Old man, Gen. Yakubu Gowon
After masterminding the arrest and brutal slaughter of his then Commander-in-Chief, Maj-Gen Aguiyi Ironsi, Nigeria’s former military ruler, Gen. Yakubu Gowon has absolved himself of any blame in the Nigeria-Biafra war, stating that it was not out of hatred for any people.
He made the assertion in Abuja on Saturday after he was honoured with a Lifetime Integrity and Achievement Award at the 5th Convention of the Christian Men’s Fellowship, Anglican Diocese of Abuja.
NewsBits recalls that it was, indeed, the brutal execution of Ironsi and his host, Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, the then military Governor of the defunct Western Region, who were arrested by Gowon’s Northern soldiers at the Government Lodge, Ibadan and were later executed in a horrendous manner in a bush during the July 1966 counter coup, that triggered the civil war. There was also the organised mass murder of the Igbo civilians in all parts of northern region, besides the killing of over 300 Igbo soldiers in all military barracks in northern Nigeria. Gowon looked the other way while all the mayhem raged, according to history.
However, Gowon, who was the country’s military leader during the 30-month civil war, said he had to be there, and described the civil war as the most difficult period of his life. The war lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970. He said, “I always remember the Civil War. It was the most difficult period of my life. It was not my choice, but I had to be there and had to do what I did in order to keep this country together.
“It was never a hatred against any people, I can assure you. As far as this heart is concerned, everything that I do, it is through prayers. I ask God to help me to do the right thing the way He thinks it should be done, with love and respect for all the people. That is why at the end, what do we have to say? As they say: no victor, no vanquished.”
