Inside Nigeria
Buhari: Nigerian Army Was Soft On Biafrans During Civil War — All Thanks To Gowon
The Nigerian army was soft on Biafrans during the civil war, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday.
This, he said, was because the then head of state, Yakubu Gowon, issued strict instructions to the army that Biafrans were not enemies but “brothers and sisters of the rest of Nigerians”.
Buhari was speaking at his investiture as Grand Patron of the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) at the presidential villa in Abuja.
He said: “Earlier in my profession, during the civil war, I know how much sacrifice members of the Nigerian Red Cross and their international counterparts did both in the real front of operations and at the rear, on both sides. I think it is a lot of sacrifices because anything can happen to you in the operational areas.
“The risks they faced were real and I admire their courage and commitment to helping people who were in distress and were virtually in millions. Those photographs of people from the Biafra enclave spoke a lot.
“I remember with nostalgia the performance of the commander-in-chief, General Yakubu Gowon. Every commander was given a copy of the commander-in-chief’s instructions that we were not fighting enemies but that we were fighting our brothers. And thus, people were constrained to show a lot of restraint.
“The international observer teams were allowed to go as far as possible within and outside the front and I think this was generous and very considerate of General Gowon. He is a highly committed Nigerian.”
The civil war broke out in 1967 — after eastern Nigeria declared “Republic of Biafra” — and ended in 1970 with claims that millions were killed, mostly from starvation as a result of a blockade by the Nigerian government.
Anonymous
June 6, 2018 at 11:53 am
people can lie
Anonymous
June 6, 2018 at 6:43 am
Nigeria/Biafra war was the first in the history of the world where foods and medicines blocked was used, apart from bombing of schools churches. Children, Women and Elderlies was watched by the Nigerian and British starved to death. Buhari is hungry to eliminate all Biafrans which God didn’t allow them succeeded during the 3yrs war. The worst war crime is committed by British and Nigeria against the Biafrans.
Anonymous
June 5, 2018 at 5:54 pm
Are saying this for us to forget our quest for Biafra, GOD FORBID bad thing, we are not backing out, on Biafra we stand, reminding us of the past will not stop us from achieving our aim ie restoration of our dear father land
Anonymous
June 5, 2018 at 4:06 pm
Stupid old fool who calls himself buhari
Anonymous
June 5, 2018 at 1:04 pm
Mumu
Anonymous
June 5, 2018 at 11:42 am
We all witness your softness with Ipob
Anonymous
June 5, 2018 at 11:03 am
so you are soft to Biafra’s and you kill over 6 million people, my dear you are a monster
Anonymous
June 5, 2018 at 10:54 am
You killed over 6 millions Biafra people under your soft
Anonymous
June 5, 2018 at 10:43 am
That the Nigerian Army was restrained when fighting the Biafrans is a lie – Fani-Kayode.
Former Minister of Aviation and a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has tackled President Muhammadu Buhari for saying that the Nigerian Army was not hard on the separatist agitation of Biafrans during the 30 months civil war.
But Fani-Kayode on his Twitter handle said ‘One of the most wicked and despicable lies that @MBuhari has ever told is that the Nigerian Army was restrained when fighting the Biafrans during the civil war. This is a lie from the pit of hell and it is insulting and deeply offensive.
‘We must learn from our history and never repeat its mistakes. Was the Asaba massacre in which thousands of young boys and old men were slaughtered an act of restraint?
‘Or was the killing of 2 million innocent Biafran civilians and the starving to death of 1 million Biafran children an act of restraint?
‘For God sake where is our humanity? Must we lie even about our history and try to revise it?
‘No wonder they banned the teaching of history in our schools. Too much to hide!
‘The truth is that if not for the fact that the same group of people have called the shots in our country since 1966 every single commander of the Nig. Army during the civil war including @MBuhari, would have been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Int. Court of Justice at the Hague by now for the atrocities they committed against the Igbo race and the Biafrans during the civil war.
‘I don’t need to be an Igbo to admit that.
‘I just need to be an honest and objective historian and a God-fearing citizen of the world.We must ask God to forgive us for what we did to the civilian population in Biafra and we must NEVER allow such a thing to happen again.
‘Until that is done Nig. will neither know peace or meaningful progress.War is one thing but the targeting of innocent and defenseless civilians, including women and children, for ethnic cleansing, genocide and mass murder and is another!.