How Igbo Diplomats Were Blocked, Grounded After Civil War — Agubuzu

A newly published autobiography by retired Nigerian diplomat and traditional ruler, Ambassador Lawrence Agubuzu, has detailed how officers from the former East Central State were allegedly sidelined, restricted and denied career opportunities in Nigeria’s Foreign Service in the years following the Nigeria–Biafra Civil War.

The book, titled, “Zero Hour Graduate: A Nigerian Diplomat’s Journey Through War and Service to Triumph”, provides an insider account of the challenges Agubuzu said Igbo officers encountered as they sought to rebuild their careers after the war ended in January 1970.

Agubuzu, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said he had chosen not to join the Biafran Army after his parents pleaded with him to stay away from the conflict.

Instead, he supported the war effort through the Olo and Amagu Umulokpa Civil Defence Organisation, where he helped shelter refugees displaced by the fighting. He was later commissioned as an intelligence officer with the Biafran Organisation of Freedom Fighters.

After the war, Agubuzu said he declined a teaching contract offered to graduates from East Central State in Northern Nigeria and instead applied to the Ministry of External Affairs.

He reported for duty at the Republic Building in Lagos in April 1971.

According to the memoir, discrimination against officers from the former East Central State became apparent after his training class completed its course at the Foreign Service Academy.

While a classmate from Benue Plateau State was posted within a week to Nigeria’s mission at the United Nations in New York, Agubuzu said officers from East Central State were kept at headquarters because of unspecified security reports.

He said the officers were regarded in some quarters as coming from “rebel areas” because of the region’s association with Biafra during the civil war.

When the restrictions were eventually relaxed, Agubuzu said officers from the region were initially limited to postings within West Africa.

He cited the postings of Ambassador Gabriel Akuwafor to Dakar, Ambassador Mark Eze to Lomé and his training officer, Ambassador Pascal Nnochiri, to Conakry.

Nnochiri, according to the memoir, had entered the Foreign Service before the war and had received two promotions under the military administration of General Yakubu Gowon. Yet, Agubuzu said, his record of loyalty did not shield him from the restrictions allegedly imposed on officers from the region.

The memoir also recounts the case of Mike Amobi, whose intended bride was subjected to the security clearance required for Foreign Service officers seeking to marry.

Agubuzu said the woman, who was the widow of the late Colonel Emmanuel Ifeajuna, was declared unsuitable.

According to the account, a secret letter from the Permanent Secretary effectively forced Amobi to choose between the marriage and his diplomatic career. He chose his career and ended the engagement.

The sacrifice, however, did not secure his professional advancement, Agubuzu wrote, saying Amobi was subsequently grounded permanently and became a diplomat who remained in the service without meaningful opportunities.

Agubuzu also said his own posting was delayed after a supervisor described him as too valuable to be released from headquarters.

He described the designation as a “tag of indispensability” that kept him at headquarters while other officers proceeded to overseas postings.

His eventual release, he said, came after another Igbo officer, Victor Chibundu, was recalled from Monrovia following an adverse report alleging that he wore a Biafran-style suit during Nigeria’s independence anniversary celebrations.

Agubuzu further recounted the experience of Ambassador John Ukegbu, who, according to the memoir, publicly declared his allegiance to the federal government while serving in Liberia during the civil war.

Despite that, Agubuzu said Ukegbu became the subject of what he described as false reports from a rival deputy and was forced to return to Lagos at a time when Igbo men were being hunted down.

The memoir also names diplomats, including Ambassador Dapo Fafowora and Ambassador Remi Esau, whom Agubuzu said were summarily retired, cutting short what he described as promising careers in the Foreign Service.

However, the retired ambassador cautioned against interpreting the experiences as evidence of hostility by an entire ethnic group or region.

He acknowledged receiving support, mentorship and professional assistance from colleagues from different ethnic backgrounds throughout his career.

Rather, the author presents the experiences as part of the broader institutional consequences of the civil war and the suspicion that, according to his account, continued to affect officers associated with the former East Central State.

The memoir therefore offers a detailed personal account of how the aftermath of the Nigeria–Biafra war allegedly influenced postings, promotions, marriages and career progression within Nigeria’s diplomatic service.

For Agubuzu, the experiences formed part of a difficult journey from a university graduate caught in the civil war to a career diplomat, international civil servant, political appointee and traditional ruler.