Henrich Rudolf was 10 years old when the 30-month Nigerian Civil War began in 1967. But the laxity with which the German newscaster delivered the news then of children dying of starvation, villages burnt, lives lost made him sick, even as a lad.
For him, the newscaster rather gave prominence to the sustainable resistance of the Biafran Army over the Nigerian Army’s advancement in their territory.
Now a security expert, Rudolf is among the many across the globe that are still baffled at the creative ingenuity soldiers in the defunct Biafran Army displayed in creating their own armoury against no alternative and formal skill in arm manufacturing.
That is history now, but not the relics and memories of the war that still stand tall at the National War Museum Umuahia, the Abia State capital, formally a hub for cattle trade in the region.
Since 1985, the sleeping town of Umuahia, the hometown of General Aguiyi Ironsi, first Nigerian military head of state, has been hosting tourists, researchers all over the world who came to understudy or fete their eyes on the relics of Biafran inventions. Rudolf has been part of these visitors who want to recall childhood memories as they were in the past, or trail history by themselves.
At the museum, Frank Unuigbe, the curator, quickly takes you through a tour of the past in present perspectives. A visit to this place of history exposes one to the material objects of traditional and modern warfare as well as other military paraphernalia, Voice of Biafra radio at the museum grounds, a bunker and an open-air display of military hardware, such as heavy artillery guns, armoured tanks, bombers, warships, military aircrafts, flying Ogbunigwe (bombs), among others.
Of course, the most important attraction is the Ojukwu Bunker, the base of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who played a key role in the war by leading Biafra, which he had declared a republic. Underneath the ground of the museum is the famed bunker, which housed the defunct republic’s short-wave radio station — Voice of Biafra.
It was from the bunker, late Okokon Ndem, the renowned radio broadcaster fondly called “Biafra’s Goebbels,” held sway over the defunct republic’s propaganda machine. Also, the ex-Biafran warlord reportedly made his numerous radio broadcasts from the location during the war.
On the way into the bunker are wartime artifacts and other archival materials good enough for researchers, while other local arts and craft materials are available for sale to shoppers. The architectural expertise of the builders of the bunker also marvels every visitor.
Apart from the bunker, NNS Bony, built by the British and used during the war, which berths at the eastern side of the complex, is one must-see relic. For their effort at visiting, visitors are treated to a grand reception at the vessel’s restaurant, with the best delicacies across the old eastern region at affordable rates.
Another attention-grabbing relic is the “Biafran Baby,” a converted two-seater propeller plane, which is armed with rockets. A Biafran mercenary – Von Rosen, according to Unigbe, was reputed to have used one of such planes to terrorise the federal side during the years of hostilities. War historians, specifically, say that it was once used to strafe the Port Harcourt airport, where some Nigerian war planes were damaged on ground.
The innovations and bravery of these guys, especially during the grim situations, are commendable from war machines such as the “Red Devils” – armoured personnel carriers (APCs), mini-armoured tanks, which were all assembled from metal plates and tractor chassis to Ojukwu Bucket.
The museum’s galleries are replete with arms and ammunitions, which were locally fabricated by the Biafran engineers and inscribed with Biafran logos, as well as others from the federal side, which were mostly imported from Europe and America.
Portraits of Ojukwu and his war-time deputy, General Phillip Effiong, as well as that of former Nigerian heads of state, General Yakubu Gowon and Olusegun Obasanjo, and one of Biafra’s celebrated military commanders, Colonel Joe Achuzia, adorned the walls of the museum.
Some transmission equipment of the defunct Radio Biafra and a fuel distiller, used during the war by the rebels to refine crude oil, were among the items listed in the non-weapons section of the museum.
However, since Ojukwu’s death on November 24, 2011, tourists from within and outside the state and country as well, are thronging the museum to truly recall and perhaps learn from the sad past.
Hundreds of people visit the museum every week to catch a glimpse of relics of the civil war, as well as photographs of some of the heroes who fought in the war on both the Nigerian and Biafran sides.
They all also come to see the bunkers that sheltered the late former Biafran warlord and his immediate staff from the federal troops until his departure to Ivory Coast, towards the twilight of the civil war.
Entrance to the museum is on payment of N100 admission fee, while the museum is known by virtually every residence of Umuahia that as well direct visitors.
“Well, I hope visitors will sustain their visits. Not just to identify with Ojukwu at his death. The honour should even be more in his absence,” the curator concludes.
OBINNA EMELIKE
