Born on November 18,
1924, Obong Philip Effiong
was until his death the Akangkang of Ibibioland, Biafra.
He joined the BiafraNigerian Army on 28 July 1945 at Enugu in Biafra, and rose
through the ranks until 11 January 1956 when he received the Queen's Commission after his
officer cadet training at Eaton Hall in Chester.� �He went on to do his post commissioning
training in various parts of the United Kingdom and also with the British Army of the Rhine (BOAR)
in Western Germany.
After his services as Company Commander during a peacekeeping mission in the Republic of Congo in 1961, Phillip Effiong was transferred to the Nigerian Army
Ordnance Corps from where he proceeded to Britain again, where he attended a long ordinance course
at the Royal Army Ordinance Corps School in Blackdown.
This course led to his being awarded Associate Member of the British Institute
of Management (AMBIM). On completion of his ordinance training, he became the
first Biafranigerian Commander of the Ordnance Depot in Yaba, Lagos in 1962, and the first Nigerian Director of
Ordinance Services of the Biafranigerian Army in 1963. This was the post he
held when the first coup d'�tat took place on January 15, 1966. He was a Lieutenant Colonel at the time.
Later in January 1966, Obong Effiong was posted to Major General Aguiyi
Ironsi's Supreme Headquarters in Lagos as the first Principal Staff Officer.
In July 1966 he was posted to Kaduna where he was appointed Acting Brigade
Commander of the 1st Brigade, Nigerian Army, when the July 29, 1966 bloody coup
d'�tat took place. After successfully escaping several attempts on his life, he
finally made it to Enugu on the directive that all military officers return
to their regions of origin.
When the Nigerian-Biafra War broke out in 1967, he subsequently took command
under the Biafran wartime military government and rose to the rank of Major
General. In Biafra, Obong Effiong played an active role as the Chief
of General Staff. He eventually brought the Civil War to an end when, as
Officer Administering the Government of Biafra, he signed the armistice agreement in Lagos on January 15, 1970.�
Enough of the career accomplishment,
which are endless.� The point here is
that� (ufufe agwa la ọji) an iroko
has fallen.� The Iroko tree in Igboland
occupies a lofty position. An iroko does not fall easily no matter how strong the
wind blows. �For many of us Biafrans,
this year will go down in record as one of our saddest since hostility ended in
1970.� First we lost the Biafran
journalism icon, Oko oko Ndem.� �Now, the Peoples General has fallen.
Death, how dare you?
��
Death, you are a coward; you sneak in when everyone is preoccupied with other
life struggles
Death, you are mean
Death, you reap where you did not sow
Death, you are a thief
Death, you steal the most precious thing in the house
�
Death, you are wicked, you take the best and leave the
worthless
�
Death, you take the honorable and leave the dishonorable,
you take the contenders and leave the pretenders, to parade around as leaders.
�
Chei arụ emela.
People�s General Effiong
is a different breed; Peoples General Effiong came from the old school. He is
from my grand father�s time and generation. People�s General Effiong is from
the time when men were still called honorable and they merited the Honor.� Effiong is from the generation when one could
explain the source of his wealth, not go to Lagos and come back six months later a multi
millionaire. �The People�s General comes
from a time when stealing made you a thief, not a 419er.� General Effiong came from a time when men
were men, when the owner of the house could shout to an armed robber �who is
there?� and the Armed robber would run, not the other way round. Phillip Effiong
was a soldier�s soldier.� He was in
military service when the Military was considered a noble profession, not a
means of dipping one�s hands into the public treasury, or a quick route to riches.� Major General Phillip Effiong earned his
stripes the old fashion way, �he earned
it, not steal it, when that rank �Major General� was earned in battle field not
by political connection or federal character. In the days of Effiong there was
no federal character, only merit.
My heart is heavy today; I
shed tears not because this honorable man, larger than life has been snatched
away by death. My heart is heavy because I watch dishonorable men like Obasanjo
occupying government houses. My heart is heavy because cowards are parading
around with motorcades and orderlies all over the place.�
Phillip Effiong is gone,
but he will live in our hearts and in history forever. What is that Quote made
by Argentine first Lady Evita Peron and popularized by Madonna in the Movies, Evita.
I know that the Peoples General Effiong is now with God, and saying to us
Biafrans
Don�t cry for me Biafrans. The truth is that I
never left you.
Yes, the �People�s General never left us. My only fear
is that what we are going to have running around will be the efulefu, efulefu
who apologize for a war they did not fight, efulefu like Orji Uzor Kalu running
around apologizing for something they knew nothing about. �My fear is that we are going to have efulefu
who are willing to sell their souls to the highest bidder in order to become
Governor of a local government fraud called a State in BiafraNigeria. My fear
is that what we are going to have running around are the saboteurs who sold us
to the enemy 36 years ago, the same efulefu who parade themselves today as �leaders,�
governors, ministers, advisers, etc.� Tufịakwa!� Azị gbaakwa ihe ọjọọ.
Why now?� Why in the same year? Why less than two
months after losing Comrade Oko Oko�
Ndem?� Why did the Peoples General
have to answer the call of our ancestors so soon?� My late brother Warrior sang it in his songs,
Eji apa ala apa? I have gone all over
the world seeking for answers. Gaa jụọ ma eji apa ala apa? I am
still left scratching my head, asking why? Why us?
In the words of another
grandson of Africa, Martin Luther King, People�s General Effiong, �weep no more.�
It wasn�t your fault that we are still trying to get to �the promised
land� of Biafra. You fought hard and gallantly to actualize Biafra, though you may not have made it there with us, to the promised land.
