Igbo women reply Gowon, urge him to ‘Speak out on Aburi Accord’

A coalition of Igbo women under the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA) has urged former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, retd, to tell the ‘’truth’’ about the Aburi Accord and the real cause of the Nigerian Civil War.

It said telling the truth is essential for national healing and genuine reconciliation.

The Aburi Accord was a peace agreement reached in January 1967 between representatives of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria, led by General Gowon, and Eastern Region leaders, led by the late Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, in Aburi, Ghana.

The meeting aimed to avert civil war by agreeing on a decentralised federal structure. However, Nigerian government was said to have later reneged on the terms of the agreement, a move widely seen as the immediate trigger of the Biafran War.

The women also maintained that there is nothing wrong with honouring the victims of the war, pushing back against misconceptions surrounding the annual Biafra Day commemoration.

Speaking in Umuahia after the May 30 sit-at-home declared by Biafra agitators to honour those who died during the conflict, the women said remembering fallen heroes is a global tradition that should not be criminalised.

National President of IWA, Nneka Chimezie, said Biafra Remembrance Day has become an integral part of Igbo history and must not be erased or repressed.

She said:”Those who died in that war were not goats. They were our beloved husbands, brothers, and sons. Remembering them is not rebellion. It is a duty.

“We thank everyone in the South East and beyond who joined in honouring them. It’s a mirage to think this memory can be wiped out. Biafra Day is not just about IPOB; it is about our collective memory and history, which even the unborn must be told.”

She called on Federal Government to recognise Biafra Day as an important national memorial, rather than trying to suppress it or clamp down on those who observe it.

Chimezie renewed calls for the unconditional release of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, insisting that his continued detention is a sore point in the unresolved injustice against Ndigbo.

She emphasized that IPOB is wrongly blamed for insecurity in the South East. According to her, it is not the group but “criminal elements sponsored by Igbo enemies that are responsible for the violence destabilizing the region.

“Someone who claimed to have been tasked with securing the South East should be held accountable for the rise in insecurity. What we see now is a continued assault like an extended civil war. It is aimed at keeping our region in turmoil.”

She questioned why the Nigerian government has not officially apologized for the misinformation and injustice that led to the war, particularly the false label of the 1966 coup as an “Igbo coup.”

Chiemezie referenced a recent admission by former military ruler Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who said the coup had been mischaracterized.

“Why is it so hard to say ‘we are sorry’? That lie helped set off a tragic war. If Nigeria could honour June 12 and Chief M.K.O. Abiola, why can’t it honour the millions who died in the Biafran War?, “ She noted.

The IWA President urged Gen. Gowon, who led Nigeria during the civil war, to publicly speak the truth about the Aburi Accord, a peace agreement reached in Ghana before the outbreak of hostilities in 1967.
She said: “No amount of prayer can bring true healing without confession and apology. Gowon must tell the world the truth about Aburi and Biafra. He should not go to the grave with it.

“Fifty-six years later, the blood of our children, women, and men still cries out. Why does Nigeria shy away from addressing the war? Even unborn generations will be aware of it. We appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider releasing Nnamdi Kanu as a mark of goodwill and a strategic step toward peace in the South East.

“His release will not increase tension, it will bring calm. Peace cannot be forced with bullets but achieved with dialogue and justice.”