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.
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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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