Alabi-Isama - The tragedy of victory: on-the-spot account of the Nigeria-Biafra War in the Atlantic theatre

On-the-Spot Account of the Nigeria-Biafra War

in the Atlantic Theatre

On-the-Spot Account of the Nigeria-Biafra War

in the Atlantic Theatre

Godwin Alabi-Isama

Published by
Spectrum Books Limited
Spectrum House
Ring Road
PMB 5612
Ibadan, Nigeria
e-mail:

in association with
Safari Books (Export) Limited
1st Floor
17 Bond Street
St Helier
Jersey JE2 3NP
Channel Islands
United Kingdom

Godwin Alabi-Isama

First published, 2013

All rights reserved. This book is copyright and so no part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN: 978-978-926-005-8(Limp)
978-978-926-006-5 (Cased)

THIS book is dedicated to my dearest, courageous, indefatigable mother and my guardian angel, Alhaja Jeminatu Ajiun Isama, who, with her prayers, her love for her only son, and moral guidance, saw me through the Nigeria-Biafra war, and at those difficult times of my life; and still leading me through life I salute all mothers.

Also to my colleagues, male and female, of 3MCDO who paid the supreme sacrifice in the effort to keep Nigeria one and united. I salute these unsung heroes and heroines, without whom victory would have been difficult for this great country.

Godwin Alabi-Isama

Lagos, October, 2012

PART TWO
3MCDO TROOPS ADVANCE:
CALABAR TO PORT HARCOURT APRIL 17TH TO MAY 18TH, 1968

The civil war, pitting secessionist Biafra against Nigeria from 1967 to 1970 was one of the greatest African tragedies of the 20th century. In the context of my own life, it took place during the transition from elementary to junior secondary school, between the ages of eight and eleven. Ever since then, my generation and others within and outside Nigeria have longed for credible information and insight from those who were directly involved in executing the war.

Over the years, there have been many accounts, little drops, that have sought to make up the ocean of records for the sake of posterity. However, this magnificent book, written by Brigadier-General Godwin Alabi-Isama (rtd.), who rose to become the Principal General Staff Officer of the Nigerian Army, exemplifies history at its best, told truthfully through the prism of a great military life. He captures those events and contextualises them in the transitional period from decolonisation to Nigerianisation of Nigerias warrior class, warts and all. The book takes the reader through the writers experiences from the process of joining the army, officer training, his experience during the United Nations operations in the Congo, subsequent military training, and the terrible events of 1966 that set the stage for the outbreak of war in 1967.

By accident of birth, to a blessed union of parents from different ethnic groups, the writer criss-crossed ethnic, regional and religious cultures. This fact of upbringing, played pivotal roles at various stages of his career, none so dramatic as his experience in the 4th Area Command of the Nigerian Army in the then Mid-Western Region. For all of us who love reading Nigerian political and military history, Brigadier-General Alabi-Isama has filled one of the great voids in accounts heretofore available about the Biafran invasion of the Mid-West Region in August 1967.

But it was his direct personal knowledge of and participation in the conceptualisation and execution of strategy and tactics during operations of the 3 Marine Commando Division, initially under Colonel (later Brigadier) Benjamin Adekunle (rtd.) and subsequently, then Colonel (later General) Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd.), that marks out this memoirs as a priceless contribution to Nigerian military history. One can confidently predict that in time to come, it will take a pride of place in our national archives.

I highly recommend the book to Nigerian and foreign military officers, historians and officer training institutions.

Dr Nowamagbe A. Omoigui
Columbia, USA.
January 15, 2011.

It is a special honour and privilege for me to write a foreword to this book which essentially chronicles the events of the Nigerian Civil War, (1967-70) especially as they relate to the activities of the Third Marine Commando, initially commanded by Col. Benjamin Adekunle. It is particularly heart-warming for me, considering the fact that the author, Brigadier-General Alabi-Isama, is himself proud to trace his roots to Ilorin and used his Muslim name until the vicissitudes of his career experience forced him to change his name.

The Tragedy of Victory is a historical work which serves as a rich source of information on the situation in Nigeria just after independence and focuses, particularly, on the events of the Civil War. It is a must read for every concerned Nigerian who is interested in getting the true picture of what happened during the war. It is also a challenge to other participants in the war to document their experiences.

This is the story of a young man who went into the army not by design but by accident of history. He went in at a time when the military was regarded as a place for school dropouts. He was attracted by the soldiers smart uniforms and well co-ordinated parades when they marched past in front of their school compound. This is a story of how fate plays a hand in what we become in life, the story of a young man who was so closely attached to his mother, a story of a mother who loved her son so much that she risked her life often and visited him in the war front! This is a story of a man of peace who believes that war should always be the last resort.

Dont fire a shot if you can avoid it; that was his guiding principle even as a war commander. This is a story of a man who struggled hard to spot the thin line between love of ones country, love of ones mother and love of ones self. It is also the story of a man who is frustrated at the decadence that has enveloped the entire country, particularly the armed forces that suddenly became polarised along ethnic or regional lines and a country where heroes are not recognised and rewarded a country where only mediocre, ex-convicts and criminals are celebrated!

As I browsed through this copiously illustrated book with photographs and figures, dealing with the chilly, harrowing war experiences of the author, certain factors touched my heart:

• the pervasive influence of the mother over this young man and his own complete submission to the will of his mother who was always by his side;
• the sad account of how Isaac Boro was killed so cheaply in a house near Port Harcourt, not on the battlefield;
• the stage-by-stage, rather moving account of the 30-day march from Calabar to Port Harcourt;
• the accounts of how the author watched his close friends die in the war front; and