By Pascal Ibe

Claim 

@MadukaOgwueleka on X claimed that the former Nigerian Head of State, Yakubu Gowon begged Igbos to rescue the country from collapsing.

Verdict

This claim is FALSE. 

The ex-military Head of State in Nigeria, Yakubu Gowon who spoke during a Christmas Carols in Plateau State on 29 November, only pointed out that the country cannot afford to go into another civil war at the moment. At no point during the event did he beg the Igbos to rescue Nigeria.

Full Text

An X user, @MadukaOgwueleka, has shared an image showing that the ex-military Head of State in Nigeria, Yakubu Gowon begged the Igbos to rescue the country from collapsing.

The text in the photo reads, “BREAKING NEWS

“Gowon beg Igbos to rescue Nigeria or Nigeria will die, says Nigeria can’t afford another war”.

The post, which garnered over 15k views and more than 170 reposts, has many people who enquired about the source of information.

The post also generated more than 470 likes, according to X analytics.

The Igbo tribe from the South-East part of the country is one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria 

Mr Gowon was the Nigeria’s military Head of State from 19967 —1975.

Nigeria faced a three-year civil war with the Biafra secessionists during his regime.

Verification

During the Plateau Unity Christmas Carols and Praise Festival in Jos, Plateau, on 29 November, Gowon expressed worry over the state of insecurity and prayed that Nigeria would not experience another civil war.

“All the various crises that we are having in Nigeria are so disturbing. This is something that God knows we should not be having after our Civil War,” he said.

“I have said and I prayed to God that I hope Nigeria will not go through another period of crisis that we went through.”

At no point during this event did he ask the Igbos to rescue Nigeria.

Watch his full speech here.

Mr. Gowon also narrated how he pleaded with the late Sani Abacha not to execute former President Olusegun Obasanjo for an alleged coup plot in 1995.

Conclusion

The claim that Mr Gowon begged Igbos to rescue Nigeria is FALSE.