Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says engaging in dialogue with those agitating for an independent state of Biafra is a sure way to resolving the issue.
Speaking at the Biafra conference in Abuja on Thursday, the former president said Nigerians must treat the country with care.
He said the country’s fundamental problem was that it had lacked national leaders.
“We never had a national leader. Our leaders at the beginning were mindful of their regions. That is our problem till today,” he said.
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”I have maintained that the young officers who struck in 1966 were naive but there were some element of nationalism in some of them. Be that as it may, it set us back.”
He said the Nigerian civil war showed the bad side of the country.
“The language used in the war did not help matters, the people on the Biafra side called us vandals and we called them rebels,” he said.
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“We thought we would end the war in three months, but it took us 30 months, and the federal side nearly lost it.
”Civil war is more difficult than fighting in a foreign land because we are fighting to unite.
”Even a soldier of mine who tried to rape a woman… I had to chase him with a gun. He did not succeed in raping the woman, and I did not have to gun him down.”
Obasanjo said some of those agitating for Biafra today lacked understanding of what it entails.
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“Some of the people agitating for Biafra today were not even born then. They don’t know what it entails,” he said.
”But I think, we should even appeal to those saying they want to go, we should not tell them to go, we should make them understand that there is enough cake to share. We should massage Nigeria just like in a love relationship.”
43 comments
The forceful and brutal marriage between three different Incomparable countries to form Nigerian is not working and our leaders knows that is not working why can’t they say the truth and save us all from this slavery the British put us.fifty years of one Nigeria still things are not working out, why can’t they decide let’s try the other way round which is dissolution to see if Africa will have peace. Even if we try remain one Nigeria in phrase for another fifty years we will still keep talking the same thing.
Bros, I’m on your side let us divide and stay on our own and Nigeria will be at peace
Your comment..my brother you are absolutely correct in your post,we cannot continue to be in solitude and slavery.
Biafrans youth dont need your national cake as of now what we need is biafra only,1967to1970 is not 21st centur,back of please.
Biafra wants to go, Biafra people wants freedom and nothing else, Obassanjo is just making noise which will lead us nowhere because we have no business with Nigeria as a country so let him go home and rethink about Biafra.
Asking Biafra to stay is wishing them death, Biafra and Nigeria are like light and day.
If Obasanjo is honest, he should answer these questions: where was he in past 47 years and what what happened to our cake? Wait o ! you want Biafrans to tell their children? That we are meant to remain second class citizens to a murderous African primitive tribes who are not smarter than us in any way, shape or form? Reasonable courts of your land have been calling for wrongly detained young Biafrans to be released from the custody of the DSS but they have refused. What are saying about that. The Hausa/ Fulani islamic government are begging to fabricate the appearance of weapons story at Lagos ports as a prelude to lies that Biafra agitators are importing weapons, what have you said about it. Let me be clear: the current plight of Biafrans have been internationlized. There is no way that what happened in 1967/1970 can happen again without consequence and I believe you know what the consequences are. Take to heart what Professor Streamlau fro South Africa has just said. At the time the Hausa/Fulani islamic army with active connivance of the Yoruba committed genocide against the Biafrans, such things were new and strange. Now it is so different. People can see you in your bedroom and anything you do or say will make international headlines within minutes. Be wise.
God bless you sir, the same Obasanjo who is talking here is the one who neglected the Biafrans during his tenure.
All this talk will take us to nowhere. Obasanjo, sir tell yourself the truth and save humanity because unless all of us die nothing can stop Biafra.
Obasonjo know that there is enough cake to share why is it that the cake was not shared since 50 years ago.what we need is marriage divorce. Biafra is what we want.
Pls let all belong to Biafra be allowed to settle in their promise land , it time to go now or never.
Is it now that u know that there enough cake to share, why wasnt it shared 50yrs ago till date, u better face reality that chasing shadow , u must know that there is no amount of preaching will stop or turn us back from getting our desired goal which is restoration of biafra nation, how on earth would a nation be forced to unite with other nations which has different value system . And u bored enough to tell us that u fight for the unity of this entity called Nigeria, which our fathers rejected in totality
The only thing it entails to have Biafra is a genuine intention or desire to have it. Nothing is easy, we know, Biafrans can survive any weather.
Thanks to Nnamdi Kanu and Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB. The message is a simple one, One-Nigeria is not by force. Tell the Nigeria law makers to move a motion for Biafra referendum or very soon, the UN will help Biafrans to tell them to do so.
Postponing the evil day is delaying Restructuring of Nigeria which if u give a careful study is the cause of the civil war.Give the Country what it want and set it fully on the part of Developments
Your comment..if Biafra should not go, pls help that the country is restructured immediately else you may kill more biafrans, even as many as you may want With your federal troops but they must go. A stitch in time saves nine
Arrant nonesense.
You see, what Obasanjo is saying is medicine after death, at the beginning he was useing provocating words against Biafrans knowing fully well that he and other southwest and northern leaders are not treating Biafrans as it suppose to be, so Obasanjo am sorry it’s too late to beg, Biafra all the way, no retreat no surrender
arant noncense
Circumspecting what he said shows his level of naivety and understanding of democracy and governance. Nation don’t go about sharing and looting. The richest people are in the private sector not politicians.Biafra agitation is to industrialize Biafralan,taking a positive leaf from Soviet Union.Nigeria was designed to loot and share.
Obasanjo, how many cakes did you and your people bring to the table?
