Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the Nigeria civil war between 1967 and 1970 had taught the futility of resorting to war to resolve the nation’s challenges.
At a townhall meeting in Lagos today, January 27, commemorating 50 years after the end of the Nigerian Civil War, the Vice President said that Nigeria cannot build a country devoid of any form of discrimination and marginalization with weapons of bigotry and hatred.
“The ties that bind us have survived the most intense disagreement we have ever known as a people.”
He said that what we all agree on is that the Civil War from 1967-1970 was a defining national tragedy, adding that it was a catastrophic conflict that scarred us as a people.
“Its’ cost in lives was massive, so was the cost in lost opportunities for national advancement. The spectacle of promising lives cut short in their prime, families ruptured, communities sacked and the environment poisoned by ordinance is one that redounds to our eternal regret.
“Yet, we do not remember this seminal event in our history merely to indulge in the futility of regret, we engage in the discipline of remembrance so that we can learn from history and resolve that such horrors will never repeat themselves again on our watch. And we must do so not just this month, our nation’s month of remembrance of our fallen heroes, but every moment of our lives.
“Indeed, the greatest tribute we can pay to the memories of those who made the supreme sacrifice for the survival of this union that we call Nigeria today is to ensure that the circumstances that led to the conflict are never re-enacted.
“We cannot change the past, but it is within our power to ensure that history does not repeat itself and that we never again confront the awful consequences of abandoning dialogue and letting our darkest impulses drive us.
“Sixteen years after the end of the war, Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu was asked if he thought the war resolved the issues for which it was fought. His reply is instructive, he said and I quote, “Wars hardly ever resolve issues. Wars are an aberration. Eventually, the issues still have to be dealt with.”
“In any event, it is evident that the cost of resolving our differences peacefully through dialogue is far less than trying to do so through war.”
“The ties that bind us have survived the most intense disagreement we have ever known as a people.”
He said that what we all agree on is that the Civil War from 1967-1970 was a defining national tragedy, adding that it was a catastrophic conflict that scarred us as a people.
“Its’ cost in lives was massive, so was the cost in lost opportunities for national advancement. The spectacle of promising lives cut short in their prime, families ruptured, communities sacked and the environment poisoned by ordinance is one that redounds to our eternal regret.
“Yet, we do not remember this seminal event in our history merely to indulge in the futility of regret, we engage in the discipline of remembrance so that we can learn from history and resolve that such horrors will never repeat themselves again on our watch. And we must do so not just this month, our nation’s month of remembrance of our fallen heroes, but every moment of our lives.
“Indeed, the greatest tribute we can pay to the memories of those who made the supreme sacrifice for the survival of this union that we call Nigeria today is to ensure that the circumstances that led to the conflict are never re-enacted.
“We cannot change the past, but it is within our power to ensure that history does not repeat itself and that we never again confront the awful consequences of abandoning dialogue and letting our darkest impulses drive us.
“Sixteen years after the end of the war, Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu was asked if he thought the war resolved the issues for which it was fought. His reply is instructive, he said and I quote, “Wars hardly ever resolve issues. Wars are an aberration. Eventually, the issues still have to be dealt with.”
“In any event, it is evident that the cost of resolving our differences peacefully through dialogue is far less than trying to do so through war.”
