Fundamentally, a memorial is built to reflect on the past, address in good faith the grievances occasioned, ameliorate the trauma, and bring dignity and closure to survivors and victims, thus promoting equity, tranquility, and harmony.
The Nigerian Civil War was Africa’s bloodiest conflict; erupting seven years after independence at a time the hope and expectations of a society united in a shared belief of a profitable future for all, was cruelly dashed. It pitted brothers against each other and resulted in the death of nearly three million non-combatants.
The atrocity committed in Asaba by Federal troops during the Biafran War gained notoriety as a symbol of horror. One thousand unsuspecting defenseless young men were herded into the town square and brutally mowed down. This gesture of evil was only surpassed by the national amnesia that attended it for half of a century.
Herein lies the paramountcy of the Asaba Massacre Memorial Monument, trumpeted by an accomplished lawyer of ancient lineage and traditional Chiefdom of Asaba – Chuck Nduka Eze, motivated by his deep passion for justice and abiding love for the disadvantaged; a trait he inherited from his illustrious father renowned in the field of human liberty and the dignity of labour, and actuated by his profoundly poignant experience of witnessing his mother who was a victim of the atrocity.
The endeavour of the Asaba Memorial Project is testimony to the words of the Israeli Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer-
“Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.”
The notorious tragedies of history – the Holocaust, the American Civil War, the Rwandan Civil War, and the Killing Fields of Bosnia and their like, festered in consequence of the indifference of society. The ultimate value of a memorial is to attest to the courage of those who refuse to be silent and who uphold the values of freedom, accountability, and rule of law. By erecting a memorial to the Asaba victims, we not only honour survivors and those who have perished, we cast a stone foundation to an enduring edifice that symbolises Peace and Justice.
Today, Nigeria is riven by incessant violent conflicts and agitations that are a consequence of unresolved historical atrocities and inequities. The antidote is to address the issues with unrelenting candour. The Asaba memorial project is such an inoculation, and it could not have been administered at a more opportune time.
Mr Ademola Akinrele SAN
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