One other Concept that fascinates me asides organized crime, is the concept of war.
War intrigues me so much that I developed a love for history just so I could study more about wars, the key players and their intents.
As someone who saw lots of violence related to cultism while growing up, I have often wondered why they just wake up one day and start wars.
Recently, I Visited the Radio Biafra Bunker and Ojukwu Bunker in Umuahia and once more, I was thrilled.
The tour guide, an Igbo guy, with smiles and a sense of pride in him, demonstrated how the bunker was built to protect, Okoko Ndem, Uche Chukwumerije and other Voice of Biafra and Radio Biafra broadcasters.
He further demonstrated how Ojukwu moved from the Radio Biafra Bunker to Michael Okpara’s house (makeshift Biafran State House) where Ojukwu Bunker was located.
He showed us a deep and Wide trench dug from the Radio Biafra bunker to Ojukwu Bunker. This was about 10 minutes drive if a road was built straight to the place. That’s like moving from Holy Ghost Cathedral to Shoprite.
While the tour guide beamed with smile for the bravery of his ancestors, my heart was writhen with pain for the sufferings of my ancestors.
I knew at that point, he was imagining the way the eloquent, handsome, tall, smartly dressed and soft spoken People’s General would jump from the Bunker exit into the deep trench, covered by grassess to fool the fighter jets above. He imagined how the agile Ojukwu would march in that trench. So he smiled.
On my part, I imagined how hungry Biafran soldiers who barefooted and probably haven’t seen their family members for months or even have unburied relatives, would carry picks, shovels and wheel barrows, digging that trench for hundreds of meters, while making sure it is wide enough to make the people’s general feel comfortable.
I try to liken then to these guys laying water pipes along the street roads in Enugu. How tedious the work must have been.
But they couldn’t be compared to the Biafran Soldiers. Those guys contracted by the water board are paid for their labour. They eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and some alcohol for motivation. The go home to their girlfriends, wives and kids, and they aren’t scared of bombs dropping on their heads while working. They’re only scared of that slay queen they toasted seeing them on duty 🤣
Again, the Labourers are doing meaningful works that would bring water to people’s homes and make life beautiful. They’re advancing civilization. While the soldiers were wasting their strength on a trench that would aid erosion later.
You see why war fascinates me? It brings movies to real life. Making you to wonder why men who claim to be wise, strong and intelligent, would wake up one day start a costly venture that profits no one and stands a chance to destroy all you’ve built for decades, if not centuries.
It fascinates me even more when I look at history and discover that humans have been more at war than they were at peace.
It looked more like, every point in time in human history, people were fighting wars. Deadly wars. More like one war leads to another and it goes on.
If you take a closer look at world history, it would look like history is just an official documentation of various wars in human history. When you study history, it’s all you see.
It’s always as if every time humans advance in science, arts and technology, they smile and then bring in war to destroy all of them.
Funny thing is that in most wars, thousands of people die, but those who started the wars are hardly killed in the war.
Another thing is that in all my readings, I have never really seen anyone who had enough reason to start a war. It has always been a very foolish and stupid reason, and after thousands have been killed, they’ll realize that they have been foolish and stupid. Then they end the war. Then when they’re bored, they start it again for the same foolish and stupid reasons.
The fact that humans somehow love war for no meaningful reason, such that all religions do not see soldiers killing opposing soldiers as a sin, tells you so much about how much humans love wars.
You know, Christian priests and pastors, imams and chief priests all join army and go to war, wielding guns and bombs and kill opposing soldiers whom they’ve never met before and never wronged them. Yet they have clear conscience and preach “thou shalt not kill” the following day.
You see? We love war so much.
Humans love sex, so pornographic, erotic and romantic movies sell more. But do you know their biggest competition? WAR MOVIES!
Tell me, isn’t that fascinating? That humans love something so destructive and non beneficial adventure?
What is it about wars that make people smile when they talk about it? I am thrilled and I am curious to know.