We Have Not Learnt Any Lesson From Civil War - Kukah

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto State, Mathew Kukah has said that Nigerians have not learnt any lesson from the civil war that happened five decades ago.

Stating this while speaking at the Never Again Conference on Thursday, Kukah maintained that Nigeria is yet to recover from the hurts of the civil war. He pointed out that the country failed to embrace resolutions by the Oputa panel that were meant to heal the wounds of Nigerians.

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He noted that those resolutions were brought about by the Oputa panel, the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission set up by the Olusegun Obasanjo leadership.

Kukah stated that while the military began the process of nation rebuilding, things went wrong along the line.

“I have met a lot of people who fought the war who are full of regrets. There is a lot of resentment, anxiety and frustration that we have not learnt any lessons.

“Fifty-one years after the war, we are still hearing the kind of agitations that ordinarily, with commitment, dedication, focus and the right leadership, we should have put a lot of the anxieties behind us. Unfortunately, they are still with us.

“Oputa panel managed to generate quite a lot of data and information that academicians and policymakers would have used to ensure we erect the signpost saying, ‘Never Again’, because it gave us an opportunity, a mirror to look at ourselves after hearing from all sides but we didn’t have the discipline to follow through.

“We have not been able to forgive ourselves as a people. The wounds of the civil war have not been able to heal. Coups and counter-coups that followed were more or less miniature civil wars by themselves because they threw up the same contradictions, anxieties and feeling of divisiveness across the country," Kukah said.