Yakubu Gowon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
General
Yakubu Gowon
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| 3rd Head of State of Nigeria | |
| In office 1 August 1966 – 29 July 1975 |
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| Chief of Staff | J. E. A. Wey |
| Preceded by | Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi |
| Succeeded by | Murtala Mohammed |
| Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity | |
| In office 27 May 1973 – 12 June 1974 |
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| Preceded by | Hassan II |
| Succeeded by | Siad Barre |
| Federal Commissioner of Defence | |
| In office 1966–1975 |
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| Preceded by | Inuwa Wada |
| Succeeded by | Illiya Bisalla |
| Federal Commissioner for External Affairs | |
| In office 1966–1967 |
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| Preceded by | Nuhu Bamalli |
| Succeeded by | Arikpo Okoi |
| Chief of Army Staff | |
| In office 16 January 1966 – 29 July 1966 |
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| Preceded by | Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Akahan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 October 1934 Kanke, Northern Region, British Nigeria (now Kanke, Plateau, Nigeria) |
| Spouse |
Victoria Zakari
(m. 1969) |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation |
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| Nickname | "Jack" |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Nigeria |
| Branch/service |  Nigerian Army |
| Years of service | 1954–1975 |
| Rank |  General |
| Battles/wars | Congo Crisis Nigerian Civil War |
Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon GCFR (born 19 October 1934) is a Nigerian former Head of State and important statesman. He led Nigeria's military government during the Nigerian Civil War.
After the war, Gowon gave a famous speech saying "no victor, no vanquished." This meant that no one truly won or lost, and it was important for everyone to heal and come together. The Nigerian Civil War was a very difficult time.
Gowon is a Christian from a smaller ethnic group in Northern Nigeria. He strongly believes in Nigeria staying united as one country. He became a leader after a military takeover in July 1966. He ruled Nigeria for almost nine years, which is the longest continuous time for a Nigerian head of state, until he was removed from power in 1975.
Contents
Growing Up in Nigeria
Yakubu Gowon was born in a small village called Lur in what is now Plateau State. His parents, Nde Yohanna and Matwok Kurnyang, were missionaries for the Church Missionary Society (CMS). They moved to Wusasa, Zaria, when he was very young.
Gowon was the fifth of eleven children. He spent his early life and went to school in Zaria. He was a great athlete at school. He played football as a goalkeeper, was good at pole vaulting, and was a long-distance runner. He even broke the school's mile record in his first year. He was also the captain of the boxing team.
Starting a Military Career
Gowon joined the Nigerian Army in 1954. He became a second lieutenant on his 21st birthday, 19 October 1955. He received training at famous military schools, including the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK (1955–56) and the Staff College, Camberley, also in the UK (1962).
He also trained at the Joint Staff College, Latimer in 1965. Gowon served in the Congo as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in 1960–61 and again in 1963. By 1966, he had become a battalion commander, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Becoming Nigeria's Leader
In January 1966, a group of junior military officers tried to take over the government. This event, known as the 1966 Nigerian coup d'état, led to the overthrow of Nigeria's civilian government. Many leaders were killed, including the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
After this coup, Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi became the head of state. Gowon was his Chief of Staff. However, there was a lot of anger, especially in Northern Nigeria, because people felt the coup plotters were not being punished.
The Second Coup of 1966
In July 1966, another group of officers carried out a counter-coup. Their original idea was for the Northern region to leave Nigeria. But important advisors, including some from the British and American governments, convinced them not to.
Instead, they chose Lieutenant Colonel Gowon to become Nigeria's new Head of State. He had not been actively involved in the coup events until then. Gowon was seen as a good choice because he was from the North but was not from the largest ethnic groups (Hausa or Fulani) and was a Christian. This made him a safer choice to lead a country facing a lot of ethnic tension.
When he became leader, Gowon changed a previous decision that had tried to make Nigeria a single, unified state. He brought back the federal system, where different regions had some power.
Gowon's Promotions
When Gowon became Head of State on 1 August 1966, he was a Lieutenant Colonel. There were other military officers in the government who were older and had higher ranks than him. To make sure his position as leader was strong, Gowon promoted himself. He became a Major-General just before the Civil War started in 1967. Then, he became a full General when the war ended in 1970.
Leading During the Civil War
Before the Eastern Region tried to separate from Nigeria, Gowon made a big change. He created twelve new states to replace the four existing regions. Six of these new states were for minority groups who had wanted their own states for a long time.
Gowon believed that these minority groups in the East would not support the Igbo people if they tried to separate. He thought they would prefer to have their own states within Nigeria. Many of the soldiers who fought in the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, were from these minority groups.
