The Igbo Women Assembly (IWA) has alleged that the British government’s animosity toward the Igbo people stemmed from their prominent role in the 1929 Aba Women’s Riot and their active participation in the nationalist struggle for Nigeria’s independence.
In a statement issued in Umuahia, President of the Assembly, Nneka Chimezie, asserted that these historical actions positioned the Igbos as a target of British resentment, claiming that the 1966 military coup served as a pretext for punitive actions against the region.
“The Aba Women’s Riot was a major turning point that ignited Nigeria’s agitation for independence. The British government never forgave the Igbos for spearheading the resistance,” Chimezie stated. “The 1966 coup became an opportunity for Britain to indirectly punish the Igbos and fuel national disunity, thereby undermining the 1960 independence.”
Chimezie further argued that Nigeria’s civil war could have been avoided if General Yakubu Gowon had pursued the reconciliation efforts initiated by his predecessor, General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi.
She noted that Ironsi, despite the perception that the coup was an Igbo-driven plot, had actively sought national unity rather than secession.
“If the coup had truly been an Igbo agenda, Ironsi would have declared an Igbo Republic. Instead, he traveled extensively to calm tensions and was ultimately assassinated in the course of this national reconciliation,” Chimezie said.
According to her, the failure to implement the regional government proposal presented by the Eastern Region delegation at the Aburi peace talks was a missed opportunity that could have forestalled today’s clamor for restructuring.
She also criticized the post-war policy that exchanged only £20 for any amount held by individual Igbos and excluded many from the Federal Civil Service, saying it contradicted General Gowon’s “No Victor, No Vanquished” pronouncement.
“IWA believes that if the Aburi Accord had been respected and implemented, the challenges Nigeria faces today regarding restructuring and national cohesion might have been avoided,” Chimezie concluded.
