Former
Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon has described late Chief Odumegwu
Ojukwu as a great Nigerian who believed so much in the unity of the
country.
Gowon
who spoke to correspondents on Saturday said although he and Ojukwu
had divergent views during those critical moments in Nigeria’s history,
events later proved that Ojukwu had an undying love for Nigeria to the
extent that he aspired on more than one occasion to be President of
Nigeria.
Speaking
philosophically, Gowon said it was appointed unto man that one day, he
must leave mother earth; and since it was Ojukwu’s time, no one could
question destiny.
He
said when Ojukwu was recuperating in a London hospital, he called his
daughter to wish him well and to tell him to come back so that they
could continue the struggle to keep Nigeria as one indivisible entity.
Gowon
said even though he and Ojukwu had divergent interest that led to the
civil war, his greatest happiness was that Ojukwu died with the belief
in the unity of Nigeria.
The
former head of state added, “My greatest happiness is that he went away
a happy Nigerian; he even tried the presidency once or twice and for
that I admired his courage.”
Gowon
said even though some people did not want him to reconcile with Ojukwu,
he felt so good when he shook hands with him as a friend and comrade.
He
said one of the greatest lessons Nigerians had learnt from the
unfortunate events of the Nigerian civil war was that never again would
Nigerians pick up arms against one another.
On
his assessment of Ojukwu as a soldier, Gowon, said although they were
not in the same unit, he nonetheless admired Ojukwu’s courage as a true
Nigerian soldier, adding that Ojukwu served the army well.
He
said, “Well we did not serve in the same unit so I cannot say how he
fared in his own unit, but we both served in the army before the change
of government and he became the governor; I continued in the presidency
until crisis separated us and we became opponents based on principles.
Yes I believed in the national interest and he also believed in a
national interest. But I believed in the bigger one — the Nigerian
national interest.”
He
gave credit to Ojukwu and the Igbo race for justifying the reasons for
the war, adding however that at the end, everybody agreed that the
Nigerian project was the greatest justification for going to war.
Gowon said that was the reason he never referred to Ojukwu as an enemy, but a fellow combatant.
“As
at that time, I considered him as a Nigerian who will always come back
to Nigeria and we were able to reconcile although other people tried to
make sure that we didn’t. We were able to discuss on many occasions and
even three years ago, I visited him in his home,” he said.
Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed sadness at the death of his “friend and colleague,” Ojukwu.
Obasanjo in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria
said, “It is with deep sadness that I received the news of the demise
of my friend and colleague. He and I were subalterns in the army at
Nigeria’s independence in 1960.
“In a way, his death marks the end of an era in Nigeria. I condole with his family and pray for the repose of his soul.’’
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