Former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has said that people from the South-East who suffered financial losses after the Nigerian Civil War were not denied compensation, insisting that those with legitimate bank deposits received their money with accrued interest.
Gowon, who led Nigeria during the Biafra Civil War from 1967 to 1970, made the clarification in his memoir, “My Life of Duty and Allegiance.”
He rejected criticisms against the late Obafemi Awolowo, who served as Federal Finance Commissioner during the war, over the widely discussed policy that gave returning Biafrans only £20 after the conflict, regardless of the amount of Biafran currency they held.
According to Gowon, the decision was a collective policy of the Federal Government and was based on economic realities at the time.
He explained that the Central Bank had set up a committee to examine the impact of converting the Biafran currency into Nigerian currency, but the process proved difficult because the Biafran pound had not been recognised as legal tender by the Nigerian government.
Gowon said the huge amount of Biafran currency in circulation meant exchanging all of it at the same value as the Nigerian currency could have caused serious economic problems.
He added that economic experts recommended a fixed payment of £20 Nigerian currency for every adult from the former Biafran region, regardless of the amount of Biafran money presented.
“We accepted the recommendation and made it government policy because we could not determine the numerous complexities involved in converting the Biafran currency,” he said.
However, Gowon stressed that individuals who had money in recognised Nigerian bank accounts were treated differently.
He said those who could prove they had deposits in Nigerian banks before the war were paid the full value of their money, along with accumulated interest, in Nigerian currency.
Gowon maintained that the government’s decision was made in the interest of economic stability and was not aimed at punishing any group or region.
