Written by Temple Chima Ubochi, Bonn, Germany
Email: ubochit@hotmail.de
rig. Gen Benjamin Adekunle, the Nigerian civil war veteran, popularly known in the war front as Black Scorpion, died on Saturday September 13 at the age of 78. Unlike others, this writer will not go so hard on the late ruthless soldier, because, that would be pointless, as there’s no need “flogging a dead horse”. A point to make here is that during the civil war, the then Colonel Benjamin Adekunle (Black Scorpion), as one of the three war commanders, was ruthless or very cruel in carrying out his military campaigns. But what will he be most remembered for? The remarks he made during that fratricidal civil war. The New York Times of May 20, 1968, in page 1, col. 7 wrote: On May 17, 1968, Col Adekunle said that he has besieged thousands of Biafrans inside the city of Port Harcourt "with no escape route except to jump in the water”. In another interview with reporters on July 14, 1968, Col. Benjamin Adekunle termed all relief plans for Biafra as "misguided humanitarian rubbish". The Sunday New York Times of Sept. 8, 1968, quoted Col. Adekunle, in answering a question about Biafran relief, as having said rather pompously:
"I want to see no red cross, no Caritas, no World Council of Churches, no Pope, no missionary and no U.N. delegation. I want to prevent even one Ibo having even one thing to eat before their capitulation." On another occasion, Col. Adekunle told the interviewer that in Biafra, "we shoot at everything that moves", and in response to another reporter’s question about how he would treat Biafrans when he gets into the "heartland of the Igbos", he replied "Then we shoot at everything, even things that don’t move."
There’s a lesson to learn here: The Nigerian leaders should know that life is vanity, and also short. Whosoever waste precious blood through bad leadership, by what he or she does or fails to do; or who gives a command that leads to the killing of innocent people; or who steals the people’s commonwealth that should have been used in saving lives or keeping many of the dead citizens alive, should know that there will be repercussion for such attitude sooner or later. The leaders should know that they will all die one day, just like everybody, because, death is inevitable, although for some, early, while for others, later. It’s important for us to live our respective lives with the knowledge that death is inevitable. Nothing last for ever! To appreciate the vanity of life and the inevitability of death, everyone should look at the life of General Benjamin Adekunle, who died last weekend.
Today, the dread General is where he will have no gun or power to shot at moving and unmoving things again. He must be facing some of his victims by now. May be, what the Bible says in Luke 16:19-31, figuratively speaking, is the scenario over there now. This Bible story is also for the Nigerian leaders who are debauched by the prospect of easy money, and are ruthlessly seeking personal advantage; those who embezzle the commonwealth that should have been used to improve the lives of the poor Nigerians, many of whom are dying untimely, due to lack of care from those ruling them. Luke 16:19-31 tells a story about a Rich Man and Lazarus thus:
Back to General Adekunle: He was so pompous during the war that he operated on his own without taking orders or allowing any supervision from the Army Headquarters. The army gave him 3 Infantry Division to lead, but, Colonel Adekunle did not think the name "3 Infantry Division" was sensational; therefore, he renamed it the “Marine Commando (3MCDO)” without formal approval from Army HQ. We read that the Black Scorpion was easily the most controversial, celebrated and mythologised figure in the war of attrition that laid the foundations for Nigeria's contemporary crisis; and threw a wedge into the national fabric. Adekunle’s 3rd Marine Commando, more than any other command, spearheaded the end of the three-year civil war as it oversaw the blocking of Biafra’s access to the sea, making it impossible for imported weapons, ammunition, food and other supplies to get into Biafra, and this led to the capitulation of Biafra. Not only that; this writer wonders the number of Ndiigbo (men, women and more especially, children) who lost their precious lives because of the atrocious tactics Col. Adekunle employed in the prosecution of the war. Today he has joined them. Col Adekunle forgot that Abraham Lincoln (1909-1865) said that “No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child”.
