Air, Sea and Land by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Confronted by this situation, Biafran military leaders gathered all her human resources in form of engineers, scientists, medical experts, technicians, inventors, artists and handcrafts men and women, who came together and formed the famous Research And Production (RAP).
The political situation in Nigeria was so bad from 1964 – 1966 and this led to the first military coup de`tat on January 15, 1966, and the subseqent pogrom and genocide against Igbo people and other people of Eastern Region of Nigeria, following a second military coup (counter coup) in July 29, 1966.
As a result of genocide and pogrom against peoples of Eastern Region of Nigeria, the political leaders of Eastern Region logically decided to secede from Nigeria after the Nigerian Government renage of the agreement reached by both parties in Aburi, in Ghana. Consequently, the Eastern Region of Nigeria was decalred a soverign State of Republic of Biafra. A month and two weeks after the declaration of republic of Biafra, Nigerian military Government declared war on Biafra, marking the beginning of our National sadness and suffering.
BIAFRA RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION (RAP) - 1966-1970
Research and Production in Biafra started earlier than most people knew. Towards the month of July 1966, the Government of Eastern Region began earlier to assemble inventors and engineers. Before this time, a young second-year student of St. John´s Alor, in today´s Anambra State, in 1964, constructed the first functional rocket. The name of this boy is, James Achike, from Odekpe in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State. The rocket was meant to be a geographical rocket. After successfully testing the rocket by the then Nigerian military, it was decided to give this young boy a scholarship after completing his secondary school education. In-between time, the Nigerian political arena was getting so heated and toxic, the situation that eventually led to Biafra/Nigeria war. So, in July 1966, James Achike was invited to come to the Eastern Regional State House. There, he was asked whether he could reproduce one of the rockets he built in 1964. This, James gladly did at the then Government Technical College, at Enugu, the capital city of Eastern Region of Nigeria. James Achike´s newly invented solid rocket fuel was improved considerable. A few weeks after this, all engineers and scientists in all the universities and technical polytechnic schools in Eastern Region were assembled, and workshops were constructed for immediate research and production.
During this time, every experimental test was carried out only once, and by the second test, it was tested in the front line. So the researchers and technicians produced several lethal weapons and explosives that helped the young Biafra republic to defend herself from Nigerian military and her allies.
Because of the pressure on Biafra, more Igbo and Effik-Ibibio engineers and scientists in the United States of America and Europe started coming back to Biafra to join RAP. Consequently, RAP expanded into various branches according to fields of learning. This resulted in the establishment of about 32 branches throughout Biafra. There was a RAP branch for medical research and production, mainly for medicine and nutrition, another for Crude Oil and Palm Oil Refinaries, another for producing explosives and bombs. We also had a branch for missiles/rockets and related weapons like rocket rifles and granades rifles, generally known as Bazokas. Below is a surmary of my research work with RAP in both Portharcourt and Obizi in Mbaise.
RESEARCH WORK IN PORTHARCOURT
In 1967, shortly before Enugu fell into the hands of our enemy, I was sent to RAP in Portharcourt, by Colonel Aghanya, the military officer incharge of, and attached to, RAP´s research centres all over Biafra. In RAP centre, I invented new solid rocket fuels which was so effective that it was recommended for immediate use for operations in the war fronts. I used such materials that are used for domestic purposes, like grinded sugarcane powder, cassava starch, and so on. I constructed suitable rocket motors for these solid fuels. All these invention and experiments was done with RAP in Portharcourt.
My second research work with RAP, in Portharcourt, was the design and construction of new Form of OGBUNIGWE, The form was purely based on geometrical configuration which should give most effective wide area destruction when detonated. We named it OGBUNIGWE, which means, Mutual Multiple Wide Destruction (MMWD). It is more than ordinary land mines we had being using in war front though. The Life-Prototype was constructed by RAP in Dockyard, Portharcourt, in 1968. It was tested with my new explosives and the result was as expected. Immediately, this new form of Ogbunigwe was given to other RAP branches for mass production. This new weapon, Ogbunigwe, could be attached to rocket or jet propulsion device, as well as being used as land mines. Being under two Research Officers, a Director and a Manager, these inventions/designs were in their names, as is usually done in any research institutions and universities. I was only West African School Certificate holder at the time.
My next research work was the innovation of a new system of missile-rockets which I attached to a boat I constructed. I named this………..SEACRAFT MISSILE. This seacraft was tested and used to decapacitate Nigerian war ships and Gun-boats at the Biafran Sea shores. The photo of the Seacraft Missile, with other weapon systems Biafran scientists and engineers produced during the war was shown in Nigerian Drum Magazine of February 1970 publication.
