“If Aburi Had Been Honoured, There Would Have Been No War” — Prof. Nwosu Reflects on Biafra, Ojukwu, and Nigeria’s Lost Purpose

The Nigerian Civil War, widely known as the Biafran War, raged between July 6, 1967, and January 15, 1970. In a compelling interview, Professor Alphonsus B.C. Nwosu, a former Minister of Health and one-time political adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, recounts his experience as an undergraduate who abandoned his studies to join the Biafran army. Injured during combat, he now lives with one and a half lungs, a permanent reminder of the conflict.

According to Prof. Nwosu, many young men, including students, willingly enlisted in the Biafran forces. He insists that had the Nigerian government honored the terms of the Aburi Accord reached in Ghana, the devastating war could have been avoided. He further argues that the late Eastern Region leader, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, would have been assassinated by his own people had he not declared Biafra’s secession in the face of aggression. Nwosu revealed that Ojukwu commissioned him and six others, including Clement Ebri and Prof. Silvanus Kuki, to write an authoritative book detailing the war’s origins and execution.

The forthcoming book, expected to be released in two years, will present never-before-seen documents and firsthand accounts. Prof. Nwosu emphasized that the book aims to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” especially for the benefit of future generations. He clarified several key points: first, the January 1966 coup was not an “Igbo coup” as widely portrayed, but rather orchestrated by a specific group led by Ifeajuna, with Nzeogwu only later recruited. Secondly, the pre-war crisis was largely confined to the Western Region, with the East and North relatively stable. Thirdly, the war’s outbreak stemmed from Nigeria’s attempt to alter the Aburi Accord, a move that Biafrans interpreted as betrayal.

Reflecting on his enlistment, Prof. Nwosu dismissed claims of forced conscription. “Anyone from my group who says he was conscripted is lying,” he said. The Biafran cause, he noted, enjoyed massive grassroots support. He served as an officer in the Biafran Army, participating in operations around Ogidi, where his unit, the “Fearless Infantry Battalion,” encountered heavy mortar fire. Several officers died in that attack, but Nwosu survived, thanks to the protection of his loyal troops.

He recalled being evacuated after the attack, eventually receiving treatment in top British hospitals. Asked how he managed to survive, Nwosu said simply, “If you are good to your boys, they will die for you.”