Journalist Jackson Ude has revealed a conversation he had with late Biafra leader, Ikemba Ojukwu, and former Nigerian military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, about the Biafra struggle. In 1998, Ude met Ojukwu at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja, where the Biafran leader shared his reasons for abandoning the Biafra cause after the war.
Ojukwu explained that the Nigerian government had implemented measures, such as creating more states in the East and the 13% oil derivation policy, to prevent any future Biafra agitation. He also emphasized that the path to a Biafra state could only come through a peaceful referendum, not war.
In a separate meeting with Babangida in 2011, Ude confirmed Ojukwu’s account of the Nigerian government’s strategy.
Ude expressed concern over the ongoing suffering, killings, and marginalization of the Igbo people, stressing the need for peaceful solutions and dialogue, rather than violent conflict.
He warned that sacrificing more lives for Biafra would not be in the best interest of the Igbo people, urging younger generations and agitators to learn from history to avoid repeating past mistakes.