The war lasted for thirty months, from 1967 to January 1970. When the war ended, Gowon famously said, "no victor, no vanquished." This meant that everyone should work together to rebuild the country. The years after the war were called a period of "rehabilitation, reconstruction, and reconciliation."
The Aburi Accord
Before the war, there was a lot of tension between the Eastern Region and Gowon's government. In January 1967, Gowon and the leader of the Eastern Region, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, met in Ghana. This meeting was called the Aburi Accord. They wanted to solve their problems and make Nigeria a confederation (a loose union of states).
However, the Aburi Accord was not fully put into action. Gowon's government was worried about losing control of the oil revenues, which were becoming very important for Nigeria's economy.
Dividing the Regions
To reduce the power of Ojukwu's government in the East, Gowon announced on 5 May 1967 that Nigeria's three regions would be divided into 12 states. From Ojukwu's Eastern Region, he created three new states: Rivers State, South-Eastern State, and East-Central State.
The Rivers and South-Eastern states had oil reserves and access to the sea. These were carved out to separate the Igbo areas into the East-Central state. This move was controversial because it meant that many Igbo traders who lived in Port Harcourt (a city in Rivers State) lost their properties after the war.
During the war, Nigerian federal troops captured Bonny Island and later Port Harcourt. This gave them control over important oil facilities. Oil production continued, and by 1970, it had greatly increased, becoming a major source of income for Nigeria.
Many minority groups in the Eastern Region did not want to separate from Nigeria. They feared living in an Igbo-dominated nation. Some of them even helped the federal side during the war.
On 30 May 1967, Ojukwu declared that the Eastern Region would separate and become the Republic of Biafra. This led to the Civil War, which caused many deaths, especially from starvation due to a blockade. The war also led to a big growth in the Nigerian Army and the creation of the Nigerian Air Force.
After the War: "No Victor, No Vanquished"
The war officially ended on 13 January 1970. Gowon then gave his famous "no victor, no vanquished" speech. He offered amnesty (forgiveness) to most people who had supported Biafra. He also started a program called "Reconciliation, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation" to fix the damage from the war.
However, some of these plans were not fully carried out. Also, a policy that allowed Biafrans to only get 20 pounds from their bank accounts, no matter how much they had before the war, caused hardship.
During the oil boom, Gowon's government made a decision in 1972 called the "indigenization decree." This law limited foreign investment in many parts of the Nigerian economy. While it helped some Nigerians, it made it harder for foreign companies to invest in non-oil sectors.
Nigeria's economy grew a lot after the war because of oil. However, this period also saw an increase in corruption. While General Gowon himself was not found to be involved in corruption, some people accused him of not paying enough attention to what his staff were doing.
In 1974, Gowon announced that Nigeria would not be ready for civilian rule by 1976, as he had promised earlier. He said the handover would be postponed indefinitely. This decision, along with growing corruption, caused more unhappiness.
Overthrow and Exile
Because of these problems, there was growing unhappiness within the army. On 29 July 1975, while Gowon was at a meeting in Uganda, a group of officers announced that he had been overthrown. Brigadier Murtala Muhammed became the new head of government.
Gowon then went to live in the United Kingdom. There, he studied at the University of Warwick and earned a Ph.D. in political science. He became a part of the English community where he lived.
Later Events
In February 1976, Murtala Mohammed was killed in an attempted coup. The leader of this coup, Lt. Col Buka Suka Dimka, claimed that Gowon had supported the coup. As a result, Gowon was declared wanted by the Nigerian government, lost his military rank, and had his pension stopped.
However, Gowon was later pardoned by President Shehu Shagari. His rank of general was given back to him in 1987 by General Ibrahim Babangida.
Later Life and Contributions
After getting his doctorate, Gowon became a professor of political science at the University of Jos in the mid-1980s. In 1992, he started his own organization called the Yakubu Gowon Centre. This organization works on important issues in Nigeria, such as good governance and controlling infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria. General Gowon is also involved in programs to get rid of Guinea Worm and HIV.
In November 2020, a British Member of Parliament made an accusation against Gowon, linking him to corruption. This statement caused a lot of strong reactions in Nigeria, with many people defending Gowon's honesty. The British government later clarified that the MP's comment did not reflect their views.
Personal Life
Gowon married Victoria Zakari, who was a trained nurse, in 1969. Their wedding took place at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos.
See also
- Nigerian Civil War
- Nigerian military juntas of 1966–79 and 1983–99
Images for kids
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Gowon as a soldier
