War without end

By Alvan Ewuzie 

alvanatsun@yahoo.com

*Bombs still kill and maim Nigerians 42 years after the civil war

*Some found in Chinua Achebe's house

*45 thousand unexploded remnants still litter various theatres

Obasi Kelechi Vivian was nine years old in 1999. She accompanied her mother to the farm that year and as the woman got engrossed in weeding, a long object lying within the vicinity attracted the girl. She burrowed into the ground and literally excavated part of the object's remnants from the soil and fount it intriguing. Perhaps, curiosity or adventure took the better part of her. She began dissecting the object and touched 'somewhere'. The unimaginable happened.

The object exploded and she collapsed. A distraught mother let loose her voice in calling for help. When the girl recovered in the hospital, her right leg had been shattered. All efforts to save the leg came to naught. Today that leg is gone, amputated from the knee. A stump stands at her laps as crutches now help her walk. She has lost her right leg to unexploded bombs used in a war, which ended 19 years before she was born.

She said her interest in the war has so waned that she now does not want to know anything about the event. She does not know why the war was fought and as things stand, does not want to know. This happened at Ezinihitte Mbaise. In 1973 Ogueri and his elder sister, Adamma, walked on a bush path, leading to the farm in Ezeoke Nsu, Ehime Mbano Local Local Government Area of Imo state. His sister shepherded him out of the way of soldier ants. But she stepped on an object, Ogueri explained tearfully, and it exploded shattering her lower limb.

He escaped and shouted for help as he dragged his sister away. When they got to the hospital profuse bleeding had weakened her. Sadly, she passed to the great beyond from the impact of the explosion of an object later identified as landmine. Unintended war The forgoing represent a tiny segment of 516 victims of unexploded bombs and sundry remnants of weapons used during the three-year Nigerian civil war. It ended officially in January 1970. Scores of them died on their farms, some in heavily contaminated schools, used by the warring factions, That the explosives still lie dangerously on many farm lands, schools and homes in the entire South-east, South-south, Benue and Nassarawa States buoys opinions that the unfortunate civil war has continued unabated. Parts of Nigeria thus remain in war by other means.

But such unintended wars are global since abandoned land mines decimated over 20,000 in several war zones across the world, literally compelling 149 nations (excluding United States of America and a few others) to sign the Ottawa Convention on March 1, 1999, in Canada where Nigeria was listed as one of the landmine affected nations.

The treaty banned land mines as instruments of war. They remain potent long after the war. What Yar'Adua did When Nigeria signed the instrument of accession to the convention on July 2, 2001 and formally deposited same at the United Nations on September 27 of the same year, it meant that land mines ought not to be seen anywhere in the country. By virtue of that convention, also known as Mine Ban Treaty (MBT), the country got a deadline of March 1, 2012, to remove land mines from its territory. It was the late President Yar'Adua, who took the first step to remove the mines that had decimated people from the war ravaged zones.

This came 39 long years after the war when uncountable explosives had killed and maimed several victims. But the sad reality is that the country is light years away from being free from explosive remnants of war. Yar'Adua hired Dr. Bala Yakubu, a seasoned expert in the rare field of delicate extraction of land mines and removal of explosive remnants of war. Yakubu, whose firm, Deminers Concept, stands as the lone expert in West Africa and is highly rated by the United Nations swung into action. His team has removed land mines but they found other unexploded remnants of war. "I was amazed by what we found.

Many schools where students still go to school are heavy dump locations. As I speak to you, no less that six schools in different war zone states, exemplified by Aquinas Secondary School, Osu in Imo State, are still riddled with explosive remnants. There are several others like that. We had to cordon off some classrooms and told the school authorities never to allow students near those places until we remove the explosives' he told Daily Sun. Schools remain contaminated When this reporter visited the school, five abandoned class rooms were clearly marked 'danger zone keep off'. But the warning had been late in coming.

His Royal Majesty Eze Udo Charles Obinna, traditional ruler of the community, said explosives killed someone in the school in 1980. He expressed worry that the place, which was used by the Biafrans as amoury and manufacturing centre for war equipment, had remained largely unattended to although he expressed gratitude to deminers concept for the bit it had done so far. 653 unexploded ordinances had already been removed from the school. More litter the premises. A war ravaged armoured car still stood in the premises 43 years after when the reporter visited. In Benue State, people were shocked when unexploded war explosives were recovered from a school at the North bank section of Makurdi.

