One of the participants in the January 15, 1966, coup d’etat, Col. Emma Nwobosi says Nigeria has retrogressed from the point it was at the end of the Civil War in 1970.
He stated this while reacting to the sociopolitical condition of the country, especially under the present administration.
According to him, marginalisation of some regions and other conditions that precipitated the civil war 50 years ago were still in existence.
Asked if the problems that caused the war have been addressed in present-day Nigeria, Nwobosi told Saturday Sun, “I would have loved that you rephrased that question to read: After 50 years, how much backwards has Nigeria moved? This is because, we cannot talk about Nigeria moving forward. The country never moved forward since then.
“In fact, if the country had stood still – marking time, it would have been better for it than the condition we find ourselves as Nigerians. We have gone terribly backwards after the war. Our status as a country is nothing to write home about. Things have so degenerated that sometimes, one would feel ashamed saying that he is a Nigerian.
“Look at current appointments in Nigeria, from the beginning to the end, they are all northern Muslims. I was laughing when I heard our people saying and believing that in 2023 an Igbo man will be made president. When a president in power does not allow you to hold the post of a messenger, then, you believe that in 2023, he will make you president. Sometimes, I do not like discussing the affairs of this country, because, they make me feel sick in the stomach.
“When we did the coup in 1966, they were saying it was Igbo coup, when they saw Yoruba Major, Hausa and others who participated. When we executed the coup, I had a Lieutenant officer from Urobo, who was part of it. Nigerians wouldn’t accept or tell anybody what caused the coup and the civil war; they would only say it’s an Igbo coup.”
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Nwobosi, a civil war commander, reiterated that Igbo people have continued to be marginalised in Nigeria, making calls for the secession of Biafra inevitable.
He urged Igbo people to speak with one voice to realise the mandate, saying Biafra remained the only hope for Ndigbo.
Asked if he supported IPOB and MASSOB’s agitation for secession, Nwobosi noted, “Of course, I do. From the way people of the south east are being treated in the present day Nigeria, it becomes evident that we are rejected, and, as Igbo adage would say, a rejected man does not reject himself. We cannot reject ourselves.
“We should rather work hard to achieve our own independence. I did the coup, I fought the war; I also want to see Biafra realised.
“This agitation led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a step in the right direction. He needs to be supported. I just wish our people would be focused enough to speak with one voice; not this person saying this today; and tomorrow, another person will start saying a different thing.”