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Controversy is the author of history. The Nigeria-Biafra war has been the subject of great controversy and there is no avoiding the historic role of Ajie Anthony Ukpabi Asika in the war and its aftermath. Asika has had her critics, but there have been some naysayers who have spoken in her favor against all odds. The words of Martin Luther King Jr. can serve as a guide, for starters: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.”
When secession from Nigeria was all the rage among his fellow Igbos before the outbreak of civil war in 1967, Asika dared to stand by his belief as a Nigerian federalist. He was not convinced that strong emotions were the appropriate response to a horrible pogrom. Some idly argue that embracing the federal cause then made any Igbo person the darling of the federal forces. Nothing could be further from the truth than the passage below excerpted from the book First Call: An Account of the Gowon Years written by General Yakubu Gowon’s press secretary, Moses Ihonde, reveals:
Michael Ojukwu, a Foreign Affairs officer, had to show his service identification card before being allowed entry. A military guard who first saw his name shouted for others to come and see his capture.
“Are you Ojukwu?”
“Yes I am.”
“You’re under arrest!”
“I’m a foreign service officer.”
Before the poor guy could complete his sentence, he was beaten so badly that he had to be hospitalized. Some colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who attempted to intervene told the soldiers that Michael was not Biafran nor a relative of the secessionist leader; who wasn’t even an Easterner, but a Central-Westerner and, above all, a convinced federalist. To all this the soldiers replied: “But why would he let himself be called OJUKWU!?”
The man didn’t wait to leave the hospital before changing his name to Damassus.
To make the matter quite clear, it is worthy of note that the delightful actress and singer, Stella Damasus, would have been known as Stella Ojukwu instead of Stella Damasus if not for this near-death experience.
Let’s face it: Asika could have also been killed by the federal side. Let us illustrate the danger of the age with the story of my great friend, the conqueror of the desert, Chief Newton Jibunoh, as told in his biography, Hungry for power:
Segun (Olusola) and I always talked about the impending war and Segun kept assuring me that everything would be fine, saying “Look Newton, nothing will happen to you.”
One day, we were in Segun’s office when Major General Austen-Peters dressed in uniform and looking very angry, came in and asked Segun many questions about the security situation at the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) because Segun was then the Director of Programmes.
Then he asked Segun, “Do you still have Igbo here?”
Segun said, “Yes, so and so are here…”
I was sitting with Segun and listening to all these angry questions about the Igbos. It made me quite uncomfortable, so immediately Austen-Peters left with his band of soldiers, I said, “Segun, I have to leave.”
This incident made me regret my hasty decision to return to Nigeria from my expedition…
Asika had to survive dangers like those faced by Michael Ojukwu and Newton Jibunoh before being appointed administrator of the East Central state. His presence as a civilian leader instead of a military overlord greatly aided the reintegration of the Igbo people after the war. He opted for soft power, encouraging a cultural resurgence that has made Nigerian dance groups like Nkpokiti and Atilogwu award-winning prodigies. It enabled the founders, Jerry Enweazu, BSC Nzenwa and AW Ibe, to create the civilian conquering force, Enugu Rangers International Football Club, which had the temerity to beat the Nigerian Army football team immediately after the war! At first, some guys refused to support the Rangers because the team was seen as a club of saboteurs!
Asika brought home the revolutionary writer, Obi Egbuna, to set up the writing workshop in Enugu. He ensured that the scientific feats of the war were re-enacted through the Project Development Agency (PRODA) led by the inimitable Prof. Gordian Ezekwe. His role in defeating some Nigerian hawks towards the re-establishment of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) is the stuff of legend.
Asika extraordinarily allowed the state newspaper, Renaissanceto run almost independently with courageous and gifted writers and journalists like Austine Akagu, Agwu Nwogo, JC de Aguomba etc. who write truth to power. A great regret of my brother Isidore when he was director of Gentleman (MR) The magazine owned by Richard Mofe-Damijo was the abortion of his scheduled interview with Ukpabi Asika. The magazine had a policy of publishing long interviews like Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazine, and the momentous date for the interview had been set with Asika only for it to fail because the then Military President Ibrahim Babangida suddenly set a state function prohibiting the movement across the country, especially in Lagos. That missed interview would have been a collector’s item full of history!
Some of Asika’s detractors always cited the exchange the then East Central State administrator had with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the great Zik of Africa, but I knew from reliable sources that they remained best friends until the end.
Incidentally, what inspired me to write this article is the post on Facebook after the birthday of Asika’s son, Obi Asika, like this: “I had to take a photo with the official portrait of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe at the Senate Building of the National Assembly – The first President of Nigeria, the first President of the Senate of Nigeria, the first Governor General of Nigeria, the first Prime Minister of the Eastern Region. A scholar, athlete and pan-Africanist, one of the most prominent Africans of his generation and of course I am extremely proud to be of Onitsha where he came from and of course, never forget my huge Egbu on Ejiogu side.
Obi Asika is a reason to believe, as his father, Ajie Anthony Ukpabi Asika, died on September 14, 2004.
