Biafra: Ojukwu Told No Lie Fani-Kayode Tackles Gowon

Cheif Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister of aviation has said that to say that Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu who served as the military governor of the Eastern Region of Nigeria in 1966 and the leader of the breakaway Republic of Biafra from 1967 to 1970 was the cause of civil war in Nigeria was a lie.

General Yakubu “Jack” Dan-Yumma Gowon (rtd) speaking on ‘People, Politics and Power’ an AIT’s programme on Tuesday, said the decision to go to Aburi was borne out of the desire to win back the trust and confidence of Nigerians.

He 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.”

‘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.’

Fani-Kayode on his Twitter handle disagreed with General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) saying that Gen. Yakubu Gowon, an elderstatesman he revered, but for him to say Ojukwu caused the civil war by lying about what transpired in Aburi 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. he said

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