[dropcap]T[/dropcap]ill today, I don’t understand the rationale behind the Nigerian Civil War. If the East had taken a chunk of the Midwest or West or those parts of the North having consanguinity with the Igbos, the war might have been justifiable.
The Eastern Region decided to pull out of Nigeria. They were not consulted before the British put this forced marriage together. They decided to leave after back and forth killings. There was no reason on Earth that could justify that war. They were not like Germany that took other people’s territory.
Even today, the mainstream of Northern Nigeria (The Fulani intelligentsia) do not even pretend to like the Southeast. What was it that made them decide to fight that war to keep Nigeria one? Look at General Buhari. Even a fool knows he believes in North, not Nigeria.
There has never been a more unjust war than the Nigerian Civil War. And to the spiritually minded man, most of the problems Nigeria is having today is as a result of our paying the price for the innocent blood shed between 1967-70.
If I was Ojukwu, and I was faced with the same options he faced in 1967, I would also have opted for secession. I may not have done it in May. I would have tried to get international backing. But I would have still seceded.
The Nigerian Civil War was not fought because the Fulani intelligentsia loved the Igbo. I put it to Nigeria that if oil had been in the North rather than the East, there would have been NO WAR. That war should be called the Nigerian Oil War, not the Nigerian Civil War.
Gowon was just a mere pawn. An inoffensive man that was sent packing when he outlived his usefulness to his masters. Look at his Plateau people. The way they are being killed and wasted is sad. The once strong Langtang Mafia has been castrated.
I was a strong believer in Nigerian unity until the 2002 Sharia crisis. The comments of General Buhari fed the crisis and led to bloodshed. And Nigeria elected that man in 2015. It is like a church giving her pastorate to satan.
Nigeria exists ONLY because of oil. Our unity is not LOVE based. It is OIL based. I saw that during AFCON 2013. Some Nigerians rooted for another country because they felt the Super Eagles were dominated by Easterners. The mentality that led to the civil war is still alive.
The population of Nigeria will continue to outgrow GDP. There will be an implosion. It is only a matter of time if we don’t restructure and I do not see the North agreeing to restructuring. Nigeria is a bad marriage no one wants but every one is too cowardly to say it.
Why Do Nigerian politicians like to pretend? So if you say the truth then you will not win election or they won’t appoint you as a minister? Look at how General Buhari has destroyed Nigeria. If we don’t talk now, we will not be any better than those who do.
To know how Nigeria has deteriorated since the civil war, consider that in 1967, our federal budget was comparable to the budget of New York State. Today, our budget is comparable to just the combined budget of the New York Police Department and New York Fire Dept.
My dear fellow citizens, look, let us start to tell ourselves some home truths. The last time Nigeria worked as it should work was in 1966. Ever since then, we have just been managing. People like Obasanjo tried to stabilise us. People like Buhari neutralised his good work
Until we go back and undo the historic injustice done to the Igbo and then fully bring them back to the mainstream and restructure Nigeria back to what we agreed with the British before independence, incompetents like Buhari will continue to thwart our progress.
Reno Omokri is the author of bestselling book, ‘Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years’. He is pastor and social media influencer. He can be reached via Twitter @RenoOmokri.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
