The Chief Executive Officer of the Gulf of Guinea Risk and Resilience Institute, Joachim Ezeji has alleged that Nigeria’s civil war could have been avoided if former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, had acted responsibly after the Aburi Accord in 1967.
Speaking during an interview on Signature TV, Ezeji claimed that Gowon failed to implement the resolutions reached at the peace meeting held in Aburi, Ghana, where Nigerian leaders gathered to resolve rising political and regional tensions.
According to Ezeji, Gowon’s failure to act upon his return from the talks directly contributed to the breakdown of trust between the federal government and the Eastern Region led by Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
“The war would have been averted but he pretended he was sick. He refused to do the needful,” Ezeji said, expressing disappointment at what he described as a missed opportunity to prevent one of the most tragic chapters in Nigeria’s history.
The Aburi Accord, convened in January 1967, sought to address growing divisions following the 1966 military coups and ethnic unrest across the country. Although the meeting appeared to produce a framework for peace and decentralization of power, disputes over its interpretation and Gowon’s inaction reportedly derailed the agreement.
Ezeji insisted that Gowon’s alleged reluctance to follow through on the commitments made at Aburi paved the way for the civil war that broke out months later, costing millions of lives and devastating communities across the nation.
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