Main PageHow My Troops Stopped Biafran Soldiers At Ore —col. Iluyomade (rtd)
Colonel Oyinlade Iluyomade (rtd) is a civil war
veteran, renowned for his role in curtailing the
onslaught of the Biafran army at Ore, Ondo State.
Your role during the civil war, particularly how you
curtailed the onslaught of the Biafran soldiers at
Ore has been spoken about by fellow military men
like General Alabi Isama, what exactly happened at
the war front?
When the civil war commenced around June to
July 1967, I was based in Ibadan where I
commanded a small unit. But I joined the military
in 1952 with Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and
Sani Abacha, who were my colleagues. I was sent
to India for military training to be commissioned
as Infantry, that is, to fight wars. The war started
from the north, but it got to a point when the
Biafran soldiers wanted to break through and
conquer the West, they believed that if they
conquered the West, it would be easy for them to
manoeuvre their way through to the North. So,
they wanted to break through Ore into the West,
then straight to Lagos. But, at the beginning of
August, I was despatched to Ore village to act as
Security Officer, to ensure internal security and, to
make the civilians aware of the presence of the
federal troops. I was there with 33 soldiers. Later,
Biafra captured Mid West, and arrived in Benin.
This meant that their next target was the West. So
I was told by then Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo,
who was the Commander in Ibadan, to move to
Ore border, which is about 19 miles to Ore village.
Then, I moved there that night but I told Obasanjo
that I was ill-equipped to curtail the Biafran attack.
What can 33 soldiers do? So, he promised to
reinforce and he did keep to his promise. Then,
our total strength grew to 179 soldiers to defend
the place.
I had premonition of danger and when I got to
Ore, I deployed my troops towards the Western
region. The bridge at Ofosu was the boundary, so I
went ahead to survey the area to know the
mountainous and forested areas. And I deployed
my troops, so if there would be an attack on the
West, they would have to cross the bridge. So I
safeguarded the bridge and gave my troops
instruction not to allow anybody cross over. By
that time, there was an instruction that I shouldn't
allow anybody into the West.
After deployment of troops, I rose up from my
trench at about 12 midnight, it started to rain
heavily, but I told the troops not to leave their
trenches. So, we dug in. Then, when I saw the
skyline of the vehicles of the Biafran soldiers
coming towards us, I shouted that no one should
fire except me. And the battle started minutes past
midnight. But the bridge was so heavy that they
could not penetrate. If they had known that we had
a small number, maybe they could have made the
effort to penetrate. So we confused them, the
place was well secured and we never lost any
soldier.
One can deduce from your exploits then that you
were proactive and strategic in battle, do you
observe such qualities in today's military
operation?
I was the only officer, the others were other ranks
so I commanded them. I don't know how the
current Army is deployed and how they work. But,
the way I look at them now, I would not want to
comment but they know how they operate. But, in
our own days, we were tough and well-trained; we
were dedicated and had the ability to withstand
any odd.
Are these qualities lacking in today's Army?
I would not say they are lacking. I think money
now has a great role to play. Money is used to
dampen soldiers' professionalism. If soldiers
know that money is now so much available, you
can understand their current thinking. Moreover,
those who fought well during the civil war were
not compensated. Those that did not fight at all
were the ones promoted. Those who ran away
were promoted. I would not want to mention
names.
I recall you once complained that you were never
promoted to the position of a General?
I was not promoted, even to the position of a full
Colonel. Maybe because I am a Yoruba man, I can
say this boldly anywhere. Look at what happened
to late Benjamin Adekunle, for example. Who
fought the civil war more than Adekunle? But, he
was neglected, Why? The exception was
Akinrinade that managed to become the Chief of
Army Staff. Ariyo was driven away, someone just
placed a letter on his table that he was retired; he
never saw the person. What offence did he
commit? Just because he was Yoruba; so many
Yorubas, like that, were neglected. Nothing was
given to us. It is very terrible.
The force is dominated by the north and they want
to continue to enjoy the largesse of the military.
They claim that Yorubas have many engineers,
lawyers, doctors and other professionals hence
we should not wrest the military from the
Northerners. We are still angry with how we were
treated; we just bottled it up. And from the
beginning till end of the war, people like me never
left the war front. I was one of the five brigade
commanders that ended the war.
You have bottled up your anger for so long, is it
time for you to let out this anger as you now have
a fellow soldier, also from the North, now elected
as President?
No, Buhari is a nice man, he is a fellow military
man. He is an amiable man, a very nice man,
plain-hearted, a gentle man to the core. I know
him.
You seem to know Buhari so well, can you tell us
more about the Buhari that you know.
