Erstwhile President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has urged Nigerian leaders and the people to avoid actions capable of causing wars, which will in turn lead to loss of lives.
Obasanjo was speaking at Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State during the 2013 edition of the annual Armed Forces Remembrance Day for fallen heroes.
He lamented the loss of Force men during the Civil War and other international wars, urging the country’s leaders to avoid the circumstances that led to the Civil War, especially. He also implored them to remember families of the slain soldiers and take good care of them.
“Unfortunately, war is not a picnic. Unfortunately, when you engage in wars, lives are bound to be lost,” he said. “That is why, if as much as possible, wars should be avoided. For us in Nigeria, even when we were fighting along with the colonial power, we lost Nigerians in Burma, in East Africa.”
He recalled that since the days of the constabulary where the Nigerian Army started from, Nigerian security forces had been losing lives either in support of civil authorities or in fighting local wars.
“The aim of this is to constantly remember the sacrifice that they have made, constantly remind ourselves that they left families behind who need to be cared and catered to,” he added.
“It is to constantly remind us that whatever that might have caused internally, what led to the loss of lives of members of our armed forces, should no longer occur. That we learn from history by constantly reminding ourselves of the history of our country.”
Those who laid wreaths at the occasion include Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Brigade Commander, 35 Artilery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, E. E. John; Commandant, Nigerian Navy Seconday School, Abeokuta, M. A. Adetunji; and State Chairman, Nigerian Legion, Samuel Olaosebikan, among others.
Obasanjo rebuffed pleas by Governor Amosun and orther dignitaries — such as Deputy Governor Segun Adesegun and the Iyalode of Egbaland, Alaba Lawson — to lay wreaths in honour of the fallen heroes.
Obasanjo’s defiance was said to be due to his insistence that only those whose names were written in the event brochure to perform the wreath-laying ceremony should. Despite that the programme was temporarily halted just to convince him, he refused, saying his name was not initially included on the list.
