Soludo Talks Tough On Sunday Bloodletting In Anambra As Igbo Youths Open Pandora's Box On Gowon, Obasanjo
NIBO, ANAMBRA (THE SOUTHERN EXAMINER) - Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State has vowed to smoke out the non-state actors perpetrating the orgy of violence in that axis of Eastern Nigeria. That is coming as aggrieved Igbo youths are accusing the 90 year-old former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, of war crimes.
Soludo's resolve is coming on the heels of the Sunday bloodletting that ended the lives of tens of citizens in the state capital.
The horror of the Sunday incident that took place at Nibo, a community in Awka South Local Government Area, near the Government House, Awka, is suspected to be the handiwork of rival cult groups.
After paying a visit to Nibo on Monday, where he condoled with the families and the community over the unfortunate loss of lives in the suspected cult rivalry killings on Sunday, the governor said no stone will be left unturned in unmasking the callous killers of innocent citizens in the state.
Speaking at Eke market during his routine monitoring of activities across the state on Monday, Governor Soludo vowed to smoke out the perpetrators of the dastardly act and go drastically against cultism in the state.
While asking the people to go about their lawful duties, he stressed that no matter where the perpetrators are hiding, they will be brought out for sanctioning, and accordingly assured the people of their safety and general wellbeing.
In the meantime, the Youth Council of Ohanaeze Ndịgbo, is taking on Gowon for his alleged role in the ethnic cleansing of Ndịgbo during the Nigerian civil war.
President of the Ohanaeze Youths, Igboayaka O Igboayaka, in a bombshell statement brands Gowon as “a ruthless leader akin to Uganda’s infamous Gen. Idi Amin, claiming that the former Nigerian leader was involved in the Igbo genocide of 1966-1970.
According to the Igbo youths, “the contemporary generation of Igbo descent recognizes the events of 1967-1970 not as a civil war, but rather as a systematic genocide orchestrated by the British government in conjunction with Northern and Western political blocs, specifically targeting Ndigbo.
“The Nigerian-Biafran conflict contravened international humanitarian law and principles of warfare; notably, the Nigerian government under Gowon, aided by the British government, disregarded fundamental principles by targeting innocent civilians, including non-military spaces such as churches, schools, and markets.”
“We will not soon forget the devastating bombing of Owerinta market, which resulted in the loss of over 100 civilian lives and numerous injuries. Additionally, Uzuakoli market and Ozuabam market in Arochukwu, Abia State, suffered similar bombings, perpetrated by Russian Air-bombers hired by Gowon, leaving civilians with severe head injuries and exposing them to scavenging vultures.
“Furthermore, Okigwe National High School was bombed, claiming the lives of innocent students and leaving many more injured, with lingering remnants of the tragedy still evident today”, they said.
They are alleging that the 1967 Osowa, Ogbe, Asaba massacre, was carefully committed by 2nd Division of the Nigerian Army led then by the late Head of State, Gen. Murtala Mohammed. The Igbo youths said it raised historical questions about Gowon’s alleged tyrannical military rule, indicating that Ibrahim Haruna and Ibrahim Taiwo were responsible for the deaths of over 700 Igbo individuals, primarily males, who were deceived into attending a gathering.
“This incident remains a source of trauma for Igbo youths, and General Gowon’s deliberate involvement and subsequent denials in many media platforms will generate significant concern both now and in the future”, they add.
They asking Gowon to provide clarification on whether ‘Operation No Mercy: Shoot Everything Aside’ was part of the war strategy, despite a ceasefire announcement at the peak of the genocide, which allegedly involved the 3rd Marine Commando from Port Harcourt, under General Olusegun Obasanjo’s command, targeting remaining civilians, and eliminated school children.
“The Mbaise region in Imo State witnessed severe violence during the conflict, with military atrocities committed under Gowon’s leadership and Obasanjo’s command. Innocent school children were reportedly attacked while returning home from school.
“A harrowing account involves soldiers ordering school girls to say their last prayers before being shot. Specifically, Miss Chinwe Ohaeri (now Prof Chinwe Obaji) survived an attack at Okpofe Mbaise, where over 100 school children were killed.
“Gowon needs to account for the slaughter of over 200 Biafran soldiers who reported for disarmament in Port Harcourt after the genocide, as reportedly perpetrated by forces under Obasanjo’s command in the 3rd Marine Commando”, they alleged.
