Fred Chukwuelobe
Former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has reopened one of the most painful chapters in Nigeria’s history by accusing late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, of frustrating repeated efforts to stop the country from sliding into civil war.
The claim, contained in Gowon’s autobiography, My Life of Service and Allegiance, offers a deeply personal account of the failed peace talks, political mistrust, and constitutional disputes that shattered negotiations between the Federal Military Government and the Eastern Region before the 1967–1970 Civil War.
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Every Igbo man who witnessed that fratricidal conflict will feel deeply wounded by Gowon’s latest intervention because of what it represents to the memories of those who died and to the legacy of the late Ikemba. One is forced to ask: why was this book not written while Ojukwu was alive to respond? Why wait until the twilight of his life to publish these claims?
Billions were reportedly raised at the book launch, with his wartime ally, Theophilus Danjuma, donating a princely sum (N3B). Yet, for many, the more troubling issue is not the ceremony itself, but the timing and implications of reopening old wounds without balancing voices.
History remains incomplete when only one side gets the final word. The Nigerian Civil War left millions of Igbo dead, displaced, and traumatized. Any attempt to revisit that painful era must be done with caution, honesty, and sensitivity – not in ways that deepen bitterness or revive unresolved anger, especially considering what the old Benue-Plateau region is going through today in the hands of those once regarded as wartime allies.
At a time when healing, reconciliation, and national unity should take precedence, statements capable of inflaming old divisions deserve careful reflection. One would have thought that both Gowon and Danjuma had learnt some lessons.
Let history judge all the actors fairly.
(c) Fred Chukwuelobe
