A post on X (formerly Twitter) by user @amchidox shared a screenshot from The People’s Gazette allegedly quoting former Nigerian military head Yakubu Gowon as saying, “I was criticised for being too slow crushing Biafra secessionist but I did it.”
Upon reviewing The People’s Gazette website to verify the context, we found that the article in question was published in February 2024. It implies that General Gowon, during a visit to the Presidential Villa in February, allegedly referred to the “crushing” of the Biafran secessionists in a statement critical of his former detractors.
Historical Background:
The Nigerian Civil War erupted in 1967 after Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu attempted to secede from Nigeria. The war lasted for 30 months, resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 soldiers and more than three million Biafran combatant. In 1970, following Biafra’s surrender, General Gowon declared, “No victor, no vanquished,” signalling reconciliation.
Verification of the Claim
Given the sensitivity of this alleged quote, Haltfake decided to verify whether General Gowon indeed made such a statement. After searching for the quote on Google to see if any credible media outlets reported it,
we found that reliable sources did not carry this specific wording or sentiment attributed to him by The People’s Gazette.
In truth, during his visit, General Gowon reportedly stated: “I know and if I can remember, when I was fighting the war, I was told I was too slow and that probably Nigeria cannot make it and that we should now seek for discussion. Well, did we do it or not? They probably do not know the problem underground, so that is where we are.”
In fact, even in The People’s Gazette, the full statement excerpt is quoted as: “I know and if I can remember, when I was fighting the war, I was told I was too slow and that probably Nigeria cannot make it and that we should now seek for discussion. Well, did we do it or not? They probably do not know the problem underground, so that is where we are.”
At no point does General Gowon explicitly say, “I was criticised for being too slow crushing Biafra secessionist but I did it,” nor does his actual statement carry that tone or implication.
Verdict
Given these discrepancies, we conclude that this claim is misleading.
