Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, Former Presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party ( YPP), has apologised to Ndigbo and other Nigerians for his description of Yakubu Gowon as a humane personality.
Gowon is believed by many, especially the Igbo, as the architect of the civil war between 1967 and 1970 , which claimed the lives of about three million Igbo men , women and children.
Speaking during a session in the Second Odumegwu Ojukwu Lecture, Moghalu said , “Perhaps , because of my use of the word ‘humane ’ in describing Gen. Gowon from my personal knowledge of him, I was heavily criticised by hundreds of Twitter users, mainly but not exclusively Igbo who felt I was wrongly celebrating a leader they hold responsible for the death of millions of Igbo people during the civil war.
“ There is no more appropriate place and occasion than this lecture to address the misconception that I was insensitive to the death of our family members, young and old , during the terrible civil war. “This was far from my intention because in my message , I urged Gowon to step forward and play a leadership role in bringing the painful issue of the civil war and its lessons to closure , so that Nigeria can heal .”
According to the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) , despite the no-victor -no- vanquished declaration by Gowon at the end of the war, Igbo people have remained heavily discriminated against in Nigeria in many ways, in particular , in the political terrain in which there appears to be an unspoken conspiracy to prevent a person of Igbo ethnic nationality from becoming president of Nigeria .”
On the controversial tweet, Moghalu said : “In the first place, I am deeply sorry, and apologise , to everyone whose sensibility I offended, if I mistakenly conveyed the impression that I , as an Igbo man , was uncaring about the millions of people, mostly Igbo , that perished in the war.” He recalled the mass killing of Igbo people in 1966 , which led to the war , adding that there would not have been clamour for Biafra if there were no counter- coup or failure of the Aburi Accord.
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