After the war, Benjamin Adekunle was promoted to Brigadier in 1972, and was put in charge of decongesting of the Lagos port that was having a chronic problem of clearing imported goods. He was however forced into compulsory retirement from the Nigerian Army in 1974. When he was incharge of decongesting of the Lagos Port, he stepped on the toes of some of those who claimed to be the “owners of Nigeria”, who also had unfettered access to the then Dodan Barracks. The then Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, being a stooge of the northern oligarchy, obeyed the order of his northern lords to retire the black scorpion, more especially as Gowon was always suspecting that Benjamin Adekunle had a plan to topple him. This is the irony of life; that a man, feared and respected by his colleagues and subordinates; envied and hated by his foes, was ignominiously retired from the Nigerian army he served diligently. From that 1974, when he was thrown out of the army till last week, when he died, he constantly complained how the army and Nigeria mistreated him despite the unique services he rendered for them. From the time he was forcefully retired in 1974 till death, Benjamin Adekunle lived a reclusive life and died a poor and angry man. The dead black scorpion fell from grace to grass so fast, and that must be because of the crime against humanity/genocide he must have committed during the civil war.
Someone wrote in Igbofocus: “Since the war ended, he has become a social outcast of sorts, abhorred by earth, and obviously by Heaven. It does seem that no one wishes to shake his hands perennially dripping with the pure red blood of innocent Igbo children who died as a result of his conscious action. While other Generals are seen now and again moving about in this new era, shaking warm hands, and rebuilding bridges destroyed by the senseless war, Adekunle simply shuns every bit of society. That probably serves his conscience better than to daily confront those whose parents, children, brothers, sisters, cousins and uncles were among the moving and unmoving things (civilians) heartlessly mowed down by his men at his direct orders in Igboland. It probably never occurred to him that after the war, there would still be some living Ndi Igbo whose faces would prick his horribly muddied conscience. Apparently, before he could finish mowing down everything that moves in Igboland, he was most ignominiously sacked from the Third Marine Commando Division, which he had effectively turned into a murderous gang. His letter to His Excellency protesting his sudden retirement and begging (proved that)”. Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba summed it up: “That Benjamin Adekunle was an evil man has been proved beyond all reasonable doubts. That leaders on both sides of the Nigeria/Biafra conflict knew he was the devil incarnate is now an accepted fact. Col Adekunle was awarded the command of one of the three divisions in the Nigerian army and his was the elite division. But he was not included in the leadership of the country after the war. Why? The Nigerian side saw a Hitler and did not want any part of the deadly scorpion. There are no streets named after him; no composers recorded his exploits in any album; there is no charity work associated with him; He never visited the land of his exploits after the war and could not name one thing he did besides murdering hundreds of thousands of Biafran civilians, women, and children. Some people have argued that what he did should be taken in the context of the war; that his interview was during the war and did not represent the man he was; if that were the case, one would then expect that he would explain the context after the war. Yet even though the interview was published in his life time and he died 46 years after the war, Col Adekunle, the modern day Hitler, made no efforts to strengthen matters out. He owned up to the facts of the interview. He had 46 years to deny it yet he did nothing. He was very proud that he shot things that moved in SS and even things that did not move in Biafran heartland”.
The lesson here is that no matter how much power anybody acquired during his or her life time; no matter how much wealth anybody amassed through dubious ways, it will not stop death from taking him or her when that time comes. No matter how many houses a person has, he or she cannot sleep in two of them at the same time. No matter how many vehicles a person has, he or she cannot ride in two of them at the same time. No matter how many private jets a person has, he or she cannot fly in two of them at the same time. And a person cannot be at two places at the same time. So why be cruel or heartless in life? What is important in life was written by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): “To leave the world a better place, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded”. Finally, this writer hopes that black scorpion sought forgiveness from God before his death, and on that note, wishes him a PERFECT REST!
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Benjamin Adekunle: A derelict war hero
In any war, the victorious side always emerges most glorious whether deservingly or not. Nobody aligns with losers. To that extent, outstanding ones in that situation earn reputations as heroes.
