In August, 1977, that’s three years after he left the Nigerian Army, Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle, told Muyiwa Adetiba, a journalist:
“I had been labelled as a legalised murderer by the society called Nigerians.
Right now, I will do any job that will lead to the saving of souls of fellow Nigerians. Not that I regrët my period as a soldier, or my killing days as some people would like to refer to it.
But there are certain times when you need to do some reassessments.
To be a soldier can be a cūrse in that you are branded. People look at you as if there is no good in you, as if you are just a blood-thirsty cãnnibāl.”
Some have argued that Benjamin Adekunle’s success in Eastern Nigeria during the battle to keep the country as one was partly because he once served as Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of the Eastern Region, Sir Akanu Ibiam, in 1962.
They argue that he might have mastered the terrain before he was deployed to the battlefield. Others say he only showed his passion as a soldier. He was just 31 when the wãr started.
Born in Kaduna, Nigeria; his father was from Ogbomoso, Oyo State. He completed secondary education at Government College, Okene and enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1958 and commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant on 15 December 1960.
During the Civil Wãr (1967-1970), he led the amphibious assāūlt on Bonny Island in July 1967 (sometimes called the ‘Bonny landing’), one of the early successes for Federal førces.
– He commanded Operation Tiger Claw, captūring the important Biafran port of Calabar.
– Under his command, the 3rd Marine Commando Division (which he renamed to underscore its amphibious/riverside operations) achieved many victories in riverine and coastal areas: taking control of places like Escravos, Burutu, Urhonigbe, Owa, Aladima, Bomadi, Patani, Youngtown, Koko, Sapele, Ajagbodudu, Warri, Ughelli, Orerokpe, Umutu, Itagba Uno.
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– His forces’ operations were strategic in cutting off Biafra’s supply routes via coast and riverine areas, helping to isolate Biafra.
In 1972, he was promoted to Brigadier and was put in charge of decongesting the Lagos ports, a significant logistical/economic task, and succeeded in reducing congestion. He retired from the Nigerian Army on 20 August, 1974. He was 38 then.
He said in the interview with Adetiba: “I wanted to do 22 years in the Army. I only did 14.”
He passed away on September 13, 2014 at age 78.
Credit: Ethnic African Stories
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