Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu: The Life And Legacy Of An Igbo Hero

Chief Chukwuemaka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba of Nnewi was born to Sir Louis Phillipe Odumegwu Ojukwu and Grace Ogbonnia Ojukwu on the 4th of November, 1933 in Zungeru, Niger state, Nigeria and died on the 26th of November, 2011 in London, England. He was a nationalist, military leader, historian, and politician who was most popular for his role as the Head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces of the Republic of Biafra. He led Biafra from 1967 to 1970, three years after the genocide against Biafrans (dubbed Nigerian Civil War) lasted.

Early Life and Education

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was born into class and wealth. He was the second son of one of the wealthiest Africans at the time, Sir Louis Phillipe Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Ojukwu’s father was a powerful business mogul, a knight who had friends in high places. Foremost anticolonial nationalist Nnamdi Azikiwe was Ojukwu’s Godfather. Being the son of a successful Igbo man afforded him certain privileges and opportunities. 

1n 1943, and at the early age of ten, after attending St. Patrick Primary School Lagos, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Ojukwu proceeded to CMS Grammar School. This was a clear distinction from his contemporaries at the time who mostly started their education from age 15. In 1944 he transferred to the more prestigious Kings College, Lagos where he was the youngest student in the school’s history. There is no doubt that the young Ojukwu’s early exposure to national and global politics due to his privileged background gave him an edge over his peers. This exposure is reflected in his nonconformist tendencies. At age ten, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and his colleagues at Kings College attracted the world’s attention when they protested against the British colonial administration’s wars and colonial subjugation.

At age ten, pictures of the young Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a minor at the time, standing trial before an English judge in a Lagos court and sleeping in the docks for his participation in the Kings College anticolonial protest became popular. Not only was this image of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu a symbol fully exploited by nationalists to garner public opinion against British rule, but it also echoed the young Ojukwu’s fighting spirit and uncompromising inclinations.

Not long after this event, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was transferred to boarding school, getting into Epsom College in Surrey as admission into the more preferred Eton college was taking too long. During this period, Ojukwu blossomed in curricular and extracurricular activities, performing excellently in Boxing, Cricket, Debates, and Athletics. At the time he set the record for the best Discus throw in all England Junior. Ojukwu was a natural, and during this period, he was made captain of the rugby and soccer team. 

He subsequently got into Lincoln College, Oxford. Although he studied Law for a year, trying to fulfill his father’s desires, in 1952, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in history and later a Master of Arts in Modern History in 1956. During his time in Oxford, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu continued to develop his prowess in Athletics while pursuing new interests in drama and journalism.

He was also a leading figure for the West African Student Union, Oxford branch. While studying in Oxford, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu met Njideka, a law student whom he married. He was known for shuttling Oxford and London speeding in his flashy sports car, and it was said that even some of his professors always loved to take a spin in his sports car. He maintained a playboy image as an international student at Oxford. 

After graduating from the University of Oxford and as a testament to his selfless nature, Ojukwu returned to Nigeria in 1957 to begin an administrative officer career at the Eastern Nigeria civil service. He served as the assistant district officer in Udi town where he was a community development officer overseeing rural communities. He was reputed to easily simplify complex matters and was also popular for his wise counsel. From Udi town, he was transferred to Aba and later Umuahia performing the same role.

Career In The Civil Service And Military

Two years into his community development career, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu chose to become a private soldier in the Queens Own Regiment, against his father’s wishes starting as a non-commissioned officer. This son of a billionaire had the world ahead of him but as per his humble nature chose the unconventional path. This decision was said to have brought a temporary two-and-a-half-year hiatus in communication between Ojukwu and his father who expected him to repent of his decision. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu became Nigeria’s first university graduate to join the Army. Similar to the historical Moses, Ojukwu rejected his unfettered privileges for the rugged path of service and honor. 

