Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that many of the systemic issues that plunged Nigeria into a devastating civil war in 1967 are still lingering within the country today. He emphasized that Nigerians must make every effort to prevent a repeat of such a catastrophic conflict, which resulted in a massive loss of lives and widespread destruction.

Obasanjo shared these reflections at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta while receiving a collection of historical research materials, eyewitness interviews, and video documentations regarding the infamous Asaba Massacre. The materials were presented by Chief Chuck Nduka-Eze, the Chairman of the Asaba Memorial Trust and the Asaba Image Branding and Project Committee.

Commending Nduka-Eze for documenting the tragedy, the former president highlighted that preserving the past is crucial for national healing and learning valuable historical lessons. While acknowledging his own involvement as a soldier during the civil war, Obasanjo noted that he could not provide personal details of the Asaba killings because the military operations in that specific region were under the command of the late General Murtala Mohammed.

He recalled that later in the war, he was tasked with major responsibilities aimed at ensuring no further massacres occurred, asserting that human rights abuses by troops were not tolerated under his watch. To illustrate leadership accountability, he shared a personal wartime account of driving away a soldier who was attempting to assault a civilian woman, stating that failing to intervene would have made him complicit.

He also noted that former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon had previously offered a public apology for the excesses committed during the war, clarifying that high-level commands never ordered or condoned atrocities like the Asaba Massacre.

Reflecting on a conversation with a former colleague, Obasanjo recalled General Gowon’s warning that Nigeria would not survive a second internal conflict. He stated that the country has already endured one war too many and labeled the prospect of another as entirely unthinkable. He urged all citizens to learn from past errors and collectively vow to ensure such a tragedy never happens again.

Providing background on the research project, Chief Nduka-Eze explained that the compiled archive contains heavily cross-referenced evidence, including testimonies from independent sources that paint a consistent picture of the horrific events. He described how civilian populations in Asaba were systematically gathered under tense conditions to pledge their loyalty to “One Nigeria.” Tragically, despite openly declaring their allegiance to the state, unarmed men were separated from women and children and executed by federal troops.

Nduka-Eze estimated that more than one thousand civilian men lost their lives in the mass killings, deeply fracturing the local community. He identified deep-rooted ethnic mistrust, unresolved frustrations from the country’s first military coup, and a lack of accountability as the primary drivers behind the 1967 war and the Asaba tragedy. He warned that these deep-seated ethnic suspicions predated independence and unfortunately continue to shape how different groups view one another in contemporary Nigeria.