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.

controversial Achebe

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.

This man seems to be only good in defending the Nigeria unity and relishes in Fighting to keep Nigeria one while his Home State is on fire and at the verge of being wiped out by both Bokoharam and the Fulanis.

Now Achebe and Soyinka are ignorant and General Gowon is not Ignorant, if there was no Circumvention of the Aburi Agreement there would not have been any secession and if thered was no Secession then the war would not have come .

Why go to Aburi when you know you wont keep to the terms of Discussion.

A similar Civil war was fought 100 year earlier around 1860 in the USA between the Federalist and the confederates over Slavery which the Fedrealist won fairly,
eventhough at that time the world was not as civilised as it is today up to the extent that whites used blacks for slavery yet food was never considered as a part of the war neither did the federalst shoot at any thing that moves whether human or animal or give away its most priced Peninsular or Islands.

Today what do we have , America has risen from the Ashes of the Civil war to become a world super power and Nigeria has declined from the Giant of Africa to a country battling with internal insurgency and insurrection

kettykin:

This man seems to be only good in defending the Nigeria unity and relishes in Fighting to keep Nigeria one while his Home State is on fire and at the verge of being wiped out by both Bokoharam and the Fulanis.

Now Achebe and Soyinka are ignorant and General Gowon is not Ignorant, if there was no Circumvention of the Aburi Agreement there would not have been any secession and if thered was no Secession then the war would not have come .

Why go to Aburi when you know you wont keep to the terms of Discussion.

A similar Civil war was fought 100 year earlier around 1860 in the USA between the Federalist and the confederates over Slavery which the Fedrealist won fairly,
eventhough at that time the world was not as civilised as it is today up to the extent that whites used blacks for slavery yet food was never considered as a part of the war neither did the federalst shoot at any thing that moves whether human or animal or give away its most priced Peninsular or Islands.

Today what do we have , America has risen from the Ashes of the Civil war to become a world super power and Nigeria has declined from the Giant of Africa to a country battling with internal insurgency and insurrection

Whats the relevance of your analogy to the situation discussed above. Whinin over an outdated and already over flogged issue is not the best. To be honest, achebe is a disgrace to African literature. He that should Be fostering unity through is art as resulted to distortion of known facts and i can't help but ask why? What does he stand to achieve by plantin bile and bitterness when he is so closed to the grave.