Ndigbo Media Forum has faulted former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, for claiming that the late General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, frustrated peace moves to stop the 1967 civil war, in the former’s recently released autobiography, titled, ‘My Life of Duty and Allegiance.’

The forum’s National Coordinator, Rev. Paul Eze, in a statement, yesterday, contended that Gowon’s claim was historically inaccurate, insensitive to the wounds of the past and unhelpful to the national healing Nigeria desperately needs.

Citing Ojukwu’s ‘Because I Am Involved,’ Eze argued that the late Biafran warlord did not go to war for ambition or secessionist pride but to protect Igbo from extermination.

He added that the immediate cause of the war was the 1966 anti-Igbo pogroms in Northern Nigeria, alleging that 30,000 and 50,000 Igbo were slaughtered and over one million fled back to the East.

The cleric said the Federal Government failed in its duty to protect citizens, that was when Ojukwu decided to fight back.

According to him, Nigerian military leaders, at the Aburi meeting in Ghana on January 4 and 5, 1967, agreed on a confederal structure to keep Nigeria together, while giving the regions autonomy and security, which Ojukwu honoured, but the Federal Government’s issuance of Decree No.8 in March 1967 effectively nullified it.

He explained that to Ojukwu, it was a breach of trust that left the East with no legal or moral option but to seek safety outside that arrangement.

He stressed that after consultations with traditional rulers, clergy, market leaders and civil society across the East to protect the region, Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, which in his words, was “a mandate of the people to live free from persecution.”

He further maintained that Ojukwu attended Aburi in good faith, saying it was the federal side’s refusal to implement what was agreed on that collapsed the peace process.

“Declassified documents, memos from neutral observers like Prince Akenzua and accounts from participants confirm that the breakdown came from federal backtracking, not Ojukwu’s intransigence.

“To blame the dead for a war that started after federal troops invaded Biafra on July 6, 1967, is to invert history,” he said.

He argued that if Gen. Gowon’s intention was reconciliation, his timing and framing failed that test.

According to him, publishing an 859-page memoir that blames Ojukwu while downplaying federal actions reminds Ndigbo of the three million lives lost, the children who starved during the blockade and the promises broken after the war.

“True statesmanship prioritizes healing over vindication, especially 56 years after the conflict ended,” he said.

He asked Gowon what happened to the “No Victor, No Vanquished” slogan and a pledge of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation that the Federal Government promised the former Biafran region.

He also claimed that the roads, industries and infrastructure destroyed during the war were never fully rebuilt by the Federal Government, adding that Ndigbo rebuilt themselves.

He pointed out that the failure of the government to honour a post-war agreement contributed to one of the reasons most Nigerians still see the 3Rs as political rhetoric, not policy, saying that a leader who makes promises and abandons them should not claim the moral high ground decades later.

He declared: “Ndigbo have moved on. We are building businesses, educating our children and contributing to Nigeria’s economy and unity. We do not seek war. But, we will not allow the historical record to be distorted to serve political narratives.”

He called on Gen. Gowon to allow “Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu rest in peace. Allow Ndigbo to be. If your goal is unity, let your words heal, not hurt. Let your legacy be one of truth and reconciliation, not blame and division.” (The Sun)