealed after hurried proceedings before a biased court-martial earlier in the day. At 4 pm on 25th September 1967, security men took these unfortunate prisoners to the football field for the stage-managed public to confirm the sentence already passed on them by the tribunal. If you are a Christian and remember the story of how Jesus was tried and condemned to death at the court of Pontius Pilate, then you can imagine the sort of mock trial Banjo and his colleagues had. There has been an account by the former Head of Biafran Intelligence (Bernard Odogwu), to the effect that Banjo and others were tape-recorded during allegedly treasonable meetings in Enugu. However, normal legal processes were ignored, even by military standards. There were no defence lawyers and no independent observers. That a tribunal under the chairmanship of a Judge passed the sentences does not mitigate the scale of injustice that was perpetrated. The public, under the blazing sun, had been presented with those supposed to be the architects of their misfortunes. There was, therefore, no surprise when at the appropriate moment they shouted loud and clear in unison "shoot them". To the jubilant acclamations of the bloodthirsty onlookers, the firing squad did their distasteful job. This story was related to me by a cell-mate who was a freeman at the material time and had witnessed the shootings. Federal shelling resumed at 6:15 pm precisely but by then Ojukwu’s luck had shone and he had successfully disposed of his dreaded allies. Views: 1618
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