Emma Okocha, author of Blood on the Niger, came into this interview wearing three caps: He was an impassioned Asaba patriot, a Western Ibo, who saw the horrors of the Civil War (1967-70) and the Asaba massacre, and could not be dispassionate about it all, even if he wanted to. He lost his father in what he has come to call the Asaba genocide. He also came in as a clinical scholar, who marshalled cold and scientific evidence that established, indeed, there was genocide in Asaba, during the Civil War. Finally, he came in with a tad of fantasy, which he insisted was genuine and pure African religious belief: that the Asaba River Niger goddess, the famed woman with long breasts, indeed, helped to massacre, in return, errant Nigerian soldiers who had massacred defenceless Asaba civilians! He claimed that was responsible for the defeat of Murtala Muhammed’s armada, on its botched crossing to Onitsha, and not any Biafra arms. He sat with Sam Omatseye and Olakunle Abimbola. Excerpts.
I made on your book, Blood on the Niger?
Blood on the Niger just had a major review, with a second edition in 2012. There are many of the stories we couldn’t write in the first edition (published 1994) because we were restrained by the autocracy that was on during the military regime. In 2006, the University of South Florida came here to do a major forensic exercise with the Lagos State University, over the explosion emanating from pipelines vandalisation. The current Vice-Chancellor (Prof. John Obafunwa), an expert in pathology and forensic studies, teamed up with the experts: anthropologists, historians and forensic experts from that university in Florida. The same VC, you may recall, was the expert on ground during the Dana Air crash. Eren Kimmerle, one of the forensic experts from that university, was approached by somebody who read about our activities on the internet and she suggested she would meet with me. After the meeting, she felt she didn’t have money for the Asaba project because their job was to go round the world, looking for dead body sites, burial grounds, especially genocide sites. She is an expert in Yugoslavia and Peru civil wars. So, when she came to Lagos, she got in touch with us in the United States. Even though she had money only for the Lagos exercise, over 300, 000 dollars, she said she would use the same grant from the Department of Justice, United States, to do two jobs: the Lagos forensic exercise; and then the Asaba (Civil War) burial sites.
This new edition is part of the revelations that came out of that forensic exercise, because Asaba captured the interest of the University of Florida, Departments of History, Anthropology and Forensic Sciences. There were a lot of revelations. We can now scientifically state that there was genocide in Asaba because though Asaba tradition does not support exhuming grave sites, we had to challenge them: what was worse abomination — the massive killing of people or just exhuming bodies of victims to ascertain genocide or not? Eventually, we settled for a digital camera. There is this new camera that can see the things you want to see underground without digging.
So they didn’t dig?
They were prevented from digging on a mass scale, but the same experts provided us with the monument drawings, like you see in the Washington memorial. So, we can easily produce it here. We are just waiting for the government to approve the property, so that we can build a good monument. These are the new dimensions and revelations; we can now scientifically maintain that there was genocide, especially when we are lucky that the opposing army commander-in-chief (Gen. Yakubu Gowon, war time Nigerian military Head of State and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces) came to Asaba and apologised. It has never happened in history. The Germans, up till now, can tell many stories on the Jewish genocide; the Rwandan Hutu perpetrators against the Tutsis, most of them are still on trial; but a commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces said, “There was genocide, we agree; but Asaba, forgive and forget.”
Did he say that in the sense you are saying it or he said it because he just wanted sleeping dogs to lie?
No! Let me quote, as it is written in Vanguard: that it was because of a gentleman’s book brought to him by one of the commanders, Chris Ali, the former chief of army staff; who operated in Asaba as a lieutenant. He was born in Onitsha; he speaks Igbo and is married to an Igbo woman. He refused to kill. In fact, where they were lining up people to fire on them, he would come and save the victims. So, when my book (the first edition) came out, he was among those who took copies to their former commanders and Gowon got his own. He came straight to Asaba, with Nigeria Prays (Gowon’s NGO), to say because of a young man’s book, he would now ask that we should forget. Not only did he do that, he went to that goddess (at the bank of River Niger) and took the sand. This is why we are still appealing to all others, who were involved in the war and are still alive, to come. It is not a question of just coming; there are processes of cleansing and the ones that have done that, they have never had any problems in the family. The ones that haven’t done so, I’m afraid …
Isn’t that superstitious?
