"ASABA Is Not Igbo?” — Chief Philip Asiodu Makes Shocking Biafra War Claims

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Asabah is not in pure. If you went to a Sabah 300 years ago, they'll be speaking what they speak in a book, a mixture of a gala and and because the linguist have through their research shown that Hebrew, Edo and Euroba were the same language.

[00:00:34]until 5,000 years ago.

[00:00:49]Is it by any means possible that someone as educated and politically exposed as Chief Phillip as Yodo will be suffering from identity crisis?

[00:01:03]This is a man who served at the highest levels of Nigerian government. a technocrat, a policy architect, a man whose name is written into the very fabric of the nation's history. And yet here he is sitting before a camera telling the world that Asabah is not really EU. Not really EU. He went further claiming that the Asaba massacre, one of the most chilling mass killings of the Nigerian genocidal war against San Diego, where soldiers went door to door executing men and boys was not about ethnicity, not about being EU, but simply because Asaba happened to share a division with Opanam, the hometown of Ono. So the blood spilled on those streets of Asaba ate was just geography.

[00:02:12]Ladies and gentlemen, before I give you my full reaction, let me leave you to listen to the man himself, Chief Philip.

[00:02:23]>> And that day in the first military >> Mhm. When Malar ran out of his house seeing the commotion going on and saw Funa, he thought his ADC would save him.

[00:02:43]If Funa then killed >> Oh, it was it Funa that killed my mother.

[00:02:47]>> Yes.

[00:02:49]So this led to the idea of Iboku >> even though Kaduna had never lived in >> all his life and he he spoke outside actually >> and also what led to Asaba massacre is that in those everybody who was from to Asaba was from Asaba division.

[00:03:20]>> Oh, >> so everybody >> So was from Asaba division.

[00:03:27]>> Yes.

[00:03:27]>> So that's how they saw it.

[00:03:28]>> Asaba was what they put in their army records.

[00:03:33]>> Oh. So Zu being from being division his registration army record showed Asaba. Not only that, all the Selu soldiers of whom there were one or two left corners came from Asaba division.

[00:03:58]>> So the Asaba massacre was actually a vengeance. Yes, they thought it was and it was Du who commanded >> not Mah Muhammad. I thought it was Malu.

[00:04:14]No matter was the supreme commander but the fellow on inaban that day was connect who died who was >> who was killed in the coup against mutara. Oh, so they this is why they thought but not only that some EU traders in Kaduna then produced pictures of with Danjuba standing on the body of Saduana >> of Sadana or >> was very sad. Ana, which was very provocative.

[00:05:07]>> Oh, you mean in Zo >> in Zo standing >> over the body of Suana. You mean traders produce.

[00:05:14]>> Yes. So this led them to think that it was an equal coup.

[00:05:25]>> So what were they doing with the picture? Did they make it public picture or >> Yeah, it was in the marketplace and whatever. provocative.

[00:05:33]>> What would they do with it?

[00:05:36]>> They they decided that the time had come for them, you know, traders can be funny.

[00:05:44]>> Oh, like, oh, we're now in charge.

[00:05:47]>> We're now the rulers.

[00:05:48]>> And so if you now do unification decree decree and said seven departments will rule the entire country. it will be ruled by Southerners. And you know, one of Sadana's policies was to recruit a Pakistani instead of a Southerner in their departments.

[00:06:16]>> The EOS are more or less the type of people whose desire is mainly to dominate everybody.

[00:06:26]If they go to a village to a town, they want to monopolize everything in that area. If you put them in a labor camp as a laborer, within a year they will try to emerge as headman of that camp and so on. Well, in in the past, our people were not alive to their responsibilities because you can see from our northernization policy that in 1952 when I came here, there weren't 10 northerners in our civil service here and I tried to have it northernized and now all all important posts are being held by northerners. Is this policy of filling all key posts in the north solely with northerners and not with other Nigerians a temporary or a permanent one?

[00:07:14]>> In actual fact, what it is is a northerner first.

[00:07:18]If you can't get a northerner, then we take an expatriate like yourself on contract >> because the Pakistani will go home. Sana would stay.

[00:07:30]So that was that.

