Gowon claims arms smuggling prevented civil war peace
Former Nigerian military Head of State Yakubu Gowon alleges that arms were smuggled from foreign countries into the Eastern Region in preparation for the civil war, making it unavoidable. In his autobiography 'My Life of Duty and Allegiance,' launched in Abuja last Tuesday, Gowon claims the war that killed millions could have been prevented if Eastern Region leader Chukwuemeka Ojukwu had honored Aburi agreement terms reached in Ghana on January 4-5, 1967.
Gowon contends that Ojukwu used the peace negotiations as a pretext to stockpile weapons, pointing to a DC-4 aircraft crash in Northern Cameroon in October 1966 that disrupted arms supplies. He quoted Ojukwu as declaring, 'Quietly I built up. If you do not know it, I am proud, and my officers are proud, that here in the East we possess the biggest army in Black Africa.'
Despite these claims, Gowon maintained that federal forces maintained a clear military advantage over the Eastern Region throughout the conflict that lasted from July 1967 to January 1970. The autobiography offers rare insight into the decision-making process that led to Nigeria's 30-month civil war.