The author of The Letterman, Musikilu Mojeed, has said that some of the numerous letters of former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, showed that the Biafran Army could have triumphed over Nigeria.
Reviewing the book during a recent interview on Arise TV, Mojeed said Obasanjo, who was a Colonel during the time of the civil war of 1967 to 1970 and played a major role in ending the conflict, wrote a letter to Nigerian authorities lamenting the Army’s fragility.
“If Biafra had worked harder, Biafra could have won the war,” Mojeed said.
“The letter (Obasanjo’s) suggested that the governor was unserious. Because Obasanjo was basically telling the government at the time that ‘we have a general lack of understanding about the war, and we seem not to know how to win the war. We keep saying we have not borrowed to fight the war. What do you mean? If you lose the war and you save the economy, what have you done for this country?’
“So, it gives us insight into the kind of organisation, the weakness even within the Nigerian setup.
“Maybe simply because Biafra had no enough arms or whatever. If they had pressed harder, the story might have been different.”
“The Letterman: Inside the ‘Secret’ Letters of former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo,” is a 492-page book that x-rays the role of letter writing in leadership, governance, and politics.
It focuses on Obasanjo and his fondness for speaking bluntly to subordinates, superiors, associates and foreign personalities – through letters not minding the reactions the letters might generate.
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