BY PATRICK MGBODO
EXACTLY 58 years after the Asaba Massacre, the commemoration of the incident was not without a sense of progress, as the people of Asaba counted a few gains amid solemn remembrance.
On October 7, 1967, Nigerian soldiers reportedly rounded up and shot hundreds of unarmed civilians who had gathered to welcome them in Asaba, in what has since been described as the first black-on-black genocide in history.
At the 58th remembrance of the genocide, the Asagba of Asaba, HRM Obi (Prof) Epiphany Azinge, SAN, said it was the blood of the martyrs that repositioned the town’s trajectory for greater progress.
While noting some of the losses caused by the massacre, HRM Azinge said, ‘’the blood of these martyrs, as I would choose to describe them, watered this land. Why did I say so? It was only after 1967 that things started moving on smoothly for the people of Asaba, and we started to progress unimaginably.
‘’Why did our town become the capital of Delta State. A once rustic town by the banks of the Niger River suddenly metamorphosed into the fastest growing state capital, not just in Nigeria but in Africa south of the Sahara. Why?
‘’Yes, it is God. It is our ancestors. But have we spared the thought to reflect that it was the blood of our martyrs that changed the narrative completely and turned Asaba into what it is today? So, there are some positive outcomes (from the massacre of October 7, 1967).
‘’Asaba has progressed because of the blood of our sons and daughters massacred 58 years ago. So, it is not a completely hopeless situation. What would Asaba have become without that incident? We can never conjecture, we can never project’’ HRM Azinge said.
The monarch further stressed that the martyrs of the Asaba Massacre would always be remembered and venerated, adding that the people of Asaba would continue their quest for justice, no matter how long it takes.
Among other things, HRM Azinge demanded that the federal government apologised to the Asaba people and also established a university in Asaba to honour the deceased, even as he hinted at plans to immortalise the martyrs.
Remarking, legal luminary, Chief Chuck Nduka-Eze, underscored the significance of the Asaba Massacre and emphasised how the rest of the world can learn to rise from the ashes of misfortune, just as the Asaba people have done.
‘’I believe there is a message that Asaba has for the world. There is a message of comfort that Asaba has for the Middle East. So, we have decided to take the Asaba experience and teach the world one or two things about mutual accommodation, about understanding and about resilience’’ he said.
During the ceremony, the names of some of the martyrs documented from the five major villages of Asaba were read, even as a minute of silence was observed for the victims of the Asaba Massacre.
