Gowon seeking national rehab claims he didn’t intend the war to be against Igbos, but fails to emulate Babangida and apologise for his role in national pain
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Yakubu Gowon, now aged 90, has clarified that he did not want the Nigerian Civil War he superintended from 1967 to 1970 as Head of State to be against the Igbos in a new television interview.
Gowon became Head of State at 32 and ruled for nine years, from July 1966 until July 1975 when he was overthrown by Murtala Mohammed reputed to be a brutal murderer of civilians during the war, especially in the Asaba front.
But even as he aimed to use the interview to rehabilitate his image, the former General did not apologise for his role or those of his troops in the pogrom of six million Igbos overall, despite calls for him to do so, more than half a century after the fact.
In contrast, former military President Ibrahim Babangida, at 83, has caved in under agitation and apologised for annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Moshood Abiola – doing so privately to the family and publicly, as confirmed last weekend by Abiola’s son, Lekan.
Gowon explained on Arise Television on Wednesday that he wanted to get Nigeria united, which was what made him enforce a code of conduct during the war in the South East where millions of innocent civilian men, women, and children were massacred, many after being starved of food for months.
He claimed he charged Nigerian soldiers to only take up arms against Biafran forces, and warned them against killing women and children.
Gowon recounted: “I was not aware of a counter coup in 1966, I was unaware until that very night when I was woken up to say something had happened in Abeokuta.
“The war was something we didn’t expect, there were reactions against the unitary system of government.
“I had a responsibility to keep Nigeria united and I warned that if the situation gets to this stage where I have to choose to align with the break up or the other side, I know where my responsibility is – my loyalty is to the country.
“From the beginning I never wanted the war against the Igbos as such but it was to stop the breaking up of Nigeria.
“So what I did was to give a code of conduct on how the operations were to go, you are not fighting the people, make sure you protect the people, protect the women and their children – only take up arms against those who take arms against you and any distraction against the population that is not correct will be dealt with.
“We tried to send leaflets [to] the people that the war is not against them ….
“I want to be remembered as someone who loves his country, Nigeria, who loves Nigerians, who prays; at least if I cannot fight, I pray for Nigeria to continue to be a country that all of us love. I know it is impossible for any country to be absolutely perfect.”
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