Former Nigerian military ruler Ibrahim Babangida has revealed that a piece of shrapnel from the civil war has remained lodged in his chest for over five decades, and that he still feels its presence at the age of 80.
Babangida Recounts 1969 War Injury Near Uzokoli
Babangida made the disclosure in an interview, recounting a harrowing moment in 1969 when he came under fire near a town called Uzokoli while moving to Umuahia. He noted: "It happened in 1969. We were moving to Umuahia, and we came under fire at a place called Uzokoli, and that was how I got shrapnel that got into my chest on the right-hand side. It almost affected my lung, or it did, and that is where the wound started."
At the time of the injury, doctors presented Babangida with a choice: undergo surgery to extract the shrapnel or leave it in place. He chose the latter, driven largely by a fear of going under the knife. He said: "At that time, I had to make a decision. The doctors said they could remove it, but I could leave it; when I become older, I may have a problem with it. And I decided to allow it to remain in my lung comfortably until I become older… I was afraid to undergo surgery."
Living With the Shrapnel at Age 80
Babangida said that while the shrapnel has not become a critical health crisis at his current age, its presence grows harder to ignore with time. "It is not really a problem at 80, but the process is that as you get older, you feel it. The fact that you are aware that there is something in you is traumatic enough," he told interviewers.
The former head of state, who governed Nigeria between 1985 and 1993, served as a military officer during the Nigerian civil war, which lasted from 1967 to 1970. The conflict, fought between Nigerian federal forces and the secessionists in the southeast, left hundreds of thousands dead and caused widespread destruction across the country's south-east.
According to Bada Yusuf, Politics and Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng, the interview video has been trending on social media, drawing attention to Babangida's enduring physical reminder of the war. The shrapnel remains in his chest, a constant reminder of a conflict that shaped Nigeria's history.
