Gowon Clears Awolowo On Post-War £20 Bank Policy For Biafran Currency Depositors; Says Igbo Having Deposits In Nigerian Pounds Got 100% Refund With Due Interest
Former Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has defended his wartime Finance Commissioner, the Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, over the post-Civil War policy to pay Igbo bank depositors a flat rate of £20, saying, the decision was taken collectively by the then Federal Government.
Shedding some light on the matter In his recent memoir, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, Gowon said claims that Igbo people who had millions in Nigerian banks before the Civil War were paid only £20 after the conflict were inaccurate.
He explained that verified bank deposits were refunded in full with accumulated interest.
The former Head of State (1966 and 1975) said the £20 payment applied to the exchange of Biafran currency, which he maintained had no legal or international monetary value.
According to him, the Federal Government adopted the policy following recommendations by economic experts not as a punitive measure but out of the conviction that exchanging all Biafran pounds at par with the Nigerian currency would shut down Nigeria’s economy.
“Due to the large number of Biafran pounds in circulation, the Federal Government decided it could not afford to exchange them all at par with the Nigerian currency without risking economic collapse,” Gowon wrote.
He explained that economic advisers recommended limiting the exchange to about £20 for every Biafran adult, regardless of the amount of Biafran currency presented.
“We accepted the proposition and adopted it as policy, particularly because we were unable to determine the micro and macro parameters for printing the Biafran notes,” he said.
Gowon, however, stressed that those who had verifiable deposits in Nigerian banks before fleeing during the war were not affected by the policy.
“All who fled Nigeria but had proof of having money in Nigerian banks received full value for their money plus the interest that it earned in the Nigerian currency. It would have been unwise to take a different course of action,” he stated.
He rejected the demonisation of the war-time Federal Finance Commissioner (Minister), the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, by those who accused him of giving them 20 pounds, despite having millions in banks, prior to the Civil War.
He also clarified in his memoir titled: ‘My Life of Duty and Allegiance,’ that the post-war currency control policy was the final decision of the Federal Government, stressing that Awolowo was only a commissioner (minister) under the administration.
The three-year Civil War started in 1967 and ended in 1970. After the war, Gowon who proclaimed ‘no victory, no vanquished,’ embarked on the programmes of reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation in the Eastern Central State.
Gowon recalled that his administration carried out a currency change, owing to the large scale looting of the Central Bank in Benin and Enugu, adding that “much of what the people had amassed automatically ceased to be a legal tender in Nigeria.”
He also said the Biafran currency was of no value because it was not convertible anywhere in the world.
Gowon said: “That left the Federal Executive Council with the question of what to do to alleviate the suffering of retunees. Council diligently evaluated all suggestions that were proposed.
“The Central Bank, on its part, set up a panel to look at all the ramifications of possible currency conversion of the Biafran pound, though it was evident it would be a difficult assignment because abinitio the Biafran currency was not a legal tender in Nigeria.
“Due to the large number of Biafran pounds in circulation, the Federal Government decided it could not afford to exchange them all at par with the Nigerian currency without risking economic collapse.
“Economic experts recommended that the Federal Government limit the payout to approximately 20 Nigerian pounds for each Biafran adult, irrespective of the amount of Biafran currency being returned.
“We accepted the proposition and adopted it as policy, particularly because we were unable to determine the micro and macro parameters for printing the Biafran notes.
“However, all who fled Nigeria but had proof of having money in Nigerian banks received full value for their money plus the interest that it earned in the Nigerian currency. It would have been unwise to take a different course of action.”
He lamented that despite the passage of time, “pseudo-historians continue to blame the Commissioner for Finance, Chief Awolowo for the after effect of the Federal Government’s post-war currency control policy.”
Gowon said:”This is far from the truth. The final decision was not Chief Awolowo’s, even though he was the Finance Commissioner. It was done in the overall national interest.
“We certainly could not have ignored the recommendations of our economic advisers without collapsing the economy. Thus, the government made a collective and tough decision to save Nigeria’s economy, which struggled to stabilise after a 30- month war fought without external borrowing.”
He went on to say that the economic regeneration of the former Eastern Region was boosted by the FEC allocating a substantial proportion of the national budget for the rehabilitation of the East Central State and other war-affected areas.
He recalled that further measures were implemented to ensure comprehensive recovery efforts.
Gowon said rather than implement the National Development Plan from April 1970, the Federal Government pushed forward the commencement date to October 1970 “so that we could achieve meaningful reconciliation for the East Central State to be able to participate in the Second National Development Plan.”
