Just
like the psyche of the average Jew continues to be teleguided
by the memories of the holocaust, the subconscious mind
of former Biafrans, particularly Ndiigbo, is still inhabited
by thoughts of an era in which their very survival depended
on the mercy of a ruthless conqueror. Former Biafrans
saw the creation of their own sovereign nation state as
the logical response to the cataclysm that faced their
citizenship of Nigeria where Easterners were massacred
and dispossessed in the aftermath of July 1966 military
countercoup. The rest of Nigeria, led by the military
junta at the helm of affairs in Lagos, saw it as its sacred
duty to scuttle the spirited endeavor to dismember the
newly independent nation. The ingredients for unmitigated
disaster were glaringly abundant right from the eve of
the Civil War. There were plenty of assumptions on both
sides. The Easterners, feeling justly aggrieved, reasoned
that it was their God-given right to seek self-determination
by seceding from country that had clearly reneged on assuring
security of their lives and properties. The Federal side
saw Easterners’ moves as the machinations of an
obdurate and misguided clique who wished to excise a precious
chunk of Nigerian real estate in the pursuit of personal
or parochial aggrandizement.
What
initially appeared to be a test of will between the two
military commanders at the head of government in Enugu
and Lagos quickly deteriorated into one of the worst human
catastrophes that Africa has know in modern times. The
presumptions on both sides that the other would soon call
off the bluff turned into a nightmare as both sides increasingly
dug in and became more entrenched with each passing day.
The expectation that the Biafran resistance would crumble
in a matter of weeks soon evaporated when the hurriedly
recruited and trained Biafran soldiers stifled the multi-pronged
blitz to take Enugu from the northeast and northwest axes.
The expectation by Biafrans that the West would quickly
seize the opportunity of national instability to secede
and declare the Oduduwa Republic was dashed when the Yoruba
massively enlisted into the federal army division that
orchestrated a marine invasion of Biafra from the south.
Federal troop occupation of the coastal parts of Biafra,
which is home to many ethnic minorities, did not only
increase the rate of defections within this population
group thereby further weakening the support base of the
secessionist struggle but it also completed the sea blockade.
With unrelenting military pressure from the north, west
and south as well as hunger, starvation and disease, the
collapse of Biafran resistance was only a matter of time.
For
a struggle that failed to achieve its primary objective
despite heroic effort, it is expected that the sense of
bitter relief that Ndiigbo and other Biafrans felt since
January 1970 will linger for a lifetime. For millions
of Nigerians, particularly former Biafrans, there has
never been any proper closure for the traumatic experiences
of the Civil War. There were noble pronouncements during
the immediate post-war period but almost all the principles
enunciated were left unfulfilled. The 3-Rs policy of the
Lagos junta; rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation,
was abandoned midway by an administration that was insensitive
to the needs of those whose lives were devastated by 30
months of war, starvation and disease. But Nigeria and
all its peoples managed to survive and move along, living
their lives the best way they could up till today. Memories
of the Civil War and the bone of contention at the time,
Biafra, are still alive in the minds of many. Whether
we choose to believe so or not, the consequences of the
Civil War live with us today because they are directly
responsible for the drastic geopolitical transformation
of post-war Nigeria. The schizophrenia that is clearly
evident in today’s Nigeria hinges on the fact that
a broad section of the citizenry, particularly the political
elite, are determined to continue to regard the Civil
War and the Biafran phenomenon as if they never happened.
How else could one explain the continued denial of stark
changes that the civil war experiences have brought to
bear on the prospects of the average Nigerian?
Any
society that is serious about nation building cannot afford
to fail to utilize its past experiences as guide in designing
the future. With the return of democratic governance,
a large number of Nigerians have seriously begun to search
for the ways and means to move the polity forward. Through
the decades of military dictatorship that effectively
muzzled political discourse in the populace, pent-up emotions
have smoldered underground amongst many groups who are
now emerging to publicly air their views as expected within
the framework of our newly refurbished democracy. The
Igbo political elite, for example, have used all channels
available to them to portray their diminished stature
at the center stage of national politics since the Civil
War. Some have asserted that an unspoken conspiracy by
their rivals in the North and West has been responsible
for a grand design to marginalize Ndiigbo in all aspects
of national governance. Superimposed on the repeated bouts
of civic unrest, which regularly took their toll on lives
and properties of Ndiigbo around the country, Igbo political
pundits have cause to call for a comprehensive review
of the Southeast’s future participation in the Nigerian
federation.