In 1957 when Ojukwu returned to Nigeria and it became inevitably clear that there was no going back on his decision to be in the army, he got into Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School, getting commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation. He also attended the Infantry School in Warminister, England, and the Small Arms School in Hythe, England. This was an unprecedented move at the time and due to his education, he rose rapidly in the ranks. He took on some many roles including military tactics instructor at Rolling West African Frontier Force Training School, Teshie, Ghana where he taught the likes of Murtala Muhammad and Benjamin Adekunle who later became some of Nigeria’s finest and prominent military officers. Upon his return to Nigeria in 1958 Ojukwu was assigned to the fifth battalion in Kaduna, Kaduna State. 

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s decision to jettison the life of opulence for the unpredictable journey of national service speaks volumes about his kind of person. There were not too many individuals with such an impressive profile at the time. The nationalists in him saw the value of his life experience and the crucial role he could play in the country from Nigeria’s independence. Prevailing political events will however colour these aspirations differently as the foundation on which Nigeria was built makes ethnic and tribal loyalties above all inevitable. 

From 1961, Ojukwu rose to become a major and was part of the United Nations peacekeeping effort in Congo where he served with the Nigerian First Brigade. He was the first Nigerian officer to attend the Joint Services Staff College in the United Kingdom. He later emerged as a Nigerian quartermaster-general in the Nigerian Army and was looking to be the first Nigerian to attain this status. He led the Fifth Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Kano as commanding officer, making this his first independent commanding in 1965.

Following the January 1966 coup carried out by junior army officers to save Nigeria from corruption and Nepotism, which led to the emergence of Maj. Gen. T.U. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, then the highest-ranking military officer in the country as the Head of state, Ojukwu, who was already a lieutenant colonel was appointed as the military governor of the Eastern region. This period was marked by political instability, turmoil, riots, and ethnic tension with Ndi Igbo at the core receiving end. 

Nigeria’s anti-Igbo sentiments following the January 1966 coup continued to intensify, leading to a countercoup in July 1966, which led to the assassination of Maj. Gen. T.U. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, and the emergence of Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon as the new head of state. For Ojukwu, this was an aberration as the most senior military officer next to Major. Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi based on military hierarchy was Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe. 

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu justifiably resisted the imposition of Gowon. This was a very dark period for the Igbos as what was till then a political affair between politicians and the government took a forceful and unmistakable tribal dimension leading to a bloody pogrom of the Igbo residents in Northern Nigeria from May to September 1966. This was the same year Ojukwu’s father died although in unrelated circumstances. 

His Role In Defending And Leading Biafra

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu initially maintained his stance on a peaceful resolution of the crisis but eventually, posterity beckoned at age 33 when Ojukwu accepted his calling to resist genocide and the annihilation of Nigerians of the Eastern region especially the Igbo people – his people. Ndi Igbo were slaughtered with impunity all over Nigeria, coupled with the cunning splitting of the Eastern region into three States by Gowon on May 27, 1967, reneging on the agreement at the Aburi Accord in Ghana. Following the resolution of the Eastern Nigeria Constituent Assembly, a decision was taken on May 30, 1967. Ojukwu’s only option was to declare the secession of the Eastern region; the Republic of Biafra from the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What followed was the Nigerian Civil War which lasted from 1967 to 1970. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu led the Republic of Biafra throughout this period as the Head of State and commander in chief of the armed forces until the final moments when Phillip Effiong took the reins.

One of the undeniable takeaway lessons of the Nigerian civilian war is the power of the people and the revelation that the failures of the Nigerian state which plague the country and its people even today are simply a result of leadership failure. A grossly unprepared people with committed leaders and undiluted motivation took on a Nigerian government that had the support of world powers Britain, Russia, and almost the whole of Europe, and they fought a good fight. The world still marvels at the resilience and technological prowess of Biafrans during the war. The war led to the death of an estimated eight million Biafrans including women and children with some dying as a result of starvation and disease. More people probably died of hunger and starvation than the bullet.

