Takeaways from launch of General Gowon’s autobiography
I attended the launch of General Yakubu Gowon’s autobiography primarily for two reasons. Firstly, it was an opportunity to glimpse the great statesman who was head of state when we were kids. General Gowon ruled Nigeria from 1966, when I was in my final year of primary school, and remained in the saddle up till 1975, […]
I attended the launch of General Yakubu Gowon’s autobiography primarily for two reasons. Firstly, it was an opportunity to glimpse the great statesman who was head of state when we were kids. General Gowon ruled Nigeria from 1966, when I was in my final year of primary school, and remained in the saddle up till 1975, when I was in my final year at the university. In effect, from childhood to adolescence, I never knew any other leader than the general.
Those were tumultuous years for the country, marked by coups and countercoups, communal disturbances, civil war, and massive reconstruction efforts. They were also defining years for the country. The two coups of 1966, the events leading to the war, the conduct of the war, the oil boom of the early 1970s, and the allegations of his role in the attempted coup of 1976 all required clarification from him. Volumes have been written about the era, with many scathing comments on the conduct of the general who was at the centre of it all. The Biafran memoirists are particularly loud, and they have filled bookshelves around the world with their points of view.
One had expected a comprehensive memoir from the general, clearly stating things as they were from his viewpoint, thus protecting his legacy. Instead, there has been dead silence from him all these years. Admittedly a determined scholar, the late J. Isawa Elaigwu has wrenched a well-researched biography out of the general. But that was not enough. There were gaps in the narrative, and we needed to hear directly from him. That was my second reason for attending the launch: to hear from him why, after many years of studied silence, he decided to open up now.
It was a privilege to be at the ceremony. The hall was full of the high and mighty who had come to honour the general, including former heads of government Goodluck Jonathan, who chaired the occasion, and General Abdulsalam Abubakar, as well as Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who represented the president and delivered a rousing speech. There were representatives of General TY Danjuma and General Ibrahim Babangida, as well as Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, who represented the 36 Nigerian state governors.
I saw many generals from the past eras, including Paul Tarfa, Ike Nwachukwu, Ibrahim Haruna and Alani Akinrinade, looking frail yet moving with martial agility. There were also in the gathering, sons and daughters of the murdered army officers of the January 1966 coup, Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari (Col Abba Maimalari, former Military Administrator of Jigawa State) and Lt Col Yakubu Pam (Prof Ishaya Pam, former CMD, Jos University Teaching Hospital). Also present were the sons and daughters of his governors. I spotted the sons of Brigadier Abba Kyari (Agric Minister Abubakar Kyari), and Ukpabi Asika (Obi Asika, DG, National Council of Arts and Culture).
Traditional rulers were amply represented, particularly by those who were connected to him in one way or another. The Sultan of Sokoto, whose father, Sultan Abubakar Siddiq III, was closely associated with General Gowon, was there, along with the 18th Emir of Kano, whose father served as an ambassador during General Gowon’s rule. The Gbong Gwon Jos, Jacob Gyang Buba, was there, I guess, representing the general’s home state of Plateau.
When General Gowon was called to speak, he shunned speaking from his seat and walked up the stairs to the podium to the admiration of all and went through his speech without any sign of infirmity. His speech was profound, ringing out in the hall in the same voice we heard on the radio and resonated with in those dark days of the civil war. However, his reasons for the silence over the years were not convincing to me, though they shed plenty of light that could counteract Biafran propaganda and clarify his relationship with his chief protagonist, Odumegwu Ojukwu.
There was a lot about the 1975 coup that overthrew his government and about his relationship with the leader, Murtala Mohammed, from their time at Barewa College, where they were contemporaries, to when they came to be in the Nigerian Army. Inevitably, issues of disloyalty and treachery were thrown up not only by the general himself but also by the reviewer of the book, Bishop Hassan Kukah and other speakers.
The relationship of the general with those whom he felt had betrayed his trust came under severe scrutiny. Mention was made of Brigadier Joseph Garba, his Commander, Brigade of Guards, the two security chiefs, General Abdullahi Mohammed and Col Anthony Ochefu. These were the protectors of the head of state who chose to side with the coup planners.
As the issue of treachery reverberated down the hall, the Vice President Kashim Shettima dropped his own bombshell. When reading the speech of the president, Shettima alluded, as an aside, to an incident that would have put paid to his cordial relationship with President Ahmed Tinubu. He related how some people from his home state of Borno came to the president to tell him not to wear certain dresses Shettima had bought for him, as they were laced with charms to kill him. He said President Tinubu not only dismissed the allegation but continued to wear the dresses.
There is a lot more from the launch, as well as from the book itself. I will keep you posted.