21-gun salute as Nigeria bids farewell to Biafra leader

Soldiers fired a 21-gun salute at the funeral of Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Thursday as Nigerian leaders paid final respects to the man whose 1967 declaration of Biafran independence sparked a civil war. Forty-five years after he tried to split Nigeria asunder by proclaiming the Republic of Biafra in the southeast, Odumegwu-Ojukwu's coffin was draped in the national colours of white and green at the funeral service in the city of Enugu, attended by thousands. He died in November in Britain at the age of 78 but his body was only flown back on Monday. In a funeral oration, the 1986 literature Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, said that Odumegwu-Ojukwu, whom he called a "comrade", "was never found wanting in the hour of decision.... He did not flinch from the burden of choice." Soyinka's statement revived old memories when he quoted the speech Odumegwu-Ojukwu made in May 1967 declaring "the Republic of Biafra", a move which triggered the war. The writer and playwright was detained during the civil war by the government of General Yakubu Gowon over his alleged support for the Biafran cause. Nigeria's Vice President Namadi Sambo, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan, described the former warlord as a "rare patriot and humanist... because his life epitomized enduring love for the countries he belonged to, and in the special case of Nigeria." Jonathan is expected to participate in Odumegwu-Ojukwu's burial in his southeastern hometown of Nnewi on Friday, according to his spokesman. Around a million people died in Africa's most populous country during the 1967-70 conflict, mainly from disease and starvation. The images of starved children made Biafra a by-word for famine. Lieutenant Colonel Odumegwu-Ojukwu, then military governor of the eastern region, had accused the federal government of marginalisation and killing of thousands of Igbos in the north. He went into exile in Ivory Coast after the Biafrans surrendered in 1970, and did not return until after a presidential pardon 13 years later. He ran for president several times following his return. He remained a revered figure in eastern Nigeria, where the Igbo people dominate. Ex-Commonwealth secretary general Emeka Anyaoku, an ethnic Igbo, said that Odumegwu-Ojukwu "in all his entire life he dedicated himself to the pursuit of good of his people. He was a rare symbol of courage". Hundreds of armed soldiers and security forces were deployed on the streets of Enugu during the funeral service. Nigeria has seen a string of deadly bomb and gun attacks in recent months, claimed by the Islamist Boko Haram sect, in which hundreds of people have been killed in Abuja and and some states in the north. The Catholic Bishop of Enugu, Callistus Onaga, presided over the service, attended by about 2,500 people. Hundreds of participants in the ceremony wore traditional dresses or t-shirts on which Odumegwu-Ojukwu's portrait was emblazoned with inscriptions such as "You Live In Our Heart," "Great Leader" and "National Hero". Authorities in Enugu state declared Thursday a public holiday in his honour. The Oxford-educated hero died on November 26 in London where he had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment. Ojukwu's body was flown from Britain to Nigeria with full military honours on Monday.