BRIGADIER ADEKUNLE, "THE SCORPION", NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR PRINCIPAL ACTOR DIES AT 78

  I woke up to the news this morning of the death of one of the key players in the darkest history of our nation, Brigadier Adekunle, popularly called the Black Scorpion. Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle was born in Kaduna to a Yoruba father from Ogbomosho and a Bachama mother from the north eastern part of Nigeria 78 years ago. A sandhurst trained military officer who was commissioned as a 2^nd lieutenant on the 15^th of October 1960, barely 14 days after the Nigerian independence from Great Britain.  And member of one of the very first UN peace keeping force to Congo in 1962.

  He served in different military positions and even became the Aide de camp to the governor of the Eastern region Dr Akanu Ibiam before the commencement of the civil war in 1967, but it would be the civil war that would eventually shoot him into national prominence after he successfully led the 7^th and the 8^th battalion to the popular sea borne assault on Bonny and the subsequent liberation of most towns in the then Mid-western state that had hitherto fallen into the hands of the Biafran soldiers. “The black scorpion” was also actively involved in the food blockade which strangulated and wreaked the most havoc on the Biafran populace, killing especially little children in their millions.

  But today, the same feeling that I had when the Ikemba of Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died has been revived once again inside of me with the announcement this morning of the passing on of “The black scorpion”, Brigadier Adekunle, one of the major players in that war. Must heroes be made out of obnoxious and senseless wars? And especially in a war that involves brothers, as was the Nigerian civil war? There is this sardonic tinge to wars of the characteristics of the Nigerian civil war, it only showed the failure of government, the ruthlessness and instituted disunity existent in our nation. And if today, the Nigerian nation survived a war which motive was to break Nigeria apart, after sacrificing over 1 million of its population, then would it be morally right to celebrate any of the participants of that ignoble war as heroes?

  Personally, I think that the greatest error of that war was not only allowing it to commence and to elapse a period of three years but the failure to hold people accountable on both sides for war crimes perpetrated during that bleak epoch of our history.  If you permit me, I would rather refer to the likes of the late Benjamin Adekunle, “The scorpion” as an unfortunate victim of that war rather than as a hero of the same, because, history as taught us that the hero of a people is the villain of another people, and since we still remain the same people, it becomes deeply irrational to celebrate all or any of the principal players of that war, especially since the fragmentation plan did not succeed. Let us not forget that war is a state of lawlessness and it will be unlawful to lawfully recognize those who took advantage of that lawlessness to act lawlessly. Notwithstanding, I wish to recognize the bravery of a soldier’s response to the call to duty and wish that the departed soul of Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle continue to rest in peace, while this marred nation continue to strive to find its feet.