Gowon And False Narrative Of Igbo Compensation After The Nigerian Civil War
By Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo
LAGOS AUGUST 6TH (URHOBOTODAY)-My attention has been drawn to the assertion by an elder statesman that the Igbo people were compensated by the Federal Military Government under General Yakubu Gowon following the Nigerian Civil War. I respectfully but firmly disagree with this assertion because it is not supported by the historical record.
Following the end of the Civil War on 15 January 1970, General Yakubu Gowon announced the policy of “Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation (the Three Rs).” While this policy was commendable in principle, its implementation has remained the subject of extensive historical debate. It cannot reasonably be equated with compensation for the immense human, economic and material losses suffered by the Igbo people.
Millions of Igbo citizens lost homes, businesses, factories, farms, personal property and other valuable assets during the war. In addition, many bank accounts held by former Biafrans were not restored to their pre-war values. Instead, under the Federal Government’s post-war banking policy, many account holders reportedly received only £20 ex gratia, irrespective of the amount they had standing to their credit before the war. That policy has been widely documented by historians and remains one of the most controversial aspects of Nigeria’s post-war reconstruction.
Furthermore, the Abandoned Property Policy implemented in parts of the former Eastern Region, particularly in Rivers State, resulted in many Igbo families permanently losing valuable residential and commercial properties. To this day, many affected persons and their descendants maintain that they have never received adequate restitution or compensation
Compensation, in law and in ordinary language, means making a person whole, as far as money or other remedies can achieve, for losses suffered. There is no evidence that the Federal Government comprehensively compensated the Igbo people for the widespread destruction of lives, businesses, industries, homes and personal wealth occasioned by the Civil War.
Historical accuracy is essential to national reconciliation. We must distinguish between a policy of national reconstruction and actual compensation for individual and collective losses. The two are not synonymous.
Nigeria’s unity is strengthened not by rewriting history but by acknowledging historical facts with honesty, empathy and fairness. Mature democracies confront difficult chapters of their history truthfully. Nigeria should do no less.
I therefore respectfully reject the claim that the Igbo people were compensated after the Civil War. Such a sweeping assertion does not reflect the complexity of the historical record and risks reopening old wounds by denying the lived experiences of millions of Nigerians.
I call on public office holders, elder statesmen, academics and opinion leaders to approach issues relating to the Nigerian Civil War with intellectual honesty, historical accuracy and sensitivity to all those who suffered during that tragic conflict.
Only truth can sustain reconciliation. Only justice can strengthen national unity.
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