How Long Will This Be With Us? Obasanjo Laments Existence Of Civil War Triggers

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed concerns that many of the factors that led to the 1967–1970 civil war still exist within the country’s institutions and among its citizens.

Naija News reports that Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while receiving a historical documentation on the Asaba Massacre from the Isama Ajie of Asaba, Chuck Nduka-Eze.

Obasanjo said many of the grievances that culminated in the civil war had yet to be fully addressed and warned that Nigeria must never experience another civil war.

The former president also recalled intervening during the war to prevent a soldier from raping a woman in Asaba, noting that such an act would have carried consequences of command responsibility.

Obasanjo, who served as a military commander during the Nigerian Civil War, said he had always refrained from commenting extensively on the Asaba Massacre because the area was under the command of the late General Murtala Muhammed.

He further commended Nduka-Eze for documenting the events, saying the work would help preserve Nigeria’s history and prevent a recurrence of such tragedies.

He said, “We pride ourselves that we preserve the past, we capture the present and we inspire the future. We capture the past, and this is the past; we want to capture it, we want to know about it.

“I must confess, and you know that I was involved in the civil war. When people talk about the Asaba Massacre, I always confess that I cannot give details of it.

“Some of the things that led to the civil war are still on. Now, how long will this be with us?

“I was with a colleague when General Yakubu Gowon said, ‘We will not survive a second civil war as a country.’ I believe we have fought one civil war too many already.

“So, to say that we will have a second civil war, God forbid. Getting ourselves to know some of what happened, and to say, yes, we condemn what happened that should not have happened, and then make sure that we do everything humanly possible to prevent its recurrence.

“For us to be able to say, ‘Never again,’ what are we going to do?

“Thank you very much for making people know about it, for people to learn about it, and for people to take a vow that it should never happen again. I say to you, never. I will do everything possible to ensure it never happens again.”