Ninety hearty cheers to general Yakubu Gowon!

A foremost, distinguished soldier and decorated Army officer that Nigeria has ever produced, General Yakubu Gowon is 90 years old today, October 19, 2024. He is easily one of the country’s longest serving military Heads of State (1967 – 1975). Gen. Gowon remains a beacon, steadfast statesman and a good conscience to Nigeria. He is an ardent believer of one Nigeria. Over the years, his influence remains enormous and felt far beyond the borders of the country. Even at this milestone in his life, his consistency in deployed time and energy to pray for peace in Nigeria remains exemplary and adorable.Most evidently, the Nigerian project is his life. And it was not for nothing that his name Gowon was synonymous with ‘Go On With One Nigeria’ particularly during the three-year civil war (1967-1970) which, more than anything else, threatened the existence of the country as a singular, political entity. Till date, successive leaders have abided by that principle of one Nigeria, stressing that even in her diversity, the country has the potential of being a very strong nation.

At the most critical level in his life, General Gowon had an ineradicable impact on keeping Nigeria one. The spread of unity is, for him, an everlasting passion. For more than five decades after the civil war, he continues to preach peace and unity among Nigerians. At every turn, he has been distinguished and exceptional, exuding a fatherly and elder statesmanlike role for the younger generations and the nation in particular.

General Gowon has been a dedicated soldier and patriotic citizen, who, at all times,contributed in concrete termsto the development and building of the nation. Gowon’s consistency and unapologetic loyalty to the country is undoubtable. With uncommon courage and remarkable determination to resolve the ethnic tensions that threatened to fatally divide Nigeria, he had come into public prominence at a period the country was on the verge of collapse.  His contributions in this direction assume monumental proportions and it preserved the country in her present state.

Yakubu Gowon was born in Plateau state, a region referred to as the middle belt of Nigeria. He was educated in Zaria and later joined the army as a career officer. As a soldier, he was trained in Ghana and Sandhurst in England. He was part of the Nigerian delegation of peacekeeping force in Congo. He was appointed Chief of Army Staff to Maj. Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi after the failed January 1966 coup carried out by five Majors. Subsequently, he became the compromise Head of State after the northern army officers staged a counter coup in July 1966 that killed Gen. Ironsi and many Igbo officers in the army. Although Gen. Gowon was able to stop the attacks and killings of Igbos, both soldiers and civilians in the north, he was unable to bring about a lasting peace in the country as he shied away from the Aburi accord.

The Accord was basically an agreement by the hierarchy of the military on how to govern the country and resolve issues affecting any part of the country. The agreement highlighted the need to maintain a regional type of government, and to abrogate all decrees that detracted from that ideology.Failure to adhere to the Aburi Accord, among other issues, however, encouraged the birth of the independent state of Biafra on May 27, 1967 with Odumegwu Ojukwu as its leader. The outcome was a bitter three years civil war that claimed over two million lives. Indeed, the Nigerian civil war was not just a mere accident. It constituted emblements of the deep cut that had dangerously exposed Nigerians to the great divide along tribe, ethnic, religious and political lines. The ugly sentiments had, over the years, combined with other factors to render the country in the popular perception as a crawling giant of Africa.

While attending the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) meeting in Uganda on July 29, 1975 Gowon was removed from office. This saw him take refuge in Britain where he earned a Ph.D at Warwick University in 1983 and was later named a professor of political science at the University of Jos in the mid-1980s.
Without mincing words, soldiering was his life and career. It gave him immense joy and satisfaction. He was the ‘Peoples General’, still is, who believe strongly in one Nigeria, even in the face of realities pointing to the contrary. Hence, during the dark aspect of the country’s history, he was quoted thus: “…We did not prosecute the war out of hatred for any particular tribe. It was a war that was fought to keep Nigeria one”.

This conviction, however, played out at the end of the war as Gen Gowon declared, “No victor, no vanquished” and instituted the three Rs, Rehabilitation, Reconciliation and Reconstruction in the country.

It is noteworthy that, military intervention in Nigeria’s politics evokes sad memories marked as it was by prebendalism, tyranny and gross mismanagement of the country’s resources. Gen. Gowon knew he made some mistakes at a point as military Head of State, one of whichwas his refusal to honour the Aburi accord as well as the extravagant spending of his government. Nonetheless, he remains a good man, fallible as all humans, but a noble model to copy. Rather than join forces in condemning or become a public sphere critic of government, he would privately visit the seat of power and tender his advice or opinion on any burning national issue. A simple, forthright elder statesman, the Nigerian project is his life and praying for peace his purpose. He is overtly religious but has a strong moral compass. He believed in ideal of a peaceful nation and saw “Nigeria Prays”, a group he founded in 1996, as a veritable weapon of peace. Remarkably, everyone who had been privileged to encounter Gen Gowon has been impressed by his humility, his unique, affectionate relationship to friends and family. General Gowon is a shining example of what statesman should be.Nevertheless, Nigerians expect that, once in a while, he gives a moral voice, considering his vantage experience and position, on certain national issues,beyond asking Nigerians to pray. Of course, Prayer is the key to unlock God’s blessings, but prayer alonewill not make Nigeria work. The country’s political leaders should rise up to the podium and perform.