Nigeria is still in pains 50 years after civil war – Ikokwu

Guy Omenife Ikokwu, lawyer and member of inner caucus of the pan Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in a brief interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, in retrospect, said Nigeria has grown worse 50 years after the civil war. Recalling some of the events of those days, the war veteran urged Nigerians to avoid a repeat of the sad event. Excerpts:

As one of those who took active part in the civil war; may we know some of your special assignments then, and some of the things that transpired, from your own perspective?

Yes, as a war veteran and dramatis persona I witnessed it all. Zik’s version was a solemn truth. He wrote the Biafran Anthem lyric and got us the recognitions from African countries which no other Biafran leader could, but for most of the time he was incarcerated in the middle of Biafra in Imo State. He saw the real essence of the spirit of our people who were blockaded and agonised with the resilience of our people’s spirit. I was a commando regulator with our media which did most of the fighting motivationally esprit de corps. Inside the Bunker we wrote Ojukwu’s speech for the reply to General Yakubu Gowon which we approved on Blood Oath. Chukwumerije, Echeruo, Ekwensi, etc agreed unanimously. We informed Zik, Mbu, Okpara, Effiong, Achuzia, Okoro, etc, but Mojekwu as AG of Biafra went to Zurich enroute Ethiopia with The People’s General, Ojukwu and doctored Biafra’s response speech against True Federalism or even Confederalism similar to our slogan of ‘On Aburi We Stand’ by insisting that Biafran Sovereignty is Not Negotiable… We listened to the speech with the core Biafran warlords through Macpress of Switzerland in my War Information Bureau in Umuahia, sitting on the floor and fasting. That was the day the war ended because the Grass Could Not Fight Anymore and Starvation and Kwashiorkor were instruments of the civil war, plus financial penury, et al. Zik left for Addis Ababa in self exile in search of peace which has eluded us since 1970. The Generals and the Caliphate took over and Nigeria is still in pains.

Do you think any lesson has been learnt?

The lessons of the war have not been learnt as Nigeria is now the Poverty Capital of the World and we are plagued with monumental corruption, unemployment, environmental ravages, Illiteracy, diseases, decayed infrastructure, financial bankruptcy, unpayable external and domestic debts, and absolute misgovernance. We have now become the more intolerant of one another, and have been further pushed apart on account of religion and ethnicity.

A lot of people believe another civil war is not the option; what do you think?

This had been said even before now. The later day Ikemba Eze Gburuburu Ojukwu on his return from exile in Ivory Coast said we should not fight another civil war. But we have to stand up for our rights otherwise we are doomed. That’s where we are today. There is more insecurity in Nigeria today as there is no peace with rampant criminality, treasury looting, kidnapping, banditry, devaluation, depression, unviable budgets for 5years. There is no development. We now hear some people echo about ‘Arise oh compatriots without an iota of patriotism.’ They claim to be patriots but they lack the spirit of patriotism.

It is always said that Nigeria is lagging its peers in everything; do you think so?

There is no doubt about that. 59 years of Independence compared with Singapore and China which even share the same sovereign date with us; we have done badly and continue to do badly. We can only solve our developmental problems by changing our governance and constitutional system for the devolution of powers to our ethnic nationalities where sovereignty lies or like many other nations, go our separate ways in peace not in pieces. We should never forget the resonate words of our elders. When we fail to learn we shall always repeat the same mistakes. To be forewarned is to be fore armed.

The way things are going in the country presently, the anger and lack of tolerance for one ethnic group or the other; how can Nigeria be healed permanently?

Well, I am afraid. Look at the Amotekun and all the talks around it from various quarters; look at the Supreme Court’s rulings; look at the reply by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) almost saying that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) may have been compromised and giving indication that people are losing their patience, and that it may be ‘to your own tents O Israel’ very soon, and the media is being intimidated and people are no longer free to air their views as should be in a democratic setting. When you put all these together, you see that we are at the brink. Are we going to have another civil war after 50 years or do we in clear conscience arrange for how we can live together? This should be the question every true citizen of this country should be asking at this point in time.