Yakubu Gowon
General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon was born 19 October 1934. He is a former
Head of State (Head of the Federal Military Government) of Nigeria from 1966
to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'état and was overthrown in
another. During his rule, the Nigerian government successfully prevented
Biafran secession during the 1967–70 Nigerian Civil War.
Gowon is an Ngas (Angas) from Lur, a small village in the present Kanke Local
Government Area of Plateau State. His parents, Nde Yohanna and Matwok
Kurnyang, relocated to Wusasa, Zaria as Church Missionary Society (CMS)
missionaries while Gowon was very young.
His parents married the same day with Queen Mother Elizabeth and King George
VI.
Gowon was the fifth of eleven children. He grew up in Zaria and had his early
life and education there.
Gowon was a very good athlete, he was the school football goalkeeper, pole
vaulter, and long distance runner. He broke the school mile record in his
first year. He was also the boxing captain.
Yakubu Gowon joined the Nigerian army in 1954, and was commissioned into the
Nigeria as a Second Lieutenant on 19 October 1955, his 21st birthday.
He also attended both the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK (1955–56),
Staff College, Camberley, UK (1962) as well as the Joint Staff College,
Latimer, 1965.
As a Lieutenant Colonel in 1963, he became a Battalion commander rank.
Gowon reportedly was a career soldier, not involved in politics, until situations in the country at the time, thrust the position of leadership role to him.
His unusual background as a Northerner who was neither of Hausa or Fulani ancestry nor of the Islamic faith made him a particularly safe choice to lead a nation whose population were seething with ethnic tension.
In January 1966, he became Nigeria's youngest military chief of staff at the age of 31, because a military coup d'état by a group of junior officers under Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu led to the overthrow of Nigeria's civilian government.
In the course of this coup, mostly northern and western leaders were killed, including Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria's Prime Minister; Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region; and Samuel Akintola, Premier of the Western Region, Lt Col Arthur Unegbe and so many more.
The then Lieutenant Colonel Gowon returned from his course at the Joint Staff
College, Latimer UK two days before the coup – a late arrival that
possibly exempted him from the coupist hit list and the subsequent failure by
Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (who was the head of state following the
January 1966 coup-with Gowon his Chief of Staff) to meet Northern demands for
the prosecution of the coup plotters further inflamed Northern anger. It
should be noted that there was significant support for the coup plotters from
both the Eastern Region as well as the mostly left-wing "Lagos-Ibadan"
press.
Then came Ironsi's Decree Number 34, which proposed the abolition of the federal system of government in favor of a unitary state, a position which had long been championed by some Southerners-especially by a major section of the Igbo-dominated NCNC. This was perhaps wrongly interpreted by Northerners as a Southern (particularly Ibo) attempt at a takeover of all levers of power in the country. The North lagged badly behind the Western and Eastern regions in terms of education due to their religious related unacceptance of western education early, while the mostly-Igbo Easterners were already present in the federal civil service.
The original intention of Murtala Mohammed and his fellow coup-plotters seems to have been to engineer the secession of the Northern region from Nigeria as a whole, but they were subsequently dissuaded of their plans by several advisors, amongst which included a number of high-ranking civil servants and judges, and importantly emissaries of the British and American governments who had interests in the Nigerian polity. The young officers then decided to name Lieutenant Colonel Gowon, who apparently had not been actively involved in events until that point, as Nigerian Head of State. On ascent to power Gowon reversed Ironsi's abrogation of the federal principle.
On 1 October 1974, in flagrant contradiction to his earlier promises, Gowon declared that Nigeria would not be ready for civilian rule by 1976, and he announced that the handover date would be postponed indefinitely. Furthermore, because of the growth in bureaucracy, there were allegations of rise in corruption. Increased wealth in the country resulted in fake import licenses being issued. There were stories of tons of stones and sand being imported into the country, and of General Gowon himself saying to a foreign reporter that "the only problem Nigeria has is how to spend the money she has."
The corruption in Gowon's administration culminated in the notorious "cement armada" in the summer of 1975, when the port of Lagos became jammed with hundreds of ships trying to unload cement. Somehow, agents of the Nigerian government had signed contracts with 68 different international suppliers for the delivery of a total of 20 million tons of cement in one year to Lagos, even though its port could only accept one million tons of cargo per year.
