From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU) has called on the Federal Government to officially recognise victims of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War as national heroes and grant them a symbolic state burial and a dedicated public holiday.
In a statement by its National President, Chief Emeka Diwe, the apex grassroots Igbo body said the recent admission by former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, that the January 1966 coup was not an Igbo plot, should serve as a national turning point for healing and reconciliation.
ASITU lamented that the long-standing myth of an “Igbo coup” has been weaponised over the years to justify marginalisation and structural violence against the Igbo people, including the economic and political exclusion that followed the civil war.
The group called for a national day of remembrance, to be marked annually with a public holiday and a symbolic national burial for all war victims. It also urged the Federal Government to erect a national monument and establish a war archive in Igbo land.
“On this day, the Federal Government should organise a symbolic national burial for all the victims of the war. This act will offer long overdue closure to the families of the dead and send a clear message that the Nigerian state has finally acknowledged the injustice and is ready to right the wrongs of the past,” ASITU said.
Beyond symbolic gestures, the organisation demanded structural corrections, including the creation of additional states in the South East to match other regions and ensure equity in representation and revenue allocation.
They also condemned the continued exclusion of the South East in Nigeria’s security architecture and sensitive national institutions, describing it as a violation of the federal character principle.
They further called for a credible national census that accurately reflects the demographic strength of the South East, a comprehensive amnesty programme for detained pro-Biafra agitators and the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
They also demanded the urgent restructuring of Nigeria, insisting that true federalism and regional autonomy are the paths to peace, productivity and unity.