Re-Gowon advises Biafran youths

Gowon: the mass murderer

By Tim Tochukwu

For Biafra Choice Writers

"Have you not noticed that nobody has named his child after you, even among Nigerians you claim to have fought for? They know you are devil incarnate."

Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s former military head of state, who has somewhat been struck dumb by the new thrust for the restoration of Biafra, appears to have found his voice again. He was reported to have criticized Biafrans who started the new push for the restoration of Biafra.

Recently, he spoke at the public presentation of a book entitled: “Zik: Testimonies To A Great African”. It was a book edited by Henry Onukwuba to mark the 20th anniversary of Zik’s death. At one point, he said the youths were ignorant of history; and at another, he said they had forgotten the history.

Going further, he advised the youths to rather emulate former Nigeria ceremonial president, Nnamdi Azikiwe, than engage in Biafra activism. He said Azikiwe, who is popularly known as Zik, played great roles in unifying Nigeria during the civil war despite being born a Biafran. He stated that Igbo youths at the end of the civil war prayed never to experience the kind of suffering occasioned by the war. Still speaking, the former Nigerian military junta noted that what Nigeria needed at this time is right political perspective and not self-determination sentiments.

Many writers have picked holes with Gowon’s imputations. It is necessary also that this writer take him on some other issues. For instance, it is apparent Gowon has learnt nothing new nor done any further deep thinking on the subject. Instead, each time he opens his mouth, it is to vomit the same base arguments that British officials at the time spat into his mouth.  To start with, the only rebel at the time was Gowon and his cohorts who killed their commander in chief to take over the reins of governance. He always completely pretends not to know that a people have a right to self-determination, as well as the right to evoke it at any time which the Biafrans did when the Nigerian state could no longer protect them.

Rather than talk about the legitimacy of what the Biafrans did, and which they are now still doing; or the illegitimacy of what Nigerians did (with Gowon as head) and what they are now still doing, Gowon will prefer to lie and distort history. In the end he ends up addressing none of the issues at stake, or the compelling arguments for Biafra.

Read what Gowon said of the book and history: “Gowon stated: “I am particularly touched by the reason the author of the book wrote it at this point of our national history. Now that the revised edition of the book is being presented at a time our youths seem to have forgotten our recent history and the labour of our heroes past, this, for me, is commendable.”

It has been noted earlier that at one breath, Gowon would accuse the youths of not knowing history; at another breath he would say they had forgotten history. Which one should we take? Well, if he means that the youths have forgotten, we are informing him that they have not.

But if he is saying that they do not know the history, then we laugh him to scorn. We are aware that he did everything to keep history away from the young ones. He did not want them to learn of the atrocities he perpetrated against their people. The youths know how he took over schools from missionaries, so that he would control the school curricula. That way he was able to remove history from school curricula. He did not want them to learn how he (and his ilk) bombed their parents, innocent children, women and the aged in hospitals, train stations, markets and churches. Yes, Gowon tried, but he did not succeed. Biafrans have thought their youths how one of his lieutenants (Murtala Mohammed) massacred their kith and kin in Asaba, which is now capital of Delta State. They know how another of his lieutenants, Muhammadu Buhari, went into a church in Owerri and butchered innocent women and children taking shelter there.

What other history does Gowon think our youths did not know? Our youths also know that he is high on the list of world most ruthless dictators – past and present. He oversaw the genocide of nothing less than 3. 5 million Biafrans, second only to the Jewish holocaust. Our youths are well aware of how Gowon shot and killed a Biafran civilian pilot at Lagos airport just to prove his hatred of the Igbo. Biafran youths know that the only place fit for Gowon on earth is the prison; then after death, hell!

On the book he went to commission, well, Gowon and his cohorts can always commission people to write anything for them; or to revise a book previously written so that they would be able to use the platform to spread lies and propaganda. They have done it severally in the past; it is their specialty. But Biafrans are no longer bothered by them. Biafrans now have better means of communicating the truth to our people.

On his advice to the youths to emulate Zik, Uche Nwigwe has words for him: “He (Gowon) said we should stop talking about Biafra, that we should follow the footsteps of Nnamdi Azikiwe. But my question to him is “who was Zik?” Zik is a Hausa/Fulani like you. Zik was born and brought up in the north like you. His father was a Biafran and his mother was Hausa. Zik was never a true son of the soil; he behaves and thinks like you, so he is not part of us. No one in Biafraland today will ever follow his footsteps. We know who our leader is and we know who our heroes are, so you are mistaken. Gowon we have read history books before we this struggle, and we promise you we will get Biafra at the end, so be ready to visit the ICC.”

Gowon the devil incarnate also said: “I think the point that he is making here is seen as the recent hype of the pro-Biafran spirit. I remember visiting the East Central State at the time, from Enugu, Nsukka, Owerri, Umuahia, Abakaliki and then to Onitsha and being met by children at that time who welcomed us so sincerely and they addressed me to say you are our leaders, we pray that no Nigerian child should one day suffer what they went through during that civil war.”

Gowon, the writer of this article was among those children you saw in Enugu with Haile Selassie of Ethiopia; when you came to mock their fathers, who the British government helped you to dehumanize. Yes, our fathers thought us all that we said so that our lives may be spared. They knew you as a cold-blooded murderer and wanted us to nurse your wicked ego so that you will go and leave us in peace. But today things are different.

You said also: “That touched me so dearly to think of the suffering that these children went through. What can I say to them? I am sorry for the things that they went through. It is not by design that these things happened and so, I want to assure you that we will do our best for the future.”

Gowon you lie. You never cared a hoot about those children. If you did you would not have chased their parents out of the civil service. You would not have made policies that would turn their land into a wasteland and steal their resources. If you cared about them, you would have implemented the “Three R” – (reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation) in their land, not in the West and North.

Gowon if you cared you would not have stolen their parents’ pensions and gratuity and boasted that your problem was not money but what to do with it. You should not have stolen their monies in the banks and given their parents mere 20 pounds to start life with. Gowon you are a wicked soul and you will rot in hell. Have you not noticed that nobody has named his child after you, even among Nigerians you claim to have fought for? They know you are devil incarnate.