Some years ago, the then Eastern Region leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, spoke on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) about the outcome of the Aburi meeting held in Ghana on 4 and 5 January 1967 during the turbulent period preceding the Nigerian civil war.
The outcome of the meeting has been controversial in Nigeria because it was one of the major events that preceded the civil war in which millions of Nigerians were killed.
At the time, the Eastern Region, dominated by the Igbo ethnic group, was agitating for secession and the creation of the Republic of Biafra under Eastern leaders.
Yakubu Gowon was Nigeria’s Head of State then. Efforts were made to resolve the crisis through dialogue between the federal government and the Eastern Region led by Mr Ojukwu, including a peace meeting facilitated by the then Ghana’s Head of State, Joseph Ankrah, at Peduase Lodge in Aburi, Ghana.
Despite the peace talks, the country later descended into a three-year civil war. Since then, both sides have continued to trade blame over the collapse of the negotiations and the eventual outbreak of war.
