Obasanjo picks lessons from nation’s coup past

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, reflected on the 1976 coup, saying many Nigerians feared the country would be destroyed.

Obasanjo, who spoke when he played host to the cast and crew of a yet-to-be-released film, titled 1976, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, said there were misconceptions about the historic event.

He explained that the misunderstandings arose because most of those involved in the coup were Christians and that “killing the Head of State, who was a Muslim, on a Friday, by a gang thought to be Christians, was a bad signal.”

There were questions like, “What will the coup amount to and where will it lead us?” the former President recalled.

After watching some scenes from the film, Obasanjo described it as “a mixture of sweetness and sorrow.”

He commended the team for the production, stressing, “The film will remind us that we should not go back to the dark days that put us in dilemma.”

He said, “We can have more of this, as there are more national issues that can also be portrayed. We are capable of the best and that is what
this film has shown.”

The executive producer, Tonye Princewill, said the cast and crew were on tour of the country to seek support and endorsement for the film billed to premiere in November.

He stressed, “The youth of today need to have a sense of the past, hence the resolve to have the film 1976, which is simply called 76.

Princewill said the visit to Obasanjo was important, “considering his position at that time in the country. We deem it fit to come and show
him the film and curry his endorsement, which as you can see we have got it.”