By Wole Mosadomi
War time Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has criticized
renowned author, Professor Chinua Achebe, over his new book on
the Nigerian civil war, saying he{Achebe }does not know the issue
he was writing about.


Gowon said he was ready to face the International Criminal Court
(ICC) at the Hague on the matter if necessary.


“What role did Achebe play in the secessionist plans? Achebe
must have been outside the country during the war and probably
did not know what happened during the period otherwise he would
not have written on what he was not sure of “, he remarked.


The erstwhile Nigerian leader, who was answering questions from
journalists courtesy, visit to Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu at
the Presidential Lodge, Minna, Niger state, yesterday, said Achebe
must have been talking out of ignorance, adding that he and the
late Chief Obafemi Awolowo had no regrets over their roles in the
civil war, pointing out that if there was no secession, there would
not have been civil war.


“In fact , if there was no secession by the south eastern part of the
country, there would have been no civil war because right from the
beginning of the crises, the war would have been averted if not for
the secession . It was something I believed we could have
stopped,” he stressed.

Gowon also debunked the claim by the author that his
administration embarked on the mass killing of Igbo, adding that
the federal troops did not also use hunger as a weapon to
dislodge the dissidents.


“It was the Igbo that objected to the creation of corridor for
movements of medical aid and food supplies to the civilian
population at the period; on this, I am ready to face the
International Criminal Court of Justice at the Hague for prosecution
over the role played by me during the war and, fortunately, some
Nigerians are still alive to bear witness to the roles played by both
the leadership of the secessionist group and the then Federal
Military Government under my leadership, “the war-time leader
stated.

He also recalled that during the war, a ship named “Josina” and
owned by the secessionist group, which they claimed was carrying
agricultural implements, was captured by federal troops and it
was subjected to a thorough search and the cargo turned out to
be a collection of arms and ammunition.

Gowon, who was in Minna for a 2-day prayer organized by Nigeria
Prays, a group he leads, said that the massive deaths recorded by
the Igbo during the civil war was caused by their own propaganda
machine which claimed that the northern invaders were coming to
their camps and that caused panic and pandemonium among
their people because some people were trying to move from one
location to the other out of fear of imaginary attacks by the so
called northern invaders and without food.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/10/gowon-hits-achebe-on-civil-war-says-he-wrote-out-of-ignorance/