For about twelve years after the war (1970-1982), Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu remained in voluntary exile until he was invited to return home by the Nigerian government under Shehu Shagari. In January 1983 he ventured into politics once again, joining the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) from where he unsuccessfully attempted to represent Anambra at the senate. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was detained by the government of Muhammadu Buhari at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison for 10 months alongside hundreds of political figures in the country after a military coup that truncated democracy in 1983, ousting the civilian government of Shehu Shagari. He joined the Social Democratic Party which had the likes of MKO Abiola in 1993 but was disqualified from running for president. He unsuccessfully sought to be Nigeria’s president in 2003 and 2007 under a party he helped form – the All-progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). He lost even in areas considered to be under his sphere of influence. Although these elections were adjudged to have been fraudulent, the general outcome was perhaps a testament to the republican political nature of the Igbo to prioritize “the people” over personalities. Or maybe he was smartly rigged out and stopped from coming close to the presidency, for the fact that he was the Igbo leader of Biara – a memory that was still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.

His Marital Life

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu got married more than once. His first was a two-year marriage to his first wife Elizabeth Okoli, the daughter of Nigeria’s first Post-Master General. His next marriage was with Njideka Onyekwelu a divorcee before he found love again in exile with a certain Victoria. His next was with Stella Onyeador, the chief bridesmaid during his wedding with Njideka. In 1994, Ojukwu married Bianca Onoh, a former beauty queen, Nigeria’s Most Beautiful girl in 1988. She was the daughter of a senior politician and the union generated a bit of a controversy at the initial stage. Bianca would later become an ambassador of Nigeria. 

This was Ojukwu’s third marriage, a celebrity marriage that was a famous tale of love and defiance. Ojukwu returned to his ancestors in London on 26 November 2011 after a brief illness. He was 78 years old at the time. He was buried on 26 March 2012 after a weeklong funeral procession. He was accorded the highest military honor by the Nigerian government. At Ojukwu’s funeral, President Goodluck Jonathan in his tribute described the late leader as one who demonstrated “immense love of his people, justice, equity and fairness which forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian civil war”.

Chukwuemaka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s Achievements And Legacy

Chukwuemaka Odumegwu Ojukwu was a trailblazer, a pacesetter in many strides. He was the first indigenous assistant district officer in the Old Eastern region. The first Nigerian graduate to join the Nigerian Army. The first quarter-master General of the Nigerian Army. The first and only Military Governor of the Eastern region. The first Head of state and commander in chief of the short-lived Biafran armed forces from 1967 to 1970.

If the Nigerian state ever shook off the heavy cloak of complacency at any time in its history, Ojukwu’s daring nature and nationalistic tendencies played a crucial role. Ojukwu was a colossus, an epitome of charisma, oratory prowess, and sound leadership. This is evident from what the Biafran nation he led achieved during its brief existence, even during a civil war. He held no grudges. It was Ojukwu who described the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as “the best president Nigeria never had” and this statement is still quoted by Awolowo’s disciples to date. 

The people’s general would be fondly remembered as a brave, committed leader with an unmistakable sincerity of purpose. He was a nationalist, and he loved his people, Ndi Igbo dearly. There are diverse opinions about him, and how he was part of the actors who orchestrated an avoidable civil war, but we cannot take this man’s flowers away from him no matter the argument. The Igbo know him as Dikedioramma, roughly a beloved hero of the people, and the Eze Ndigbo Gburugburu during his lifetime.

This Piece Was Written By Chika Anyanya and Edited By Chuka Nduneseokwu, Editor-In-Chief, Voice Of The Sun

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SOURCES OF THE AUTHOR’S INFORMATION:

Sources “Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,” Encyclopedia, https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/african-history-biographies/chukwuemeka-odumegwu-ojukwu; “Odumegwu Ojukwu,” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Odumegwu-Ojukwu; “Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Obituary,” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/27/chukwuemeka-odumegwu-ojukwu