Even worse, the poorly drafted cement contracts included demurrage clauses highly favorable to the suppliers, meaning that the bill began to skyrocket if the ships sat in port waiting to unload (or even if they sat in their home ports waiting for permission to depart for Nigeria). The Nigerian government did not fully grasp the magnitude of its mistake until the port of Lagos was so badly jammed that basic supplies could not get through. By that time it was too late. Its attempts to repudiate the cement contracts and impose an emergency embargo on all inbound shipping tied up the country in litigation around the world for many years, including a 1983 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court
These scandals provoked serious discontent within the army. On 29 July 1975, while Gowon was attending an OAU summit in Kampala, a group of officers led by Colonel Joe Nanven Garba announced his overthrow. The coup plotters appointed Brigadier Murtala Muhammad as head of the new government, and Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo as his deputy.
Gowon subsequently went into exile in the United Kingdom, where he acquired a PhD in political science as a student at the University of Warwick. His main British residence is on the border of north London and Hertfordshire, where he has very much become part of the English community in his area. He served a term as Churchwarden in his parish church, St Mary the Virgin, Monken Hadley.
In February 1976, Gowon was implicated in the coup d'état led by Lt. Col Buka
Suka Dimka, which resulted in the death of the now Gen Murtala Mohammed.
According to Dimka's "confession", he met with Gowon in London, and obtained
support from him for the coup. In addition, Dimka mentioned before his
execution that the purpose of the Coup d'état was to re-install Gowon as Head
of State. As a result of the coup tribunal findings, Gowon was declared wanted
by the Nigerian government, stripped of his rank in absentia and had
his pension cut off. Gen Gowon was finally pardoned (along with the ex-Biafran
President, Emeka Ojukwu) during the Second Republic under President Shehu
Shagari. Gowon's rank (of general) wasn't restored until 1987 however by
General Ibrahim Babangida.
He returned to Nigeria in the 1983, and in the 1990s he formed a non-denominational religious group, Nigeria Prays. Still based in the UK, General Gowon today serves an 'elder statesman' role in African politics, operating (for example) as an official observer at the Ghanaian presidential elections 2008.
Furthermore, Gen. Gowon is also involved in the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme as well as the HIV Programme with Global Fund of Geneva. Gowon founded his own organization in 1992 called the Yakubu Gowon Centre. The organization is said to work on issues in Nigeria such as good governance as well as infectious disease control including HIV/AIDS, guinea worm, and malaria.
He also attended both the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK (1955–56),
Staff College, Camberley, UK (1962) as well as the Joint Staff College,
Latimer, 1965.As a Lieutenant Colonel in 1963, he became a Battalion commander rank.
Gowon reportedly was a career soldier, not involved in politics, until situations in the country at the time, thrust the position of leadership role to him.
His unusual background as a Northerner who was neither of Hausa or Fulani ancestry nor of the Islamic faith made him a particularly safe choice to lead a nation whose population were seething with ethnic tension.
In January 1966, he became Nigeria's youngest military chief of staff at the age of 31, because a military coup d'état by a group of junior officers under Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu led to the overthrow of Nigeria's civilian government.
In the course of this coup, mostly northern and western leaders were killed, including Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria's Prime Minister; Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region; and Samuel Akintola, Premier of the Western Region, Lt Col Arthur Unegbe and so many more.
The then Lieutenant Colonel Gowon returned from his course at the Joint Staff
College, Latimer UK two days before the coup – a late arrival that
possibly exempted him from the coupist hit list and the subsequent failure by
Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (who was the head of state following the
January 1966 coup-with Gowon his Chief of Staff) to meet Northern demands for
the prosecution of the coup plotters further inflamed Northern anger. It
should be noted that there was significant support for the coup plotters from
both the Eastern Region as well as the mostly left-wing "Lagos-Ibadan"
press.Then came Ironsi's Decree Number 34, which proposed the abolition of the federal system of government in favor of a unitary state, a position which had long been championed by some Southerners-especially by a major section of the Igbo-dominated NCNC. This was perhaps wrongly interpreted by Northerners as a Southern (particularly Ibo) attempt at a takeover of all levers of power in the country. The North lagged badly behind the Western and Eastern regions in terms of education due to their religious related unacceptance of western education early, while the mostly-Igbo Easterners were already present in the federal civil service.