[00:07:33]Oh, >> so that's the beginning of programs, coups and but the second coup where no EU politician was killed now confirmed you know in the first school where politician was killed or given the provocative behavior often let me let me ask you in going forward um Niger this whole cool counter coup pilgrim n uh southeast secession all right and in the course of the whole conversation you still remained in Nigeria >> yes >> and you still remained in in Nigeria when Nigeria was fighting before.

[00:08:34]>> I was appointed permanent secretary.

[00:08:39]>> Yes.

[00:08:39]>> Under Zeke.

[00:08:41]>> Under Zeke. Oh.

[00:08:43]>> And our oath of allegiance was sworn before Zeke.

[00:08:52]>> Oh. And it spoke about dedication to the government of Nigeria.

[00:09:01]And the in 1954 when they were talking or 57 when they were talking about the civil service post independence zana amino leading the various parties all signed that they would have a nonpartisan independent civil service that led to the setting up of the Federal Civil Service Commission rule. And in 73 even though the commission was under Katu from Kon village in the north and the deputy was sa Emanuel.

[00:10:11]The civil service commission gave me power of attorney.

[00:10:17]Seeing the caliber of staff who would need to implement the plans to go in America, interview every holder of mast's or PhD, negotiate with them what positions they will occupy, >> even their salaries.

[00:10:47]even their salary.

[00:10:50]And that was how one brought back somebody like Dold and uh Rufa who then went to housing in Africa you know back and with so and I was the king's cottage boy.

[00:11:22]>> So >> every boy.

[00:11:24]>> So um the looking at it then okay um despite all those you did not feel like uh your people would feel betrayed that you stayed back >> to continue serving.

[00:11:40]>> No before then was not under Bafra >> was it?

[00:11:46]>> No was not under Bafra.

[00:11:48]>> No it was.

[00:11:49]>> Okay. You are from Asaba. So you're not in you were not Bafra.

[00:11:53]>> It was Midwest region.

[00:11:54]>> Yes.

[00:11:55]>> Under.

[00:11:56]>> Yes. So okay. So you were Nigerian.

[00:12:00]>> Yes.

[00:12:00]>> Okay. You were not a ban. Okay. So now but you did not have the fear of the program that uh bearing some kind of you are Philip do as you do that the program will get to you. This is what I was going to tell you that and take Dr. Organ when we college boys had that organ had gone to the east who was a a member of the public service comm or cuz college people were not allowed to speak vernacular.

[00:12:43]That is how I lost speaking, writing ethic which was the first language I learned to read and write.

[00:12:56]>> Oh, >> I haven't been transferred. My father was transferred months just a few months after I was born. He was in customs transferred to Calaba. So you grew up speaking that I started school grew up and there were enough ethnic boys this correct if we were allowed to speak vernacular that I should not have forgot for instance I learned French as an adult few months I was in France 5 months but I've not forgotten read and write, you know. But so then I started school sacred art calaba.

[00:13:55]But when I was going from standard 2 to standard 3, my father thought >> a better school. So I went to hope.

[00:14:14]But a year later in stand at four, my father was transferred back to Lagos.

[00:14:23]So I then went to St. Paul's Catholic School >> from which I went to King's College.

[00:14:32]>> Okay.

[00:14:32]>> And when I was in elementary school, Zeke had come back nearly jailed in in Ara for sedition and set up the West African pilot.

[00:14:46]And in 1937 he also published Renaissent Africa which we all read and grew up with in which he was speaking of the Nigeria with his destiny you know helping to do as we believed for the black race before the 1970.

[00:15:22]What the Japanese had done for the yellow race who under the major spoke by acquiring western technology, western education, creating a war machine. So this was my dream and still this but and my brother being killed >> in the Sabba massacre.

[00:15:52]>> The Saba massacre was not really common knowledge until after the war when we got his diary.

[00:16:01]>> So you did not know your brother was killed in >> No, no, no. We were not sure. We knew that we didn't hear from him, but whether he escaped to this or not, we didn't know.

[00:16:17]But apparently was killed in Haba, but >> he journaled it. Yeah, because I haven't gone on scholarship Z scholarship to SOA where he did his university education.

[00:16:39]He really believed when said no power in black Africa that's rubbish.

[00:16:49]I had advised him, you know, and he had got a job in his old college as assistant house pastor with quarters and everything. If he didn't want that, he could have been taken in federal >> federal fire federal institute of uh >> research >> research >> in >> yes >> you know and I had another a full brother Alex who was in the air force and the air force was sent to Benin and that my brother wrote me that if he went in Ben he will be killed.

