A
bill to establish a National Memorial Holiday for the remembrance
of all the victims of the Nigerian Civil War has been tabled by
a legislative caucus with operational contacts in Abuja and many
State capitals. This bill wishes to establish an annual holiday
which “will enable all Nigerians to honour the lives of their
loved ones who perished in the bloody Civil War that claimed the
lives of millions of fellow Nigerians”. The
National Memorial Holiday will also serve to remind all Nigerians
of the “cold realities of Civil War , encourage all Nigerians
to strive for national unity and to resort to peaceful resolution
of disputes on the federal, state and local government levels”
in times of crises.
The four-page document, apart from providing for the creation of
a national holiday, also empowers the President of the nation to
“establish National Monuments in honour of the millions of
Nigerians who lost their lives in the Civil War.” The bill
requires the President to declare major battlefields in parts of
the nation as National Monuments and also to “persuade each
State Governor to establish similar monuments in their respective
states as needed”.
As a tool for healing the pain of the Civil War, the bill has asked
the President to establish a “Civil War Reconciliation Committee”,
from all political parties and all geopolitical zones in Nigeria,
to address all pertinent issues regarding the Civil War. The Committee
shall be required to invite group and individual testimonies which
shall “focus on the causes of the Civil War, the massacres
of the Civil War, the tortures of the Civil war, and the necessary
reparations to be made by the Federal Government to the aggrieved,
if any”.
The return of democracy to Nigeria has provided a unique opportunity
to bring the issues surrounding the Civil War to a satisfactory
resolution. Some believe that failure to commemorate the Civil War
may be the reason why some parochial interest groups still embark
on agenda that can result in a rehash of the tragedies of that traumatic
epoch of our history. Healing the wounds of the Civil War can provide
Nigeria with a fresh impetus to fully galvanize the collective energies
of all its people in facing many challenges that lie ahead. Many
notable political and community leaders nationwide have expressed
enthusiasm for the proposed holiday because it will be the only
other non-religious work-free day in the year that truly reflects
the real history of Nigeria besides the Independence Day.
