Igbo Women Group Urges Ex-Head Of State Gowon To Speak Up On 1966 Coup

The National President of the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), Nneka Chimezie, has urged former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, to break his silence and address the events surrounding the 1966 coup.

Doing this, she said, will tally with former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida’s statement that the Coup was not an Igbo plot.

Chimezie, who was speaking about the sit-at-home held on May 30 in different parts of the South East, said that there was nothing wrong with the observation of the Biafra Heroes Day, as, according to her, it was used to honour loved ones who were killed during the civil war.

She argued that the continued injustice against Ndigbo gave birth to the renewed agitation for Biafra by youths, advising the Federal Government to engage the agitators in a peaceful dialogue with a view to addressing their grievances, not using force.

The IWA President further said that the revelation by former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, should have earned the Igbos an apology from the Federal Government.



“We have done a lot of research and discovered that the civil war was avoidable. The false narration that the 1966 coup was an Igbo coup, as recently confirmed by Gen. Babangida, has not been addressed,” she said.

IWA renewed the call for the unconditional release of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, as part of the healing process for the protracted injustice against Ndigbo.

According to them, Kanu’s release will rather fast-track the return of peace to the South East and not escalate tension in the region.

They also called for unity among Ndigbo but cautioned Igbo political leaders against sacrificing the interest of the race on the altar of their personal gains.