IPOB reacts to Gowon’s claim that Ojukwu’s ‘lies’ caused civil war

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Thursday reacted to former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon’s claim that lies by the late warlord, Odumegwu Ojukwu led to Nigerian Civil war.

IPOB described the comment as a “bouquet of falsehood.”

The group insisted that history has it “documented on granite that Gowon reneged on Aburi Agreements” because he was allegedly “assured by a certain colonial power that Ojukwu’s people should be crushed militarily.”

In a statement sent out to media houses, IPOB alleged that the same “colonial power would have unrestricted access to mindlessly exploitation of oil in Biafraland.”

The statement signed by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, reads: “It’s a tragedy, that at the ripe old age of 83 and with the little window God still has left open to him to repent and show remorse, Yakubu Gowon, the man who supervised the genocide of 3 million people, mostly as a result of blockade and starvation, the man who seized all minerals from the regions and vested all in the central government, the man who proscribed the regions and created states by military fiat, the man who led the bloodiest war on African soil, has chosen to continue to deceive himself with his bouquet of falsehood.

“Gowon acknowledged in over a dozen published works, long before now, that super permanent secretaries and two foreign powers persuaded him to reject and renege on the Aburi Accord. He had previously admitted that implementing the agreed Aburi Accord would wittle down his powers as head of state, as all the regions will have to agree before any major decision is affected, now wants to heap lies on Ojukwu, because Ojukwu is no more.

“Shame on Gowon, shame. History has it documented on granite that Gowon reneged on Aburi Agreements because he has been assured by a certain colonial power that Ojukwu’s people should be crushed militarily, so that same colonial power would have unrestricted access to mindlessly exploit the oil in Biafraland.

“Shell and BP acting through Harold Wilson the then British Prime Minister did want Aburi Accord implemented. 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.

“Today, Gowon whom we are led to believe is a prayerful Christian have 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 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?

“Gowon’s unintelligent decision to go to his grave while holding on to self-evident falsehood is shocking. Gowon’s choice, of insisting on deception, even at the age 83 while heading a prayer club is unfortunate and sad.

“Gowon slaughtered over 3 million Biafrans to unite Nigeria because of crude oil and gas not out of patriotism. Had his motive been altruistic, he would have been honourable enough to publicly announce, upon his return to Lagos, what he agreed with Ojukwu in Aburi Ghana. The question we must ask is, five decades later, is Nigeria united? Gowon dismantled regional structure and created states, are the states viable?

“Gowon’s pathetic attempt to rewrite history would have worked had IPOB not been in existence. This day and age, any attempt to rewrite the history of Biafra-Nigeria war will be intellectually resisted and objectively dismantled. Fake history is at the core of why Nigeria will never be united.

“Gowon must come clean, apologise and make atonement. He is not only a man of blood; he is also the father of lies. His ignoble place in history is secure and unchallenged. He should check the list of the most brutal mass murderers of all time in history, he will discover that he is among the top 5.

“We are IPOB, we won’t allow distortion of historical facts, neither will we allow the denigration of the revered memory of our all-time hero Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. He remains till date, the only man that tried to bring genuine independence, not mere flag independence, to an African nation.”