Pioneer GOC 3 Div,Colonel B.Adekunle(hand on howitzer)watches a gunner during the Nigerian Civil War
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Not sure how well I rate him although the conquest of Rivers State was a relatively complex op which he executed well. However 3MCDO produced one of the stand out commanders Col Etuk of the Nigerian side
Peccavi you just sent chills down my spine
I HAVE BEEN OF AND ON READING THE DAWODU CHRONICLES
MR Beeagle please I beg you need to DO a piece on this guy especially on the SIEGE OF OWERRI. growing up we heard the FABLED/MYTH/ TRUE stories about the battle for ORE
however I am beginning to think COL ETUK should be regarded as one of Nigeria ‘s greatest COLNELS.
Yes that was in my mind one of the finest battle on both sides. 16 Bde fought extremely well with little supporting arms but again Gen Madiebo completely out fought 3MCDO and defeated them in a battle they shouldn’t have lost.
Adekunle by then seemed incapable or unwilling to recognise and react to the reality of what was going on. Combined with his ‘Kill everything that moves’ nonsense kind of pushes him down the ladder of merit for me, but then the rest of the divisional commanders were nothing to shake a stick at, don’t even get me started on Murtala Mohammed!
This photograph was taken at the Port Harcourt front to be precise. It was during the 1967 seesaw over the control of the biggest city in the Niger Delta.
It is telling though, that ferocious as his attacks were, Black Scorpion allowed a 48-hour period for civilians to leave the city before he commenced direct military action against the rebels. Madiebo gives him credit for this in his memoirs.
Again, I thought it was no mean feat for a division which was three months old to have landed 30,000 mostly fresh soldiers of the 3 Marine Commando Division all along the coast of the Niger Delta region – from Escravos, to Burutu, PHC, Onne, Bonny, Opobo, Eket, Oron and Calabar. They were opposed landings, even if ultimately overcome but PHC, Calabar, Oron, Onne and Eket appeared to have been the most fiercely contested. There were three battles for the control of PHC and Onne!
Colonel Etuk’s orderly exit in the direction of Elele after an eight month-long siege on Owerri was a masterpiece. Madiebo also thinks that Etuk was truly outstanding. On the Biafran side, Colonel Asoya’s division and his astute brigade commanders, the duo of Colonels Ugokwe and Ihenacho put up a stellar performance. It is not surprising that Ugokwe(a coursemate of Generals Buhari and Yar’Adua) and Ihenacho who switched allegiance to the Biafran side in 1967, later got reabsorbed into the post-war Nigerian Army.
At the Onitsha-Nkpor sector, Biafran Colonels Akonobi and Nebo, both of whom later got reabsorbed into the post-war NA were also excellent commanders. They managed to blow an eight-mile gap between the Abagana and Onitsha frontlines of the Nigerian 1 Division and 2 Division with which they prevented the adversary from linking up for over a year until the fall of Uli Airstrip and the end of the war! They achieved this by cleverly mixing conventional and guerrilla tactics and fighting a long war of attrition.
In the Arochukwu-Ohafia sector, the Biafrans had another astute commander in the person of Colonel Simon Uwakwe of the Special Task Force which terrorised the neighbouring Ikot Ekpene sector from the rear even after it had fallen to the Nigerians and held off attempts to take the sector until their total encirclement after eighteen months of gutsy performance against all odds. Colonel Uwakwe, a coursemate of TY Danjuma, Alani Akinrinade, Emmanuel Abisoye and Samuel Ogbemudia in the NMTC Course 1 intake, also got reabsorbed into the post-war Nigerian Army.
Although I was not yet born growing up I got to hear of the Black Scorpion I tink dia is something of being 3MCDO dat brings out the warrior in you Obasanjo had that even I’ve been meaning to share an idea with you Mr. Beeg we can actually make a movie about this man honoring the very best commanders we had to offer at that time over to you guys!
The thing about being a divisional commander regardless of what side of the conflict they were on (SHUWA, MURITALA, ADEKUNLE) (NWAWO? MADEIBO) peccavi at the beginning of 1966 the total population of the NA was less than 10,000( less than 1 division) so mistakes were inevitable in hindsight on both sides what I tend to read is the level of leadership regardless of the side how each commander acted under severe duress
Muritala r.i.p cobbled up a division made up from cooks, clerks washermen and olderlies,
ADEKUNLE scoured the streets of lagos looking for miscreants and high school drop outs (this was corroborated inhis book and based on accounts my grandmother told me)
Shuwa was the lucky who had ww2 vets, congo vets, and himself was not given to grand risky schemes.
MADEIBO/ EFFIONG were constantly handicapped by you know who and a lack of heavy weapons it is remarkable the leadership by these two guys once p.h was captured and the blockade was complete.
Wow, Nollywood, una dey hear ???
Look at the mileage and money hollywood has made from america’s top generals. Custer, Patton, Macarthur, general Lee(civil war) and many more.
War movies based on the civil war, korean war vietnam war, desert storm and soon afghanistan continues to provide the subject matter for films to be based on.
They could be biopics, documentaries or fictionalized tales. The indigenous hunger to make films is there. Our novels and local history serves as an abundant source of material. An initiative from the ministry of arts and culture is all it would take to incentivise local investors, universities and the rest of nigeria to get in on the act.
This is all part of that job creation. actors, set designers, make up specialists, directors, producers,screen writers, food vendors, costume designers etc. etc. would all benefit.
Why should D’banj and the rest of our top entertainers be traveling to south africa and london to film their world class videos ?? Nigerian films, as poorly made as they are, have become major hits in the caribean, parts of the US and I presume in london. This just reveals the massive hunger for africans and the diaspora to see a 3 dimensional depiction of themselves on film.
African americans lead the way in filling this void, but resistance in hollywood, and america’s racist baggage stiffles financing hence hindering progress. But we in nigeria, blessed with all manner of wealth, have no such hinderances. Lets take the lead for once, and do for nigeria what bollywood is doing for india.
I was going tru dawodus chronicles some mins back wen I came across col etuk, I had to look him up on google, I want a day wen I wud b able to read or watch. A very comprehensive article on those civil war commanders. On d movie issue nollywood nt doin much,lots of stories a bout d war, n our cultures re still unexplored.one last thing, can u help me wit links or articles on the civil war commanders n those dat served in places like liberia