According to the Daily Post Newspaper, the U.S.-based advocacy group, Rising Sun, has taken sharp exception to former Nigerian military ruler, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), for his recent narrative on the failure of the 1967 Aburi Accord.
In a strongly worded response, the group accused Gowon of distorting historical realities and attempting to reshape public understanding of the events that preceded Nigeria’s civil war.
Their criticism was made public in a statement released in Abuja on Sunday, jointly signed by the organization’s leader, Chief Maxwell Dede, and its secretary, Reverend Father Augustine Odimmegwa.
The organization rejected Gowon’s explanation that the accord collapsed due to the late General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s push to decentralize the military command structure, arguing that such claims obscure the broader context.
According to Rising Sun, Ojukwu’s advocacy for regional control over military and security frameworks stemmed from a legitimate desire to foster fairness and true federalism within the country.
The group maintained that if the federal authorities had implemented the terms outlined at the Aburi meeting in good faith, Nigeria might have avoided the civil war and its devastating human toll.
One part of the statement reads: “We, at Rising Sun, USA, find General Gowon’s recent comments deeply troubling. They present a false account of how the Aburi discussions unraveled.”
“To portray Ojukwu’s proposals as a mere ploy to control regional armies is not only inaccurate but also diminishes the seriousness of that historical moment.”
“If the commitments made in Aburi had been respected, the conflict that followed—the deaths, starvation, and destruction of civilian communities—could have been avoided. It was the breach of those agreements that plunged Nigeria into one of its darkest chapters.”
Hear him speak: “Britain did not want a successful federation of autonomous regions; it wanted a unified, centrally-controlled Nigeria under Fulani dominance, to protect Shell BP and other colonial-era corporate interests. That is why Britain armed Nigeria with bombs, aircraft, and diplomatic cover to annihilate Biafra.
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