Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that Nigerian troops should not have engaged Biafran soldiers during the Nigerian Civil War, calling the conflict painful because it forced citizens to fight one another. Speaking in Abeokuta on Monday, Obasanjo reflected on his role as a military commander during the 1967–1970 war and emphasized the need for national unity and reconciliation. He explained that civil wars are fundamentally different from external wars, as the objective must ultimately be peace and unity rather than victory through destruction. Both Nigerian and Biafran soldiers were citizens of the same nation, Obasanjo noted, making the war emotionally taxing for those who took part. "We shouldn't have fought ourselves. Civil war is different from fighting external enemies because at the end of the day, you are fighting your brothers," he said. The former president urged Nigerians to draw lessons from the war by prioritizing dialogue and national cohesion to prevent future internal conflicts. The Nigerian Civil War, also referred to as the Biafran War, was a deeply traumatic chapter in the country's history, resulting in massive displacement and significant loss of life.
Obasanjo's admission that Nigerians should not have fought Biafran soldiers contradicts his own historical role as a military commander who actively led federal troops in the war. His call for unity now stands in tension with the actions he once carried out in service of that same federal cause. A leader who helped enforce military victory must now reconcile that legacy with a plea for peace that acknowledges the humanity of those he once fought. This reflection, decades later, raises questions about the unresolved weight of that war on national conscience.
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