The death of Nigeria’s former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru and ten other gallant officers through the ill-fated plane crash of Friday, May 21st was a great loss both to the Nigeria Army and the nation in general. May their gentle souls rest in perfect peace. Amen! So many stories were and are being written to make a good narrative of the circumstances surrounding the death of the former Chief of Army Staff. While some claims have been verified as true, others are false. This is not to announce that the investigations leading to the plane crash that claimed the lives of the former Chief of Army Staff and 10 others are over.
However, regarding the negative statement touching on the state of Biafra and Oduduwa republic being agitated for by two ethnic groups in Nigeria which was credited to the Chief of Army Staff, this refers; ‘two national newspapers crosschecked by ICIR, which reported the event on the 23rd of March, 2021, had no quote of Oduduwa Republic or Biafra in the reports being linked to Attahiru’- ICIR
The above statement serves to put the record straight in respect of the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of his determination to help the country achieve victory in the war against both external and internal security challenges. Similarly, more understanding can be gained from the direct statement of the late Chief of Army Staff as it reads: ‘The Nigerian Army under my leadership would remain proactive and jointly work with other security agencies to deal with threats facing the nation decisively. The Nigerian Army under my watch remains resolute and is poised more than ever before to decisively deal with individuals or groups that threaten the peace, security and stability of our great nation.’
The pertinent question to ask at this juncture is: are we of the opinions as Nigerians that the late Chief of Army Staff could have died for what he might have said either positively or negatively against the agitators? Regardless of what we think or our answers to the above question, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and ten other brilliant compatriots are no more with us but our challenges linger.
Furthermore, another dimension to the revelations coming from the death of the former Nigeria Chief of Army Staff is that the fight against insurgency in Nigeria is hypocritical. Honestly speaking, I am still trying to find a link between the announcement of the sudden death of the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau on May 19th and the untimely death of the former Nigeria Chief of Army Staff on Friday, May 21st. This is food for thought.
You don’t need to be blind to see that God is intervening in the affairs of Nigeria and with a strong hand as never before. I am using this medium also to applaud the position of the agitators for both the state of Biafra and the Yoruba nation as I also want to assure them all that June shall be the month of completion. The pronouncements of the Southern governors calling for the restructuring of the country and ban on open grazing in the southern states was also a welcome development.
However, the southern APC governors and leaders who also made a pronouncement against the separation of the country but endorsed the position of the southern governors on restructuring, devolution of powers and ban on open grazing also did wonderfully well. We are all moving in the same direction on different vehicles and will arrive in the same destination. Together we can say NO to servitude, sufferings and hopelessness.
By Samuel ‘Tunji Adeyanju
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