Babangida also said he would have become a civil engineer if he had not joined the military
By Kehinde Okeowo
A former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), has revealed his greatest regret while on active duty during the 1966 civil war.
According to him, fighting against his colleagues and friends, who were on the opposing side during the war was a sad experience.
He made this known during a recent interview with a Campus Radio, Search FM, where he also spoke about a wide range of issues.
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Describing his experience during the war, Babangida said: “It’s not a very nice experience I must say. First of all, you had people you went to school with, people you trained with, people who were your friends, suddenly as a result of the war, you find yourselves facing each other on opposite sides.
“It was not very comfortable but then, we had to do it. The purpose was to unite the country to keep it one not to break it. So that’s the uniquely sad aspect of a civil war and I pray, it never happens again”
Asked what he would have done if he had not joined the military, he replied, “I wanted to be a civil engineer.”
He went on to say he had to finish his primary and secondary school education in Niger State before joining the army.
He said: “Well, I think it’s…I was first born here in Minna. I can’t predict where you (students) were in 1941, but it was in 1941 in the month of August. I also started and finished my primary school education here in Minna and then went to Bida where I finished secondary school before joining the Army and received military training at the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna, Military Academy in India and so many other military institutions.”
