Changing An Historical Event From Happening

This last edition prompt had me thinking what would I do if I had the opportunity to time travel to the past and stop a historical event from happening? Preventing it so it doesn't do much hurt as it has already which my country (Nigeria) is still suffering from today. I remembered stories about the Biafran war we were told while growing up and still got to hear it more often everywhere.

Inspired by this prompt, I decided to dig in more to learn about the war and the consequences of that tragic event in our history. The Biafra War also known as the Nigerian Civil War was one of the most haunting chapters of Nigerian history. This happened from the year 1967 to 1970 which led to the death of over a million people due to the conflict that became brutal.

The war was said to be caused by ethnic divisions where the Igbo people in the South East of Nigeria felt they could no longer coexist with a federal government dominated by the Northerns. This led to a division, making the Igbo people feel unsafe. When the Eastern Region declared itself the Independent Republic of Biafra, the Nigerian government were opposed to such an idea and was determined to preserve unity in the nation.

The aftermath of the war left scars that have yet to fully heal. It was a story of survival and resilience. Even though the conflict ended over 50 years ago, its impact is still greatly felt in the mistrust, inequality and lack of unity that has invaded the nation. So, I wonder, if I had the power to time travel to the past and stop the war from happening, would I accept it?

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This is a difficult question because the war turned Nigeria into what it is today. Let's imagine that the war never happened. Perhaps those who died wouldn't have and would have been saved. That might change something, you know? Who wants war to happen, knowing how devastating it could have on the victims.

But in another sense, it might be possible that while trying to prevent the war, it could have led to different consequences - you see, this is a 50/50 attempt. It might be like risking the life of the country as it might lead to a complete disintegration of Nigeria.

If I had the opportunity, what I would focus on is addressing the root causes of the war before it escalate. I believe the factors that fueled the fire were tensions in the ethnic groups, not sharing the resource allocation equally and the failures of the leadership. These are what caused the war, and preventing it on time could have stopped it.

Imagine a scenario where these issues are resolved through soft dialogue, reforms and genuine intentions and efforts to bring unity to the people. Another question that arises is: could this action have created a stronger Nigeria?

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But then I don't think time travelling would guarantee the success of it. History is delicate and even the tiny change could have ripple effects far beyond what I could envisage. What if my actions unintentionally led to prolonged instability, or worst of it all, gave room for external powers to exploit a damaged Nigeria?

To be sincere, the lesson to take from this is what can still be learned rather than what could have been changed. The scars the Nigerian Civil War left serve as a reminder of the cost of division and poor leadership.

Instead, what we should be focusing on is how to spend our energy shaping the future and not dreaming of changing the past because it has happened. I may not be able to rewrite history but I can stand for a better Nigeria where unity and equity stand strongly.

The truth is, we can't change the past but the future can be secured. So, focusing on being united to make changes is the best.

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_{Information about the Biafran war gotten from here
The images were imagined with Meta AI}