Most
people agree that finding a meaningful closure to the
Civil War remains the most important hurdle that Nigeria
must scale before it can extricate itself from the political
quandary that it faces today. The Civil War was a watershed
in the history of post-Independence Nigeria. The fact
that the circumstances around the Civil War are still
considered no-go areas in our national discourse could
be attributed to the legacy of military governance. In
retrospect, our benevolent dictatorial rulers believed
that ignoring the existence of a problem was as good as
solving it. Some considered the sharing of the spoils
of war, including creation of client legislative enclaves
to reward the good guys, as practical gestures that would
hopefully help to mollify all the pains of the past. The
most significant fallout of the Civil War is the arbitrary
radical transformation of geopolitical structure of Nigeria
by past military administrations. Out of the four semi-autonomous
regions that existed at the eve of the Civil War, we now
have 36 states that are virtually dependent on the central
government in Abuja for everything, including payment
of their civil service payrolls. In the apparent attempt
to devolve power, post-war military statesmen and their
cohorts have created an even more centralized control
in national governance.
Other
legacies of post-Civil War era include official corruption,
economic decline, deterioration of societal infrastructure,
general loss of innocence and pervasive moral turpitude
amongst the citizenry. It is easy to see that Nigeria
is heavily laden with the burden generated from a crucial
period of our history that some wishful thinkers would
prefer to sweep under the rug and plod along the uncertain
path to nationhood. In many minds, the Civil War is synonymous
with Biafra. The Biafran territory was the battlefield
theatre for almost the entire duration of the Civil War
and its population bore the brunt of that bloodletting
exercise. Citizens of former Biafra, most of whom are
Ndiigbo, still bear the psychological and physical scars
of a murderous war that has irreversibly changed everything
else in Nigeria. The generation of combatants that fought
the Civil War are in their middle age or older. Nigeria
owes this generation the onus of providing some type of
closure for the mayhem that they lived through in the
epic struggle to keep Nigeria’s territorial integrity
whole. Not doing so could mean one of two things namely:
that the Civil War has really not ended or that its outcome
is unworthy and irrelevant in nation building.
In
the meantime, the Civil War era is subject to all sorts
of revisionist contortions by individuals and groups who
often feel that, somehow, there must be ways to exploit
such human tragedy for short-term material or political
gain. President Obasanjo, for example, during one of his
many off-the-script remarks, alluded to the Civil War
as a battle for resource control. While this assertion
served whatever interest he sought to placate at the time
of his comments, the generality of Nigerians, particularly
former Biafrans loathe his audacity and simplistic conclusions
on an obviously controversial subject. That was certainly
not a statesmanlike way to address a subject that has
left bleeding wounds in the minds of millions of compatriots
who paid dearly during the Civil War. It was also not
a befitting requiem for the millions of lives that perished
prematurely during that costly war. Some politicians,
both military and civilian, have also on occasions sought
to exploit the civil war matter in ways that detract immensely
from the true significance of that national experience.
It behooves Nigeria to adroitly come to terms with what
that war was really all about because the status quo allows
for a void which is now being filled in ways that are
clearly counterproductive to the interests of all concerned.
But
nowhere else are the implications of the Civil War felt
more acutely than in the former East. With the defeat
of Biafra, the wedge between Ndiigbo and minority groups
of the former East has become widened and entrenched to
the detriment of interests of all inhabitants of the region.
Within the Igbo heartland, individuals and groups are
at daggers drawn because of the unresolved status of Biafra
and residual issues that surround the prosecution and
outcome of the Civil War. A viewpoint, which is typified
by stance of the Movement for Actualization of Sovereign
State of Biafra (MASSOB), calls for transformation of
Igboland into a resurgent nation called “Biafra”.
