Yakubu Gowon Explains £20 Post-Civil War Policy, Says Igbo Bank Depositors Received Full Savings With Interest

Former Nigerian Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has defended the Federal Government’s post-civil war financial policy, insisting that Igbo people who had legitimate deposits in Nigerian banks before the Nigerian Civil War were paid back their full savings along with accrued interest.

Gowon made the clarification in his memoir, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, where he revisited the controversial policy introduced after the end of the civil war in 1970. The conflict, which lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970, was fought between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the secessionist Republic of Biafra.

During the war, Gowon served as Nigeria’s Head of State, while the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo held the position of Federal Commissioner for Finance.

Addressing long-standing criticism over the government’s decision to issue only £20 to many former Biafrans after the war, Gowon rejected claims that Awolowo was solely responsible for the policy. He argued that the decision was made collectively by the Federal Government after considering the country’s economic realities.

According to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria established a panel to assess how the Biafran currency could be converted following the war. However, he said the exercise presented significant challenges because the Biafran pound had never been officially recognised as legal tender by the Federal Government.

Gowon explained that allowing unrestricted conversion of the Biafran currency into Nigerian currency would have posed serious risks to the nation’s economy due to the large volume of Biafran notes in circulation.

He disclosed that economic experts recommended a uniform payment of about £20 in Nigerian currency to every adult returning from the former Biafran territory, regardless of the amount of Biafran currency they possessed. The recommendation, he said, was eventually adopted as government policy because it was impossible to accurately determine the quantity and denominations of Biafran currency that had been printed.

Despite the controversial policy, Gowon maintained that Nigerians who could provide evidence that they held accounts in Nigerian banks before leaving during the war were not limited to the £20 payment.

He stated that such account holders received the full value of their bank deposits, together with the interest accrued on those funds, all paid in Nigerian currency.

The former military leader maintained that the government believed the approach struck a balance between protecting the country’s economy and honouring legitimate financial claims after the civil war ended.