The Indigenous People of Biafra has faulted the recent statement on the Nigerian Civil War, credited to a former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, describing his remarks as a “provocative, insensitive, and shameless” attempt to whitewash the atrocities of the Biafran genocide he orchestrated.
Gowon, who had, during the fifth Convention of the Christian Men’s Fellowship of the Diocese of Abuja, held at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Maitama, Abuja, on Saturday, reportedly said the Nigerian Civil War was never driven by hatred, but by a difficult necessity to preserve national unity.
He further emphasised the importance of forgiveness, reconciliation, and unity across faiths and ethnicities, insisting that the civil war fought between 1967 and 1970 was intended to preserve Nigeria as one.
But in a press statement released on Monday, the spokesman for the Pro-Biafran group, Emma Powerful, faulted Gowon’s claims, insisting that his claims did not only distort history, but is a deliberate insult to the millions of Biafrans slaughtered under his command and an affront to all victims of his premeditated genocidal campaign.
Powerful said, “To compare the civil war to a quest for unity is to spit on the graves of our ancestors and mock the suffering of survivors. Gowon’s legacy is not one of unity but of unparalleled brutality, second only to Adolf Hitler’s slaughter of 6 million Jews.
“His claim that the Nigerian Civil War was fought for ‘unity, not hatred’ is not only a grotesque distortion of history but a deliberate insult to the millions of Biafrans slaughtered under his command and an affront to all victims of his premeditated genocidal campaign.
“Gowon’s crocodile tears over the violence in Jos and his hollow lamentations about Nigeria’s disunity cannot erase the bloodstains on his hands. His words are a painful reminder of the unrepentant arrogance of a man who presided over the massacre of over five million Biafrans — men, women, and children — whose only crime was seeking self-determination in the face of systemic marginalisation and state-sponsored pogroms.”
The pro-Biafran group further insisted that Gowon was haunted by his misdeeds and had questions to answer concerning the Nigerian Civil War.
“The questions Gowon must answer include: What happened at Aburi? Why did he renege on the agreements reached with Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, which could have averted the war? Why did he repeatedly seek guidance from a certain diplomat during those negotiations, betraying Nigeria’s sovereignty to neo-colonial interests?
“Why did he perpetuate the falsehood that the January 1966 coup was an ‘Igbo plot’ when evidence clearly shows it was a military action by officers from across Nigeria?
“Why did he refuse to return Nigeria to regionalism, a system that fostered unprecedented economic growth, in favor of a unitary structure designed to exploit Biafra’s oil and gas resources?
What transpired during the late Sir Ahmadu Bello’s visit to Sandhurst, where he addressed Nigerian cadets in Hausa, sowing seeds of division?
“As a self-proclaimed ‘born-again Christian,’ why have you refused to publish your account of the Aburi Accord? What truth are you afraid to reveal to posterity?
Gowon’s periodic speeches are not calls for healing, but deliberate provocations that reopen old wounds.
His refusal to acknowledge the truth about the Biafran genocide—starvation policies, mass executions, and aerial bombardments of civilian populations—demonstrates his lack of remorse. Unity cannot be imposed by force, nor can it thrive in a contraption like Nigeria, an artificial creation designed by colonial masters to exploit indigenous ethnic nationalities. The diverse cultures and worldviews of Nigeria’s peoples are irreconcilable under a forced union that prioritizes the interests of a few over the aspirations of many.
“To Gowon and his ilk, we say: Your generation failed to build a foundation for meaningful development or coexistence. Your actions sowed the seeds of discord that Nigeria reaps today. Spare us your sanctimonious rhetoric about unity. The blood of 5 million Biafrans cries out for justice, and no amount of media posturing can silence their voices. If you seek peaceful coexistence, let your actions—not empty words—prove it. Begin by telling the world how you sleep at night after superintending one of history’s worst atrocities,” the statement added.
The spokesman further said IPOB remains resolute in its pursuit of self-determination for Biafra, adding, “We call on all Biafrans, both at home and in the diaspora, to reject Gowon’s revisionist narrative and unite in our quest for freedom. Nigeria’s unity is a myth, sustained by coercion and exploitation. The time for truth, justice, and liberation is now.”
