Yakubu Gowon, the former military head of state, has been accused of fabricating his story of the Biafra conflict by Senator Victor Umeh, who represents the Anambra Central Senatorial Zone.
Speaking to reporters in Awka, Umeh urged Gowon to follow Ibrahim Banangida’s lead and write a book that provides a truthful explanation of the causes of the conflict.
In a recent appearance on Arise TV, Gowon accused the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the leader of Biafra, of starting the conflict.
Gowon also maintained that Igbos were not the aim of the war.
However, Umeh responded sharply, stating that Gowon was either lying or simply suffering from dementia.
“We will not permit Gowon to fabricate or distort history,” Umeh declared. His statements are all untrue. I don’t want to get involved in his problems at ninety-one, unless he has dementia, of course. At this point in his life, he has not done what he ought to.
“It is time for him to speak the truth to heal the pains of that war. The war ended 51 years ago and we have moved on, but for him to come back at 91 years of age and begin to lie is unfortunate and it means that he is not thinking about how to leave Nigeria in peace. He said the reason the civil war was fought was to keep Nigeria one, but is Nigeria one today?
“The President was in Benue yesterday where people of Gowon’s zone were being slaughtered on daily basis. So what has he done to make Nigeria one? I challenge him again to write his own truthful account of what led to the war. He should know that conscience is an open wound and only the truth can heal it.
“He should stop running around, let him come out boldly and say sorry to the Igbo people of Nigeria. You remember that the coup brought out Awolowo from prison and instead of using him to unite Nigeria, he bought him and made him federal commissioner in charge of finance and they started driving economic policies that were aimed at exterminating the Igbos.
“Gowon is the one who laid the foundation for all the problems Nigeria is having today. He is the one who brought the Igbos and Yorubas at the crossroad and mistrust came in. We have paid dearly for his actions and inactions, and we don’t want to be insulted more and these things he is saying will aggravate our wounds the more, so let him stop talking.
“Let him write his own book if he wishes to speak the truth; that way, when he passes away, his work will be read and he will be evaluated. Ojukwu is no longer involved in his problems. Gowon remained silent when Ojukwu was living, but now that Ojukwu is gone, he has begun speaking, which is regrettable.
I don’t know what TY Danjuma, who is still alive and was instrumental in Aguyi Ironsi’s imprisonment and tragic assassination, will be thinking when Gowon claims he was unaware of what transpired in Nigeria. What is it he wants us to think? How is he able to say that?
“Gowon lit the fire of a war that devastated the South East and betrayed the Aburi Accord reached with Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,” the senator continued.
“The attempt to change history now is an insult to the memory of those who died, and what transpired after Aburi was a total betrayal.”
The facts show that Igbo soldiers were targeted, Igbo businesses were destroyed, and our people were malnourished and alienated, despite his repeated claims that the war wasn’t against Igbos.
“I can’t stand by and let those who were instrumental in that conflict keep twisting the facts. If we wish to be healed, we have to be honest.
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