Gowon Failed to Secure Igbos – IBB Reveals Civil War Trigger

Former Nigerian leader Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) has stated that Yakubu Gowon’s unfulfilled promise to protect the Igbos contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. Read more on his insights.

General Ibrahim Babangida, a former military head of state, disclosed that General Yakubu Gowon’s promise to the Igbos about their safety in northern Nigeria remained unfulfilled.

He stated that this resulted in the 1966 pogrom, during which thousands of Igbos were killed throughout northern Nigeria.

In his recently released book, “Journey in Service,” launched on Thursday in Abuja, the former military leader highlighted that when then Lt-Col Yakubu Gowon became the new Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, it marked the onset of tensions between him and Lt-Col. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

He stated that Ojukwu, in a broadcast from Enugu, had rejected the decision to appoint Gowon as the Military Head of State and Commander-in-Chief.

According to IBB, Ojukwu maintained that Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe should assume the role of head of state in Aguiyi-Ironsi’s absence since he was the most senior army officer at that time.

Babangida explained that this increased the tension in the nation, prompting Gowon to take action to restore confidence among its people.

“Lt-Col. Gowon brought together regional politicians, known as Leaders of Thought, to develop a plan for the country’s future,” he added.

IBB stated that Gowon’s decision to release Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the leader of the Yorubas, from Calabar prison was nothing short of a political masterstroke aimed at calming the situation.

Obafemi was imprisoned in Calabar for treason, and by doing so, Gowon secured the crucial support of the Yoruba people during that period.

“Regrettably, Gowon’s assurances to the Igbos—that their lives would be secure in northern Nigeria—were not upheld,” he stated.

Nearly at the same time as the discussions among Leaders of Thought were happening in Lagos, some of the most horrific killings of Igbos took place across various parts of northern Nigeria on September 29, 1966.

The situation was terrifying due to the widespread violence, causing a massive influx of refugees into eastern Nigeria from nearly every region. In response to this untenable circumstance, Ojukwu justifiably prohibited the delegation from eastern Nigeria from participating further in Gowon’s Peace and Reconciliation Talks held in Lagos, arguing that Igbos living outside eastern Nigeria were not safe.

The nation faced a deadlock until Lt-General Joseph Arthur Ankrah, Ghana’s Head of State following Kwame Nkrumah’s overthrow, intervened by proposing a neutral and secure location for a genuine reconciliation conference between Ojukwu and the Federal Government.

That intervention, regarded as the final opportunity to avert a full-scale war, resulted in the renowned Peace Conference held in Aburi, a town in southern Ghana, from January 4 to 5, 1967.

A notable conference took place between the eastern Nigerian delegation, headed by Lt-Col. Ojukwu, and the federal delegation, led by Lt-Col. Gowon, culminating in what is known as the famous Aburi Accord.

As the federal government has not fully published records of the Aburi meetings, details about what transpired remain speculative.

The eastern Nigerian delegation’s published accounts asserted that a deal for a loose federation within Nigeria was established. In contrast, the federal government maintained that any agreement reached fit into the framework of maintaining a united Nigerian state. Both parties concurred on one point: force should not be employed to resolve the Nigerian crisis.

In reaction to the Aburi Accord, the federal government issued Decree 8, which was intended to represent their interpretation of the agreement.

During a session of the Supreme Military Council in Benin on March 10, 1967—where Decree 8 was scheduled for ratification by the Military Governors—Ojukwu refused to attend, arguing that the decree breached both the spirit and intent of the Aburi Accord.

He stated that these differences in interpretation were the ultimate catalyst for the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War.