Adeboye Shares His Nsukka Civil War Experience: How We Were Trapped

By Bisi Daniels

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, has revealed how he was saved by divine intervention during the Nigerian Civil War.

Appealing to Nigerians against reprisal attacks on South Africans over recent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa during the September Holy Ghost Service of the church at the Redemption Camp, he said his experience at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka has taught him that retaliation leads to escalation of crisis.

He said before his message for the service with the theme, ‘Lifted into Glory’,” I want to make a very special appeal to you; I want to beg you not to think of retaliation against South Africa. And I will tell you why. I have seen a bit in my 77 years on earth.

“In 1966, just before the Civil War, Colonel (he was Colonel then) Odumegwu Ojukwu announced on radio that he could no longer guarantee the safety of those who came from outside the Eastern Region; he told all of us who were not Easterners to go home. I was a student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Eastern Part of Nigeria) then.

“Our brothers of Eastern origin sympathised with us because our studies in Nsukka was coming to an abrupt end. The university authorities called a meeting after which they told us they were making arrangements to transport those of us who were not of Eastern origin back to our Regions.

“But then suddenly, news came over the radio that the students of the University of Ibadan had gathered all the brethren from the East and were determined to hold them until everybody from Western Region in our university had returned home.

“Immediately, everything changed! All our friends from the Eastern Region began to hold meetings as to how to keep all of us who were from other Regions in the East until the return of all of their own brothers.

“In my life, I can could count three or four occasions when I had known fear in the real sense of the word. I knew it that day!

“There was a man among us from Ekiti, who was noted for expensive jokes.
While we were trembling in fear, he said: “Well, my own case is simple, my wife has just had a son, if I die now, nobody will say I never came into the world.’

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