Awolowo: “All is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war.”

[Abraham Madu]

LET US BE VIGILANT DISCIPLINE SO THAT WE WILL NOT FALL INTO BETRAYAL AGAIN.Understood. Below is a tight, factual list focused on specific names, dates, and documents/actions that many Biafran historians and activists cite as evidence of political betrayal. I’ll stick to verifiable events and records, not generalizations.

1. Chief Obafemi Awolowo – Federal Commissioner for Finance

Date: 1967–1970

Document / Policy: Federal economic and blockade policy during the war

Awolowo was the Federal Commissioner for Finance under Gen. Yakubu Gowon.

He publicly defended the economic blockade of Biafra, including restrictions on food and medical supplies.

Quote attributed to Awolowo (widely cited in post-war debates):

“All is fair in war, and starvation is one of the weapons of war.”

Biafran interpretation:

As Finance Minister, Awolowo helped design and enforce a policy that caused mass civilian starvation, especially of children.

2. Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s War Cabinet (Western Alignment)

Date: 1967–1970

Key Yoruba figures involved:

Chief Obafemi Awolowo – Finance

Anthony Enahoro – Information / External Affairs (roles varied over time)

Document:

Federal Government of Nigeria war communiqués

Budgetary and blockade enforcement directives

Action:

Western political elites were fully integrated into the federal war command.

Lagos (Western Region) served as:

Diplomatic center

Arms procurement hub

Media command center

Biafran interpretation:

This was not neutrality—it was active institutional participation.

3. Failure to Enforce the Aburi Accord

Date: January–May 1967

Document:

Aburi Accord Communiqué (January 1967, Ghana)

Key facts:

The Accord agreed to:

Decentralized military control

Regional autonomy

Collective decision-making

After returning to Nigeria:

The federal side issued Decree No. 8, which watered down Aburi

Western political leaders did not insist on full implementation

Biafran interpretation:

Western elites chose centralized power over a peaceful confederation that could have prevented war.

4. Anthony Enahoro – International Propaganda & Diplomacy

Date: 1967–1969

Role: Federal Commissioner for Information / External Affairs

Documents / Actions:

Led Nigeria’s international media campaign against Biafra

Framed the war as a “police action”

Actively countered Biafran genocide claims at the UN and foreign capitals

Biafran interpretation:

Helped bury evidence of mass civilian deaths under diplomatic language.

5. Silence After the 1966 Igbo Pogroms

Date: May–October 1966

Documents:

British High Commission reports

Nigerian military communiqués

Eastern Region Government protests

Facts:

Tens of thousands of Igbo civilians were massacred in Northern Nigeria.

No Western-led mass political shutdown or ultimatum followed.

No insistence on:

Prosecution of perpetrators

International inquiry

Biafran interpretation:

Political silence signaled that Igbo lives were negotiable.

6. Post-War Economic Decrees

Date: 1970

Documents:

Banking policy limiting Igbo savings to £20

Abandoned Property implementation (especially in Port Harcourt)

Key fact:

These policies were approved by a federal government in which Western elites were central figures.

Biafran interpretation:

War punishment continued under “peace.”

7. Lagos as the Command Center

Date: 1967–1970

Facts:

Lagos (Western Region) housed:

Supreme Military Headquarters

Foreign embassies

Arms shipments

No regional refusal or withdrawal from hosting war operations occurred.

Biafran interpretation:

Geography became complicity.

Important Historical Balance

Some Yoruba individuals and groups opposed the war (students, writers, activists).

Betrayal claims are directed at state power holders, not ordinary people.

Summary (Plain and Direct)

The alleged “betrayal” is traced to named officials,

dated decisions, and documented federal policies

that prioritized Nigerian unity and elite power

over justice, negotiation, and civilian lives. 

By konyewetere Ejike Chkwuma

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[femi Olajide]

Abraham Madu et al,

Are you guys for real?
Do you expect Nigeria to economically support and feed Biafra to fight it back?

Look around the world, economic blockage is one of the first sanctions implemented against erring nations. You don't economically empower your enemies to fight you.
In terms of food, you wouldn't expect Nigeria to be feeding their enemies so that they can fight it back. Red cross, NGOs etc were providing food throughout but food meant for civilians were being diverted to Ojukwu and his soldiers.

See,if you want to prosecute a war, logistics and supplies are more important than guns and number of boots on the ground. Theoretically, you've lost a war if you cannot maintain and replenish your perishable supplies. So, a strategy in war is to disrupt that supply and bring the enemy to it's knees.
Simply look at the number of supply ships that were sunk during WW2.

So, Awolowo was doing calculus when Ojukwu and his team were still doing arithmetic. Your thinking capacity is what separates the men from the boys.

Knowing you guys, you will still follow your failed strategy blindly and still expect a different result.

Y'all fools!

Regards,

Femi Olajide

By konyewetereEjike Chkwuma

Ntị ọdị kwa?

Ya kpọtụba!

Ya gazie.

Ụmụ nne Abrahamụọgụ Aṅụsịobi Madụ.

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