By Eric Elezuo
58 years after the commencement of the Nigerian Civil War on July 6, 1967, better known as the Biafra War, and 55 years after its end on January 15, 1970, one of the major players of the war, seen to have supervised the massacre of the Biafran people, General Yakubu Gowon (retd), has come out to say that he did what he had to do at the period.
The former warlord, who claims born again today, did not however, offer apologetic statement as a form of foreclosure in the nightmare that purportedly claimed about three million lives, and continue to plague the South-East region till date, though he called for forgiveness and reconciliation among faiths and ethnicities.
Gowon, a former military Head of State, who held sway from 1966, when General Aguiyi Ironsi was murdered in Ibadan, to 1975 when he was toppled by General Murtala Mohammed, said the Biafra civil war was never his choice. He described the civil war as the most difficult period of his life.
The former ruler spoke after he was honoured with a Life Time Integrity and Achievement Award at the 5th Convention of the Christian Men’s Fellowship, Abuja Anglican Diocese on Saturday in Abuja.
He also disclosed that his decision to prosecute the Biafra civil war was never born out of hatred while explaining that he prosecuted the civil war due to the urgency to preserve national unity.
The former ruler called for forgiveness, reconciliation and unity across faiths and ethnicities.
He said: “I always remember the civil war. It was the most difficult period of my life.
“It was not my choice, but I had to be there, and had to do what I did in order to keep this country together.
“It was never a hatred against any people, I can assure you.”
Reflecting on life after that period, the former Head of State stressed that his decisions had often been guided by prayers and a desire to act with integrity and compassion.
“As far as this heart is concerned, everything that I do, it is through prayers.
“I ask God to help me to do the right thing the way He thinks it should be done, with love and respect for all the people.
“That is why at the end, what do we have to say? As they say: no victor, no vanquished,” he added.
Most history books and reports have however credited Gowon with touring the South East region shortly after the end of the war to reassure the people that there was ‘no victor, no vanquished’. He was said to have spread the message of the 3Rs of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction promulgated by the Federal Government of Nigeria to focus citizens on a united, bigger, brotherly and viable Nigeria.
Though one writer posited that he granted free education in the region to enable everyone return to school, the report appears false as there are no evidence of free education in the region except for the 1974 Universal Free Primary Education declared across the country.
While visiting Imo State in 2018, Gowon noted that
“After the Civil War, from this town Owerri, I visited Nsukka, Enugu, Abakeliki, Umuahia, and Onitsha. We were impressed with the way the children turned out to welcome us.
“They were saying, you are our parents, our leaders, please do not allow any Nigerian child to suffer what we suffered,” Gowon said, recalling and noting the devastation his actions had on the children of the South-East, notably the injurious kwashiorkor disease, a proceed of extreme hunger.
Many observers, especially among ethnic Igbo, have consistently faulted Gowon’s public statements about the war, as he has not deem it fit to tender a direct apology to a race he attempted to obliterate with the help of foreign powers.
“No matter what Gowon does or says, his inability to feel the pain of the average Igboman still places him in the position of an intentional murderer. Saying he did what he had to do is an indication that he committed no against a race. That’s not acceptable,” a respondent, who prefers anonymity said.
Recall that in 2017, Gowon, in an interview with AIT Television heaped the blame of the war on the Biafran leader, late General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, saying ”Ojukwu’s lies caused the civil war in the country between 1967 and 1970.” This one statement many has discontenanced, accusing the former Nigerian of lying against Ojukwu and a situation very open to public scrutiny.
Leading the avalanche of rebuttal, the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu reacted, advising Gowon to desist from making “false” statements against the late warlord. The group accused Gowon of having the penchant of distorting history, especially as it concerned the civil war.
He made the claim while giving insight into what happened at the Aburi Conference, in Ghana, convened to resolve the war.
He alleged that the civil war broke because Ojukwu went on television and gave his account of the Aburi Accord, which was at variance with what was agreed upon; thereby deceiving the people of Biafra to go to war against the Federal Government.
But IPOB in a statement by its Media and Publicity Officer, Emma Powerful, described Gowon’s comment as “total falsehood from the mouth of a hater.”
“At the ripe old age of 83 and with the little window God has left open to him to repent and show remorse, Yakubu Gowon has chosen to continue to deceive himself with his bouquet of falsehood,” the statement partly read,
“It was the Labour Party government of Britain that cleverly convinced the Arewa North to put pressure on Gowon to feign illness, thereby making it difficult for him to tell the country what was agreed in Aburi because they were not comfortable with the agreement.
“Today, Gowon, whom we are led to believe is a prayerful Christian, has said he wasn’t able to speak when he returned from Aburi because he was ill. Question is: Was his information minister also ill? Were all government’s spokesmen in Lagos also down with illness at the same time that made it difficult for Lagos to make a pronouncement on Aburi Agreement several weeks after the meeting?”
The group said ”Gowon’s attempt to rewrite history would have worked had IPOB not been in existence.”
Also reacting to Gowon’s claims, a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, who is now an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, maintained that late Ojukwu agreed to the terms reached at Aburi.
Describing Gowon’s remark as false, the Fani-Kayode stressed that the former head of state reneged on the agreement upon his return to Nigeria from Ghana.
In a tweet on his Twitter handle, Mr. Fani-Kayode wrote: “Gen. Yakubu Gowon, an elder statesman said Ojukwu caused the civil war by lying about what transpired in Aburi. This is false. Ojukwu told no lie. Gowon agreed to all the terms in Aburi but when he got home, he reneged on the agreement. This is what led to the civil war.”
After over 50 years of the Nigerian Civil War, better known as the Biafra war, where thousands died, the Nnamdi Kanu – led IPOB is still asking for a Biafran state.
Today, IPOB is labeled a terrorist group, and Nnamdi Kanu in detention, facing legal charges bordering on terrorism activities.
“The Biafra War is one dark spot in the history of Nigeria as a country, and until Gowon takes responsibility, offer genuine apologies, forgiveness may be far. Of course, nobody has forgotten.
It’s obvious God has forgiven him, but he needs a complete forgiveness from the South East region that was pillaged and ravaged for 30 whole months and counting before a deep rooted reconciliation can take effect,” the Source added.
General Gowon will be 91 years in a few months, is probably one of the remaining few of his contemporaries, and is reputed as a respected stateman.
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