General Yakubu Gowon at 90

Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon, Head of the Federal Military Government and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. 

Former Nigerian military leader General Yakubu Gowon is 90 years old today.

Here he is photographed while a Lieutenant Colonel after his assumption of power following the violent overthrow of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi in July 1966.

Source: Federal Nigeria, 1966.

NB.

Born Yakubu Dan-Yumma Gowon on October 19th, 1934, to a Christian catechist father from the minority Angas group in Nigeria's "Middle Belt", Gowon was educated at Barewa College and trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1955 to 1956.

He emerged as the Head of State in 1966 after the overthrow of Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi and remained leader until his own overthrow in July 1975.

Gowon oversaw the defeat of the secession of Eastern Region of Nigeria in 1967 which was led by Lieutenant Colonel Emeka Ojukwu. The breakaway Republic of Biafra collapsed in January 1970, and Gowon earned plaudits for his efforts at national reconciliation.

Gowon subsequently enrolled on a Political Science degree course at Warwick University and later earned his PhD. His thesis was titled "The Economic Community of West African States: A Study in Political and Economic Integration".

He gained a reputation as a gentleman officer who ruled Nigeria in a relatively benevolent manner. He presided over the oil boom years and although never accused of personal enrichment was seen as lacklustre in tackling Nigeria's bourgeoning culture of corruption. His regime was also responsible for decrees which curbed personal freedoms and justified detention without trial.

While largely considered an upstanding military officer and a devout Christian, some critics have accused Gowon of having foreknowledge of the assassinations of both Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi in July 1966 and General Murtala Muhammed in February 1976. Many on the secessionist side accused Gowon of tolerating human rights abuses against Igbos prior to the secession of the Eastern Region and during the civil war - all of which he has strenuously denied.

Ironically, both Gowon and his arch protagonist Emeka Ojukwu would in 1979 be designated by the Federal Military Government as common criminal suspects wanted by the Nigerian Police. Both men would later be amnestied and Gowon, who had been stripped of his rank of general, would have his rank and benefits restored by the civilian administration led by President Shehu Shagari.

In his later years, Gowon grew into an elder statesman respected both at home and abroad. Among his lasting accomplishments as a military ruler was the creation of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the economic alliance of West African states through the establishment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

While his achievement in preserving Nigeria as a united entity may have dimmed over the decades because of the country's perpetual fractiousness and economic maladies, Gowon arguably deserves the credit for building a coalition within the country which prevented Nigeria's breakup into several hostile polities each of which would have been potentially armed by various world powers.

© Adeyinka Makinde (2024).

Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.