I worked with Buhari when we were together in
Marine Commando. He was GOS next to the
General Officer Commanding and I was Divisional
Training Officer, I was training and teaching other
ranks. That was where I met Buhari. He was very
nice, amiable to people. He was also a wonderful
Head of State and he is a disciplinarian. He does
not condone nonsense and I love him.
You have claimed to love Buhari so much,
however, Nigerians would only love him so well if
he lives up to expectations. Do you think he can
live up to the high expectations of Nigerians?
Why not? To become a Major, you are well-read,
hence you can tackle any problem. Mobolaji
Johnson was a Major when he was appointed
Administrator of Lagos. To become a major, you
would have passed through the Staff College,
attended several trainings, taken exams, attended
different courses, partook in seminars to brush
you up and acquire intelligence. Military men also
read personally. I have a personal library where I
have good books. I read on military, politics,
philosophy among other aspects of life. Winston
Churchhill read up to Class 4 and became the
Prime Minister of Britain and the whole
Commonwealth. And he led the Commonwealth
military to victory. Adolf Hitler read only up to
Form 2 level and he wanted to conquer and rule
the whole world. What audacity other than the fact
that he read wide. It is not about having a PhD;
what is PhD to us? We read wide.
Do you canvass for the inclusion of retired military
men in the new government?
Yes. For example, if I become a minister in
Buhari's government, my ministry will shine.
Consider Brigadier General Samuel Ogbemudia in
Bendel, he developed Bendel. Which governor has
developed Bendel, now Edo State, the way
Ogbemudia did till date? None. He was a military
man. Back then, money was not the issue, but we
fought to win the war. It was about being a real
man.
What about fears that the dictatorial tendencies of
military men, if largely involved, will be laid bare
in our democratic practice?
The world is civilised and there is no more
dictatorship. Democracy is practised around the
world now. There is no country that practices
dictatorship that will progress. A civilian should
come up with policies that are beneficial but
where the civilians fail, there may be the need for.
For example, there is no reason all roads in the
country should not be tarred. We should have
water, electricity. Why can't we have adequate
power supply in the country? We lack dynamic
leaders. We have voted them in now. Rather than
for some of them to better the country, they will
be after enriching themselves. What for? It is out
of lack of imagination. But, I have confidence that
Buhari will deliver. I can shout on top of my voice
about this.
http://tribuneonlineng.com/content/how-my-troops-
stopped-biafran-soldiers-ore-%E2%80%94col-
iluyomade-rtd
veteran, renowned for his role in curtailing the
onslaught of the Biafran army at Ore, Ondo State.
Your role during the civil war, particularly how you
curtailed the onslaught of the Biafran soldiers at
Ore has been spoken about by fellow military men
like General Alabi Isama, what exactly happened at
the war front?
When the civil war commenced around June to
July 1967, I was based in Ibadan where I
commanded a small unit. But I joined the military
in 1952 with Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and
Sani Abacha, who were my colleagues. I was sent
to India for military training to be commissioned
as Infantry, that is, to fight wars. The war started
from the north, but it got to a point when the
Biafran soldiers wanted to break through and
conquer the West, they believed that if they
conquered the West, it would be easy for them to
manoeuvre their way through to the North. So,
they wanted to break through Ore into the West,
then straight to Lagos. But, at the beginning of
August, I was despatched to Ore village to act as
Security Officer, to ensure internal security and, to
make the civilians aware of the presence of the
federal troops. I was there with 33 soldiers. Later,
Biafra captured Mid West, and arrived in Benin.
This meant that their next target was the West. So
I was told by then Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo,
who was the Commander in Ibadan, to move to
Ore border, which is about 19 miles to Ore village.
Then, I moved there that night but I told Obasanjo
that I was ill-equipped to curtail the Biafran attack.
What can 33 soldiers do? So, he promised to
reinforce and he did keep to his promise. Then,
our total strength grew to 179 soldiers to defend
the place.
I had premonition of danger and when I got to
Ore, I deployed my troops towards the Western
region. The bridge at Ofosu was the boundary, so I
went ahead to survey the area to know the
mountainous and forested areas. And I deployed
my troops, so if there would be an attack on the
West, they would have to cross the bridge. So I
safeguarded the bridge and gave my troops
instruction not to allow anybody cross over. By
that time, there was an instruction that I shouldn't
allow anybody into the West.
After deployment of troops, I rose up from my
trench at about 12 midnight, it started to rain
heavily, but I told the troops not to leave their
trenches. So, we dug in. Then, when I saw the
skyline of the vehicles of the Biafran soldiers
coming towards us, I shouted that no one should
fire except me. And the battle started minutes past
midnight. But the bridge was so heavy that they
could not penetrate. If they had known that we had
a small number, maybe they could have made the
effort to penetrate. So we confused them, the
place was well secured and we never lost any
soldier.
