A United States-based group, Rising Sun, has faulted former Head of State, retired General Yakubu Gowon, over his recent comments on the reasons for the failure of the historic Aburi Accord of 1967.
The group said the explanation offered by Gowon for the collapse of the accord does not reflect historical reality but is instead “an attempt to distort the facts.”
In a statement jointly signed by Chief Maxwell Dede and Rev. Fr. Augustine Odimmegwa, the group’s president and secretary, respectively, Rising Sun condemned Gowon’s claim that the Aburi Accord failed because General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu wanted regional governors to control the military.
They argued that the demand for regional control of security forces was made in good faith and reflected a call for justice and true federalism.
The group noted that if the Nigerian government had honoured the terms of the Aburi Accord, the country could have avoided civil war, genocide, and famine.
The statement read in part: “The attention of the global family of Rising Sun, USA, has been drawn to a recent statement credited to retired General Yakubu Gowon, in which he attempted to distort the valid reasons behind the failure of the historic Aburi Accord of 1967.
“His claim that the breakdown occurred because General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu wanted regional governors to control the military is laughable and dishonest.
“If Nigeria had followed the Aburi Accord in its true form, there would have been no war. There would have been no genocide. There would have been no famine used as a weapon of war. There would have been no carpet-bombing of villages. Instead, Gowon reneged, Nigeria reneged, and the blood of millions is on their hands.”
The group recalled that the Aburi Accord, held on January 4–5, 1967, in Ghana, was a last-ditch effort to save Nigeria following the first military coup in January 1966 and the counter-coup in July of the same year, which led to the massacre of thousands of Easterners in Northern Nigeria.
According to the group, “The agreement, which was documented in writing and through tape recordings, was unambiguous.
“It reaffirmed the sovereignty of the regions, with each area to control its affairs. It called for a loose or confederation, where the centre would be weak and the regions strong.
“It called for joint control of the armed forces, not a central command.
“It agreed that appointments to the Nigerian Military Council must be regional and consensual.
“These positions were not Ojukwu’s invention—they were the collective resolutions all Nigerian military leaders agreed upon at the meeting.”*
They further alleged that Gowon’s subsequent rejection of the accord, upon his return to Lagos, was influenced by the British High Commission and the Northern oligarchy, who feared the return of a successful and autonomous regional structure similar to the First Republic.
The statement continued: “Is General Gowon genuinely unaware that in the United States—the very model of federalism—state governors control their National Guards and can activate them independently of the federal government?
“Is it treasonous in a federal system for regional leaders to demand control over security forces in their territories? Ojukwu’s position was the position of reason, of justice, and true federalism. It is Gowon who betrayed that spirit and plunged Nigeria into chaos.
“By confessing that the dispute at Aburi was over control of the military and not about oil or so-called secession, Gowon has inadvertently vindicated Ojukwu and all Biafrans. The world can now see that Biafra did not seek war—it sought autonomy, safety, and self-governance in the face of an unrelenting genocidal machine.”
The group also blamed the British government for playing a role in the rejection of the accord:
“We remind the world that it was the British government, through its High Commissioner in Lagos, Sir David Hunt, that instructed Gowon to reject the Aburi Accord and ensure that power remained concentrated in the hands of the Northern establishment. 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.”
The group further said that millions of Nigerians are still living with the consequences of the betrayal of the Aburi Accord, which, according to them, has led to widespread insecurity, economic collapse, and the entrenchment of “fake federalism” under a unitary system masquerading as a federation.
“Gowon’s words are not just a distortion of the past—they are a dangerous attempt to sanitise tyranny and genocide.
“We call on all truth-seeking historians, scholars, and lovers of justice to revisit the original tapes and documents of the Aburi Accord—many of which are publicly available—to expose Gowon’s lies.
“The Rising Sun global family will continue to resist every attempt to revise history or justify genocide. Ojukwu stood on the side of justice. History has already passed its verdict—and it is not in Gowon’s favour,” the statement said.
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