Biafra Civil War: Gowon says Igbo bank depositors were fully paid, defends Awolowo over £20 policy

Biafra Civil War: Gowon says Igbo bank depositors were fully paid, defends Awolowo over £20 policy

Former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd.), has defended the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo against long-standing criticism over the controversial post-civil war £20 policy, saying the decision was taken collectively by the Federal Government and was not Awolowo’s personal policy.

Gowon also stated that people from the former Biafran territory who could provide evidence that they had money in Nigerian banks before or during the Nigerian Civil War received the full value of their deposits, including accrued interest.

The former Head of State made the clarification in his memoir, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, where he revisited the circumstances surrounding the currency policy introduced after the end of the civil war in January 1970.

The £20 policy has remained a subject of public debate for decades, with critics accusing Awolowo, who served as Federal Commissioner for Finance during the war, of restricting people from the former Biafran territory to a flat payment of £20, regardless of the amount they had held before the conflict.

However, Gowon said Awolowo had been unfairly blamed for a policy that was approved by the Federal Government after consultations and consideration of the economic challenges facing Nigeria at the end of the war.

According to Gowon, the Central Bank of Nigeria established a panel to examine the possible consequences of converting the Biafran pound into Nigerian currency.

He explained that the exercise was difficult because the Biafran currency was not recognised by the Federal Government as legal tender during the war.

Gowon said the large volume of Biafran currency in circulation also created concerns that exchanging all the notes at the same value as the Nigerian pound could have caused serious economic disruption.

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Economic advisers subsequently recommended that the Federal Government provide a uniform payment of about £20 to each adult from the former Biafran territory, regardless of the quantity of Biafran currency presented.

“We agreed to the proposal and made it our official policy,” Gowon wrote, adding that the government faced major difficulties in determining the volume of Biafran currency in circulation and establishing a practical basis for converting it.

He maintained that the decision was made by the Federal Government and should not be attributed solely to Awolowo.

Gowon further stated that people who had left Nigeria but could provide proof that they held funds in Nigerian banks received the full value of their deposits, including interest, in Nigerian currency.

“Everyone who left Nigeria but had proof that they had money in Nigerian banks got the full amount of their money plus the interest it earned, all in Nigerian currency,” he said.

The former military leader argued that adopting a different approach could have created significant economic and administrative challenges during Nigeria’s post-war recovery.

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafra War, began in 1967 and ended in January 1970 following the surrender of Biafran forces.

After the war, Gowon declared a policy of “no victor, no vanquished” and introduced the Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation programme, widely known as the 3Rs.

The programme was designed to promote national unity, rebuild war-affected communities and support the reintegration of the former Eastern Region into Nigeria.

Despite the government’s post-war reconciliation agenda, the £20 policy remains one of the most debated aspects of Nigeria’s post-civil war history.

Critics have argued that the policy caused financial hardship for many people in the former Biafran territory, particularly those who lost access to savings, could not provide documentation for their bank deposits or were unable to recover the value of assets affected by the war.

Some historians and commentators have also questioned whether the post-war reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes adequately addressed the economic losses and long-term effects experienced by communities affected by the conflict.

Gowon’s account has renewed public discussion about the Biafra Civil War, the post-war currency policy and Awolowo’s role in the Federal Military Government.

While Gowon maintains that verified Nigerian bank deposits were fully repaid with interest and that Awolowo should not be held personally responsible for the £20 policy, the issue continues to generate debate over post-war justice, economic recovery, historical memory and national reconciliation.

Biafra Civil War: Gowon says Igbo bank depositors were fully paid, defends Awolowo over £20 policy