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Since the death of Colonel Joe Achuzia on February 26 at the age of 89, many commentators have said so many things about the man that rose to national limelight as a result of his roles in the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970. Without the war, perhaps not much would have been heard of the hitherto obscure Achuzia that owned an engineering company that sold explosives in Port Harcourt before the unfortunate war broke out.
Prior to fighting on the side of Biafra, Achuzia’s known military experience was his fighting in the Korean War where he gained his guerilla tactics. I did not know the real Joe Achuzia. I never met meet him in flesh and blood. What I want so say here about the legend is barely from stories I heard from Biafran soldiers concerning the exploits of the man they nicknamed ‘Air Raid’ on account of his handling of war deserters and stragglers. This is my memory of Achuzia.
Achuzia treated deserters the way an air raid would treat its physical and human targets. He got the ‘Hannibal’ sobriquet in memory of the Carthaginian war general and because of his famed bravery during the war. Achuzia is generally regarded as a Biafran war hero on account of his bravery and commitment to the Biafran cause.
He lived the ideals of Biafra till his death. He rose from his militia commission to become a Major in Biafran Army and was later promoted to a Colonel. He fought in virtually all sectors, especially the ones where the war is said to be tough. But some of his colleagues do not agree with most of his claims. The commander of the Biafran Army, Gen. Alex Madiebo, claims in his war memoir, Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War, p. 231, that the Biafran army commanders that crave for publicity and are getting it are Col. Tim Onwuatuegwu and Col. Joe Achuzia.
Madiebo further asserts that Achuzia even claims victory for operations he was not part of (p.228) on account of which he was named Hannibal. Whether Madiebo’s claim is true or not, Achuzia was one of the dreaded Biafran Army commanders. Both Biafran and Nigerian troops dread him so much because of his unorthodox war tactics.
He neither feared death nor the enemies. Since I did not know much of the real Achuzia, let me regale you with the mythical Achuzia I gathered from stories of those that met him during the war and his famed exploits during in of the bloodiest wars ever fought in Africa.
Before proceeding, it is important to ask some fundamental questions, the answers of which will guide the discussion. What is a myth? What is mythology? What is mythical? Let me start with the first question, what is a myth?
“A myth is a traditional story which embodies a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often forces of nature and of the soul are personified; a sacred narrative regarding a god, a hero, the origin of the world or of a people.”
In Myths and Dreams, E. Clodd affirmed that “Myth was the product of man’s emotion and imagination, acted upon by his surroundings.” Myth can also be regarded as “a popular conception about a real person or event which exaggerates or idealizes reality.”
The mythical Achuzia has a place in these definitions of myth. All the definitions can be applied to define the mythical Achuzia. Mythology means “the collection of myths of a people, concerning the origin of the people, history, deities, ancestors and heroes.
It can also mean a similar body of myths concerning an event, person or institution.” Mythical means “existing in myth and by extension not real, false or fabricated.” All of these can apply to the character of our subject, Joe Achuzia.
In Igbo folklore, the tortoise is the most mythologized figure. He was the all-knowing, cunning, intelligent and super hero. He wrestled with the gods and spirits and tricked all animals to submission as a result of his brilliance. Nobody can win an argument against the tortoise.
In Igbo land, the late Nigerian nationalist, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, was highly mythologized in so many ways including the one that he was both man and spirit and above human destruction. Another is that he had the keys to Atlantic Ocean in Lagos. He was imbued with powers to be in two places at the same time.
That he was invisible and invincible. He had great wisdom and political sagacity referred in local parlance as “political agafe.” The late Nigerian military leader, Gen. JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi had such myths of bravery weaved around him for his exploits in the Congo crisis. He was reputed to halt enemy bullets with bare hands. His swagger stick, made in the form of crocodile, was believed to make him invincible.
The late Biafran leader, Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was another mythical figure. He was reputed to go to the war fronts during the war. He personally commanded the recapture of Oguta from the Nigerian troops. He, too, was lionized in Biafra.
But Achuzia was the most mythologized heroes of the Biafran war. He did not fear death. It was said that bullets dread him. I am more interested in the mythical Achuzia because of its heroic qualities, vitality and dynamism. The post-war Achuzia was not as dramatic and heroic as the fabled Biafran war hero.
Achuzia withstood the enemy with gut, cheer bravery, intelligence and wizardry. He did not suffer deserters. He made them fall in line with whatever methods he deemed fit, including shooting them to prevent others from such cowardice. He was reputed to be saying that the enemy’s bullet is not for him and his boys.
In death, Achuzia is mythologized the more. He is still our liberator and hero. There were so many Biafran war heroes. Apart from Ojukwu, Achuzia was the most admired and fascinating of them all. He fought till the last man and was part of the team that negotiated the termination of the war at Amichi, Anambra State.
Even after the war, he was sympathetic to the cause of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) till death. In life, Achuzia was lionized and in death, he was lionized the more. Col. Joe Achuzia fought and died a hero. His memory would be etched in the hearts of all Igbo people.
He would be remembered for putting his life on the line for his people. The only way we can keep his memory alive is to be brave and courageous. Adieu Hannibal, the great warrior and legend.
