Gowon Insists Aburi Meeting Never Endorsed Secession, Accuses Ojukwu of Misrepresenting Resolutions
- Former Nigerian leader Yakubu Gowon has dismissed claims that the Aburi meeting endorsed the Eastern Region’s secession, insisting it was aimed at preserving national unity
- Gowon revealed in his autobiography that Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu misrepresented the resolutions of the 1967 talks to advance a personal political agenda
- The account reignites debate over the Aburi Accord, a pivotal moment that preceded Nigeria’s devastating civil war
Nigeria’s former military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has clarified that no agreement was reached at the Aburi meeting in Ghana to allow the Eastern Region to secede and form Biafra.
This directly challenges claims made by the then Eastern Region leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, during the tense build-up to the Nigerian civil war.
Source: UGC
Aburi meeting and secession claims
According to Premium Times, the Aburi peace talks, held on January 4 and 5, 1967, were convened to ease rising tensions in Nigeria. Gowon explained in his autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, launched in Abuja on Tuesday, that the meeting was intended to preserve Nigeria’s unity, not to divide it.
He recalled being shocked when Ojukwu broadcast to the Eastern Region that both sides had agreed to partition Nigeria. According to Gowon, this was a misrepresentation of the resolutions:
“Politically, it was unanimously agreed that it was in the interest of the safety of this nation that the regions should move slightly further apart than before.”
Gowon insisted this interpretation was false and inconsistent with the actual agreements reached.
Nigeria’s political context before the war
At independence in 1960, Nigeria was divided into four regions:
- Northern Region – dominated by the Hausa-Fulani
- Eastern Region – dominated by the Igbo
- Western Region – dominated by the Yoruba
- Midwest Region – created in 1963 to accommodate minority groups
The Eastern Region, under Ojukwu, declared independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking the civil war that lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970. The conflict claimed between one and three million lives, many due to starvation and disease.
Gowon’s defence of Nigerian unity
Gowon argued that the Aburi resolutions were about renouncing force and maintaining unity. He accused Mr Ojukwu of pursuing a personal political agenda:
“What Ojukwu said, therefore, merely confronted to his own personal agenda, not the agreed position at Aburi and not what the generality of Nigerians wanted.”
He further explained that the Unification Decree No. 34 of 1966, introduced by General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, had already created fears of domination, particularly in the North and West. Upon assuming power, Gowon restored the federal system by abrogating the decree.
Legacy of the civil war
The Nigerian civil war remains one of the most devastating conflicts in Africa’s history. While Ojukwu died in London on November 26, 2011, and was buried in his hometown of Nnewi in March 2012, the debates around Aburi and the causes of the war continue to shape Nigeria’s political memory.
Gowon’s memoir reinforces his long-held position that the Aburi meeting was about safeguarding Nigeria’s unity, not endorsing secession.
Source: Getty Images
How Obasanjo rejected Murtala Muhammed’s authority, Gowon discloses
Legit.ng earlier reported that former military head of state, Yakubu Gowon, has disclosed that former president Olusegun Obasanjo once resisted an order to serve under the late Murtala Muhammed during the Nigerian Civil War, insisting he would not work beneath an officer he considered junior to him.
This is contained in Gowon’s newly launched autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, where the retired general recounted tense moments from the early stages of the war and detailed his long relationship with Obasanjo, whom he described as a capable but strong-willed officer.
Source: Legit.ng
