Meet Igbos

GENERAL YAKUBU GOWON AND POPE LEO XIV. Only a few days ago Yakubu Gowon wrote and published a Memoir of his life in which he detailed his roles in the Biafra war, excoriating everyone but himself in what many consider a revisionist attempt by a man who was front-and-center and instrumental in the creation of the war, and superintended its heinous outcome. Gowon exonerated himself in all the atrocities of that war, admitting little or no guilt or wrongdoing, and failing to apologize to what many consider to be the worse genocide committed by any group of people in the entire human race. A few days after Gowon’s indignant display, The Pope of the Catholics boldly issued an apology to the victims of slavery; crimes committed hundreds of years ago in which the Catholic Church was complicit and culpable. The Pope said sorry, but the all mighty Gowon has no contrition, no remorse and no shame for the dastardly acts he committed; that he planned, sanctioned and executed — the killing of millions of innocent people in Biafra. The essential thesis of this short note, is that the most brutal acts of Gowon have become a watershed of his life, and that instead of its history being a soothing balm in the domain of the past, softening our memories, it has become a dangerously loathsome reminder of his past and the fetid outcomes. Drawing a contrast between these two men and the institutions that they emerge from, I wonder how their dispersed actions might affect our consciousness … I wonder also if we could truly say without hesitation, that, “All is well with us, and that our children and their children’s children are well.” The cycle of the crimes of Biafra, just like those of slavery have left deep scars on the victors and the vanquished, more so on the victims, and robbing us all of our humanity. To remain truly human, no man can gain anything from the horrors, the pain and the suffering of those they oppress. And, what must be most painful is to not admit our failure and refuse to repent, confess and seek restoration and restitution. This is not a review of Gowon’s book - that job is in the domain of so many other writers and pundits. It is also not a rebuke of the man himself, because that judgement is reserved for God in whose domain Gowon will soon be. My advocacy is that we must TELL THE WORLD THE TRUTH always. Let us abhor the diminishment and condescension of telling not the Truth. Let us FEAR GOD. The trauma and the tragedy of Biafra when told properly, will help to lay the foundation needed to ensure the truth and the future of our country by guaranteeing the evolution of our society’s prosperity and stability. Okey Anueyiagu.