[00:17:42]So I arranged for him to have a formal transfer discharge from the air force and arranged for him employment in flower mills >> and to go abroad to train in flower milling technology.

[00:18:05]So if this was a promise if that my half brother was name Sydney >> Sydney Bosa if you had gone to Phro a year later he would have gone like a abroad for further development you will But surprisingly the mother and brothers and sisters who advised him to go to a Sabah and he didn't to worry or to teach in a school there before the Afans came and cut him there and then He moved to Asaba and I said is a sad story.

[00:19:08]>> It is.

[00:19:09]>> It was I kept asking various divisional commanders division three you know to look for him. It was later on when we came to see his diary that we saw that the last entry was October 6. And in one of the entries he has said it was unbelievable that the federal can push push off the beneable.

[00:19:49]He ran away from being killed in Benin by Ben people and he didn't believe Beni people could be dislodged.

[00:20:02]I mean that >> federal troops >> could be dislodged Bafas >> when they created the Republic of >> Ben. Mhm.

[00:20:14]>> Oh, he was part of that. He was not part of it. Okay. He wasn't >> okay. He >> what I'm saying is that he didn't believe >> that the Bafans could have been dislodged by the other government.

[00:20:26]>> So he he probably was caught by surprise.

[00:20:30]>> Oh, okay. All right. Now it's not understandable because and you know there've been some uh uh you know like not very clear understanding why um during the war uh you perceived ordinarily an ordinary Nigerian or IU perceiving you to be would be serving in the federal government capital >> and you know that asaba is not purable.

[00:20:57]>> Yes. And well, you know, this is a very hot debate.

[00:21:03]This is a very hot debate today. All right. Um, there is nowhere, okay, that an EU man from Eastern Nigeria is going to agree that Aaba is not EU or pure EU.

[00:21:17]All right. So that's why they still argue >> even Aguileri people.

[00:21:22]>> Aguileri across the Niger.

[00:21:24]>> Mhm.

[00:21:25]>> Okay.

[00:21:26]And as far back as below, where does Mab come from? Professor I I don't know where he's from. I know he's from Anra though.

[00:21:40]>> No, I amra. But the gall were on both sides.

[00:21:45]>> Yes.

[00:21:46]>> Of the river.

[00:21:47]>> Aguary.

[00:21:48]>> Yes.

[00:21:48]>> All that.

[00:21:50]>> Okay. So if you went to a Sabah 300 years ago, even >> 300 years ago, >> they'll be speaking what they speak in a book, a mixture of a gala and and because the linguist have through their research shown that IU Edo and Euroba were the same language until 5,000 years ago >> whereby migration and isolation >> cause intermingle.

[00:22:38]>> So you find basic words like >> in the in both land. So you heard him.

[00:22:48]That was Chief Phillip Asodu discussing and pouring out his heart to salvation Alib, the host of the legacy series.

[00:22:59]That video is credited to them and I give them full credit. But I want to hear your reaction. What do you think about what he said? He has even let us know that all this while we have been saying his brother died, his brother died, that he was after all his half brother. He has let us know that the person who died is his half brother, not really his brother. You heard him. So he also let us know that if he his brother had listened to him, he probably would have been alive now if he had listened to him and not stubbornly want to go and walk in worry. that he was surprised when Bafan soldiers were pushed out by Nigerian soldiers in Benin and then they saw his diary and realized that the last day he communicated with them was on the 6th of October. Remember the massacre happened on the 7th.

[00:23:53]So he was one of those who died in the Asaba massacre, his brother and he had the heart to still continue working with Nigeria and nearly 60 years after he is here on TV defending that decision to have worked with Nigeria. I want to know what you think about what Chief Philip as Yodu said. He is one of the super palm sex those who welcomed Goan when he returned from Aburi and you know the outcome of that welcome.

[00:24:26]Thanks for watching this very beautiful documentary. We will be doing more of these documentaries especially as we head towards the 30th of May the remembrance day of those who died those heroes and heroins of Eboland who died fighting for the Bafra cause. This is Senuan cultural forum and here we promote the rich cultural heritage of the Ebo people. You may be surprised seeing me in suits because I needed to talk about a super palm sec so I had to dress like a civil servant. Thanks for watching this very series. I will see you in my subsequent videos. Bye.