- The Ex head of State and a retired Military General,Yakubu Gowon has revealed to Nigerians the case of Biafra war in 1967.
- According to Gowon, he said that the Biafra war was as a result of the lies Ojukwu made at Abari.
-Former Aviation Minister, Feni-kayode blasted Yakubu Goon by saying that ojukwu did not lie because he agreed to all the speech made by Ojukwu.
The former Head of state in Nigeria and ex military general, Yakubu Gowon has revealed that the Biafra war which occurred during his regime in 1967/1970 was as a result of the lies made by Ojukwu.
Speaking during a programme in Abuja organised by the African Independent television (AIT) titled Polities, "Power, People" Ngnaija.com gathered that the former Biafra leader, Late Odumegu Ojukwu caused a disagreement between the supreme Military council and the easter region.
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According to Gowon, h noted that when the military decided to go into Abari, was was never in the list to cause conflict nor war but to win back the confidence of people in order to unite and remain on Nigeria.
Gowon said: “We agreed to put our heads together, to regain the trust and confidence of Nigerians. We went to Aburi, to agree to deal with the situation of our country, by ourselves.
“We did not go with any prepared position on the federal side, but, Ojukwu came with a paper he prepared. His prepared position was on a pink paper. Usually, pink paper at the Staff College is directing staff solution to the problem.”
Gowon also noted that most of Ojukwus position presented at the conference were accepted but immediately hey returned to Nigeria instead of Ojukwu to focus on uniting the nation, he decided to formed a separate nation called Biafra.
I was thinking that the reasons why Ojukwu took the decision was as a result of the mass killing of Igbo's in the Northern region.
Meanwhile, Former head of State revealed that among the agreement reached at Abari was upon return to Nigeria he will be the first to make speech concerning the situation before any one else.
“But, by the time I returned, I was ill; I had fever. I could not make any statement. But, Ojukwu went to the radio, to make a statement and said the things we never agreed on.
“David Ejoor was the one who called me one early morning to ask if I had heard what Ojukwu said, and I said no. He then reeled out all that Ojukwu had said and I asked David, in all honesty, if that was what we agreed. He said no.
“To keep the country together was not a task that I could do alone. I needed the cooperation and understanding of every Nigerian. And, in order to ensure we kept the country together, I reckoned that we needed to have discussions among ourselves. We had a civil servant who was exceptionally experienced and good.
“We went there (Aburi) to restore the trust of our country. If we were working together, anyone with conscience will assuage the feelings (of the South-easterners). But, Ojukwu thought otherwise. He had in mind all along, based on what happened to his people in the North, that secession was the only way out. But, we were thinking of the whole country, because all parts of the country were involved. The military was not involved in the killings of South-easterners in the North,” he said.
Meanwhile, Feni-kayode a former Aviation minister blasted Yakuu Goon by saying that the Biafra Warlord did not lie at Abari because Gowon accepted all the positions presented by Ojukwu.
He said: "Gen. Yakubu Gowon, an elder statesman who I revere,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."
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