Igbo women under the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA) have called on former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), to break his silence and tell the truth about the controversial Aburi Accord. The group made the appeal amid ongoing debates about the Biafra Day anniversary and recent sit-at-home protests organized by Biafra agitators.
The IWA stressed that honouring the victims of the Nigerian Civil War is not wrong and should not be treated as a crime. They argued that remembering fallen heroes and heroines is a global practice and an important part of history that cannot be erased or suppressed.
National President of IWA, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, spoke passionately on the matter, urging General Gowon not to “die with the truth about the Aburi Accord and the real cause of the Biafra war.” She called on him to be honest about what truly happened during the war, which lasted from 1967 to 1970 and resulted in immense loss of lives, especially among the Igbo people.
Chimezie also praised those who observed the recent sit-at-home declared for May 30, a day set aside to honour all those who lost their lives defending the now-defunct Republic of Biafra. She described the war as “avoidable” and reminded Nigerians that those who died were “not goats but our beloved husbands and youths.”
She further appealed to the Federal Government to officially recognise Biafra Day as an important part of Nigeria’s history, instead of trying to suppress or clamp down on those commemorating it.
The women’s group also challenged claims by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, who blamed the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for insecurity in the South East. IWA argued that “criminal elements sponsored by enemies of Ndigbo” are responsible for the unrest in the region, not IPOB members.
On this note, Chimezie demanded a formal apology from Nigeria for the injustices suffered by the Igbo people. She questioned the longstanding false narrative that the 1966 coup was an “Igbo coup,” a claim recently confirmed to be untrue by former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida.
She asked, “Why can’t Nigeria apologize to Ndigbo for the false accusation which led to the avoidable civil war?”
The IWA President highlighted that no amount of prayers or ceremonies can bring true healing and reconciliation without a genuine apology to pacify the spirits of those who died during the war.
“Why is it that 56 years after the civil war, the shadow of the war and the blood of innocent Igbo shed during the pogrom are still haunting Nigeria?” she asked. “Instead of learning from these lessons and apologizing, Nigeria is still harassing those remembering their loved ones who died.”
She warned that the story of the war will not be forgotten, saying, “Even the unborn generation will hear of it.”
In closing, the Igbo women called for the release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, describing it as a necessary step toward healing and reconciliation for the region.
The Aburi Accord was a peace agreement signed in January 1967 between the Nigerian federal government and leaders from the Eastern Region, which was dominated by the Igbo ethnic group. The accord was supposed to resolve tensions leading up to the Nigerian Civil War. However, the agreement later broke down, contributing to the outbreak of the war.
The Biafra war, also known as the Nigerian Civil War, lasted from 1967 to 1970 and caused millions of deaths, mostly from starvation and conflict in the Eastern Region, which had declared itself independent as the Republic of Biafra.
Every year, Biafra agitators and some Igbo groups mark May 30 as Biafra Remembrance Day, a sit-at-home event to honour those who died. The Federal Government, however, often views the commemoration with suspicion and sometimes treats participants as troublemakers.
