GOWAN'S APOLOGY TO NDI IGBO.
Magnus I. Ekwueme
For all it is worth, I am now at peace with him. I would not have been so
eager to praise him
for RRR because we saw no effects of it anywhere in Igboland.
What do you think, MOE?
Magnus
ALEXANDER E. J. UKOH, M.D.,F.A.C.S. wrote:
> Justice in Service of Community
>
> Category: News
> Date of Article: 07/08/98
> Topic: Gowon Apologises to Igbos over Civil War
> Author: Chris Oji, Enugu
> Full Text of Article:
> TWENTY-eight years after the Nigerian civil war, General Yakubu Gowon who
> was then the head of state, has passionately apologised to the Igbos for
> whatever atrocities they suffered during the 30-month old war.
> The former head of state who tendered the apology at the All Saints Anglican
> Cathedral in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, at the weekend, explained
> that his leadership role during the war was not to punish the Igbos but to
> keep Nigeria one for a greater role in Africa and the black race.
> Gowon, who was in Ebonyi State as part of his nationwide Nigeria Prays
> project, called on all victims of the civil war to forgive him, saying that
> "Nigeria could have been the greatest loser without the Igbos. That was why
> I fought to keep Nigeria one."
> Appealing to the Igbos to stop brooding over the effects of the civil war,
> he enjoined them not to see him as a wicked man but to see the unfortunate
> exercise as a sacrifice that had to be made in the interest of a strong,
> viable and united Nigeria.
> He urged the Igbos not to relent in their efforts for a united Nigeria and
> pleaded with them to pray fervently during this trying period to avoid being
> plunged into another war.
> Gowon, whose speech dwelt on repentance and reconciliation, said "we
> remorsefully identify with the sins of our forefathers and the generations
> that have gone before and we are also gathered here to present ourselves as
> a nation before God to pray, seek His face and repent of our ways."
> The Anglican Bishop of Abakaliki Diocese, Bishop Benson Onyeibor, had
> earlier praised Gowon for his post-war efforts to rehabilitate the
> easterners under the programme of reconstruction, rehabilitation and
> reconciliation.
>
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