In late June, at a meeting with the College of Bishops of the African Church, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan made some interesting comments on the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70. Jonathan sought to compare the war with the ongoing conflict in Northern Nigeria, and the struggle between government forces and the Islamist militant movement Boko Haram. One of his statements ran thus: "In the North-East, it is almost like it is even worse than the Civil War because in the Civil War, you know if you are here, you know the battle line, either a Biafran or Nigerian. You know where to run to. Right now, you don't even know where to run to because the enemies are in the Sokoto (trouser) pocket." This comparison, albeit a fairly limited and superficial one, demonstrates the extent of the concern that the present day insurgency in the north is causing in the country. Jonathan is not the only Nigerian to have harked back in recent months to the Civil War, which saw Nigeria's Eastern Region attempt to secede from the country under the leadership of the now deceased General Ojukwu. Famed Nigerian playwright and poet Wole Soyinka has also spoken out on [...]
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