Osita Chidoka Wrote

Biafra became the first black nation to successfully hijack a Plane.At the height of Nigeria-Biafra civil war, it took the lion hearts of three Biafran youths, Mark Odu, Sam Inyagha, and Onuora Nwanya to hijack a Nigeria Airways F-27 plane, piloted by the duo of P. Singh and Tokunbo Williams on April 23, 1967. The flight originally bound for Lagos from Benin was diverted to Enugu. That became Biafra’s first aircraft.

A young Biafran youth in his 20’s from Umuoji in Anambra state named Corporal Nwafor made history on June 30, 1968. Federal troops were advancing to Onitsha from Enugu, shelling and firing from tanks. At Ugwu Nwasike, Ogidi, about 20 kilometers to Onitsha the overwhelmed Biafrans were almost giving up when Nwafor hit the target. He fired the only anti-tank weapon available to the entire brigade, a 73mm bazooka and it hit an advancing saladine. A second tank which tried to engage reverse gear fell into a ditch. The Biafrans tried to retrieve the tanks in a bloody fight that ensued. In the process, Nwafor lost his life. Biafra gained weapons of mass destruction. The saladine was named Corporal Nwafor and it became Biafra’s first armoured tank.

In July 1969 at Ohubua on the way to recapture Port-Harcourt in a battle between Biafran forces against Federal 3rd Marine commandos commanded by Olusegun Obasanjo. Three 16 years old Biafran school boys used Corporal Nwafor Tank to bomb Olusegun Obasanjo back to University Teaching Hospital Ibadan where he was treated for multiple injuries. Their names were Sasa Nwoke from Ohafia, Sylvester Etta from Obubura and a certain half-caste whose mother was from England named Daniel Lawrence from Ikom. They were all 16 years of age and ran away from school to defend Biafra

Then fast-forward to 2018, when I see Igbo youths begging politicians for 2000 naira to smoke cigarettes and I remember Corporal Nwafor, Sasa Nwoke, Sylvester Etta, Daniel Lawrence, mark Odu, Sam inyagha, onuora nyanya and that brave youth from New York Columbia University that set himself on fire in far away America in protest against the killing of Biafran people, I get highly disappointed. This is not who we are. We are children of Lions

Have these youths sacrificed their lives in vain? God forbid!

Igbo youths wake up. Reject money politics that destroy your future. The labors of our heroes past must never be in vain. Amen.