IPOB Slams Gowon Over Civil War Comments, “Unity, Not Hatred” Narrative
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has strongly condemned recent remarks attributed to former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, in which he claimed that the Nigerian Civil War was fought “for unity, not hatred.”
In a statement issued by IPOB’s Director of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful on Monday ,the group described Gowon’s comments as “provocative, insensitive, and a shameless attempt to whitewash the atrocities committed during the Biafran genocide.”
Powerful stated, “General Gowon’s claim that the Nigerian Civil War was waged in the name of unity is not only a grotesque distortion of historical fact but also a calculated insult to the memory of over five million Biafrans,men, women, and children slaughtered under his command.
To equate that campaign of extermination with a noble quest for unity is to spit on the graves of our ancestors and mock the suffering of the survivors.”
According to IPOB, Gowon’s remarks are emblematic of a broader refusal by Nigerian political elites to confront the truth about the Biafran genocide, which included the use of starvation as a weapon of war, mass executions, and indiscriminate aerial bombardments of civilian populations.
“Gowon’s crocodile tears over violence in Jos and his empty lamentations about Nigeria’s disunity cannot cleanse the blood on his hands. His legacy is not one of national cohesion but of calculated brutality,one that rivals the atrocities committed by Adolf Hitler against the Jews,” the statement added.
IPOB also posed several pointed questions to the former head of state, accusing him of long-standing evasiveness:
“What really happened at the Aburi Accord, and why did you renege on the agreements reached with General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, which could have prevented the war?
Why did you seek external guidance from foreign diplomats during those negotiations, effectively surrendering Nigeria’s sovereignty to neo-colonial interests?
Why did you propagate the narrative that the January 1966 coup was an “Igbo conspiracy,” despite evidence showing the involvement of military officers from across the country?
Why did you oppose the return to regionalism a structure that had previously ensured economic growth and political stability in favor of a unitary system designed to centralize control and exploit Biafra’s natural resources?
What exactly occurred during the late Sir Ahmadu Bello’s speech at Sandhurst Military Academy, where he reportedly addressed Nigerian cadets in Hausa and allegedly sowed seeds of ethnic division?
As a self-proclaimed “born-again Christian,” why have you refused to publish your personal account of the Aburi negotiations? What truth are you trying to conceal from future generations?”
IPOB further stated that Gowon’s recurring public statements are not sincere calls for national reconciliation but deliberate provocations that reopen historical wounds.
The group insists that genuine unity cannot be achieved through coercion or historical denial.
“The Nigerian state remains a colonial construct an artificial amalgamation designed to serve the interests of a select few while suppressing the aspirations of its diverse ethnic nationalities. The dream of a united Nigeria has become a myth, sustained only by systemic coercion and economic exploitation,” IPOB stated.
To Gowon and others like him, IPOB had a clear message: “Your generation failed to lay the foundation for meaningful development or coexistence. Instead, you planted the seeds of discord we see growing today. Spare us your sanctimonious lectures about unity. The blood of 5 million Biafrans still cries out for justice, and no amount of media grandstanding will silence that call. If you truly seek peace, let your actions speak louder than your hollow words. Begin by telling the truth.”
Reaffirming its commitment to the cause of Biafran self-determination, IPOB called on all Biafrans at home and abroad—to reject what it called “Gowon’s revisionist history” and unite in the pursuit of freedom.
“Nigeria’s unity is a fragile illusion. The time has come for truth, justice, and liberation,” the statement added.
