“Jack” Not In A Hurry To Leave – Personal Aide
By PHC Telegraph
Reports that Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, may have lost his life have turned out to be untrue. He is alive and well.
The social media on Monday was seriously awash with accounts of the demise of the amiable military gentleman, and the youngest in Nigerian history to become a military Head of State.
Reacting to the news of Gowon’s death, a personal aide to the former Head of State, Adeyeye E. Ajayi mni, said in statement on Monday night that Dr. Gowon is hale and hearty.
Ajayi who dismissed reports of Gowon’s death which took quite a lot of people in the country by surprise, stated that the veteran of the Nigeria-Biafra war is still alive and well.
The statement made available to the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, quoted Gowon as saying he was not in a hurry to leave.
Gowon had come to power, following a military putsch which toppled Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi, a top military brass from the South East who benefitted from the coup of the five majors.
He ruled the country during a civil war that lasted for more than two years and was overthrown whilst he was holidaying abroad.
Yakubu Dan-Yumma “Jack” Gowon, GCFR, was born on October 19, 1934.
As Nigeria’s Head of State, Gowon delivered the famous “no victor, no vanquished” speech.
That speech delivered at the tail end of the controversial war as part of an effort to promote healing and the process of national reconciliation.
According to Wikipedia, “The Nigerian Civil War is listed as one of the deadliest in modern history, with some accusing Gowon of crimes against humanity and genocide.”
Wikipedia quotes Gowon as saying that “he committed no wrongdoing during the war and that his leadership saved the country.”
Gowon may have succeeded in ‘keeping Nigeria one’, but of late successive Nigerian governments have been dealing with threats to national stability and peace.