Obasanjo: We Shouldn’t Have Fought Ourselves During Civil War

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has reflected on the Nigerian Civil War, saying it was deeply painful that Nigerians ended up fighting one another during the conflict between 1967 and 1970.

Speaking in Abeokuta on Monday, Obasanjo who served as a military commander during the war—said civil wars are fundamentally different from external conflicts because they pit citizens of the same country against each other.

He noted that both Nigerian soldiers and Biafran fighters were compatriots, which made the war emotionally distressing for those involved.

“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 stressed that the experience should serve as a lesson for Nigerians to prioritize peace, dialogue, and national unity in order to prevent a recurrence of such internal conflict.

Obasanjo, a former leader and military officer, also revisited the turbulence that followed the January 1966 coup, revealing that he narrowly escaped death during the crisis.

He made the disclosure during an appearance on the Before Tomorrow Comes Podcast, explaining that the aftermath of the coup created widespread fear and uncertainty within the military.

According to him, former military officer Hassan Katsina intervened during the unrest in Kaduna, warning that staying in the city could be dangerous for his safety.

Obasanjo said he was subsequently moved to Maiduguri in Borno State for protection, where he spent nearly a month as tensions persisted.

“I would have probably been killed in the period of the coup, conflict, and confusion. But it was an officer like me, General Hassan Katsina, who said, ‘Oba, if you remain in Kaduna, we are not sure you will be safe’. And I was sent to Maiduguri… I was there for almost a month,” he recalled.

He added that he only returned to Kaduna after the situation stabilized and security improved.