It is fifty
years now since the Nigerian Navy was formally presented with its colours by
Major-General Yakubu Gowon, the Head of State and the Commander-in-Chief of the
Nigerian Armed Forces.
The award of
the naval standard was made in acknowledgement of the Navy’s first operations
under war conditions during the civil conflict with the secessionist state of
Biafra.
Among the
Navy’s key operations during the war were its mounting and maintenance of a
littoral blockade of the former Eastern Region, as well as its participation in
the amphibious landing of federal troops led by Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin
Adekunle in the Bonny sector.
Note: My
father, Lieutenant Emmanuel Makinde, the Flag Lieutenant to Rear Admiral Joseph
Wey, can be briefly glimpsed at the 2 & 3-second mark behind Wey (left) and
Gowon as they stride up the parade field at the Naval base in Apapa, Lagos.
© Adeyinka
Makinde (2018)
Adeyinka
Makinde is a writer based in London, England.
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