THE CIVIL WAR AND NATION BUILDING

   It was a bright Wednesday morning, 30th of May 2012 to be precise, with the morning sun blazing its radiance from the east. I and my father walked slowly along the lonely path that leads to our farm, as we often do every morning. Suddenly, my father stood still and exclaimed “WHAT A DAY!” and tears rolled down his cheek. Overwhelmed with anxiety and curiosity, I asked what about this day?  Then he began...

 Exactly 45years today a young bearded soldier in his mid 30’s, made a declaration in accordance with the advice of the then Eastern advisory council.

“I, Lieutenant colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles, recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters shall henceforth be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of the Republic of 

Biafra’’.

This declaration ushered in a 30 month period of war characterized by intense hardship, starvation, suffering and death, particularly in the Biafra territory, after an initial effort by the Federal Military Government to arrest the situation using “police measures” failed. It was really an experience which majority of Ndi-igbo, who were born then, will never wish for again. Young Nigerians from the Biafra region including University graduates and undergraduates, secondary school students as well as apprentice with appreciable body sizes were forcefully recruited in the Biafra Army, as a result of shortage of military personnel. This didn’t only lead to change in the course of life of the people, but also loss of loved ones as more than one million people died in battle field, or from hunger and malnutrition.

                 From his story, I realized that though the declaration of the secession of Biafra by Lieutenant colonel Ojukwu may be justifiable as claimed by many as it was aimed at protecting the life of his people following the massacre of approximately 30,000 Ndi-igbo in September 1966 in the North, it further deepened the Nigeria’s ethnic/religious tension and hatred created by the January and July 1966 coup and counter-coup. This hatred continues to linger in our present day society as its evident by events such as Sharia institution, Kaduna genocide/pogrom against Ndi-igbo, Sporadic crises in the once peaceful city of Jos, the plateau state capital and its environs, killing of Ndi-igbo in the North and the counter killing of Hausas/Fulani’s in the East and the most recent upsurge of attacks of the Boko Haram sects. All these events have led to loss of a number of friends, relatives and neighbours.

 Outside the deaths, economic activities have been seriously affected, as foreign investors are scared to invest in the country, while the ones currently in the country are leaving, since security is not guaranteed. Hence, increasing the level of unemployment and crime rate. The question I have continuously asked is:

“Were the GOALS of Lieutenant colonel Ojukwu and other aggrieved parties in Nigeria History so far, achieved by violence or war”?

Resources which would have been used in building a giant Nation is being spent on combating crises.

      Violence has never been a measure for correcting any form of perceived marginalization and deprivation of rights since 1960 but rather it has promoted enmity amongst us. Let’s give Love and Dialogue an opportunity to serve as a vehicle for peaceful co-existence and conflict resolution. Our founding father understood the importance of love. No wonder they adopted the national anthem, which made a national call for all Nigerians to serve their motherland with Love and compassionate fervour while recognizing the sacrifice of our national heroes in bringing this nation into being. Let’s exhibit this love irrespective of our religious or ethnic background so we can truly have One Nation bound in freedom, Peace and Unity.