Biafra civil war: Igbos were compensated – Gowon defends Obafemi Awolowo

Former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has stated that the Igbos were compensated for their losses after the Biafra civil war.

Gowon said that Igbos who had money in banks were compensated with interest after the civil war.

The Biafra civil war began on July 6, 1967, and ended on January 15, 1970. During this time, Gowon was the Head of State. The late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, served as the Federal Finance Commissioner.

However, Gowon dismissed the unfair blame placed on Awolowo by those who accused him of giving them 20 pounds, even though they had millions of pounds in the bank before the civil war.

The former Head of State stated this in his memoir, ‘My Life of Duty and Allegiance’ where he said that the policy on controlling money after the war was the last decision made by the Federal Government.

Gowon said, “The Central Bank created a panel to examine all the effects of converting the Biafran pound into another currency, but it was clear this would be a tough task because from the start, the Biafran currency wasn’t officially recognized as legal tender in Nigeria.

“Because there were so many Biafran pounds in use, the Federal Government realized it couldn’t exchange all of them at the same value as the Nigerian currency without causing the economy to fail.

“Economic specialists suggested that the Federal Government should set the payment to around 20 Nigerian pounds for every adult from Biafra, no matter how much Biafran money they bring back.

“We agreed to the proposal and made it our official policy, especially because we couldn’t figure out the small and large details needed to print the Biafran currency.

“However, everyone who left Nigeria but had proof that they had money in Nigerian banks got the full amount of their money plus the interest it earned, all in Nigerian currency. It would have been a bad idea to choose a different path.”