According to its leadership, the modern-day Biafra shall
be brought into existence through nonviolence where its
prototype was subdued militarily only 3 decades ago at
the conclusion of the Civil War. The overwhelming majority
of Igbo political elite envision the future of Ndiigbo
within the context of a united Nigeria for obvious reasons.
Within the pro One-Nigeria Igbo political alignment, there
are various shades of opinion as regards the extent of
autonomy that shall best protect interests of Ndiigbo
within the federation. For the average Igbo, the choices
are not easy hence the ongoing propaganda battle to mobilize
popular support for diverse entrenched positions.
Should
the Civil War and its repercussions, as important as they
are to the evolution of today’s Nigeria, be allowed
to continue to mire the development agenda of Africa’s
premier nation ad infinitum? The obvious answer is no.
The Civil War deserves more honor and respect from all
and sundry that it gets at the moment. Tragically, everyone
appears to be more interested in exploiting it rather
than according it the reverence that it rightly deserves
in the lives of all whose destiny have been irreversibly
changed in its wake. If Nigerians have learnt no enduring
lessons from the bloodbath that extinguished lifetime
prospects of millions of fellow compatriots, then maybe
the Civil War should never have been fought. The war did
not only happen, but it also resulted in a total transformation
of all aspects of the Nigerian society since its conclusion.
The Civil War may have been a great teacher but we, its
survivors, are obviously slow students of history. How
else can one begin to rationalize the lackadaisical attitude
with which we trivialize an experience that affected millions
of lives directly while rocking the very foundations of
Africa’s most populous nation state to the point
of near total collapse?
One
indubitable fact about the Civil War is that no sane Nigerian
is advocating for its repeat at this time in spite of
all the daunting myriad of problems that confront us as
a people. There may be a lot of saber rattling from competing
interest groups that comprise Nigeria but it is obvious
that no single entity or group is willing or able to press
for agenda that can lead to open hostilities reminiscent
of the Civil War. The challenge that confronts us as Africans
and Nigerians in the 21st Century is to devise the means
to make our unpalatable history and cultural diversity
to work in our favor, for a change. The bellicose rhetoric
that emanate from rival interest groups may be pleasing
to the ears of the immediate target audiences who often
feel that their ills are the handiwork of others. Currently,
it has become fashionable to be identified as parochial
champions of ethnopolitical causes. This is understandable
because of the pernicious nature of the crippling crises
that continuously torment Nigeria. Some have proffered
laudable ideas for defanging the monster that threatens
to devour the Nigerian nation and its peoples. The truth,
however, is that the complexities that abound in Nigeria’s
geopolitical history cannot be wished away overnight or
instantly resolved by dealing with single item issues.
The
Civil War should be made a focus for rallying Nigerians
once more for a new beginning. That historical watershed
has defined the world in which the average Nigerian lives
today. The Civil War, circumstances that precipitated
it and the enormity of costs for waging it must be kept
alive in the minds of the average citizen in perpetuity.
For Nigeria to move forward, it must establish structures
that shall help to honor the memories of fellow citizens
who paid dearly in the struggle to define the country
that we inherit today. That historical epoch must be etched
into the consciousness of the average Nigerian through
formal education as well as through creation of national
monuments and historical sites to honor the sacrifices
of millions of victims of the Civil War. The National
Assembly should enact and the President should sign a
legislation creating a National Memorial Day as a holiday
to commemorate heroic sacrifices made on both sides of
the battle line by fellow citizens during the Civil War.
Funds should be mobilized by all levels of government
in collaboration the with the general public, business
community and NGOs, for creation of befitting monuments
to depict the nation’s resolve never to repeat the
tragedy of the past in our collective search for a better
future. A history that repeats itself is that which was
ignored.
Three
decades after conclusion of the Civil war, an organization
has emerged to pursue the cause of articulating and presenting
the perspective of Nigerian war veterans. War Veterans
Social Welfare Association of Nigeria, which now boasts
of membership that runs into tens of thousands across
the country, provides an overdue organizational platform
for those who have physically borne the burden of nation
building through exposing their lives to great risks.
