Retired Brigadier General Alabi Isama, celebrated author of Tragedy of Victory: On-the-Spot Account of the Nigeria-Biafra War in the Atlantic Theater has narrated the extraordinary survival of his comrade, Major Uwakwe from Arochukwu, during the Nigerian Civil War.
Speaking on the Edmund Obilo podcast, Isama recalled how Uwakwe survived a devastating gunshot wound against all odds.
Isama explained that Major Uwakwe, a brilliant King’s College alumnus and his classmate, was shot in the back during combat, with the bullet exiting through his mouth, a wound that would normally be fatal. Remarkably, Uwakwe refused to die.
“He refused to die. We put him in the plane, he got to Lagos and they drove him off and he lived,” Isama recounted.
According to Isama, the determination and sheer willpower displayed by Uwakwe shocked even those who treated him. After being shot, he was quickly evacuated, placed on a plane, and flown to Lagos for urgent medical care. His survival became a story that inspired many within the army at the time.
The retired general, known for blending military history with personal anecdotes, noted that this was not just a tale of battlefield resilience but also a reflection of the camaraderie and urgency that defined military operations during the war. Soldiers did not only fight alongside each other, they fought to save each other’s lives.
Listeners of the podcast described the story as both harrowing and uplifting, a reminder that even in the darkest days of the Nigerian Civil War, human courage and determination could prevail. Isama’s recollection adds to the living memory of a conflict often told in terms of strategy and politics, but here, defined by a soldier’s will to live.
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