A Lesson in Peace… or a Warning from History? 🛑
On the eve of the National Dialogue, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed posted about drawing lessons from former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo’s experience in the “Biafra Peace Process.” But history shouldn’t be rewritten for political convenience.
Obasanjo commanded the federal forces during the final phase of the Biafran War and accepted Biafra’s surrender. That war didn’t bring unity through dialogue. It ended after a devastating blockade, mass starvation, and the deaths of an estimated one million civilians, many of them children. Whether you describe it as genocide, a mass atrocity, or one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the 20th century, it should never be romanticized as a model for national unity.
If the lesson being highlighted from Biafra is military victory without equal acknowledgment of the catastrophic human cost, that’s not a blueprint for lasting peace. To many, it sends a deeply troubling message.
What makes this especially striking is that Obasanjo also served as the lead mediator behind the 2022 Pretoria Agreement that brought an end to the active war in Tigray. Yet instead of highlighting his role as a peacemaker, the Prime Minister chose to emphasize his experience from Biafra. At a time when trust is already fragile, that symbolism is difficult to ignore.
Symbols matter. While tensions continue between the Federal Government and the TPLF, the Pretoria Agreement faces serious challenges, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Tigrayans are still unable to return to their homes, Tigray itself remains absent from this so-called “National Dialogue.”
The TPLF must also be held accountable for any unilateral actions, forced recruitment, or political decisions that place civilians in danger. No leadership has the right to gamble with the lives of the people they claim to represent.
But the Federal Government carries the greater responsibility to ensure this dialogue is more than political theater. True peace cannot exclude an entire region, ignore displaced populations, or speak the language of peace while celebrating military surrender.
Ethiopia doesn’t need another Biafra. Tigray doesn’t need another round of mass suffering. And no political party, government, or foreign power should be allowed to drag our people back into war.
If Biafra offers Ethiopia any lesson, it is not how to force unity after unimaginable human suffering. It is how urgently leaders must choose inclusive dialogue, justice, accountability, and human dignity before another generation pays the price.

ALT A Lesson in Peace… or a Warning from History? 🛑