Igbo cannot apologise to Fulani over January 1966 coup- Ohaneze Ndigbo
By Innocent Raphael
Amidst widespread outrage sparked by a viral audio alleging plans for Ndigbo to apologize to the Fulani community over the 1966 coup in Nigeria, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo has vehemently denied any such intentions.
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization denounced the viral audio as false, malicious, and wicked, maintaining that the Igbo community bears no responsibility for the coup and thus has no reason to apologize.
In a press conference held in Owerri, the President General of Ohanaeze, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, reiterated that the coup was a military affair and not orchestrated by the Igbo people.
“Igbos are not responsible for the coup in 1966, It was entirely a military affair. It was not carried out to make any Igbo man a leader and a beneficiary. You remember that the coup failed and if there was any tribe that suffered from that coup, it was the Igbos because the Igbos were massacred. We lost our businesses.
“So how can we go to beg anybody when we did not kill anybody? We did not have anything to do with that coup. We, Ohanaeze object to anybody profiling it to be Igbos. So, anybody who says we are going to apologize is lying. Even from the books I wrote, we never sent anybody on that coup. So it pains me people tell lies to damage my name that we are going to apologize over that coup,” he asserted.
He emphasized that the Igbo community suffered greatly in the aftermath of the coup and should not be held accountable for events beyond their control.
Iwuanyanwu further addressed concerns about the alleged retreat held in Enugu, clarifying that it was focused on the development of Igboland and not related to any apology plans.
He denounced the false reports and expressed forgiveness towards those responsible for spreading misinformation.
Meanwhile, Igbo-Biafra Nationalists have firmly rejected any notion of extending apologies to the Fulani community, labeling such proposals as absurd and a betrayal of the Igbo race’s memory.
They emphasized that the onus of apology should rest on the Fulani community for their involvement in atrocities committed against the Igbo people.
“The onus of apology lies squarely on the shoulders of the Fulani community for their complicity in orchestrating genocide and perpetrating heinous crimes against the Igbo race. To entertain the idea of soliciting forgiveness from the very perpetrators of such atrocities is not only absurd but also the height of collective amnesia,” a statement read.
