 Welcome back to The Breakfast Here on Plus TV Africa. Let's go a little bit back in history. I'm taking us back to 1967. It was on this day that a very, very sad three years of Nigerian history, you know, took place. The start of the Nigerian Civil War also called the Biafran War. It started on this day in 1967 and of course this was as a result of other incidents that are taking place months earlier and a fallout from the Aburi Accord which had, of course, had taken place on the 4th and 5th of July in 1967 also. The Biafran War, of course, the build-up had initially started on the 15th of July 1966 with the first coup led by Cardinal Zogo and, of course, other military officers. It was termed the Igbo coup and then there was a counter coup later in the year in May or July, I believe, of 1966 also that, of course, was called the counter coup, the reprisal coup that led to the killing of Agui Ronci and Fajri and a couple of other people. That was also led by, most of them, the Theophilus, Danjumar, Ulushegon Basinji and a couple of other people. The chaos, of course, that ensued after that, the killings of Igbos in the North and what they call it a program of Igbos in the North and then eventually the Aburi Accord which was meant to ensure some type of peace between both sides, the South Eastern side led by Ojukku and, of course, the Northern or the Nigerian side. That happened in Ghana on the 4th and 5th of July in 1967. But after that Aburi Accord, there were challenges with some sections of the Aburi Accord. I think section 70 and 71 and Ojukku had pointed out that these things were not part of the agreements that they had had and it seemed like it was a totally different draft that was put forward, different from what they had agreed in Aburi. And with some of all this thing, I think one of them was stating that, you know, a military administrator can declare a state of emergency across certain states and when they do that, they take control of those states regardless of whoever their governors are and they can be in control of those states for as long as they choose. And it was one of the things that Ojukku had pointed out that he didn't want as part of the Aburi Accord. Also, the withdrawal of Northern military officers from the Southeast and withdrawal of Southeast military officers from the North. Ojukku then also pointed out the way that he wanted the country to be run and wear their military to be placed at certain times. So those were some of the issues with the Aburi Accord. But with all of that, Ojukku declared Biafra and of course Nigerians military attacked Biafra and that went on for about three years 1967 all the way till the 15th of January in 1971. It was eventually called off. Three million lives were lost according to reports about three million Igbo lives were lost through the war and of course through a shortage of food. There was, of course, the destruction of certain bridges and a blockade of food moving to the Southeast. And those were some of the things that led to the starvation and the loss of that many lives. There was also the Asaba massacre. For other aspects of all these conversations, people have also, people from South-South have also stated that the Biafran soldiers also carried out their own atrocities against people who weren't from the Southeast and all of that. So, well, anyway, it was a sad moment in Nigeria's history. Still is. The sad part for me also is the fact that since 1967, 1970, we still see some elements of that level of hatred and division in our country today. In 2021, we still hear statements from the administration and from people who should know better that seem to point out those same divisions and still try to divide the country even more. That for me is the sad part of this conversation. Wow. The story of the Nigerian Civil War, questions about lessons, what have we learned? Because you still see the president alluding to that particular incident, alluding to that particular event in history and making threats. So, it still seems that we haven't learned much from that, rather than the conversations being nationally about unity and peace, it seems otherwise. And we just hope, really, that we can learn lessons from that and that, you know, the 2023 elections can be peaceful, you know, and will proceed in unity, love, peace, and oneness. And that the Huruba man, the Hausa man, the Igbo man, can appreciate the beauty and diversity and just move along and get along as one great people. And also, on this day in history, on 5.30 a.m., on the 6th of July, 2013, what happened today was that Boko Ram terrorist matched into a boarding school in a place called Mamudu in Yobes state. They assembled students and staff off that school in a room. They threw explosives in there and they basically killed those people. Some others died of gunshot wounds. It was a gory sight. You know, people saw 42 bodies. All international groups condemned this. Just talking about the United Nations, describing this as a terrorist attack, a very terrible situation. Parents struggled to identify their kids because they were burnt beyond recognition. Just imagine being assembled with your friend, your teachers in a room and, you know, boom, the fireworks go off and everybody's toast. It was a very sad day in Nigeria's history and people at that time regarded that as a reprisal for, you know, a military attack on Boko Ram terrorists that had killed about 22 people just a few weeks before. And it was a third, you know, Boko Ram attack in recent time, you know, in those few weeks in the community in Bonu state, in Yobes state. Such a very terrible situation there. A few months before in May, the government of Good Luck Ability Jonathan had declared the state of emergency in Bonu, in Yobes, in Adamoa. That didn't help so much because we continued to see these attacks in states in northern Nigeria. And if anything, the Boko Ram terrorist, despite thoughts and statements from the presidency of them being decimated, we still see innings of them being even emboldened. And I mean, talking about today, many years later, 6th of July, 2021, we're talking about stories here about, you know, how Boko Ram reportedly attacked a school in Kaduna state and abducted about 140 persons, 140 students. Just so sad. Different times, different tactics, you know, but still the same Boko Ram, still the same terrorism, still the same eyeswap, bandits, kidnappers, you know, different names that they are being called. But they're still committing, you know, about the same atrocities you're still hearing about, you know, villages being wiped out and people being killed, Indian numbers. And now it's spread across not, you know, Yobes. I think in 2013, I know that I think it was Burma and Yobes that were like the hot spots. But now it has gotten, you know, far, you know, beyond those areas. And it's still a very, very sad moment. I remember this story very well. I remember also the stories that were shared by survivors and how insane it is. Yeah, there were about five of them who also had gunshot wounds, yes. How insane it is, you know, that students who, or people who were in school, were all rounded up and killed in their school. And those who tried to escape the burning of the building were shot, you know, outside. It's just a really, really terrible time in Nigeria's history. But I hope that we heal. A few people have said it, that Nigeria as a country needs healing. Not from just, you know, the suffering, but there's so much pain, so much pain that Nigeria as a country has experienced that the country needs healing, the country needs therapy. There's no way that we can just move on from some of these atrocities. I hope that there is, in the future, maybe another similar or put a panel that people can actually come out to express themselves. And, you know, some of these things can be spoken about again. And we can all come together as a country and, you know, point out one or two days as a day of national mourning for the lives that have been lost, the injustice, the killings, the tears, the sadness, the pain that has been through Nigeria in the last decade. It is unimaginable. It can't even be described the level of pain that people have been through. And the failure also of government to address this pain and address this injustice. Not long ago, a couple of days ago, we were speaking about a 14-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet. The Nigerian government has not even been able to take responsibility for the death of that Nigerian. They've not even been able to see her life as important enough, as valuable enough to take responsibility for her death, regardless of whatever explanation that they want to have that, oh, maybe the bullet fell from the sky. Maybe, you know, someone was frying bullets next to a door and one of the bullets popped like popcorn and hit her. They've not been able to even take responsibility for that death. And that is the pain that I'm speaking about, the value of the Nigerian life that has been reduced to almost nothing. Nigeria needs therapy. You need serious therapy and it's not stuff that we can just talk about in the news and move on from. We'll take a break here. Our first big conversation today would be about the southern governor's meeting that occurred yesterday in Kina Laosa, Lagos.