TheCable

Theophilus Danjuma, former minister of defence and chairman of Victim Support Fund, has blamed the late Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, leader of the defunct Biafra, for the bloodshed of the 1967-1970 civil war, which resulted in the death of nearly a million Nigerians from the southeast.

Speaking after a closed-door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan who paid him a visit at his residence in Abuja on Wednesday, Danjuma praised Jonathan for conceding the election, saying if Ojukwu had conceded defeat after the fall of Enugu during the civil war, many lives would have been saved.

“The outcome of the election and the manner in which President Jonathan conceded victory to Buhari is un-African. It is very important in the history of Africa,” he said.

“If Ojukwu did the same after the fall of Enugu, if he had conceded victory to the federal troops, he would have saved the nation one full year of bloodshed.”

Danjuma further said that President Jonathan had set a record “as something to be emulated by the rest of Africa and indeed the whole world”.

“It is an excellent thing he did,” he added.

Danjuma had earlier expressed optimism that the election would be free of rancour but cautioned politicians against provocative statements.

“I am confident that we would have a foul-free elections once the politicians campaign on issues not personalities and avoid anything capable of causing disaffection,” he had said.

However, he called on the authorities to arrest Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, an ex-Niger Delta militant, for making utterances capable of overheating the polity.

“The man should be arrested for his unguarded and reckless utterances,” he said.

“In a situation like this, the issue of entrenching peace in the country is what is needed most. We should not allow some miscreants to hold us to ransom. Nigeria belongs to everybody and we must do everything possible to safeguard her unity.

“As we are approaching election time, we must strive to ensure that important issues are thoroughly discussed but not personalities. We want have a perfect election where no one would have an axe to grind with anybody.”