By NewsBits
A former Military Administrator of Delta State, Air Commodore Luke Ochulor (rtd) has paid a glowing tribute to the late former veteran Biafran soldier, Mazi Anthony Chimezie Adibe, describing him as a humble patriot whose life should inspire the younger generation of Ndigbo.
Air Commodore Ochulor said the simple lessons the younger generation could learn from the late infantry officer were bravery, humility, patriotism or being ready to lay down your life for your people. The former Military Administrator said that although he was not given to paying tribute to people but, particularly, considered the unusual circumstances in which the late Mazi Adibe joined the then Biafran army without looking back during the Nigeria/Biafra War.
“At the war front, Anthony Adibe established himself as a reliable infantry officer. His fellow soldiers addressed him as (a Jimmy Roger). We never came to grips with such brave activities of Mazi Anthony Adibe owing to the way the civil war ended on 15th January 1970,” stated the pioneer Military Administrator of Delta State in the tribute which he wrote and personally signed.
He recalled vividly the uncommon manner and way the fallen hero joined the defunct Biafran army at the time. Ochulor said: “We are, however, intrigued by the way and manner he became a soldier in a raging war of attrition 1967-1970.
“He was in Eastern Nigeria, like other young people who were threatened by the Nigerian state in 1966 crisis!
“At the heat of the Nigeria/Biafra engagement, Mazi Anthony, knowing that he was of age, decided not to run away from war, as he visited his elder sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Ihuaku married in Amumara, he encountered a Biafran Army vehicle and immediately jumped into the vehicle and accompanied the soldiers to the infantry training ground. He knew that man is the first weapon of war, and that war is human activity, so he was not afraid.”
Ochulor also, explained the Igbo world view that spurred Mazi Adibe on despite the uncertainties of war. “He maintained a philosophy that it was better to die in the battlefield than to be a slave. The natural attitude of an Igbo person is “better die on your feet than to live on your knees,” declared the senior Air Force Officer.
The former Milad said that although the Nigeria history might not remember the late combatant soldier, but his colleagues would always remember him. Ochulor said: “As you took the risk to defend the Igbo race in a war you were ill prepared to fight, your progenitors will always remember you!” He added: “However, we believe that Jesus Christ in His mercy will remember you.”
He reiterated that this tribute on Mazi Anthony Adibe was written for the younger generation to learn and emulate people, regardless of the net worth or how much noise one made while walking the planet earth!
Mazi Anthony Adibe joined his ancestors on Saturday June 3, 2023, at the Compassion Specialist Medical Center, Nguru, Mbaise, and will be buried on Friday September 8, 2023 at his family compound in Umuohii Village, Oboama Autonomous Community Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA, Imo State.
He is survived by his wife, grandchildren, and children including Tony Adibe, the immediate past Southeast Zone Bureau Chief of the Daily Trust Newspapers.