Several bombs were recovered in Kastina Ala, Aliade and Gboko, all in Benue. Contaminated locations in the affected states have been listed as Abia, 65; Anambra, 68; Akwa Ibom 53, Bayelsa 18, Benue, 18; Cross River, 67; Delta, 71; Ebonyi, 58; Enugu, 108; Imo, 87; Nassarawa, 2; and Rivers, 67. Farmers die on their farms The implications is that many farmers may well be literally planting on top of bombs that can go off with the right pressure as explained by Alloysius Akputu, chief deminer at the consultancy firm. At the Owerri zonal office of the Deminers concept Limited, Aloysius told Daily Sun that people ignorantly kept some unexploded weapons in their homes before the removal process began.

Field administrator of the project Dr. Emeka Uhuegbu, told this reporter that a contaminated location in Igritta, Rivers State, had been dubbed 'evil forest' and declared an anathema by indigenes, who did not know that explosions that greet them on every attempt to enter the place were unexploded remnants of war. "We have done a lot of sensitisation, which is why people call us each time they see such strange objects. But we need to do more so that people will know that some of them are literally sitting on kegs of gunpowder," he said.

He admitted that the initial skepticism by natives, who thought the demining and removal projects were a subtle way of taking their farm land, has long changed such that they are anxious to have the dangerous elements removed from their homes and farmlands. Bombs in Chinua Achebe's country home Several have been removed. Three 81 mm mortar bombs were removed from the country home of Professor Chinua Achebe at Ogidi in Idemili LGA in Anambra State. The Russian made bombs, according to experts, could turn the house to rubbles. Bombs were also removed a few metres from the country home of Chief Ikedi Ohakim, immediate past governor of Imo State. Some have been removed close to the Government House in owerri.

But the sad story is that Deminers Concept has been forced, as it were, to leave the various locations. They have not been paid.There are no funds to continue the job, which will take no less than two years to complete. "I am very concerned about the danger to which human lives are being exposed in the affected areas and I had to borrow money to continue the job, waiting for our payment. For now, we can no longer continue except we are paid,'' said Dr. Bala Yakubu, whose firm still attends to emergency cases.

''We have been incapacitated by lack of funds and I feel bad that unexploded remnants of war still litter many parts of the affected areas,'' he added. Nigeria failing the U.N. The situation runs contrary to Nigeria's promise to the United Nations as a signatory to the Ottawa Convention. Between November 29 and December 3, 2010, Ambassador Maria O. Laose, Director, International Organisations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented Nigeria at the 10th meeting of state parties to the Otawa Convention. In the meeting, she told the United Nations via a speech obtained by Daily Sun that the country was removing land mines and other unexploded remnants of war and that Deminers Concept were working so hard that the country was bound to meet the March 2012 deadline. She said Nigeria was truly committed to the letter and spirit of the Ottawa Convention. Lack of funds has thrown spanners into the works.

But a sore point in the entire saga has remained unattended to. Victims of landmines, said to be above 500, have been left to rot but the United Nations recommend that they be rehabilitated. Non of them has received any assistance from the government. This newspaper learnt that the Government accepted to rehabilitate them with a paltry N250.000 (Two hundred and fifty thousand Naira) each. The sum was included in one of the previous budgets but no victim of the lot we met admitted that he had received anything as compensation.

Authorities at Deminers Concept also say they have seen no such funds. But Dr. Yakubu told this reporter that he was aware of such recommendation but nothing had been given to him to pass on to the victims. ''Some of the victims now insinuate that we have held back to their funds, yet we have seen no such money,'' said Emeka Uhuegbu, Field Administrator of Deminers Concept at the zonal headquarters in Owerri. Court to the rescue A politician and human rights lawyer, Honourable Noel Agwuocha, has gone to court on behalf of the victims. ''I would not talk about what should be done to the victims since the matter is in court.

