BUSOLA Olagunju, daughter of the late
Brig. Benjamin Adekunle, has said her father never quarrelled with
former president Olusegun Obasanjo over their roles in the Nigerian
Civil War.
Obasanjo took over the control of the 3rd Marine Commando at Escravos from Adekunle who was popularly called Black Scorpion.
The former president then ended the war shortly after taking over, with the same marine commando.
During the one-year remembrance of
Adekunle in Ogbomoso, Oyo State on Saturday, Olagunju, who is a legal
practitioner based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, acknowledged that
there was a divided opinion over who actually won the war between her
father and Obasanjo.
She, however, added that it was never an issue between the two.
Busola said that behind the scene, Obasanjo and her father were the best of friends.
She said, “There is a historical fact
about who ended the Civil War. There is no rift or debate about that.
The debate is about who contributed the most between my father and
Obasanjo. That is however subjective. Some say my father had already
conquered the whole of Biafra and that Biafra was already like a tablet
of soap when Obasanjo took over from him. But even if it was a size of a
postage stamp, the truth is that Obasanjo took over when the war was
still on.
“This is another example of a public and
private matter. When my father died, Obasanjo was the person I called
in Nigeria. People can say what they want in public but privately,
Obasanjo and my father were friends. He (Obasanjo) calls my mother his
wife. My father and Obasanjo quarreled but they easily resolved it
without making a noise about it. I have a lot of respect for both of
them and I have my reasons.”
Adekunle, who died on September 13, 2014 at the age of 78, retired from the Nigerian Army in 1974 after 16 years in service.
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