Aburi Accord and the Narrative of a New Nigeria

Abstract

The failure of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria (FMG) to implement the resolutions of the January 1967 Peace Agreement in Aburi, Ghana, which favoured a loose confederation where regional governments were made to command authority over their regions, and currently enjoys consensus in some quarters as the only genuine opportunity to reborn Nigeria of the old and save it from its numerous problems, has reinforced ethnic and religious tension in the country. The disagreement for restructuring, constitutional review and resource management, and separatist movement in South-East region are echoes of the failure of the FMG to implement the Peace Agreement at Aburi. This becomes the starting point of this study, which examined what the Aburi Declaration stands for, and the truth behind the assumption that it may have ushered in a new Nigeria where national cohesion thrives. To source for relevant materials used in this study, historical research design was chosen and secondary sources like textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and internet sources were employed were utilised. Conflict Management theory was chosen as the study’s theoretical framework to analyse how the Aburi Peace Agreement was poorly managed by the FMG. Faced with these realities, this study suggests among others that there should be total implementation of the provisions of the Aburi Declaration and others similar to it, such as the Ad-Hoc Constitutional Conference of September-October 1966, National Reconciliation Commission (1967-1970).

Keywords: Aburi Accord, Aburi Declaration, Narrative, A New Nigeria, Nigerianism.