Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has said that the 1967 Aburi Summit held in Ghana had the potential to prevent the Nigerian Civil War if its resolutions had been fully implemented.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, the 90-year-old statesman reflected on the events leading up to the conflict, which broke out in July 1967 and lasted for 30 months. Gowon, who led Nigeria from 1966 to 1975, said deep-seated disagreements between the federal government and the Eastern Region, particularly with then-regional leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, played a critical role in the war’s outbreak.
He revealed that the major point of contention was Ojukwu’s insistence on a form of regional autonomy, which the federal government found unacceptable.
“The Aburi Accord, if it had been upheld, might have saved the country from the horrors of civil war,” Gowon said. “But there were irreconcilable differences that made implementation difficult.”
Expressing his enduring commitment to national unity, Gowon added, “I want to be remembered as someone who loves Nigeria, who loves Nigerians. Even if I can no longer fight for the country, I will continue to pray for it. I know no country is perfect, but we must strive to preserve our unity.”
