Gowon: In my shoes, Ojukwu would choose war

Yakubu Gowon, a former military head of state, believes that Biafra hero Chukwuemeka Ojukwu would have fought the Nigerian civil war were the easterner the head of state like him.

The civil war of July 1967 to January 1970 led to the loss of an estimated two million lives.

However, delivering a lecture entitled “No Victor, No Vanquished: Healing the Nigerian Nation” to mark the sixth convocation ceremony of the Chukwumeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Anambra state, Gowon lauded Ojukwu for his courage in defending his people during the war.

He said that the civil war was not fought out of hatred for the late Igbo leader or the Igbos, but was based on the principle of a commitment to a robust Nigeria.

He also clamoured for the emergence of a president of Igbo extraction, saying such development would help heal the civil war wounds.

“It is wrong to conclude that the civil war broke out following the failure of the Aburi Accord, but it was the direct result of a unilateral decision of independence for eastern Nigeria,” he said.

“If there was no secession, there would have been no war. It was a reluctant war waged to unite the country.”

Gowon acknowledged that many people died of hunger and diseases during the period, but maintained that the federal government ensured that starvation was not used as a weapon of war.

He urged Nigerians to be proud of the gains of the war by adopting  the no-victor-no-vanquished healing balm.

According to him, the three Rs of reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction were adopted to enhance national unity.

He also argued that the abandonment of the development plan drafted immediately after the war by successive governments resulted in the infrastructural decay in the country.

Gowon commended the government of Anambra and management of the university for honouring Ojukwu with the change in name of the institution from Anambra State University to COOU.

Willie Obiano, governor of the state, lauded Gowon for honouring the invitation, emphasising the importance of education to his administration.

Represented by Kate Omenugha, state commissioner for education, Obiano said a blue print for the development of higher education would soon be implemented in the state.