No! In Things Fall Apart, the author told you there is an African religion. You cannot talk about foreign religions and yet forget your own religion. As far as I’m concerned, the climax of Things Fall Apart is when those masquerades went to the church and told the white man, do you know me? That is clear: there is an African religion. I am a Christian, I am Emmanuel. During the war, we didn’t see Jesus or Mohammed. But we saw the woman — and this is confirmed by Nigerian Army officers. They said they saw a woman come out from the River Niger with overflowing breasts. This is the Blood of the Niger now going into screenplay: that is why we are going into Rwanda -The Vengeance of the Sea Goddess. If you have watched genocide films, you will remember the block buster, Hotel Rwanda. The same directors are handling the new film — and of course, our lady from Warri (Sophie Okonedo), fantastic actress! She is not acting in this, but she is still advising us.
So there is a movie on Blood on the Niger?
The heroine of the movie is the woman that came out to save her people from the River Niger. We didn’t see any other god. We saw the African goddess appear and those Nigerian soldiers that didn’t touch anybody went scot free. But the ones that killed were turned into debris. The first weapons that came to the Niger Delta boys came from that Second Division loss in Asaba. Their arms went to these boys. They didn’t have arms before, so that was how they started building up. Those who didn’t touch any boys, including Muslims, they were the ones who even saw the woman (with overflowing breasts). So, it is not a question of Emma Okocha’s fabrication or religious bigotry.
But during war, people always see things?
This is the woman that is our deity; it is not a question of during the war. Even now, the woman is there.
But there is no how you can logically establish what you are saying
I couldn’t do that in my first edition because as a Christian I said it was not possible. But what I saw and what I heard from those who were there, and those Christians who were not army officers (it is mentioned in the book), and the evidences there. The Biafrans claimed victory, yet they didn’t have anything to capsize barges of the Nigerian armada. So, how do you explain that?
Some people said it was recklessness on the part of Murtala Mohammed
How?
Of asking people to just cross the bridge when they were without any cover and the Biafrans had no choice than just to shoot them.
The Biafrans had nothing. The commander of the Biafran side, J.O Achuzia, he, being an Asaba man, knew that they had nothing.
But they had guns and bullets
The Nigerians already landed, had overwhelmed them and were marching on the enemy …
Debo Bashorun in his new book, Honour for Sale, talked about how the Biafrans really dealt with them?
Bashorun was not in the front.
He was. According to his own story, he was on the river.
As what?
As a soldier! He was one of the troops. He said when he was crossing the water, the people around him, in the ferry, all died; and it was a wonder how he made it to safety.
Bashorun didn’t kill anybody. He was a professional soldier that was why. Look at Oluleye (James, retired as Major-General in the Nigerian Army). Oluleye did not touch anybody. He was the commander who stopped the killing. I can refer you to his own book also. They saw the lady. Biafra can’t claim extraordinary prowess in the overwhelming circumstance. It was a divisional defeat, not a battalion. The whole division was almost wiped out, to the stage that Gowon had to recall the commander, Murtala Mohammed. Then the second time…
(Cuts in) Some people said he was listening to his marabout. So, it is a contest of miracles?
It was so overwhelming a truth in the first edition, I couldn’t put it in. Those who operated on the Nigeria side said they accepted that they were Moslems but they had never seen anything like that. The boat capsized, they were shooting, how many bullets did the Biafrans always have? And Murtala Muhammed was sure of marching to Nnewi, not Onitsha. To get to Nnewi meant he had won the war; then he could become the head of state. Murtala Muhammed was like Napoleon. He wanted to win the war and become the president quickly. So, his movement was lightning and he was determined to get to Nnewi. But then, this lady appeared from nowhere! But that was not the first time it appeared; and then her priestess was killed by the Nigerian soldiers.
It seems you are lacing your book with a lot of fantasy. But even if we were to assume appeasement of the Niger goddess was an option, would it work for someone who is no adherent of her faith?
There are three things in this book, but the important thing is the genocide. I have said it before: there are conventions covering wars. You can say war is kill or be killed but killing has different dimensions. But once it is genocide, it is indefensible; and once you defend genocide, you are guilty because of the perpetrators just like in Sudan or Rwanda. Genocide is a cold, deliberate attempt to wipe out a community – a rival ethnic group, because you have an overwhelming force to do that; either you want to wipe them from the map or you are taking advantage of the war. But the victims have to be civilians, not soldiers. Genocide is not like killing some people in Abakaliki; or Ife versus Modakeke. Genocide is organised, deliberate and planned, with the end purpose of wiping out a whole people or community.
Why should there be genocide during Nigeria’s civil war?
