By Iheme Kelechi
Nigerian popular controversial Critic, and former minister,
Femi Fani-Kayode has said the various prayer sessions being conducted by former
Military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon remains a waste if he does not
apologise to the Igbo over the genocide against the group during the Civil War.
Fani-Kayode, in a statement on Monday, said 300 Igbo army
officers, including an Igbo Head of State, were murdered on July 29th, 1966 by
northern army officers, while 30,000 innocent and defenceless Igbo civilians
(many historians say the figure is actually over 100,000) were slaughtered
between September and December 1966 by savage and barbaric northern mobs in
three separate pogroms in the north before the outbreak of the Nigerian civil
war.
“Finally 3 million innocent and defenceless Igbo civilians,
including one million children, were targeted and butchered by the Nigerian
Army and the northern “Gwodo-Gwodo” auxiliaries and militias during the
Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970,” he said.
Fani-Kayode said if the Nigerian people really wanted their
fortunes to change for the better and that if they really wanted to be restored
to the great and prosperous nation and people that they once were, they needed
to ask the Lord for forgiveness for what they did and what they were still
doing to the Igbo nation.
“General Yakubu Gowon can conduct all the prayer sessions
that he wants for Nigeria but until he acknowledges the fact that the genocide
that the Igbo people were subjected to under his watch between 1966 and 1970
was unacceptable and until he appeals to the Igbo nation to forgive Nigeria for
what we did to them, things will get from bad to worse.
“Though it is unknown to most, our nation has been afflicted
with a deep spiritual wound which was inflicted as a consequence of our
barbaric actions over the years and particularly before and during the civil
war. This is a spiritual matter and sadly and regrettably we see its
consequences unfolding in the physical realm before our very eyes every day.
“The shedding of innocent blood always results in divine
retribution and it goes from generation to generation. Unless remorse is
displayed, forgiveness sought and national repentance is established, the cycle
of divine retribution and judgement will continue unabated and affect the lives
of millions."
“The civil war “Gwodo-Gwodo” militias, made up of savage,
bloodthirsty, heartless, godless, dark and evil men from Chad, Niger Republic,
Mali and parts of north-western Nigeria are the spiritual forefathers and the
same dark forces that have resurrected as terrorist and killer herdsmen that
are slaughtering our people ALL over the country today,” he added.
According to Fani-Kayode, “the whole thing has come back to
torment and haunt us and only God can deliver us from their hand. The fastest
way to make your nation the land of the accursed and rejected is by
continuously shedding innocent blood and show no remorse for it."
“We must recognise and accept this, we must endeavour to stop
the violence and killings, we must beg God and our victims for forgiveness and
we must do the right thing. Anything short of that will not put us on the road
to redemption and restoration. May God open our eyes to see and accept these
harsh realities and may He guide, help and lead us in all our endeavours.”
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