Email: ubochit@hotmail.de
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23)A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends (Henry A. Wallace)
Writing in certain environments carries with it an occupational risk. When I was imprisoned, without trial, it was as a result of a position I took as a citizen. Of course I used my weapon, which was writing, to express my disapproval of the (Biafran) civil war into which we were about to enter. These were people who’d been abused, who’d undergone genocide, and who felt completely rejected by the rest of the community, and therefore decided to break away and form a nation of its own. Unfortunately, the nature of my imprisonment meant that I couldn’t practise my trade because I was in solitary confinement for 22 months out of the 27, and I was deprived of writing material. So I had to somehow break through the barriers, smuggle in toilet paper, cigarette paper, scribble a few poems, pass messages outside. I was able to undertake exercises to make sure that I emerged from prison intact mentally (Prof. Wole Soyinka)
rig. Gen Benjamin Adekunle, the Nigerian civil war veteran, popularly known in the war front as Black Scorpion, died on Saturday September 13 at the age of 78. Unlike others, this writer will not go so hard on the late ruthless soldier, because, that would be pointless, as there’s no need “flogging a dead horse”. A point to make here is that during the civil war, the then Colonel Benjamin Adekunle (Black Scorpion), as one of the three war commanders, was ruthless or very cruel in carrying out his military campaigns. But what will he be most remembered for? The remarks he made during that fratricidal civil war. The New York Times of May 20, 1968, in page 1, col. 7 wrote: On May 17, 1968, Col Adekunle said that he has besieged thousands of Biafrans inside the city of Port Harcourt "with no escape route except to jump in the water”. In another interview with reporters on July 14, 1968, Col. Benjamin Adekunle termed all relief plans for Biafra as "misguided humanitarian rubbish". The Sunday New York Times of Sept. 8, 1968, quoted Col. Adekunle, in answering a question about Biafran relief, as having said rather pompously:"I want to see no red cross, no Caritas, no World Council of Churches, no Pope, no missionary and no U.N. delegation. I want to prevent even one Ibo having even one thing to eat before their capitulation." On another occasion, Col. Adekunle told the interviewer that in Biafra, "we shoot at everything that moves", and in response to another reporter’s question about how he would treat Biafrans when he gets into the "heartland of the Igbos", he replied "Then we shoot at everything, even things that don’t move."There’s a lesson to learn here: The Nigerian leaders should know that life is vanity, and also short. Whosoever waste precious blood through bad leadership, by what he or she does or fails to do; or who gives a command that leads to the killing of innocent people; or who steals the people’s commonwealth that should have been used in saving lives or keeping many of the dead citizens alive, should know that there will be repercussion for such attitude sooner or later. The leaders should know that they will all die one day, just like everybody, because, death is inevitable, although for some, early, while for others, later. It’s important for us to live our respective lives with the knowledge that death is inevitable. Nothing last for ever! To appreciate the vanity of life and the inevitability of death, everyone should look at the life of General Benjamin Adekunle, who died last weekend. Today, the dread General is where he will have no gun or power to shot at moving and unmoving things again. He must be facing some of his victims by now. May be, what the Bible says in Luke 16:19-31, figuratively speaking, is the scenario over there now. This Bible story is also for the Nigerian leaders who are debauched by the prospect of easy money, and are ruthlessly seeking personal advantage; those who embezzle the commonwealth that should have been used to improve the lives of the poor Nigerians, many of whom are dying untimely, due to lack of care from those ruling them. Luke 16:19-31 tells a story about a Rich Man and Lazarus thus:
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
In Part 1 of the other on-going serial, this writer opined that Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), Boko Haram, Chibok Girls and Crime are Nigeria’s trade marks abroad. Talking about crime; few bad Nigerians have given all Nigerians bad names, in that once anybody introduces him or herself as a Nigerian abroad, he or she is seen as a person having criminal tendencies, as if crime is inherent in all Nigerians. Those bad Nigerians, be they politicians, military leaders or ordinary citizens, who are giving all good Nigerians bad names abroad, should know that no matter what they did or stole, they will all die one day, leaving all those things behind. It’s unfortunate that many Nigerian leaders and few citizens are stealing without sense, as they do it brazenly and with impunity, because, the law has no effect in Nigeria. Justice goes to the highest bidder in the country. In other countries, where the law is enforced without fear or favour, crime has been subdued, as the effectiveness of the law keeps those having criminal tendencies in check. But in Nigeria, the reverse is the case, in that the innocent ones are hounded by the law while the big criminals go scout free. Law in Nigeria is just like the spider’s web that catches the little animals (petty criminals) while the bigger animals (big criminals) pass through unhindered.
