Gowon and his successors

I turn to one of those my occasional forays into history. I strongly believe that anyone who lacks a historical context in terms of socio-political, economic or policy evolution is almost completely incompetent in decision-making regarding any subject matter, even if the person in question is intelligent and passionate about the matter. This contextual incompetence is worse in Nigeria, where in many cases our documented history is often bland, empty and lacking in depth, or simply an official, politically correct or often false account of history. So in Nigeria, acquiring historical context is not a simple matter of buying the relevant books and ascertaining the historical consensus, but involves the researcher reading multiple accounts of a large number of historical accounts; reviewing virtually all other books and publications relevant to the issue; understanding each author’s biases and prejudices; and reaching an enlightened synthesis and unique perspective on Nigeria’s post-colonial and post-independence history.

I lived in Ijebu-Ode during the Nigerian Civil War. Even though a little child, I knew a war was on-going – I saw military trucks heading to and from the warfront on occasion; and I was certainly aware of what I later learnt was Ojukwu’s tactical onslaught on Ore when a relatively larger number of military mobilization was evident. Most noticeable to a child was the war propaganda around General Yakubu Gowon and “rebel leader” Odumegwu Ojukwu. As children we sang songs extolling Gowon as a hero who was keeping Nigeria together; while Ojukwu was presented as a villain who wanted to destroy our unity. Of course, I have a more nuanced understanding of both of these gentlemen today, after reading through most accounts of the events of 1966 to 1970.

In 1970 my family moved to Lagos just as war was ending; and it was noticeable how the narrative about Gowon was quickly changing. I read newspapers from an unusually early age and was familiar with the news around our hero, Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle and the Iyabo Olorunkoya saga; the corruption allegations against Joseph Tarka by Godwin Daboh and the follow-on between Aper Aku and Joseph Gomwalk; etc.

By the time Gowon was overthrown on July 29, 1975, his perception with the Nigerian people was that he was a very corrupt leader who had presided over an administration in which Gowon, his governors and the “super permanent secretaries” who headed the civil service were corrupt and incompetent. The curiosity however was that by the time Gowon was in exile in the United Kingdom, it became apparent that the gentleman did not own any hotels in Paris, or mansions in London that the anti-Gowon propaganda had alleged. Indeed, the man was so poor that he lived in London and attended Warwick University on the generosity of the British Government!

My reconstruction of Nigerian history is that Gowon was certainly not as corrupt as portrayed. He was a gentleman, possibly a weak and accommodative leader, who may have been a more effective clergyman but he certainly was not a thief. Many of his governors and civil servants were discredited by propaganda which, it is now clear, emanated from the military-politicians who may have used control of military intelligence and allies in the media to portray the regime in bad light to create the conditions for a coup. Godwin Daboh was probably no anti-corruption crusader, but in all likelihood an agent of certain forces within the security system. I do not admire Gowon’s regime, but not necessarily due to allegations of corruption which have not been validated by history – I think the regime failed instead due to poor policy that failed, in spite of an abundance of oil resources, to lay the foundations for Nigerian economic development and social transformation.

The elevated propaganda about the levels of corruption under Gowon had consequences – the new regime felt obliged to justify their pre-coup propaganda and went on an onslaught against government officials who served in the previous administration, destroying the civil service in the process. The civil service purges became a vendetta and many innocent people lost their jobs and prized careers and, in many cases, even their dignity. Nigerian civil servants learnt a bitter lesson and civil servants became businessmen and politicians, determined never to suffer the next time an irrational regime came into office. When the government realized its errors, it tried, less loudly, to redress some clear cases of injustice.

In 1975 and probably today, the Nigerian populace were naïve about the strategies and tactics of coup plotters; the difference between news and propaganda; and the difference between genuine civil rights activists and procured crusaders; and while Gowon’s reputation has been refurbished due to passage of time, Nigerians have not explicitly resolved the question of where all the billions of naira and dollars purportedly acquired by Gowon and his officials disappeared to! The real story, of course, is the wealth possessed by Gowon’s successors who came into office on a mantle of anti-corruption, relative to the gentle general! If any Nigerian researcher or news media took on the duty of comparing Gowon’s net worth (and others in his regime) with his principal successors – General Olusegun Obasanjo, General T. Y Danjuma, late Major-General Shehu Yar’Adua, ex-military president Ibrahim Babangida and others in that era – what are they likely to find? Are there any revisions of Nigerian history required?

 
Opeyemi Agbaje