Removing the mercurial, some would say, controversial, war hero from activity to inactivity in 1974 by then head of state, Yakubu Gowon, came with its troubling and dispiriting trappings – a feeling of rejection, and a denial of one’s place in history.
The name 3rd Marine Commando was as searing and riveting as the daintily-dressed, slim-built, no-nonsense, Sandhurst-trained officer that commanded it. Benjamin Maja Adekunle, the Ogbomoso-born colonel, the man whose exploits on the battlefield were as eerie and frightful as his disconcerting sobriquet, the black scorpion. He was unarguably the most reported, most feared of the three commanders of the three divisions of the Nigerian army that executed the civil war of 1967-1970. Perhaps his opposite number on the Biafran side was Colonel Joe Achuzia, the one known as “Hannibal”, who brooked no nonsense.
One bizarre tragedy of war is that it uses man’s best to do man’s worst, and for the 30-month armed conflict, which in this case was a fratricidal one, the agony was that of training your weapon on a former squadron or battalion mate. That is how vulgar war is. When the shooting starts, no sentiment is entertained. After all, it is said, “in war, all is fair. The late Benjamin Adekunle must be seen in this light.
For a so-called police action that became a full-blown shooting war, it was pertinent to get it over and done with. Though renowned for his exceptional military strategy and leadership, especially in reclaiming the Delta and riverine areas from Biafran forces during the War, the consensus was that his tactics and approach were abhorrent and unspeakable, but then, the end justified the means. In wartime, anything is possible, but a wearisome angle to it is the mind-bending effect of propaganda, which both sides to the conflict employed with brutal accuracy. The Biafran side was accused of killing Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and Christopher Okigbo, the unsung poet, while then Colonel Benjamin Adekunle was said to have eliminated Major Adako Boro, a hero of the Niger Delta.
The invidious cycle of brainwashing and disinformation criss-crossed the horizon then. When, therefore, the military high command at Dodan Barracks of yore determined that the colonel should be withdrawn from the theatre of war, Nigerians were not surprised. Removing the mercurial, some would say, controversial, war hero from activity to inactivity in 1974 by then head of state, Yakubu Gowon, came with its troubling and dispiriting trappings – a feeling of rejection, and a denial of one’s place in history.
The debate rages on, about who actually executed the war to its logical conclusion – Adekunle or Olusegun Obasanjo, whom providence bestowed upon the rare opportunity of leading the country twice — as a military man and as a civilian after the return to civilian rule in 1999. That is the eternal testament of a country that produces heroes/heroines in quantum, but lacks the rectitude or integrity of preserving their honour for unborn generations.
That is indeed the tragedy of a country that traded its attributes for meshes of pottage. This is the story of Nigeria, about whom you could now say, with apologies to Chinua Achebe- “there was a country”. Late Brigadier-General Benjamin Majah Adekunle has finally overcome morality. Whatever you do for him now, is inconsequential and meaningless.