The latest news is that a plane from Abuja Nigeria, carrying nearly $9.3?million in cash along with two Nigerian citizens and an Israeli, landed at Lanseria International Airport, northwest of Johannesburg, on September 5. According to the South African Newspaper, City Press, the cash, unused $100 bills, was packed in three suitcases. The money was not declared to the South African customs, and the SA Reserve Bank’s regulations provide that a passenger entering or leaving the country may carry a maximum amount of R25, 000 in cash, or the equivalent in foreign currency in notes. The passenger may be stopped and asked to declare the cash and state the origin of the money. He or she may also be asked for the letter of permission from the central bank in their country of origin. And if there is any suspicion that the cash is meant for money laundering, customs officers may seize it. Now, it’s most likely that the money will be forfeited to South Africa. Although the federal government said it was aware of the $9.3m, and that the business was official and genuine, but, no one knows if there is a cover up here in order not to forfeit the money to South Africa. The federal government blamed those carrying the money for procedural error in failing to declare it, as it was meant for the purchase of weapons. Even at that, bigger cases of money laundering, by Nigerian officials, are happening every day and nobody hears about them. This South African case came to light because those involved did not play their card well, even if they were representing the Nigerian government. Elombah.com wrote that “For far too long, Nigerian corrupt officials have been able to stash their ill-gotten gains in foreign banks and/or invest them in luxurious mansions, expensive cars or elite education for their children. They have done this with total impunity and in blatant disregard for the citizens they are supposed to serve. They are aided by the complicity and complacency of countries and banking centres that allow illicit financial flows and entry of corrupt persons”.
Back to General Adekunle: He was so pompous during the war that he operated on his own without taking orders or allowing any supervision from the Army Headquarters. The army gave him 3 Infantry Division to lead, but, Colonel Adekunle did not think the name "3 Infantry Division" was sensational; therefore, he renamed it the “Marine Commando (3MCDO)” without formal approval from Army HQ. We read that the Black Scorpion was easily the most controversial, celebrated and mythologised figure in the war of attrition that laid the foundations for Nigeria's contemporary crisis; and threw a wedge into the national fabric. Adekunle’s 3rd Marine Commando, more than any other command, spearheaded the end of the three-year civil war as it oversaw the blocking of Biafra’s access to the sea, making it impossible for imported weapons, ammunition, food and other supplies to get into Biafra, and this led to the capitulation of Biafra. Not only that; this writer wonders the number of Ndiigbo (men, women and more especially, children) who lost their precious lives because of the atrocious tactics Col. Adekunle employed in the prosecution of the war. Today he has joined them. Col Adekunle forgot that Abraham Lincoln (1909-1865) said that “No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child”.
The repercussion came sooner than later for the black scorpion; as few months before the war ended, Col Obasanjo took over the command of the Marine Division from him. Obasanjo, who always reaps from the labours of others, took over the 3rd Marine Command of the Nigerian Army during the civil war after Col. Adekunle and his men did the real fighting only for General Philip Effiong to hand over Biafra back to him. Obasanjo received the instruments that ended the war. Col Adekunle was supposed to have savoured this history after all he did to win the war for Nigeria, but, fate brought Obasanjo from no where to take over his place and to go down in history as the man who brought Biafra back into Nigeria.
