ABURI ACCORD AND THE BARNETT FORMULA
BACK IN THE 60s, BEFORE THE FULL BLOWN OUT BIAFRA AND NIGERIA WAR, OJUKWU, THE LEADER OF BIAFRA DID EVERYTHING IN HIS POWERS TO AVERT THE WAR.
He went as far as Aburi in Ghana, and secured a deal which would have given Biafra some sort of autonomy, which would have prevented the war.
The accord was agreed between Nigeria and Biafra, only for Nigeria to abandon the already agreed accord.
The Nigerian head of government at that time, General Gowon, must have renegade on the accord on the orders of United Kingdom, who had so much interest on the oil found at that point in time in Biafra. At this point, British companies have invested over £90 million in the oil in Biafra at that time. Britain persuaded the Gowon administration at that moment to go for all-out war, instead of giving Biafra the autonomy agreed in Aburi, Ghana.
The British government at the time believed they will benefit more from the oil under the control of Nigerians, than they would have done under the Biafrans.
Today in UK, just in a day’s time, Scotland, which has been one of the Kingdoms which makes up UK is asking for independence from Britain. Let it be known that Scotland is like Biafra, with its North Sea oil. The UK government from Westminster is now offering the Scottish people full implementation of the Barnett Formula if they vote to still remain part of the United Kingdom. This Barnett Formula will give the Scottish people greater autonomy than they have now in the UK. My question is, why did Britain worked against Biafra during the Aburi Accord, while they are now begging Scotland to vote “NO” to independence and get greater powers? Is this not why people say, “what goes around comes around”? Biafran people were nearly wiped out of the map of Nigeria just because of oil.
No wonder our First Lady cried out that, “Diaris Godoo”, there is God watching all of us.
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