The original intention of Murtala Mohammed and his fellow coup-plotters seems to have been to engineer the secession of the Northern region from Nigeria as a whole, but they were subsequently dissuaded of their plans by several advisors, amongst which included a number of high-ranking civil servants and judges, and importantly emissaries of the British and American governments who had interests in the Nigerian polity. The young officers then decided to name Lieutenant Colonel Gowon, who apparently had not been actively involved in events until that point, as Nigerian Head of State. On ascent to power Gowon reversed Ironsi's abrogation of the federal principle.
On 1 October 1974, in flagrant contradiction to his earlier promises, Gowon declared that Nigeria would not be ready for civilian rule by 1976, and he announced that the handover date would be postponed indefinitely. Furthermore, because of the growth in bureaucracy, there were allegations of rise in corruption. Increased wealth in the country resulted in fake import licenses being issued. There were stories of tons of stones and sand being imported into the country, and of General Gowon himself saying to a foreign reporter that "the only problem Nigeria has is how to spend the money she has."
The corruption in Gowon's administration culminated in the notorious "cement armada" in the summer of 1975, when the port of Lagos became jammed with hundreds of ships trying to unload cement. Somehow, agents of the Nigerian government had signed contracts with 68 different international suppliers for the delivery of a total of 20 million tons of cement in one year to Lagos, even though its port could only accept one million tons of cargo per year.
Even worse, the poorly drafted cement contracts included demurrage clauses highly favorable to the suppliers, meaning that the bill began to skyrocket if the ships sat in port waiting to unload (or even if they sat in their home ports waiting for permission to depart for Nigeria). The Nigerian government did not fully grasp the magnitude of its mistake until the port of Lagos was so badly jammed that basic supplies could not get through. By that time it was too late. Its attempts to repudiate the cement contracts and impose an emergency embargo on all inbound shipping tied up the country in litigation around the world for many years, including a 1983 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court
These scandals provoked serious discontent within the army. On 29 July 1975, while Gowon was attending an OAU summit in Kampala, a group of officers led by Colonel Joe Nanven Garba announced his overthrow. The coup plotters appointed Brigadier Murtala Muhammad as head of the new government, and Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo as his deputy.
Gowon subsequently went into exile in the United Kingdom, where he acquired a PhD in political science as a student at the University of Warwick. His main British residence is on the border of north London and Hertfordshire, where he has very much become part of the English community in his area. He served a term as Churchwarden in his parish church, St Mary the Virgin, Monken Hadley.
In February 1976, Gowon was implicated in the coup d'état led by Lt. Col Buka
Suka Dimka, which resulted in the death of the now Gen Murtala Mohammed.
According to Dimka's "confession", he met with Gowon in London, and obtained
support from him for the coup. In addition, Dimka mentioned before his
execution that the purpose of the Coup d'état was to re-install Gowon as Head
of State. As a result of the coup tribunal findings, Gowon was declared wanted
by the Nigerian government, stripped of his rank in absentia and had
his pension cut off. Gen Gowon was finally pardoned (along with the ex-Biafran
President, Emeka Ojukwu) during the Second Republic under President Shehu
Shagari. Gowon's rank (of general) wasn't restored until 1987 however by
General Ibrahim Babangida.He returned to Nigeria in the 1983, and in the 1990s he formed a non-denominational religious group, Nigeria Prays. Still based in the UK, General Gowon today serves an 'elder statesman' role in African politics, operating (for example) as an official observer at the Ghanaian presidential elections 2008.
Furthermore, Gen. Gowon is also involved in the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme as well as the HIV Programme with Global Fund of Geneva. Gowon founded his own organization in 1992 called the Yakubu Gowon Centre. The organization is said to work on issues in Nigeria such as good governance as well as infectious disease control including HIV/AIDS, guinea worm, and malaria.
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