But, we as people will carry on and make it to the promised land, which you
spent the better part of your life fighting for.
May be I should stop
asking why? And start looking for the reason behind this. Maybe God called Peoples
General home, because the almighty didn�t want to see this honorable man soiled
by all the dishonorable efulefu in BiafraNigeria. Maybe God called our General
home because God didn�t want to see our general continue to watch efulefu like
Orji Kalu continue to desecrate and blaspheme the memory of our fallen heroes,
while the people�s General watched helplessly, as �our homeland is occupied by the vandals. Maybe
God wanted to call the peoples� hero home before the gang of efulefu could defile
him.
Read again, the Broadcast
the People�s General gave in 1970, which he temporarily suspended hostilities
between Biafra and the vandals. Read for yourself you will then
see why, they don�t make men like Our General Obong Phillip Effiong anymore.
Armistice Broadcast on Monday, January 12, 1970
Fellow Countrymen,
As you know, I was asked to be the officer administering the Government of this
republic on the
10th of January 1970. Since then, I know that some
of you have been waiting to hear a statement from me. I have had extensive
consultations with the leaders of the community, both military and civil, and I
am now encouraged and hasten to make this statement to you by the mandate of
the Armed Forces and the people of this country. I have assumed the leadership
of the Government.
Throughout history, injured people have had to resort to arms in their
self-defense where peaceful negotiations fail. We are no exception. We took up
arms because of the sense of insecurity generated in our people by the events
of 1966. We have fought in defense of that cause.
I take this opportunity to congratulate officers and men of our Armed Forces
for their gallantry and bravery, which had for them the admiration of the whole
world. I thank the civil population for their steadfastness and courage in the
face of overwhelming odds and starvation. I am convinced now that a stop must
be put to the bloodshed, which is going on as a result of war. I am also
convinced that the suffering of our people must be brought to an immediate end.
Our people are now disillusioned and those elements of the old Government regime
who have made negotiations and reconciliation impossible have voluntarily
removed themselves from our midst.
I have therefore instructed an orderly disengagement of troops. I am
dispatching emissaries to make contact with Nigeria's field
commanders in places like Onitsha,
Owerri, Awka, Enugu and
Calabar with a view to arranging armistice. I urge General Gowon, in the name
of humanity, to order his troops to pause while an armistice is negotiated in
order to avoid the mass suffering caused by the movement of population.
We have always believed that our differences with Nigeria should
be settled by peaceful negotiations. A delegation of our people is therefore
ready to meet representatives of Nigeria Federal Government anywhere to
negotiate a peaceful settlement on the basis of OAU resolutions. The delegation
will consist of the Chief Justice, Sir Louis Mbanefo as leader, Professor Eni
Njoku, Mr. J. I. Emembolu, Chief A. E. Bassey and Mr. E. Aguma. The delegation
will have full authority to negotiate on our behalf.
I have appointed a council to advise me on the Government of the country. It
consists of the Chief Justice, Sir Louis Mbanefo, Brigadier P. C. Amadi (Army),
Brigadier C. A. Nwawo (Army), Captain W. A. Anuku (Navy), Wing Commander J. I.
Ezeilo (Air Force), Inspector-General of Police, Chief P. I. Okeke, Mr. J. I
Emembolu (Attorney-General), Professor Eni Njoku, Dr. I. Eke, Chief A. E.
Udofia, Chief Frank Opigo and Chief J. M. Echeruo. Any question of government
in exile is repudiated by our people.
Civilian population are hereby advised to remain calm and cooperate with the
the Armed Forces and the Police in the maintenance of law and order. They
should remain in their homes and stop mass movements which have increased
suffering and loss of lives.
On behalf of our people, I thank those foreign Governments and friends who have
steadfastly given us support in our cause. We shall continue to count on their
continued help and counsel. I also thank His Holiness the Pope, the Joint
Church Aid and other relief organizations, for the help they have given for the
relief of suffering and starvation. I appeal to all Governments to give urgent
help for relief and to prevail on the Federal Military Government to order
their troops to stop all military operations.
May God help us all.�
May God help us all. The General
was right; our problem with Nigeria could have been solved at the negotiating table.
Unfortunately 33 years after the armistice, the Nigerians have not seen fit to
come back to the negotiating table. Nigeria has continued to disregard all treaties she signed,
from the Aburi Accord to signing away Biafran territory, Bakkassi, to Cameroon.
Fellow Biafrans:
Please, permit me a short
stroll down memory lane. The death of our General has awakened another personal
memory for me, from my days as a musician, my days with the Rock of Ages Band.
Not to digress here, but, today, the passing of our General brought back the
same tears I had in my eyes that fateful day in 1974, when the news broke in Aba of the death of my friend, Jonathan Udensi, �Spud
Nathan,� along that notorious Njaba Bridge.
Brother Arinze Okpalla and
the original Wings, please, allow me to conclude with an adaptation of the
lyrics of the Tribute to our friend, Brother Spud Nathan.
It�s no good, No!
It�s no good
The way you left us
You left a mother without a husband
In this wicked world
You left a mother with tears and your dear ones.
You left us without a word
Sisters and brothers all are crying for you.
Oh no, General Effiong, how I wish I�d never see the sun
shine.
General, General, General Effiong, where have you been?
Oh
my General, rest in peace.
Adieu,
our General. Rest in the bosom of the almighty.
People�s
General, rest in perfect peace. Amen.