The rest of their attack on Gowon goes thus: “What led Gowon to commit genocide, human rights abuses against the Igbo people, was due to perceived economic dependence on the Eastern Region’s oil resources and certain stereotypes about the North’s viability/ economic survival without Igbo contributions.
“The unity of Nigeria by Gowon was merely a facade; songs of the lips, the genocide was, in reality, a carefully orchestrated conspiracy to politically and economically marginalisation of Ndigbo in Nigeria political context.
“It has been asserted that Gowon’s administration was employed by the British government as a means to target the Igbo population in Nigeria. The genocide against Igbos, initially anticipated to conclude within three months according to Gowon’s statements, extended to three years with the Nigerian government breathing through their noise, if not for foreign support, this contraption called Nigeria could have been existing in different countries by now.
“The British government carried Gowon on their back like a 3 months baby sucking breast with the aid of German, Russian and USA and they killed 4.3 million Igbo. It’s therefore shameful for Gowon to claim that he fought a war.
“In April 1969 at the midst of the genocide, Gowon celebrated the union of Miss Victoria Zakari in Lagos and embarked on a honeymoon. Considering Gowon’s perceived limited engagement in battle, his thoughts on warfare are of interest.
“Examining Murtala Mohammed’s encounters with teenage Biafran soldiers could offer Gowon valuable lessons on acts of war. We advise Gowon to consult Murtala’s spirit to explain to him how teenage Biafra soldiers dealt with him at Abagana. It’s unfortunate that Gowon, who was merely eating cake in Lagos with Miss Victoria Zakari, is talking about war.
“Gowon is a chronic liar, and crafty agent of British empire, his silence on 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom which was another series of massacres committed against the Igbos living in Northern Nigeria which started in May 1966 and reached its peak after September 29, 1966
“The 1966 pogrom, which resulted in the loss of approximately 80,000 Igbo lives, constituted a catastrophic holocaust that prompted Dim Odemegwu Ojukwu, Governor of the Eastern Region, to declare the Sovereign State of Biafra as a necessary measure to safeguard the lives and properties of Igbos and other marginalised minority tribes in the old Eastern Region.
“Gowon should note that the contemporary Igbo generation is fully cognisant of the fact that the 1967-1970 evil sinister/atrocities were directed exclusively at Igbos and not at other ethnic groups within the former Eastern Region, such as the Ogoni, Ijaw, or Urhobo. This genocide, which was facilitated by global powers including Britain, the USA, France, Germany, and Russia, we recognized it as a deliberate attempt by the British government to marginalise the Igbo people.
“The British government in its excessive greed to maintain the oil field and harvest raw materials from Biafran land was instructmental to the slaughtering of 4.3 million Igbos in 1966-1970.
The Biafran genocide, which occurred from 1966-1970, bears similarities to the Holocaust in its scope and intentionality, with estimates suggesting millions of Igbo people lost their lives during this period, mirroring the devastation inflicted upon six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1941-1945.
“Gowon must acknowledge the lingering trauma inflicted upon the modern Igbo generation by this demeaning act,(genocide) as undertaken to advance Buckingham Palace’s interests at the expense of Ndigbo and other ethnic minorities in old Eastern Region.
“Gowon should be aware that Igbo youths recognize the vulnerabilities of Ndigbo in Nigeria. ‘The Atlantic Ocean is easier to cross than the hurdles faced by Igbo individuals in Nigeria’. It is evident that Nigerian unity frequently entails Igbo marginalisation. ‘Ndigbo’s prospects for political and economic prosperity in Nigeria are as unlikely as a camel passing through the eye of a needle’.
“Today, the consequences and legacy of Gowon’s actions during the Biafran conflict and executed genocide has contributed to Nigeria’s current state of instability, sparking renewed calls for secession. It’s empirically clear, that part of the social evil and karma of Gowon’s genocide against the Igbo is the evidence how the Fulani are slaughtering Middle-Beltans in dozens with herdsmen, Boko Haram and Bandits.
“Nigeria’s status quo which Gowon fought for has become a poisonous venom to his people, and today Nigeria is regarded as irredeemable, irreconcilable, unsustainable, and irreparable; consequently, a sovereign national conference culminating in a referendum emerges as the sole option for Nigerians to safeguard their future survival.”
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