₦airaland Forum

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has said his administration had no regret going into the Biafra war because it was necessary to keep Nigeria one.

The ex-military dictator said this in a special interview he granted the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Nigerian civil war, on Wednesday.

He said, “The war was fought to keep Nigeria one, not for other reasons as is being speculated in some quarters. It is because of this that we don’t have regrets about fighting the war.

“We fought because of our love for our country. That is why at the end of the war, we declared that there was no victor, no vanquished.”

The retired general, however, cautioned those he said were trying to turn back the hands of time with their conduct and utterances to desist from doing so in order to prevent a descent into chaos.

Around 4am on Friday, however, the telephone rang in my house I picked it up. Alhaji Isa kaita, the Minister for Education was on the line; he wanted to let me know, he said, there had been a coup against the government. The Sardauna’s house had been attacked by soldiers and all important official had gone



I got ready and said my dawn prayer, later I went out. I found the residence of the premier completely destroyed. It had been shelled and burnt, strings of smoke were still raising into the air from some sections. I looked for certain familiar scenes around but all were now a sorrowful sight. There was destruction everywhere. A few soldiers stood idly with weapons in their hands. All was quiet. I walked into the house silently and found the body of Sardauna lying on the ground the courtyard. He had been shot a number of times.
I arranged for the body to be taken to the house of the Sultan in Kaduna which was a short distance away. His wife, Hafsah, who was killed together with him, was also taken to the Sultan’s house.


It became established that in the midnight attack on the Premier’s residence many others had been killed….During the week the Prime Minister (Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa) was found dead in the outskirts of Lagos…..others killed included Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, Colnel Kur Muhammad, Lt-Colonel Abogo Largema, Lt-Colonel Yakubu Pam. Similarly, the Premier of the Western Nigeria Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the Minister of Finance, the Commander of the 1s t Brigade, Kaduna all lost their lives.

Gradually, more details about the military coup became public and at the same time the real motives of the coup planners began to appear. It was immediately apparent that Igbo Christian officers were the leaders and all the killings followed a set pattern. Only the Muslims and those who were considered as their friends were assassinated. The Prime Minister (a Hausa-Fulani Muslim) was killed, but the President (an Igbo Christian) was skillfully sent out of the country. His farewell words to the Prime Minister, as I heard later, were, ‘I see you on 15 January.’

Pictures of the dead Sardauna against the background of his burning house were immediately put on display, along with those of Nzeogwu giving the heroic account of how he broke into the house and shot him, amidst the wailings of the women and children. These pictures were used by many Igbo leaders and traders and elsewhere in the North to taunt the local people, as evidence that the Sardauna was dead and the North had been defeated. Suddenly, the massacres of the Muslim leaders and politicians was turned into a revolution, with the most glowing tributes being showered on the assassins

Racoon:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/why-we-have-no-regrets-fighting-civil-war-gowon/amp/
Lalasticlala

hammerF:
GOWON MAKES NO SENSE.


PEOPLE LIKE GOWON DESERVE TO BE TIED UP AND SHOT DEAD.


U HAVE TO GO TO WAR TO FORCE A NON-EXISTENT UNITY AT THE COST OF 3 MILLION LIVES.


WITH THE STATE OF NIGERIA TODAY IS IT JUSTIFIED?

itsme01:




Gowon please tell them

Let them blame Nzeogwu he could have chosen a bloodless coup, but he killed many innocent leader from north and south, he try Tafa Balewa's corpse on Lagos Ibadan Express Way like a goat and Ojukwu for there woes



.

LordVoldermort:
But why did Gowon bury Nzeogwu with military honors?

Racoon:
Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has said his administration had no regret going into the Biafra war because it was necessary to keep Nigeria one.

The ex-military dictator said this in a special interview he granted the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Nigerian civil war, on Wednesday.

He said, “The war was fought to keep Nigeria one, not for other reasons as is being speculated in some quarters. It is because of this that we don’t have regrets about fighting the war.

“We fought because of our love for our country. That is why at the end of the war, we declared that there was no victor, no vanquished.”

The retired general, however, cautioned those he said were trying to turn back the hands of time with their conduct and utterances to desist from doing so in order to prevent a descent into chaos.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/why-we-have-no-regrets-fighting-civil-war-gowon/amp/
Lalasticlala

itsme01:
After what he saw in the Biafra Army after Ojuckwu released him from the luxury prison, he was rumoured to help the other side with Intels .. he felt his people where not prepared for war, kids and untrained people were armed all his attempt to reach out to Ojuckwu to persuade him proved abortive as Ojuckwu spared no time in killing anyone against his ideas

So its only right Nigerian Army took his body back for a proper cerimonial burial as he grew up in the North and was close to them

..

We fought because of our love for our country. That is why at the end of the war, we declared that THERE WAS NO VICTOR, NO VANQUISHED.