I was not the only researcher working on new weapons in Portharcourt RAP. Other engineers and scientists were also doing successful research work. Engineers like, Engr. O. Odinwe, Engr. Nwaosu, Dr. Onyeachonam, and the technicians of Dockyard, Portharcourt; all teamed up in the spirit of unity and win-the-war effort. It was this brilliant team that designed and constructed a Life-Prototype of Under-Water Submarine. The submarine was designed to have shallow submerging capability. It was about 15 meteres long and 2 metres in diameter. After some failed tests, the engineers finally brought the submarine to float under the water as designed. Unfortunately, the mass production of this wonderful submarine was not completed due to the fall of Portharcourt town into enemy‘s hand in 1968. After the fall of Portharcourt, RAP research officers and technicians were moved to Owerri, and from there to Enyiogugu and to Amuzi, Mbaise. From Amuzi, some of us were taken to Obizi, Mbaise, to open another RAP.
RESEARCH WORK IN OBIZI - MBAISE
RAP in Obizi was established in Obizi Community Secondary School. It was headed by Engr. Edmond Kaine, from Ossamari, Ogbaru Local Government of Anambra State. My research work in Obizi was very intensive and challenging. In RAP Obizi, I designed and constructed missile-plane which was about 4.5 metres height and 25 centimetres in diameter. The wingspan was about 3 meters. This missile had additional 4 smaller rockets (Two rockets on each wing) that was designed to ignite by heat transfer system. Only the trial model of this missile-plane was sucessfully tested. My aim was to be able to bomb Nigerian towns and capital from Obizi or any Biafran town nearest to Lagos and Northern Nigerian towns. We were still planning for the production of the Live-Prototypes when we had to evacuate from Obizi towards the end of 1969, in December.
While in RAP Obizi, I invented new explosives and rocket fuels as well as perfected my solid fuel rockets, some of which was deployed in war front in Okpoala – Ngwa front. These were my last experiments and inventions before the war ended. Also, in RAP Obizi, we constructed high quality refinary which refines crude oil. Engr. Kaine, designed and constructed a functional centrifugal engine. It was the first ever machine designed and constructed in Africa, by an African. This engine was in its testing phases when we closed RAP Obizi. Other parts of RAP in Biafra did great research works, many of which are now in War Museum, in Umuahia, Abia State.
The reader must understand that I was a very young boy of about 19/20 years old, with only West African School Certificate. So, all my experiments at RAP in Portharcourt and Obizi was in the name of my various RAP Directors. This is normal in all research Institutions all over the world. Therefore, many, at least some, of the Biafran weapons you may see in Biafra War Museum in Umuahia originated from my invention and experiments. There were some other young boys who were very creative and inventive like me, but they were deployed to various RAP branches. All weapon systems that was from all the young inventors and innovators went under the name of our immediate Research Officers. This is why non of our names was mentioned as the inventors or innovators of some of the Biafra weapons.
The only difference between myself and few young inventors and innovators was the rocket I built before the war in 1964, and some other subsequent inventions and innovations I made in Biafra. I was known to Nigerian Government and some of the Biafran military because of the rockets I built in 1964, before the war which started in 1967. The Biafran military Officier who knew that I invented some of the weapon systems was, Brigadier General O. Aghanya. He was a Colonel and the military officer attached to RAP when the war broke out. I don´t know if he is still alive. My immediate Boss in RAP Obizi, Mbaise, was Engineer Edmond Kaine, from Ossamari, Ogbaru Local Government, Anambra State. I don´t also know whether he is still alive or not. But after the war, Engineer Kaine was the first Technical Director of Project Development Agency (PRODA), at Enugu. My immediate Director of research at RAP Portharcourt was, Engineer E. Odiwe, from Asaba, today´s Delta State. His second was, Engineer H. Nwaosu, I think from Orlu or Oguta………..I am not sure now exactly which of these two towns he is from .
After the war, Nigerian authorities searched for me and when they dictated where I was, they sent me to continue my research and inventions with the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos. I served there till 1975, when the pressure to rebuild the Ogbunigwe and other weapon systems I invented in Biafra (which the Nigerian authorities was aware of) was too much and which I catergorically refused to do. Because of this, I left Nigeria to Europe for further studies.
This narrative is based on my experince from that branches of RAP where I served. But all RAP branches ex-changed technological information and conducted some weapons testing together before sending them for mass production in various RAP production centres.
For the above reasons, I would like us to reactivate the spirit of war time RAP now without delay, especailly now that there is urgent need to defend ourselves as well as develop our technology for the good of Biafra and Africa as a whole.
