Author(s) :

Prof. Emorc Cyril Emordi & Dr. Lucky Success Ehimeme Enato.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

This study examines the Gowon–Ojukwu leadership impasse between August 1966 and July 1967 as a major political and constitutional crisis that contributed to the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War. Following the counter-coup of July 1966, competing claims to military authority, constitutional legitimacy and the future structure of the Nigerian state deepened divisions within the military establishment. The emergence of Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon as Head of the Federal Military Government and Lieutenant-Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s refusal to recognise his authority further strained relations between the federal government and the Eastern Region. Using historical and qualitative methods, the study draws on documentary evidence, official records and relevant secondary literature to examine the succession dispute, the breakdown of negotiations, the Aburi Conference of January 1967, disagreements over the interpretation and implementation of its resolutions, and the promulgation of Decree No. 8 of 1967. It argues that the leadership impasse was not the sole cause of the war but significantly compounded existing political tensions, weakened confidence in federal authority and reduced the prospects for a negotiated settlement. The study demonstrates how unresolved disputes over leadership, federal power and regional autonomy contributed to the transition from political confrontation to civil war in July 1967. Keywords: Gowon–Ojukwu leadership impasse; Nigerian Civil War; military succession; Aburi Accord; federalism; regional autonomy.

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