Enugu — It is still agony for the veterans of the civil war who were disabled fighting for the soul of the former Biafra.

At the Oji River rehabilitation center where they have been residing since July 1975, one comes face to face with a clear case of abandonment in what has led to poverty and disease. The two houses where the ex-soldiers live are dilapidated. The roofs of the houses are also leaking and the occupants do not have the resources to effect repairs. In the two houses built in the form of old hostels and said to be hospitals built for the treatment of lepers, the occupants used their own initiative to demarcate them into different apartments. The entire environment is in a terrible situation. And here they live with their families relying on alms from kind-hearted Nigerians.

Among the residents, are those who remain at home because of their condition. Others who are healthy enough to sit on wheel chairs for hours are found at Oji River, some meters away from their residence, along the Enugu - Onitsha Express Way.

The ex-Biafran soldiers were full of sad stories when our correspondent visited on Wednesday this week. They indicated that having ought the Nigerian-Biafran war, they have been abandoned by all the state governments in the south east and those who led them to war in the first place.

In July 11, 1975, when they were moved to Oji River, the Secretary of the Disabled Veterans of Ex-Biafran Soldiers Association, Mr Joseph Akali, said that under the administration of General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), there was hope until the regime was overthrown by late General Murtala Mohammed. This was the beginning of their woes. Under the regime of Murtala with late S.G. Ikoku as Health Minister, the ex-soldiers had everything good well for them except for their physical disabilities. They had food and water supply, and at the same time free medical treatment. But by July 29, when Gowon's government was sacked by Murtala Mohammed, the situation changed. With the change of koku as Minister of Health, the ex-soldiers said what the government then did was to continue feeding them until 1979, when this stopped, and they were left on their own. Since then, he narrated, it has been a terrible situation for the war veterans. They narrated how their situation was responsible for the death of many their colleagues. For instance, out of a total of 659 wounded soldiers that were brought to the centre only 50 are alive while 609 inmates have died at different times in what Akali said was as a result of hardship.

Akali narrated how the in ex-soldiers had gone to the five Eastern State governments to seek assistance and were turned back. This was in 2000 about a year after the army returned power to the civilians. According to the former Biafran soldier, it was only in Imo State, where the then Governor, Chief Achike Udenwa managed to send to the disabled soldiers some money, but refused giving them audience. The other governors, like Dr. Chris Ngige, Chief Orji Uzo Kalu, Dr. Sam Egwu and Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani turned them back. In the case of the former Enugu State Governor, Nnamani, the disabled soldiers were chased out of the government House. Nnamani, as the disabled Biafran soldiers said, had thought that his guests had come for demonstration. The disabled war veterans said that when they made an attempt to take their case to the State House of Assembly, they were also rejected by the honourable members. But worse still are the allegations of the war victims that the leader of Biafra during the war, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, the man who led them to war, has not cared about them.

"Ojukwu does not reckon with us. He passes here but he does not stop. Although we don't expect so much personal assistance from him, we feel that he is in a position to attract some assistance from the five states in the East", Akali said.

"We sacrificed our youth and lives to fight a war which we were told was to redress an injustice against the Igbos. Many of us died in the process, and those who managed to survive have been rendered useless. We expect that we should be assisted since our lives have been wasted by the war.

"We expect that taking care of us will not be a big problem by the five states in the south east. If only each state can contribute something, it will make a lot of difference to us here. We have families, children who are in schools, higher institutions, and we need money to cater for them. But none of these states is ready to assist us. T

"hey see us as not worthy of help, notwithstanding that we fought for the interest of all the Igbos. The roofs we live in are leaking, and it has been so over the years. It was for this reason that we went round seeking assistance from the state governments but they never gave us audience.

"This is unfair, we fought for everybody, but they have abandoned us, they want us to die of starvation. During the war, the slang we were all told was: we are all behind you, but now they want to put their money where cameras flash", Akali said.

On how they have managed to survive under such conditions, the scribe said that it has been by the grace of God as they rely solely on alms from those who use the Enugu - Onitsha Express way. He also disclosed that some humanitarian organizations from time to time try to show some assistance.

Another veteran of the war, Mr Chuks Usim who also spoke to THISDAY said that what they get which is shared among the 50 members who are in the camp is not enough to take care of them and their children. According to him, their main problem is in paying for the fees of their children and also for the regular treatment they receive at the orthopaedic hospital.

"It is hard for us, because the little we get here, we also spend on feeding, treatment and school fees. We appeal to the governors of the southeast to come to our aid. I was born in 1945, and joined the war at the age of 21, we could not learn any trade because of our condition. We appeal to the governors to consider us. Look at the building where we are, everywhere is leaking. We appeal for renovation. We also appeal for water, food and many of us do not even have wheel chairs. We have children in schools and have to pay for their fees", Usim said.

Also narrating the ugly experiences of the war veterans, Mr Joseph Mbah said that one thing that has been most worrisome to the war veterans is that most of them were between 17 and 18 before the war, adding that they never made any plans for themselves before they got caught in the war. He regrets that the case of the Igbos who fought the war has been different, explaining that while some states like Rivers, Edo, Cross River, and others moved fast in catering for the disabled soldiers from these states, those in the eastern states have deliberately shown no concern.