The rank and file of the veterans’ group cut across
all strata of the Nigerian society. Its leadership has
functional rapport with the government and the military
establishment. The veterans are destined to become a powerful
force, now that they are organized, in influencing the
future direction of the country in coming months and years.
There could never be a better way to truly understand
and appreciate the story of an event than to get to hear
the firsthand account of those who orchestrated it. Those
who are genuinely interested in seeking the way to find
closure to the Civil War and its consequences ought to
welcome and collaborate with this veterans’ group
as its agenda unfolds. Many groups that had attempted
to provide succor to disabled veterans encamped in Oji
River, Enugu State and elsewhere, now have a better platform
to make their contributions to wield a greater leverage.
The
danger of not properly memorializing the Civil War is
that modern-day sophists may continue to dissipate huge
amount of energy and time in trying to reinvent the wheel.
Some individuals and group may indeed be in complete denial
about what the war was all about and of course, its outcome.
The problems that confront 21st Century Africa are legion.
But the best brains that Africa can afford today are wiling
away their time, energy and God-given talents bickering
and pontificating on the purest way to organize our society
while millions of our kith and kin languish in material
poverty and accompanying sociocultural decay. Nigerians,
as a people, must quickly come to terms with reality and
begin to focus their attention where it ought to be, which
is addressing the daily survival needs of compatriots.
Our political pundits, particularly, should begin to disabuse
their minds of the notion that nothing good can ever happen
to our people until we first correct all errors of the
past. The world that we live in is a dynamic one. Life
is an ever-unfolding phenomenon. We should make necessary
moves now to put the past in perspective by etching the
relevant lessons from it into our subconscious while we
move on to the daunting task of seeking the means to educate,
feed and provide for our people.
A
collective project to memorialize the Civil War will serve
as an elixir that can soothe the pains that abound in
contemporary Nigeria. Creating a National Memorial Day
can become a powerful symbol around which Nigerians could
rally to establish a fresh confidence in shoring up our
collective destiny. Such a national day shall become the
only other holiday, aside from the Independence Day, which
is not religious in nature or reflective of Nigeria’s
Eurocentric colonial legacy. Establishment of monuments
and historical sites shall energize the tourism industry
and help in generating meaningful employment for localities
where they are located. The Oputa Panel shall soon submit
the report of the hearings it conducted to listen to inputs
from all segments of the polity. The expected verdict
should be that which can hasten the healing of wounds
and soothing of pain that were carryovers from a bygone
era. The task for the executive and legislative arms of
government should be facilitated through initiation on
a package deal that can be seen to be fair to all. A legislative
bill creating the National Memorial Day shall go a long
way in giving every citizen a new sense of belonging while
establishing a fresh basis for national solidarity.
Dim
C. Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi, is the archetypical Biafran.
But his take on the notion of Biafra actualization still
remains that it should be a mental and psychological phenomenon,
not a physical one for obvious reasons. As a good student
of history, he does appreciate that times have changed
and that only fools would opt to stagnate or retrogress
amidst a fast-moving global environment. The best way
to honor the Biafran cause and all those who have paid
dearly during the Civil War years, on both sides of the
battle line, is to memorialize that epoch of our history
so that we shall never forget to learn from our past experiences.
The human tragedy of the Civil War era ought to be seen
as the sacrifice for nation building. Failure to learn
from our collective experience so far detracts from the
import of that sacrifice. The blood of 1.5 million men,
women and children who perished as well as the anguish
of countless others who endured starvation, disease and
poverty during the Civil War ought to be consecrated and
enshrined in the minds of present and future generations
for whose ultimate survival those sacrifices were made.
Biafra and other relevant aspects of the Civil War shall
ever endure in the consciousness of all those who experienced
them firsthand. Achieving peace by finding acceptable
closure to our unpleasant past is the creative way of
dealing with the Biafra on my mind.
OKENWA
R. NWOSU, M.D.
Upper Marlboro, Maryland, U.S.A.
