For those of us who did not witness the last world war but read about it , the daily cable news tv shows of the carnage going on in Ukraine being bombarded in the Russian Invasion of that unfortunate nation , is a grim and present recreation or simulation of what the last two world wars had been . To young people all over the world the carnage is a bloody baptism on what the civilized nations of the world can do to each other without any serious provocation . That we all , young and old, are witnessing this carnage first hand in our homes world wide is due however to the finesse , usefulness and beauty of technology especially satellite technology whose beauty and vastness can become questionable at times when you see the gory scenes of death , murder and mayhem bring brought home indeed , to those thousands of miles away , from the tragic scenes of war elsewhere .
The war in Ukraine and its spectacular , technological coverage, thrives violently globally , including Nigeria because it involves the nations that control world politics and technology in our present world . These are the US , EU Russia and the nations of the former USSR . Of course there are other wars going on like the one in Iraq , Syria where the capital Damascus is in ruins like the Ukrainian cities are going to be sooner than later . But it is on Nigeria and our wars with Boko Haram , bandits and armed herdsmen that I want to compare with the dazzling but heartless technological coverage of the war called the Russian Invasion of Ukraine .
In doing this , I will show that nations that have gone to war with each other or have experienced civil wars mostly do not learn from the history leading to such wars . Nigeria has fought a civil war but has learnt nothing from it and yet military historians have it on good authority that no nation survives two civil wars .The US and the Allies fought and defeated Hitler’s Germany , and the former USSR was on the same side as the nations of the present EU and US , but the tide has changed and the EU has turned on Russia the powerful runt of the former USSR which invaded Ukraine recently .
Nigeria on its part fought a civil war under military rule and used the three Rs of Reconstruction , Reconciliation and Rehabilitation to redress the ravages of war . Yet the animosities , ethnic discrimination and injustice that provoked the civil war have resurrected so vociferously that agitated and angry Nigerians are calling for a restructuring or a confederation because they fear of being accused of treason if they ask for a breakup of the Unitary government we run , when our constitution boldly proclaims Nigeria , the Federal Republic of Nigeria .
On the side of those involved in the Invasion of Ukraine , the US used the Marshal Plan to rebuild Europe and Germany especially after WW2 . Yet the US entered late into WW2 as it was foot dragging until Japanese planes bombed American ships at Pear Harbour . Just as the US is still doing on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine where its president says US troops will not fight in Ukraine and this has emboldened Russia and has demoralized Ukraine which is fighting for its life and has asked the US to do more than just imposing sanctions . Obviously the Americans are seeing the carnage going on in Ukraine and are thinking of another Marshal Plan which will be good business for the military industrial complex that have always dominated and directed American wars globally . Otherwise why cant the US and EU dare the odds and give a No FLY zone over Ukraine Especially since Russia has attacked while the US and NATO have refused to give Ukraine NATO membership . And yet Russia has attacked Ukraine in spite of or in the light of the NATO membership denial to Ukraine .
Again , in Nigeria the government is facing massive challenges on insecurity to its political control or authority but the government claims it is in control . The good works o f the three Rs in the aftermath of the civil war are being lost in the resurrection of secession in the East where agitators now set fire to police stations and attack government prisons with impunity . A former Head of State , a former military ruler and elected president , who as an army commander obtained the surrender of Biafra recently claimed boldly that the government is overwhelmed by the insecurity challenges facing it in recent times . Yet again the government spokesmen deny any shortcoming .
Anyway the civil war was predicated on the counter coup of July 1966 which was a retaliation for Northern military officers killed in the Jan 15 1966 coup that was the first military coup in Nigeria . The North has always been in power in Nigeria except for some brief periods but insecurity in Nigeria today is rampant in the North even though the Nigerian security apparatus is manned and led largely by well trained Northern Nigerian security officers .Most Nigerians do not like the daily killings which are reported more in Southern based National newspapers . To Nigerian southerners , the newspapers , radio and private tv stations bring the news to their homes just like the CNN , BBC and other big cable news outfit bring the Ukraine carnage to the global audience including those in Nigeria who can afford DSTV and its competitors . In effect then , Nigerians know that Northerners are being killed by bandits and terrorists and we see the displaced people in our cities and in the traffic and our hearts go out to them for our leaders and nation to do the needful and stop the carnage . Is that too much to ask for ? More especially that even former military leaders are lamenting that security wise things could be better handled to save extravagant and unwanton loss of Nigerian lives in the North . Certainly prevention is better than cure, although that never seems to be the lesson of history learnt by those nations which have seen wars before .
Some time ago as a staff writer in the former Daily Times I went on a sponsored tour to the former W Germany with its capital in Bonn . This was well after the WW2 and capitalism was thriving in that nation . I was told proudly then that German cities were [ and still are ] the most beautiful cities in Europe because they were rebuilt after the war by the Americans . I was particularly enthralled by Dusseldorf and the City state of Hamburg . That time the Germans were pacifists and would not hear of the formation of a large army . Two things have changed that now , namely the destruction of Ukraine cities with the prospect of their being the most beautiful cities in Europe after the end of this Russian Invasion . Secondly United Germany has more than doubled its defence budget after the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Certainly if Germany had been more careful with Russia in recent times or learnt from history that the leopard does not change its spots, the prospect of Ukrainian cities being blown up before our eyes and being rebuilt like German cities after the WW2 , would never have arisen . Surely history is repeating itself in a very sarcastic and awful manner right before our eyes .