After the war, Benjamin Adekunle was promoted to Brigadier in 1972, and was put in charge of decongesting of the Lagos port that was having a chronic problem of clearing imported goods. He was however forced into compulsory retirement from the Nigerian Army in 1974. When he was incharge of decongesting of the Lagos Port, he stepped on the toes of some of those who claimed to be the “owners of Nigeria”, who also had unfettered access to the then Dodan Barracks. The then Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, being a stooge of the northern oligarchy, obeyed the order of his northern lords to retire the black scorpion, more especially as Gowon was always suspecting that Benjamin Adekunle had a plan to topple him. This is the irony of life; that a man, feared and respected by his colleagues and subordinates; envied and hated by his foes, was ignominiously retired from the Nigerian army he served diligently. From that 1974, when he was thrown out of the army till last week, when he died, he constantly complained how the army and Nigeria mistreated him despite the unique services he rendered for them. From the time he was forcefully retired in 1974 till death, Benjamin Adekunle lived a reclusive life and died a poor and angry man. The dead black scorpion fell from grace to grass so fast, and that must be because of the crime against humanity/genocide he must have committed during the civil war.Someone wrote in Igbofocus: “Since the war ended, he has become a social outcast of sorts, abhorred by earth, and obviously by Heaven. It does seem that no one wishes to shake his hands perennially dripping with the pure red blood of innocent Igbo children who died as a result of his conscious action. While other Generals are seen now and again moving about in this new era, shaking warm hands, and rebuilding bridges destroyed by the senseless war, Adekunle simply shuns every bit of society. That probably serves his conscience better than to daily confront those whose parents, children, brothers, sisters, cousins and uncles were among the moving and unmoving things (civilians) heartlessly mowed down by his men at his direct orders in Igboland. It probably never occurred to him that after the war, there would still be some living Ndi Igbo whose faces would prick his horribly muddied conscience. Apparently, before he could finish mowing down everything that moves in Igboland, he was most ignominiously sacked from the Third Marine Commando Division, which he had effectively turned into a murderous gang. His letter to His Excellency protesting his sudden retirement and begging (proved that)”. Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba summed it up: “That Benjamin Adekunle was an evil man has been proved beyond all reasonable doubts. That leaders on both sides of the Nigeria/Biafra conflict knew he was the devil incarnate is now an accepted fact. Col Adekunle was awarded the command of one of the three divisions in the Nigerian army and his was the elite division. But he was not included in the leadership of the country after the war. Why? The Nigerian side saw a Hitler and did not want any part of the deadly scorpion. There are no streets named after him; no composers recorded his exploits in any album; there is no charity work associated with him; He never visited the land of his exploits after the war and could not name one thing he did besides murdering hundreds of thousands of Biafran civilians, women, and children. Some people have argued that what he did should be taken in the context of the war; that his interview was during the war and did not represent the man he was; if that were the case, one would then expect that he would explain the context after the war. Yet even though the interview was published in his life time and he died 46 years after the war, Col Adekunle, the modern day Hitler, made no efforts to strengthen matters out. He owned up to the facts of the interview. He had 46 years to deny it yet he did nothing. He was very proud that he shot things that moved in SS and even things that did not move in Biafran heartland”.
This writer understands where the Igbo members of the House of Reps were coming from when they opposed any honour for the dead black scorpion, as the Punch wrote that some members of the House of Representatives from the South-East geopolitical zone, on Tuesday, September 16, disregarded a call to honour the late Gen. Benjamin Adekunle.
The members bluntly refused to observe a minute of silence for Adekunle, for his reported exploits during the war on the side of the Federal Government. The Paper wrote: “As the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, called on members to rise and observe a minute’s silence in honour of the deceased, some of the South-East lawmakers grumbled. Two of them, Mr. Arua Arunsi, and Mr. Udo Ibeji, refused to stand. They sat throughout the one minute as other lawmakers heeded Tambuwal’s call”.
The lesson here is that no matter how much power anybody acquired during his or her life time; no matter how much wealth anybody amassed through dubious ways, it will not stop death from taking him or her when that time comes. No matter how many houses a person has, he or she cannot sleep in two of them at the same time. No matter how many vehicles a person has, he or she cannot ride in two of them at the same time. No matter how many private jets a person has, he or she cannot fly in two of them at the same time. And a person cannot be at two places at the same time. So why be cruel or heartless in life? What is important in life was written by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): “To leave the world a better place, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded”. Finally, this writer hopes that black scorpion sought forgiveness from God before his death, and on that note, wishes him a PERFECT REST!
TIT BITS
THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!
Benjamin Adekunle: A derelict war hero
In any war, the victorious side always emerges most glorious whether deservingly or not. Nobody aligns with losers. To that extent, outstanding ones in that situation earn reputations as heroes.
