IBB’s Memoir: Ohanaeze Chieftain Demands Apology To Ndigbo Over Civil War

A prominent figure of the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, has expressed support for former military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), over his recent memoir in which he clarified that the January 1966 coup d’état was not an Igbo-led insurrection.

In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP, Mazi Isiguzoro commended Babangida for his courageous and historic assertion, which he described as a critical milestone in correcting the long-held misconception that the Igbo people were the primary instigators of the coup. This acknowledgment, Isiguzoro noted, is significant in shifting the narrative that has long unjustly portrayed the Igbo as enemies in Nigeria’s political history.

He pointed out that Babangida’s statement in his book, A Journey in Service, marks an important step in correcting the historical injustice that has led to widespread animosity and deep-rooted grievances against the Igbo nation. He emphasized that this revelation has the potential to put an end to the harsh, systemic discrimination the Igbo people have endured for decades.

Isiguzoro further explained that the incorrect attribution of the January 1966 coup to the Igbo people has had lasting negative effects, not only during the immediate aftermath of the coup but continuing well into the present. He noted that the Igbo nation continues to suffer from systemic marginalization, particularly highlighting the closure of vital economic infrastructures like the Calabar Seaport and other key projects in the Eastern Economic Corridor as a direct result of this exclusion.

In his call to the Nigerian government, Isiguzoro demanded that the federal government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, confront the longstanding traumas faced by the Igbo people. Specifically, he urged the government to issue a public and unequivocal apology on behalf of past military regimes, particularly that of General Yakubu Gowon, for the atrocities committed during the Nigeria-Biafra War. He pointed to the unprovoked bombings and shellings of Igbo territories during the conflict, which caused immense suffering and loss of life.

Isiguzoro also advocated for reparations for the Igbo nation, demanding the federal government pay a sum of 10 trillion naira as compensation for the lives lost, the cultural destruction, and the infrastructural damage sustained during the civil war. He stressed that this demand is not just for financial restitution but for a recognition of the immense human cost the Igbo people have borne over the decades since the war ended 55 years ago.