One can deduce from your exploits then that you
were proactive and strategic in battle, do you
observe such qualities in today's military
operation?
I was the only officer, the others were other ranks
so I commanded them. I don't know how the
current Army is deployed and how they work. But,
the way I look at them now, I would not want to
comment but they know how they operate. But, in
our own days, we were tough and well-trained; we
were dedicated and had the ability to withstand
any odd.
Are these qualities lacking in today's Army?
I would not say they are lacking. I think money
now has a great role to play. Money is used to
dampen soldiers' professionalism. If soldiers
know that money is now so much available, you
can understand their current thinking. Moreover,
those who fought well during the civil war were
not compensated. Those that did not fight at all
were the ones promoted. Those who ran away
were promoted. I would not want to mention
names.
I recall you once complained that you were never
promoted to the position of a General?
I was not promoted, even to the position of a full
Colonel. Maybe because I am a Yoruba man, I can
say this boldly anywhere. Look at what happened
to late Benjamin Adekunle, for example. Who
fought the civil war more than Adekunle? But, he
was neglected, Why? The exception was
Akinrinade that managed to become the Chief of
Army Staff. Ariyo was driven away, someone just
placed a letter on his table that he was retired; he
never saw the person. What offence did he
commit? Just because he was Yoruba; so many
Yorubas, like that, were neglected. Nothing was
given to us. It is very terrible.
The force is dominated by the north and they want
to continue to enjoy the largesse of the military.
They claim that Yorubas have many engineers,
lawyers, doctors and other professionals hence
we should not wrest the military from the
Northerners. We are still angry with how we were
treated; we just bottled it up. And from the
beginning till end of the war, people like me never
left the war front. I was one of the five brigade
commanders that ended the war.
You have bottled up your anger for so long, is it
time for you to let out this anger as you now have
a fellow soldier, also from the North, now elected
as President?
No, Buhari is a nice man, he is a fellow military
man. He is an amiable man, a very nice man,
plain-hearted, a gentle man to the core. I know
him.
You seem to know Buhari so well, can you tell us
more about the Buhari that you know.
I worked with Buhari when we were together in
Marine Commando. He was GOS next to the
General Officer Commanding and I was Divisional
Training Officer, I was training and teaching other
ranks. That was where I met Buhari. He was very
nice, amiable to people. He was also a wonderful
Head of State and he is a disciplinarian. He does
not condone nonsense and I love him.
You have claimed to love Buhari so much,
however, Nigerians would only love him so well if
he lives up to expectations. Do you think he can
live up to the high expectations of Nigerians?
Why not? To become a Major, you are well-read,
hence you can tackle any problem. Mobolaji
Johnson was a Major when he was appointed
Administrator of Lagos. To become a major, you
would have passed through the Staff College,
attended several trainings, taken exams, attended
different courses, partook in seminars to brush
you up and acquire intelligence. Military men also
read personally. I have a personal library where I
have good books. I read on military, politics,
philosophy among other aspects of life. Winston
Churchhill read up to Class 4 and became the
Prime Minister of Britain and the whole
Commonwealth. And he led the Commonwealth
military to victory. Adolf Hitler read only up to
Form 2 level and he wanted to conquer and rule
the whole world. What audacity other than the fact
that he read wide. It is not about having a PhD;
what is PhD to us? We read wide.
Do you canvass for the inclusion of retired military
men in the new government?
Yes. For example, if I become a minister in
Buhari's government, my ministry will shine.
Consider Brigadier General Samuel Ogbemudia in
Bendel, he developed Bendel. Which governor has
developed Bendel, now Edo State, the way
Ogbemudia did till date? None. He was a military
man. Back then, money was not the issue, but we
fought to win the war. It was about being a real
man.
What about fears that the dictatorial tendencies of
military men, if largely involved, will be laid bare
in our democratic practice?
The world is civilised and there is no more
dictatorship. Democracy is practised around the
world now. There is no country that practices
dictatorship that will progress. A civilian should
come up with policies that are beneficial but
where the civilians fail, there may be the need for.
For example, there is no reason all roads in the
country should not be tarred. We should have
water, electricity. Why can't we have adequate
power supply in the country? We lack dynamic
leaders. We have voted them in now. Rather than
for some of them to better the country, they will
be after enriching themselves. What for? It is out
of lack of imagination. But, I have confidence that
Buhari will deliver. I can shout on top of my voice
about this.
http://tribuneonlineng.com/content/how-my-troops-
stopped-biafran-soldiers-ore-%E2%80%94col-
iluyomade-rtd
Thanks For You Reading The Post
We are very happy for you to come to our site. Our Website Domain name
http://gurusfanz.blogspot.com/.
Newer Posts
Newer Posts
Older Posts
Older Posts
Comments