I leave the court to decide what should be done,'' he told this newspaper in Owerri. Agwuocha, who was former Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly, has also instituted a suit at the Ecowas Court against the Federal Government, insisting that the apparent abandonment of explosive remnants of war, several decades after the war, was inhuman. ''Our farm lands have been rendered useless by these bombs. These bombs last for 200 years and above as long as they remain unexploded. So, as they are all around us, it means we are living in danger. As I speak to you now, unexploded bombs recovered from the various sites are kept at the premises of Deminers Concept within New Owerri, near Concord Hotel and the Imo State Government, led by Rochas Okorocha, has not deemed it fit to give them a piece of land to bury them,'' fumed the lawyer. Elite indifference People at the Deminers Concept lament the elite in the affected zones, especially in the South-east, have not stood up to government to insist that these dangerous explosives be properly removed.

''The Igbo people of today are no longer the strong, hard-fighting people I knew,'' said Dr Bala Yakubu. ''They should have taken up this matter and ensured that these things are removed. How can I be the one to be expending my own resources, doing these things and they are not pushing for these explosives abandoned in their bushes, killing and maiming people, should be removed.'' Asked to recount his frustrations, Yakubu said outside the funds owed his firm by the government that has now grounded the work, one of his regrets is that he is not getting the kind of support he expects from the political elite in the affected areas.

''Why has a motion not been moved on such a serious matter on the floor of the National Assembly up till now?'' Asked Noel Agwuocha in continued condemnation of attitude of the political elite in the affected areas. Agwuocha says there is likelihood that President Goodluck Jonathan is unaware of this matter. Daily Sun learnt that top ranking politicians erected high walls when attempts were made to get them to champion the cause for the removal of the explosives. ''Some people at the ministry of defence do not want him to know this or they deliberately intercept mails to the president on this matter and ensure they do not get to him.

I do not see how he would know about this laudable thing started by late Yar'Adua and not ensure that it is completed. It will be politically dangerous if he ignores this matter, which even has international angle. I hope he does not because some people can make a political capital out of the matter. Those who block the mails to him on this matter are not doing him any good,'' said the former Speaker of Imo House of Assembly.

Victims in helpless mood However, the pendulum swings back and forth, victims remain at the receiving end. Their hope of new lives, consequent upon rehabilitation, has tarried in the realm of unfulfilled dreams.

Some still take pensive looks at their clutches and, perhaps, ruminate in nostalgia of their previous state before the ugly incident that deformed them. ''I have no house to live in,'' said Ngozi Okere from Uturu Ngor Okpala in Imo State, "and I know I would not be helpless to this point but for the way I have been disabled. Ten years after the war, I went to clear the bush in the village to enable me farm. As I was doing the clearing I hit on an object and it exploded and shattered my leg. My people treated locally but when the thing did not get better they took me to the hospital and my leg was amputated. If I was whole, I may have got a house for the family and me. I expect help from the government for suffering from the effects of a war that was fought when I was a kid. I am 48 now and the war ended 43 years ago.

Why should I be maimed as a result of a battle I knew nothing about? Now I am unable to take care of my family and myself. I feel very sad and I need rehabilitation,'' he lamented. Another victim, named Jude, told this newspaper that he had the injury that shattered his right arm in 1975. His father hired labourers to cultivate the farm. Jude accompanied his father there. ''One of the labourers asked me to give him water. I went to hand him water and his knife hit something that exploded. I barley stretched my hand to give him water when the explosion took place. It threw me off while the labourer died instantly. Later, it was identified as bomb explosion.

At the end of the day, I lost my arm. See what the explosion has made of me. I have four children and we have no roof over our heads. I am a produce buyer but now I have no money to buy any more and life is becoming increasingly difficult for an injury caused by a war that should long be forgotten. People like us remain permanent reminders of the war and it is only fair for us to be helped out of our predicament,'' . 

The victims have remained helpless. Workers at Deminers Concept have become vicarious victims. Their regional office in owerri lies forlorn. Over 95 per cent of their permanent and casual staff have been laid off. Only skeletal staff still report to the office.

But there are well over 45,000 unexploded remnants of war, waiting to be removed across 12 states in the country. 17, 522 remnants have so far been removed but many more still remain potent in the soil and may claim more lives or maim more people.

The government may dither on the matter but no one knows whose limb may be cut off next or who will be forcibly sent to the great beyond. From our findings, the country could be paid back for whatever expediture incurred in the process of removing the mines and unexploded renants of war. United Nations undertakes to underwrite such expenditure, which makes it strange that Nigeria seems to slack on the matter, thus making the 1967 incident to remain war without end.