History is replete with such war heroes. German Chancellor Otto Von Bismark, America's Dwight Eisenhower, France's General Charles De Gaulle, Italy's Garibaldi (and the thousand) Britain's Lord Montgomery as well as non-combatant Winston Churchill, Israel's Moshe Dayan and Ariel Sharon and perhaps Spain's General Franco, would all rank into that group.
Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle was not a world military figure like any of these. But for our own local purposes, nobody would deny his outstanding role in the Nigerian Civil War. Hence, that instant recollection of the man on his death last weekend. Ironically, almost since his harsh redeployment from the war-front only few months before the end of the war, not much was heard of him for various reasons. Brigadier Adekunle's retirement later completely eclipsed everything he attained in life.
Either for self-remorse of the circumstances of his fall from grace, or as a victim of envious rivals or dictates of fate, Brigadier Adekunle adopted a low profile in all aspects of life. Even then, to accentuate his self denouement, he was, for more than four decades, rendered derelict by the very nation he staked his life to save from disintegration. Adekunle was ignored from virtually all official functions including military ceremonies even under successive military regimes since 1970.
Adekunle shot to fame (critics would prefer notoriety) almost from the outbreak of hostilities in the civil war, May 1967. Possibly, he betrayed personal bitterness in military for understandable reasons. Brigadier Adekunle was from Ogbomosho, Oyo State, the same town with one of the fatal victims of the political murders of January 1966 military coup, Chief S.L Akintola premier of the defunct Western region. Indeed, Adekunle might have been specially posted for that purpose.
Any civil war always generates group bitterness of parties in the conflict, one against the other. In Adekunle's case, his assignment during the civil war could be regarded as a product of the use and dump syndrome. He recorded such military feats which escalated his success as compared to his contemporaries. Adekunle's professional slide commenced as soon as he hemmed Biafrans, completing very early in the civil war, the land-locking of the other side.
Inevitably, Brigadier Adekunle, while acquiring heroism on the federal side and in fact, outside the country, on the other hand, incurred the hatred and enmity of Biafrans. In their moments of anger, Biafrans always concede that without Adekunle, federal side might not have conquered Biafra.
A drug scandal in which he was alleged to have seen the female culprit through the airport ended Adekunle's military career. Sure, a convenient excuse with which to destroy his ever rising military career. As years went by, Brigadier Adekunle became forgotten and unrecognized by the country he chested out to forcefully keep united.
Adekunle's abandonment became splendid and total even by succeeding military officers. Whatever the reasons for the man's fate after serving his country with widely-acknowledged distinction in a bloody civil war, Adekunle's role in Nigeria's political/military era for good or for bad, can never escape a major place in Nigeria's history.
Ironically, later in life in his solitary confinement, Brigadier Adekunle recanted and publicly conceded that Biafra was a legitimate cause. Surely, a kind of medicine after death, which cost him much among his contemporaries on the federal side during the civil war without healing the stored up anger of his Biafran enemies.
Yet, Brigadier Adekunle's courage in recanting his role in the civil war must be acknowledged. What he boldly and publicly conceded is what the cowardly are expressing privately in cleverly chosen circles. The failed Gideon Orkar military uprising of April 1990, the sudden disclaim of Middle Belters as non-Northerners for opportunistic picking of crumbs from Federal Government led by Southerners and sustained Niger Deltan insurgency in oil-producing areas are noteworthy.
Abandoned in poor health for many years, Brigadier Adekunle could and should have been rehabilitated by his military contemporaries, especially his very kinsmen currently engaged in bare-faced hypocrisy of shedding crocodile tears.
Was Brigadier Adekunle frustrated? Perhaps. And if indeed, why not? Woe unto a war-time General who is not disappointed seeing a country for which he staked his life to keep united, fast deteriorating at the end of the day, completely disunited on an unprecedented and yet hopeless scale. Thanks to unbridled ethnicity, insincerity, lack of integrity in public office and total disregard for probity.
Not even in the last five years before military coup in 1966 was Nigeria this bad - a bled and bleeding nation.
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