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<p>Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), has said that Nigeria&#8217;s civil war was never his personal choice but a painful necessity taken in the interest of national unity.</p><div class="eVZj4Rub" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

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<p>Speaking at the annual convention of the Christian Men’s Fellowship of the Abuja Anglican Diocese on Saturday, Gowon described the three-year war (1967–1970) as the most difficult period of his life. “I always remember the Civil War. It was the most difficult period of my life. It was not my choice, but I had to be there and had to do what I did in order to keep this country together,” he said.</p>
<p>Gowon, who served as Nigeria’s military leader from 1966 to 1975, insisted that the war was never driven by ethnic hatred or malice. “It was never a hatred against any people, I can assure you,” he told the gathering of Christian men.</p>
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<p>According to the retired general, every decision he made during the war and throughout his leadership was rooted in prayer and guided by a sense of duty to God and country. “As far as this heart is concerned, everything that I do, it is through prayers. I ask God to help me to do the right thing the way He thinks it should be done, with love and respect for all the people,” he explained.</p><div class="Dz7L1m9L" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

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<p>Gowon further reflected on the aftermath of the conflict, underscoring the spirit of reconciliation that followed the cessation of hostilities. “That is why at the end, what do we have to say? As they say: no victor, no vanquished,” he said, referring to the federal government’s official policy of reintegration after the war ended in January 1970.</p>
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<p>The civil war, also known as the Biafran War, was fought between the Nigerian government and the secessionist Republic of Biafra. It remains one of the most defining and traumatic periods in Nigeria’s post-independence history, with an estimated one million lives lost, primarily due to starvation and conflict-related causes.</p>
<p>Gowon, now 90, remains a prominent advocate of national unity and interfaith harmony.</p>
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