The Ndigbo Media Forum has rejected claims by former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, that late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, frustrated efforts to prevent the 1967 Nigerian Civil War.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Rev. Paul Eze, the group described Gowon’s remarks as “historically inaccurate, insensitive to the wounds of the past, and unhelpful to the national healing Nigeria desperately needs.”

The forum argued that Ojukwu did not go to war out of personal ambition but to protect the Igbo people following the 1966 anti-Igbo killings in Northern Nigeria, which reportedly led to the deaths of thousands and displaced many others back to the Eastern Region.

According to the group, “when the state abandons its people, self-preservation becomes a right.”

The statement further noted that Ojukwu’s actions were also driven by the collapse of the Aburi Accord reached in Ghana in January 1967.

It claimed that while Ojukwu honoured the agreement, the federal government allegedly failed to fully implement its terms through the introduction of Decree No. 8.

The forum maintained that Ojukwu consulted traditional rulers, clergy, market leaders and other stakeholders before declaring the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, describing the move as “a mandate of the people to live free from persecution.”

Reacting to Gowon’s claim that Ojukwu frustrated peace efforts, the group insisted that available historical records showed the breakdown of negotiations came from the federal government’s refusal to implement agreements reached at Aburi.

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

The forum also faulted what it described as attempts to reopen old wounds through narratives surrounding the civil war, saying true statesmanship should prioritise “healing over vindication.”

On post-war reconciliation, the group said the federal government failed to fully implement the promised policy of “Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Reconciliation” in the South-East after the war.

“We do not seek war, but we will not allow the historical record to be distorted to serve political narratives,” the statement said, while urging Gowon to let his legacy reflect “truth and reconciliation, not blame and division.” (The Sun)