By accepting an Igbo running mate and granting pardon to Dim
Chukwuemeka Ojukwu in 1981, former President Shehu Shagari showed commitment to
Gowon’s 3R – reconciliation, rehabilitation and reintegration –which was
announced after the civil war of 1967–1970. Unfortunately, Shagari’s government
was truncated.
Actually, as part of Gowon’s 3R policy,
dismissed Nigerian soldiers and police officers, who were members of Nigeria’s
security service before joining the Biafran side, were neither tried nor
executed for fighting against the federal army after the war.
In trying to heal the wounds of the war, in
2000, former President Obasanjo granted amnesty to these officers who were
conscripted into the Biafran Army. Ordinarily, these officers would have been
declared deserters. Unfortunately, pardoned police officers were not paid, even
after the military integrated all the pardoned Biafran soldiers into its
pension payroll system.
With Buhari’s order that the pensions of these
police officers be paid, he used a low hanging fruit to douse the notion that
he hates the south easterners.
Critics, who argue that the gesture of paying
about 219 Biafran police officers and their relatives is nothing compared to
the quantum of demands from marginalized Igbos, seem to forget the effect a
similar gesture had on Ojukwu.
On collecting his pension in 2008, Ojukwu
remarked: “This is one of the rare occasions, but it is one of those occasions
that makes one really feel proud to be part of this country. We have come
together again as a body and we can’t fail mentioning the singular honor that I
have been made subject of throughout this morning here…’’
An excited Ojukwu went on to remark: “In
ending our civil war, all I ask is for everybody to live up to the pregnant
expectations of Gowon’s saying about this war that there is no victor, no
vanquished. Those who think there have been vanquished I ask my colleagues on
this side to forgive them because on our own part we have forgiven everybody.”
However,Ojukwu lamented that it was improper
to still refer to him as a Lt. Colonel when he was a four star general in the
Biafran Army. But this was not enough for him to reject the check.
Just as Ojukwu’s spirits were elated by the
payment of his pensions, the Nigerian policemen who had defected to the Biafran
side would have their spirits rekindled when they receive their retirement
benefits.
But they are not alone. Many Igbos lost
everything during the civil war. For instance, many Igbos who had abandoned
their properties in various part of the country came back to them and found new
occupants. Since Gowon had approved and pursued the policy of abandoned
property, many of these properties, especially in Port Harcourt, were declared
abandoned properties and the new owners refused to hand them over.
Many had their careers and education
truncated. Many victims of the civil war, in the south east,withdrew from
school and never had the opportunity to go back after the war. Some are still
carrying wounds from the civil war, while many are still suffering
post-traumatic stress disorders.
President Buhari could do a little more to
address the some of the impact of war on the south easterners in order to douse
the resounding cries of marginalization. Some could be low hanging fruits which
could be similar to the payment of pensions he just ordered.
One place to look for low hanging fruits is in
the 1999 Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel) report.
The commission was to establish the nature and extent of human rights violation
from January 1966 (the civil war was inclusive) with the aim of pursing justice
and preventing future occurrence. The commission produced volumes of reports –
which contained atrocities committed during this era and recommendation — and
handed it over to government.
Unfortunately, this commission was later
declared unconstitutional. But the euphoria the payment of pensions generated
in the case of Ojukwu and other Biafran veterans shows that some little
reconciliation gestures – such that would have been recommend by the Oputa
Panel — could have lasting impact on the psyche of many.
The psychological effect of these amends could
go a long way in healing the country.
Culled from TheCable
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