Following the recent revelation by former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), that absolved the Igbo ethnic group from any blame for the 1966 coup, prominent Igbo leaders and groups have backed the call for an apology and compensation from the Federal Government.
IBB, in his book, ‘A Journey In Service’, had clarified that the coup was not driven by ethnic motivations, highlighting the role of Major John Obienu, an Igbo officer, who played a key role in quelling the mutiny. He equally revealed that many senior Igbo officers were also tragically killed during the uprising.
The Igbo have long sought recognition and restitution for the injustices they suffered during the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, which lasted from 1967 to 1970.
However, IBB’s revelation has ignited a fresh wave of demands by the Igbo apex socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
Ohanaeze, had last Sunday, demanded an apology and N10 trillion as compensation from President Bola Tinubu noting that the coup unleashed disastrous repercussions on the Igbo people, among other factors, which ultimately led to the cataclysmic horrors of the Biafra War.
A statement by the Deputy National President of the Ohanaeze faction, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, noted that the apology and compensation had become necessary due to the staggering loss of life, with approximately three million Igbo-predominantly innocent women and children-slaughtered during the conflict.
Expectedly, Igbo leaders and organizations have backed Ohanaeze, lending their voices to the growing chorus of demands for an official apology and compensation from the Nigerian government.
They described the demands as a crucial step towards healing the deep-seated scars of the past and promoting national reconciliation.
Time to pay
Lending his voice, former President of an Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, said the nature of the compensation should be in the form of massive repair of public infrastructure in the region damaged during the war.
