Fifty years after the Nigeria -Biafra Civil War, Nigerians still have a lot of stories to tell about the war itself and aftermath of the war.
In this special report, our correspondent Ngozi Obileri had interaction with some of those who fought the war and lived to tell the story.
Today marks the fiftieth year of the end of Nigeria -Biafra civil war, which was declared ”no victor, no vanquished”, by the then Head of State General Yakubu Gowon.
Since then, Nigerians began to pick piece and pieces of what was left of the country after the war.
Some of the ex service – men were taken care of while some appear forgotten.
In Anambra state, none of the ex service men was celebrated or remembered until January 15 2015 when Governor Willie Obiano held the first ever celebration of the fallen heros from this part of the world tagged “Ozoemezina”.
Since then, the cenotaph where the names of the ex service men and war veterans were written at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square Awka has been serving as point of contact between the late fallen heros and where wreaths are laid in their honour.
One of those who shared his experience during the war is the traditional ruler of Awka, Obi Gibson Nwosu.
Narrating his experience, Obi Nwosu who quoted his service number as a the leader of the Biafra Air force as NAF 3, noted that he commanded several air force bases in the eastern region including the Uli, Uga, Uturu and Port Harcourt bases among others.
This he said was made possible due to the amount of ideas and trainings he garnered at Royal Canadian Air force Canada in 1962, when they were sent to be trained as the first set of Air force men in Nigeria, from where they were called to fight the war.
He said that he came back to Enugu in 1998, after being talked into coming back to Nigeria by the then Head of state and Commander in Chief of Nigeria Armed forces, former President Olusegun Obasanjon.
He called on Nigerians to resist anything that could lead to war, as he would not want to witness such again.
Contributing, the Traditional Prime Minister of Neni, Anaocha Council Area, Dr Anthony Enukeme, who was in his twenties during the civil war, recounted his ugly experiences during the war.
Dr Enukeme regretted series of setbacks the civil war caused the country and charged the youths and Nigerians to avoid acts that could ignited another war.
He called on the people to embrace peace and unity, while advising the managers of social media platforms to desist from spreading rumours that could lead to unrest.
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