I am a General, not a Colonel - Ojukwu

Chris Agbambu, Abuja - 15.01.2008

FORMER Biafran warlord, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, on Monday stunned an audience when he told the officials of the Military Pensions Board (MPB) not to refer to him as a Lieutenant Colonel but a General.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu, speaking while receiving his gratuity 38 years after the end of the Nigerian Civil War, to the astonishment of dignitaries at the event, including the Senate President, Minister of Defence, Chief Defence Staff and service chiefs, said “it is an insult by a little boy to be calling me a Lieutenant Colonel, but for your information, I am a General.

“General Yakubu Gowon, my good friend, declared at the end of the civil war in 1970 that there is no victor, no vanquished. So, how can a little boy who is a Captain in the Airforce refer to me as a Lieutenant Colonel? I feel insulted,” he said.

The Ikemba Nnewi said he was sorry for those who felt they had been vanquished, adding that those in authority would always find him not only as a friend, but also a supporter.

According to him, Nigeria had a long way to go, but with those in authority now, a lot would be achieved. Ojukwu said “I want to remind the National Assembly, the armed forces, that we are not unique in our predicament. It is true we fought a civil war, but they should know that we are not the first to fight a civil war, so everybody should be treated equally.”

He noted that this was one of the occasions that made him feel proud as a Nigerian. “We have come together again and I want to assure you that we remain brothers I joined the army in search of glory and honour, at the time we were growing up, nobody thought of silver and gold,” he said.