It has been proved in many diverse ways that my belief in the unity and indivisibility of Nigeria is not, after all, a fluke. Without sounding immodest I wish to state that my sojourn in Umuahia Government House from 1999 to 2007 as governor gave me a privileged insight into the intrigues that dog Nigeria’s political life. In fact, the period under review also offered me the opportunity to relate to different people from all over Nigeria, irrespective of tribe, religion or status, and shared in their joys and sorrows. I won’t like to mention the horrifying experience I went through in the hands of my political adversaries, some of whom had wished me dead. It was in the build-up to my incarceration that the condemnable and repulsive massacre in Zaki Biam occurred.

It may be right, for the benefit of those who have just heard about Zaki Ibiam for the first time through this column, to recall what has today somewhat etched the name of Zaki Biam on the global map. It all started in 2002 when there was a bloody ethnic clash between the Tiv of Benue State and their Taraba State neighbours, the Jukun, in which many houses and lives were lost. Expectedly, troops were deployed in Jukun area by the federal government, ostensibly, to quell the hostility between the two ethnic blocks. Unfortunately, as eyewitnesses recounted, 19 soldiers of the deployed soldiers strayed into the Zaki Biam territory and were killed by militant youths.

This infuriated the military authorities who sent troops on a reprisal attack. The soldiers visibly incensed and acting on instruction descended on the once sleepy town and destroyed every life and property in view. The memories of the Zaki Biam massacre remain indelible in our minds. For me, it was a personal loss. Apart from losing a maternal relation, many of my close friends who come from that area suffered various degrees of personal losses. While some had their houses razed, others lost one relation or another. Information I gathered later revealed that seven other communities, sharing littoral affinity with the people of Zaki Biam, were also annihilated.

Today, blames are being apportioned as to the level of culpability of the military authorities and the people of Zaki Biam. Some stories have it that the killed soldiers were on an illegal mission, while some yet claimed that the youths of Zaki Biam mistook the soldiers for Jukuns dressed in army uniforms. But whichever side of the divide one belongs to the truth of the matter is that the sad incident should not have happened in the first place if the leadership at the centre at the time had taken proactive measures to nip the crisis in the bud. There are outstanding cases of ethnic disagreements between several border communities across the country with little effort made to resolve them.

The apathy demonstrated by the government of then President Olusegun Obasanjo was quite palpable. Indeed, he devoted more time to trying to entrench his political dynasty than maintain national peace and security. This was accountable for the restiveness that characterized our nation’s socio-political life then.
I wish to state without any fear of contradiction that what happened in Zaki Biam, including Odi in Bayelsa State, was reprehensible and amounted to genocide. I do not see any difference between it and what happened in Rwanda and Burundi. It tears my heart to observe that while the perpetrators of the Rwandan and Burundian mass killing are being tried at the World Court at Hague, Netherland those who destroyed Zaki Biam still walk the streets free.

It was, therefore, heart-warming to hear that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Luka Yusuf, recently condemned the Odi killings and apologized on behalf of the Army for the unfortunate incident. Though the apology is coming very late its import cannot easily be lost. The most remarkable message in that apology is that Obasanjo who was the Commander-In-Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces when the genocide in Zaki Biam took place stand culpable. Under International Humanitarian Law Obasanjo, just as Charles Ghankay Taylor of Liberia, should stand trial at the World Court at Hague. There is no reason on this earth Obasanjo should not be tried for the destruction of Zaki Biam and Odi and their people. Obasanjo’s actions in Zaki Biam and Odi violated Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol 2 (otherwise referred to as “war crimes”).

Let us briefly look at the charges against Charles Taylor by the Special trial Court and see if Obasanjo did not commit the same crimes, if not worse. According to the amended charge sheet released by the trial judge on March 16, 2006, Charles Taylor is standing trial for the following sins:
1. Acts of terrorism
2. Murder
3. Rape
4. Violence to life
5. Sexual slavery and any other form of sexual violence
6. Violence to life, health, and physical well-being of persons, particularly murder
7. Outrages upon personal dignity
8. Other inhuman acts
9. Constripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 into armed forces or groups, or using them to participate actively in hostilities
10. Enslavement
11. Pillage otherwise known as looting
Believe me: of all the past leaders Nigeria has ever produced Obasanjo remains the most notorious, dastardly, corrupt, despotic and odious. The man committed more criminal and punishable crimes than all his predecessors put together. How then can we explain his effrontery to still try to call the shots from his Ota Farms?
I am deeply pained that those who lost their dear ones in Odi and Zaki Biam have not been compensated in any way. It may surprise many people if I say that the restiveness in the Niger Delta was exacerbated by the Odi massacre. The genocide of Odi marked a dramatic turning-point in the crisis in the region.
In my assessment, peace can only be restored in the Niger Delta when justice, fairness and equity rule our land. There is no amount of money pumped into the region that will assuage the militant youths without true peace and reconciliation. The arrest and trial of Obasanjo for war crimes is one sure way out of the imbroglio.

As for the hapless victims of the mindless killings in Odi and Zaki Biam, I urge them to take heart and bear the pain with equanimity, believing that their tormentors will be recompensed at the fullness of time.
Apologies are not enough. I see it as a stepping stone to doing the right thing: bringing the perpetrators to book and giving the grieving relief in the form of monetary compensation. Compensation is the most auspicious thing to do at this time, no doubt, but it cannot, all the same, equal the lives that have been lost.
The lesson of Odi and Zaki Biam is simple: applying force is not the best solution to resolving any ethnic conflict. President Musa Yar’Adua was conscious of it when he directed that troops deployed to the Niger Delta to smoke out the militants be withdrawn. His action is not only timely, but portrays him as a listening and human President.

Is it not obnoxious and anti-human for a President who swore on oath to protect and defend the sovereignty of Nigeria to turn round to order the killing of its citizenry under the guise of enforcing national security?
The imprints of Obasanjo’s 8-year misrule loom over the country menacingly; and it will amount to a tragedy of epic proportion if Obasanjo is allowed to go scot-free from all the unforgivable crimes he has committed against God and man.