Because the perpetrators were not educated, they didn’t understand the conventions governing wars. Secondly, even though there have been wide spread killings, those were pogroms. In genocide, it is not spontaneous, it has to be cold. Pogrom is not the same thing like genocide, though the killing may be widespread. There was continuous killing of the Igbos from 1945, starting from Burutu, not even in the north. Those are pogroms and the killing of the Igbos who are the Jews of Africa is the same thing as the Jewish: they have a way to attract enmity or hostility from their neighbours because of the things they do.
I have proved it, beyond reasonable doubt, that there was genocide. The Oputa Panel accepted and recommended that we should be paid our indemnity and rendered apologies. These are neutral bodies. Then there was United Nations Body headed by Dr F. Kodjo in France. In 1969, it proved there was an Igbo genocide generally, not only Mid-western areas. You understand my definition of genocide, not pogrom, not killings on a mass scale: I am talking about deliberate, cold, premeditated killing by soldiers of unarmed, defenceless civilians. Again, let me give you an example talking about the 3rd Marine Commando (3MCDO). For the first time in the history of civil wars, a red cross plane bringing in relief was downed in the ocean, by the same 3MCDO. It is not me, the Daily Telegraph report on the downing was all over. Obot, the one who died in this plane crash, belonged to a very influential family in Akwa-Ibom. The father was Action Group; later was pro-Biafra. Eyo was NCNC, later went to Action Group, as he was fighting a turf war on who owned that Uyo area, with this prominent family. During the war, they accused Chief Obot of Biafran sympathy. But that was all because the second in command of Biafra was Effiong. 3MCDO did not kill him like a human being; they dragged him to his death with Land Rover. These are brutal…
Does that qualify for genocide?
The people of that area were on attack. Any area that was Biafra-based was wiped out. It is not in this book, I just want to say that….
(Cuts in) Isama, in The Tragedy of Victory, affirmed — and to date, not his opponent or friends have countermanded him — that 3MCDO was driven by the highest ideals. They were never involved in genocide and told those minorities, you are claiming were wiped out, that they were their friends, dispelling the propaganda by the Biafrans that they were enemies and they were using them as intelligence people to get information. How do you reconcile these sides?
I don’t have an issue with them. I have told you that book, The Tragedy of Victory, is one of the greatest war memoirs on both sides; in fact, the greatest on the Nigerian side. We never had any war literature coming out from the Nigerian side, except My Command which was personalised. But to tell me that the three commands of the Nigerian Army didn’t engage in genocide is indefensible. I gave you the example of a Red Cross plane, which was neutral, and yet was downed in the ocean, and you are telling me that that command is not guilty of genocide! My uncle, commander Alabi Isama, is a clean soldier. But he cannot tell me he was in every front of the 3MCDO division. That is impossible! He said in the book that the Black Scorpion (Brigadier Adekunle) was not there (most times). That is unbelievable. Black Scorpion was the de-facto and de-jure commander of the 3MCDO before Obasanjo came to relieve him. A German magazine, Stern, during the war, reported the Black Scorpion himself, in a translated interview by German reporter, Randolph Baumann, as saying: “In this section of the front that I rule, I do not want to see the Red Cross, Caritas, World Church delegation, the Pope or the UN. I want to prevent even one Igbo having one piece of food to eat … we shoot at everything that moves; and when our forces move into the centre of Igbo territory, we shoot at everything, even things that do not move.” This interview was also quoted in the Economist of 24 August 1968. So what is genocide then? Genocide has been proved there. The third issue is that no literature or war book has ever presented to you how Nzeogwu died, including Alabi Isama’s, who was his contemporary. To him, he said Nzeogwu was Igbo, he led an Igbo coup, this and that. Blood on the Niger is the only book that took time to learn how the man died. If you read in between the lines how he died; he died a senior officer without a command, no operational orders and up till now the family don’t know how he died. It was the same Obasanjo everybody is attacking who paid the school fees of his siblings. Nzeogwu never believed in Biafra.
If Nzeogwu did not believe in Biafra, why was he fighting in the Biafran army?
After the coup of January 15th, the coup that was motivated by events in the Congo: the death of Patrice Lumumba, the British were still running our foreign affairs. After the death of Patrice Lumumba, the progressives in the army, Nzeogwu, Fajuyi and others came back with their tail between their legs. They thought the greatest African at that point, Lumumba, was gone; and because of British influence, their country did not even have the guts to announce it. Only Ghana did; the rest of Africa was quiet. So, they decided to change the leadership of Nigeria. So, you cannot, because of five Igbo majors, label the coup an Igbo coup. This is because to these five majors, there were about 18 Igbo lieutenant-colonels, who were against the coup makers. In fact, the 18 were among the people who put down the coup.
