Veteran journalist accuses Gowon of distorting Aburi accord history after Ojukwu’s death
By Our Reporter
A veteran journalist and former chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuchi Anueyiagu, has criticised former Nigerian Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, for allegedly waiting until the death of former Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, before publishing controversial claims about the Nigeria-Biafra civil war in his memoir.
Anueyiagu, who is also a public affairs analyst, accused Gowon of attempting to distort historical facts surrounding the 1967 Aburi Accord reached in Ghana ahead of the Nigerian civil war.
In a statement on Saturday, the journalist alleged that Ojukwu had, during his lifetime, granted widely circulated interviews explaining how both Nigerian and Biafran representatives jointly drafted the Aburi Agreement during peace talks brokered by former Ghanaian military leader, Joseph Arthur Ankrah.
According to him, Ojukwu had maintained that the agreement was accepted by all parties present, including Gowon, before it was publicly announced by the Ghanaian authorities.
Anueyiagu argued that Gowon never publicly challenged Ojukwu’s account while the former Biafran leader was alive, raising questions about why the former Head of State chose to present a different narrative years after Ojukwu’s death.
He further accused Gowon of showing no remorse over alleged atrocities committed during the civil war, including the killing of civilians in Asaba.
The veteran journalist described the former military ruler’s actions as an attempt to “misrepresent facts” at a time when Ojukwu could no longer respond.
The comments have reignited discussions over differing historical interpretations of the Aburi Accord and the events that culminated in the Nigerian civil war.