January 15th of every year should be a day worthy of note for all true meaning Nigerians. Two major events took place on this day that should be kept fresh in our memories.
On January 15th, 1966, the first ever military coup in this nation took place. It was quite a bloody one , as Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello, Premier of the Northern Province, and Festus Okotie-Eboh, Minister of Finance were assassinated. This coup lead to a major political crisis that eventually degenerated into a civil war.
Incidentally, on January 15th, 1970, the civil war that had ravaged our country badly, especially the south eastern part, and had led to the death of about 1 million Nigerians, officially came to an end when the Biafra Army surrendered.
We should on this day therefore thank God that the evil meant to derail our country from her glorious destiny was brought to an end the very date it was triggered, though four years later! The unseen hands of God is evident over our nation! We should use these days to learn from the mistakes of the past so that the adage that 'history repeats itself', will not become our plight in this nation.
We must not forget to commend the troops of the Biafra Army for the humility of heart to surrender, thereby allowing for the reintegration of Biafra into the Federal Republic of Nigeria where the truly belong.
We commend the Nigerian Army that fought to preserve the unity of the country of which we celebrate the 100th year of our creation as one indivisible country!
May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria! May God preserve the unity of our nation!
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