At first, the coup leader was Major Chris Anuforo. He was commander of the recce (reconnaissance) unit in Gboko. By the way, Gboko was the first exercise in Nigerian genocide. The northern establishment wanted to wipe out the Tiv nation. But that exercise was portrayed as a riot being quelled. But it was not a “riot”. These people were going to be forced into the Moslem religion. The Tiv were not Christians, but they practised their native religion, were very head strong and flatly refused any conversion. So, they had to be wiped out and the army was ordered to do so.
That would explain the killing of Col. Yakubu Pam in the first coup. Pam commanded the Tiv operation. But his recce commanding officer was Major Anuforo. The recce unit is the most mechanised of the army; they are the people who strike first and hold, then the infantry comes to secure and capture. While Pam followed his operational instructions to the letter, Anuforo disagreed, saying that as a Sandhurst-trained officer, he would not use the Nigerian Army arsenal against civilians. He was removed and threatened with decommissioning, while Pam, a Plateau native who many thought should have been more sensitive to the Tiv cause, continued with the operation. Pam was therefore marked down for elimination in the first coup, not because he was a northern officer, but because he committed genocide in Tiv land.
Back in Kaduna and threatened with decommissioning, Anuforo linked up with Nzeogwu and the other majors. Even then, the senior lieutenants who operated under Nzeogwu were Tiv. Until now, in our research, we are very embarrassed that the Tivs have not said anything on the matter. Nzeogwu himself was a favourite of the Sardauna (Northern Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello). But then, the boys came and the coup had to be done. That is why I am telling you the coup that changed leadership in the north was very popular in the north.
So, how come northern and western leaders were killed, and nothing happened to Igbo officers and leaders in the East and Midwest, if the coup was not ethnic? Besides, Sir Akanu Ibiam (Governor of the East) was quoted to have warned that “nothing should happen to those boys” …
I will come to that. You are still labelling those boys “Igbo boys”. But I am telling you: these boys that came from the Congo were African revolutionaries, at the level of the Osagyefo, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (the late president of Ghana), who was an ideological ally of Patrice Lumumba.
Were they not Igbo?
They were not Igbo.
Were they Yoruba or Hausa?
Your prism is still tribalised. Let me give you the reason why they are not Igbo boys: the end gain of the coup was to instal Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The proof? First, there was a serious investigative panel headed by Major Ekanem, not Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa. He was the Provost Marshal of Nigerian Army, killed during the revenge coup of July 1966, on Carter Bridge in Lagos, because of the report of his investigation. He proved that the coup’s end game as to instal Obafemi Awolowo as Prime Minister. Up till now, we are still surprised at the theory that the coup targeted Yoruba leaders for assassination. Why? Because the coup was successful in the West: (Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, Deputy Premier of the West) was the one shouting and screaming. The Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yorubaland (and Premier, Western Region, Samuel Ladoke Akintola) fought to death. He opened fire on Nwobosi and it was in the return fire that he was killed. But Fani-Kayode surrendered, before they came; and If they were killing people, why didn’t they kill him? The streets of Ikorodu, Sagamu down to Ekiti, were burning. How many thousands of Yoruba souls were being killed in the anarchy that enveloped the West? And, in the East, why should Michael Opara (Premier, Eastern Region) or Dennis Osadebe (Premier, Midwestern Region) be killed? There was no problem there! The problem was in the West. So, the second end game of the January 15 coup was to end the mayhem in the West, and also to stop the Tiv genocide. It was a revolutionary putsch. You should be praising and thanking these boys for risking their lives.
Was there a problem in the North when they killed Sardauna?
There were problems.
What was the problem?