Even if we didn’t see the civil war we have heard about the evil the allies of West and North did against our fathers that made them to engage their so called country to war and that same evil is done against their children after the war.So tell us why we should not follow the fate of our fathers who tried to selvage our future from the hands of our enemies but eventually died because of the wickedness done against them by some greedy white countries like Britain. Since these evil can’t stop we must fight for our future do,therefore OBJ we don’t need the evil cake now and never because it have be given to us.
Obj. Is a two side ways cutlass , he. That is kicking. Against Biafra is now prettending as if his on their side
No one is leaving Nigeria until the war is over,
Do you talk about national cake where are you last 47 years where is our share. Let me clear IT IS BIAFRA NOW OR NEVER.
Nigeria has no national leader and will never have national leader so let Biafra go that there may Peace in Nigeria . talking about one Nigeria you and I knew that Nigeria is not one and can never be one.
Will all these balabalabala, bring reconstructions,rehabilitations and reintegration which have eluded the south-East for over 50yrs now?
Obasanjo when you were a President did you talk of national leadership? To let you know we the Biafrans we dont need your national cake any more enough is enough we want to go
Hmmm. We biafran don’t need Your cake or what ever You called it, all we quest for is give us biafra and there ‘ ll be peace #freebiafrans
Division is only solution to Nigeria problems . Restructuring will not help. Obj is a hypocritical man.
When he was the so called Nigerian president what was his own possible contribution to unite Nigeria as one. None of our past leaders carried the Igbo along. So why are we wasting time here discussion an old story. I believe in hypothesis, Biafra most hold except we the Igbos die the same time. Even the military think they are wise they give the igbos little slot during recruitment while other ethnic groups and tribe received much slot than we. Thank God for the
Obj sir, where were u when G. Akaluka , Agbahime mrs were beheaded?, or would there hv been war if Biafrans were not masacred out of envy or if after the counter coup your bros was made the the head of state as d most senior officer after Ironsi. Would we talk of Biafra if sea ports in Biafraland were operating at full capacity and on and on. Obj Obj ObjYour comment..
if the igbos agree on obj speech did he think there will be no biafra again till this world end,is it now that he no that there is a cake to share ; let’s tell our self a truth or is it now u no that u cheat on them free the agitators let peace raign in this country u can hear if u did not see what is happening now ;when two elephant are fighting the grass sulfers it. there should be no war again ooooooooooooo
It’s all simple. Obj wants the agitation to continue. Can’t we all see it??
Your comment..Dissolution – they say no; True federalism- they say no. Then how do we solve the problem. Those greedy elites feeding fat from the statusquo will not let go. Yours cups will full one day. To be forwarned is to be forearmed
Why is Obasanjo behaving like Pharaoh,? Let my people go is the cry and someone is talking of cakes. There is no alternative to Biafra as an entity
Whether today or tomorrow, Biafra will come to stand. So why don’t we allow them go now?
Obasanjo, are you trying to save face before the Biafran people or do you want to mock yourself ?……
Nigeria is not a state or country but a land of treat and doom to us the Igbo and what it simply means is that we should stay and die in silent! God forbid.
Obj ur time Don pass. Go and sleep
i laugh when I hear marginalisation by the Ibos. who is fooling who? from 1999 to 2007 the i bos held the number three position in this country and produced a record five Senate presidents. a show lack of unity by one Region in eight years. biafranism is a convenient way for failed Politicians and hopeful corrupt ones to make cheap popularity. God bless Biafrans, but until we get it right, i withheld my support.
Your comment..God bless Nigeria .War is not a cake or jolloff rice War brings death which terminal end of everything and if this occurs the dead can not share anything, why can’t listen to ourselves in round table conference and do jaw job,my fellow men jaw job is better than war war, we can only know the beginning of any war nobody can predict the end.In history nation scarsly survives two civil wars If our time is almost off on earth why can’t we think about our children’s future A word is enough for a wise man l hope the government of Nigeria should look into the demand of Niger Delta youth who gave quite notice Northerners and Yoruba that if the Northerners withdraw their quit notice to Igbo people they also will follow
If we continue practice democracy which majority always win the vote and remain in cheating the minority and let Northerner alone rule this Country due to their majority forever it will not help us.Restructuring Nigeria is better by allowed every political Zone manage the resources in their land and make contribution to the Federal to maintain the Nation at large.
Pls my people said the truth so dat the truth will set u free. The truth of the matter is dat ” even since dis new regime” tins are been so difficultto the people of our Country Nigeria accept the “RICH ONCE” more especially to the poor ones who cannot afford to eat just a two square mil in a day. The Only Regime wer prices of food stuff increase more dan bf, d only Regime wer our Dolar fall, D only Regime wer d sick people in Nigeria recorded highest, D only regime wer d nub of death recorded highest, the only Regime wer after Court ask to grant bail to someone, Mr. president will tell them to still keep the person in prison, the Regime wer the Country recorded the highest unemployment, infact my brothers and Sisters dere a lot of tins to talk, then why not them ask or demended for Biafra for their freedom, when d dere Oil resources God give them ar been used to build highest houses and hotels in abroad by our politicians.My people enough is enough.
Guys can you advice if Obasanjo realy will help bring peace between Tigray and Ethiopia.
Tigray is under complete seige and people are suffering lack of food, medicine
Biafra-Nigeria looks equivalent to Tigray Ethiopia