By Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo
As the memoir of former military President of Nigeria, Ibrahim Babangida continues to swirl in controversy, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has called on former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon(rtd) to write his own account.
The former Senate Minority Leader made the call Thursday February 27, 2025 during a breakfast meeting with some journalists at Aba as part of activities marking his 70th birthday coming up on Saturday, February 28.
“It is very salutary that those in charge of affairs will one day tell their stories,” he said, adding, “We’re still waiting for that book from Gowon” who led Nigeria to wage war against Biafra.
Abaribe, who represents Abia South senatorial district, said that it has become necessary for Gowon, who led Nigeria for nine years through its turbulent period to avail the nation his own perspective of all that transpired when he was in charge.
He said that as a major actor in the civil war Gowon should document his firsthand account of all that happened when he held sway as Nigeria’s leader, including the false narrative of tagging the first military putsch “Igbo coup”.
Abaribe emphasized that Gowon’s memoir documenting his personal experience in office would contribute to national healing and reconciliation at this point in time.
“We are in a period where we need national catharsis or a way of exhaling in order to build a more perfect nation,” he said, adding that other cocoon of lies against the Igbo would continue to burst.
Speaking on Babangida’s book from which some startling revelations tumbled out, Abaribe noted that Babangida has affirmed the known truth that Nigeria’s first military coup was not an Igbo coup as hitherto propagated.
He pointed out that the long held narrative of Igbo coup even with abundant evidence to the contrary was invented and propagated by Igbo haters in order to satisfy their unfounded fear and regard of Ndigbo as threat.
“Throughout the history of Nigeria they will always use the Igbo head to break the coconut if anything happens,” he said.
Reflecting on his attainment of 70 years, Abaribe said that he has seen Nigeria transform from a medieval society to its current appreciable level of development.
However, he regretted that the nation is still struggling in its developmental strides, saying that “when we were growing up, we expected that Nigeria would be better, but it seems we’re regressing”.
Abaribe, who is now in his fourth term in the Senate, ranks among the longest serving Senators in the 10th National Assembly. He lamented that Nigeria has sacrificed merit for parochial, ethnic and nepotistic considerations” thereby clogging the nation’s wheel of progress.
He warned that unless Nigeria rids itself of all the negative tendencies that constitute drawbacks in national affairs, and uild a society that is merit-based, the much expected giant developmental strides would not happen.
Abaribe was regarded as a fiery federal lawmaker that always spoke his mind without pretensions or political correctness in the mould of late Senator Uche Chukwumerije.
But the Abia South Senator said that he has done enough agitations for the South East zone without the federal authorities according the zone its rightful place in the scheme of things.
He said that it was high time the South East stated looking inwards to use whatever resources they have to engender their own development irrespective of Nigeria’s pace of development.
On the performance of his state Governor, Alex Otti, Abaribe said that “he is doing extremely well for Abia”, adding that Otti quite understands the essence of governance.
“You can visibly see what Governor Otti is doing. It is amazing to see how Aba has changed,” he said, adding that “the only thing I can tell him is: continue doing what you’re doing”.
“Governance is not rocket science as our people make it. It is pure focused leadership,” he said.