As the first trained Nigerian military intelligence officer, Nzeogwu picked up a shocking intelligence: that the Sardauna, in secret collaboration with Chief S.L. Akintola, the Western Premier, and (alleged) tacit endorsement of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, was to organise a coup, 17th of January 1966, in which almost all the radical thinkers and progressive elements (which the conservative order regarded as “trouble makers”) were to be killed. Those pencilled for elimination included Tai Solarin (the late educationist and founder of Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State), Wole Soyinka and Prof. Sanya Onabamiro (the man who anchored Western Nigeria’s free primary education policy). Wole Soyinka mentioned the alleged coup plot on pages 109, and 160-161 of The Man Died, his prison memoirs. So, did Peter Pan (Peter Enahoro) in his own book, Thence Comes the Thunder. As a pre-emptive coup, therefore, the Nzeogwu boys also targeted alleged military would-be collaborators in the planned coup: Brigadiers Sam Ademulegun and Zak Maimalari and Lt. Col. Abogo Largema, the commander of the 4th Batallion in Ibadan. Largema was Akintola’s personal trainer. That was why Akintola confronted the coup boys with machine gun before he was killed. Largema also turned the troops against civilians. Therefore these officers were killed not because they were non-Igbos, but because they were accused of knowing about the alleged coup plot for January 17. But remember, the man who was to make the January 15 coup announcement was not Nzeogwu. He didn’t want anything. He just wanted Tai Solarin to be Prime Minister. But those other boys said let it be Awo, because they were friendly to Awo’s son Segun (who had died). They didn’t like how Segun died. They believed he was killed, because Adegoke Adelabu died on that same spot. The publisher of Tribune, Oluwole Awolowo, who died less than two years now, died on the same spot.
What spot? Oluwole died in London
You didn’t know he had an accident?
That was long before…
Which area did he have the accident? He died of the accident, but tomorrow you will tell me that you didn’t believe all those things! I am saying again that Segun died at the same spot where Adelabu died — are you disproving that? The third issue I want to prove to you is that, after the coup, northern pressure came that the boys should be hanged. Aguiyi-Ironsi was about succumbing to appease the north. But it was Adekunle Fajuyi (military governor of the Western Region), who threatened to resign his position, should Aguiyi-Ironsi bow to that pressure. He told Aguiyi-Ironsi that he became military head of state because the boys risked their lives. He also said he became West’s governor because of the boys. Akanu Ibiam may have said nothing should happen to the boys as you quoted, but the man who wanted to resign his position should Aguiyi-Ironsi hang the boys was Fajuyi. So, where is the proof that it was an Igbo coup targeted at killing Yoruba and northern leaders?
Besides, Ademoyega, not Nzeogwu, was slated to read the coup take-over speech, at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in Lagos. It was when he did not that Nzeogwu improvised something at the NBC Kaduna. Ademoyega was to make the announcement about the coup’s success, after which Awolowo would be released and made Prime Minister. If Ademoyega had done what he was scheduled to have done, would you still stay it was an Igbo coup?
Would Awolowo have accepted the offer?
Awolowo knew about the coup. Quote me, because somebody is alive who can corroborate what I am saying: Alhaji Lateef Jakande. He was in the same prison with Awo and you can go and interview him. In a story headlined, “Lessons of the First Coup”, published in the rested The Comet newspaper, Sunny Odunwo, the writer, quoted Jakande as saying: “I don’t believe it (was an Igbo coup). Awolowo and myself were in prison … we were well briefed on what was going on. It is unfortunate that during the execution of the coup, some Igbo leaders were left out, but they were not deliberately left out. Some of those who were assigned to take care of Ironsi failed …”
Incidentally, Awo, in his book, ‘Adventures in Power, Book One: My March Through Prison’ (page 297), said in black and white, that he never knew about the coup. He said Aguiyi-Ironsi was going to release him, but he didn’t give a time frame?
Are you quoting Awo now?
Yes, paraphrasing.
In my Nzeogwu the Unknown (a new book awaiting publishing), Fajuyi at Lanlate (now in Oyo State, but a border town with Ogun State) was the one who told Aguiyi Ironsi, ‘I will resign as governor of West if you touch those boys’, supported by Ojukwu. Mobolaji Johnson (later, first Military Governor of Lagos State) didn’t say anything. Hassan Usman Katsina (first Military Governor of Northern Region), Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (much later, Chief of Army Staff) and Murtala Mohammed said if they didn’t hang the boys, they would hang them themselves. Even, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, one of the coup leaders, his best friends were the Warri boys. He was not moving among the Igbo boys. If you are used to the Igbo people, you will know that the Onitsha people don’t believe they are Igbos. Ifeajuna, who taught at King’s College, Lagos (where Chris Okigbo, the late famous poet also taught), was one of the most celebrated young men in his generation. In fact, at the back of exercise books of our primary school days was a picture of Ifeajuna, in action in high jump, during the Commonwealth Games. He was very cosmopolitan and he had a lot of Yoruba friends as well. They say on January 15, 1966, the Igbo killed everybody, except themselves. But I am giving you reasons that coup was not an Igbo coup.
Still, you have not proved Awo knew about the coup?
Awo cannot say he didn’t know. Jakande is alive. I am talking about the people surrounding Awo; Tai Solarin (the late proprietor of Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State) and Jakande.
