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Gen (Dr.)
Gen. Yakubu Gowon
Prof. Chinua Achebe
He held many appointments
in the Nigerian Army. He was Gen Ironsi’s Chief
of Army Staff in 1966 when Ironsi was killed in a counter coup of young Northern officers on 29 July 1966 and he
became Head of Federal Military Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces throughout the civil war
years of 1967-70. He was toppled while attending the OAU Following the Col Buka Suka Dimka-led aborted coup of 13 February 1976 in which Gen Murtala Ramat Mohammed
was killed, the Federal Military declared him wanted and stripped him of his military rank. In 1981, President Shehu Shagari offered him state pardon, which he rejected. His military
rank was restored in 1987. Gen Gowon was very instrumental to the formation of the Economic
Community of West African States, ECOWAS. He
was chairman of OAU 1973-74. He was awarded honorary doctorate degrees
by Universities of Gen Gowon leads an NGO, He was interviewed by PINI JASON. Q.
General, you have played a major role in world affairs and have now become a respected elder statesman in the country.
What are your fears, today; your disappointments, regrets concerning A. It is a great shame that the event of 1975 occurred when it did. If you
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Instead of beginning the development plan in April 1970, we waited until October so that the Igbo
areas affected by the war would have recovered and become sufficiently rehabilitated to play their proper role
as equal partners, and not as a part of the country requiring special favours
because of the war. But then come 1975; just when we had planned the next Development Plan. I don’t know if you
saw the document… Q. I happened to be in A. Without a doubt, the development plan would have laid a strong foundation for Unfortunately, there was a change. The government that came after us, even though its leadership
had been part and parcel of our development Plan, virtually abandoned it. Since then, it is my observation that
things are being pursued in a rather ad hoc manner, rather than as an integrated effort. That is the saddest aspect
of it all; we do not have a culture of planning from a truly national perspective. Any government with a sense
of responsibility does not dispense with a programme simply because of its ties to a previous administration! Perhaps, slight modifications might be
made in order to make things a greater success, and even as other, greater programmes
are being planned for the future. Then, our desired goals are easily achieved. If the government that took over from me had continued with the 1975-80 Development Plan, it would
have had the opportunity of commissioning one programme after the other, and received credit for them. And if they so chose, they could have given credit
to those who initiated the plan or claimed that it is more difficult to execute than to plan (laughter) so that
they got all the credit. However, that was not done. And this became a pattern whereby successive administrations
abandoned the initiatives of those before them and started their own; concomitantly, their own plans were as well
abandoned with a change of government. So – yet another plan is begun, and, consequently, we are left with so many
abandoned projects, which cannot augur well for the future of the economy of the country. What we were involved
in, in my time, was purely an integrated economic plan. Q. You are speaking of an intervention in your government during what you referred to as “the commanding
height of the Nigerian economy.” And your government did seriously seem to take responsibility for driving the
economy. But sadly, this is not the case, today. We now have a situation where the government is selling off some
of the very accomplishments of your time, and seems to be distancing itself from even its very basic social responsibility
with removing subsidies, introducing monetization, privatization and all kinds of policies that only impose further
hardship on the people. Ultimately, the private sector ought to drive the economy; but is the speed, the haste,
the right direction? A. I do not personally feel that things have to move as fast as seems to be happening today. But
I want to correct an impression -- the term we used was that Nigerians (and not the government) would take command
of the height of the economy. There is a difference between government taking command of the economy, and the citizenry
doing so. And my government did not begin with a policy of privatization, but one of indigenization; gradually,
we would have gone into various other areas, but in such a way as to have added value and strength, and the participation
of Nigerians in the running of our economy. With privatization, foreigners take over areas where Nigerians should rightfully take advantage
of and control. But, I think that what pertains now is simply a difference in government approach. Perhaps, the
present leadership, in its wisdom, has decided that what you refer to is the best way of accomplishing things,
and it may have received acknowledgement from the powers that be – the World Bank or the IMF
-- the powers that virtually enforce control of the economy of the world. Now, that is what we have to live with;
but let us hope that whatever decision is taken, profit does not only go outside the country. Otherwise it would
be really counter-productive. That is my own personal view. I would probably not have moved on things as quickly as the present government;
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Just to give you an example – in my period of leadership, the plan was to involve the Federal and
state governments very much involved in large-scale agricultural development. My government also encouraged the
private sector and enterprising individuals as well. Now, if everyone was involved in developing agriculture on
a grand scale -- the Federal Government, state governments, and the private sector, who would become the beneficiary?
Would it not be Nigerians? Food would be cheaper. And since my government’s development plan was based on establishing
an agro-allied industry, we would have began to think about making our products more profitable. Q.
Prior to 1973, especially during your leadership, agriculture occupied a prominent place in the country’s development
plans. But as a result of the Yom Kippur war, there was an Arab boycott of oil supplies to the West, and the subsequent
increase in oil revenue influenced A. The Yom Kippur war or the Arab-Israeli war really had nothing to do with it. If you recall, my government’s
developmental plans took off in 1975; that is how many years after the Yom Kippur war? And yet, the agricultural
sector has not developed in any significant way. Well, to be very honest with you, the war you mentioned, yes,
increased oil prices from US$2.50 to $5.00, $8.00 and then to $10.00, $15.00 and so on. But that was in October
1973, and you, yourself, know that even if there is a price hike, the benefits are not immediate. This is realized
six months later, at the very earliest. This means that we did not realize the benefit until, say, January 1974.
And remember, the price advantage hardly went beyond $25.00; unlike today’s price that is well above the $60.00
mark. So bear that in mind. But it was with that money that we were able to carry out the amount of development we planned for
and accomplished. And do not forget that I only had the benefit of that increase in revenue from January 1974 to
July 1975; roughly 18 months. So please -- when there is talk of the oil boom that we had, do remember that it
was for 18 months! Yet we were able to achieve a great deal, and invest much in agriculture and other industries
so as to develop the entire country. Look at the road network that we built, the seaports and the airports; education,
too, and so on. Just think back to what was going on at the time. So there was never any question of my government
being mesmerized by a great amount of money, and not knowing what to do with it. For
you journalists to quote me as saying…. Q.
Did you really say so? A. All right, I said so. But come along; it was merely in a manner of speaking! People had been
saying to me that there was all this money, and therefore the government should spend it. And I will tell you who
said so -- the Governor of the Central Bank. He rang me one day on the hot line to say that he wanted to see me.
I cancelled all engagements thinking something serious had happened. That was my fear. I was worried about paying
salaries, paying off our debt, and still being able to embark on the plans we had earmarked. If there was a problem
with our finances, there was a big problem. However, the governor of the Central Bank only came to tell me that
he had so much money he did not know what to do with it! I became very angry with him! What do you mean -- you have so much money, and you do not know what
to do with it, I said to him. Is that all that you came to tell me? For God’s sake, I thought you would have told
me that since we have all this money, there are some excellent ideas on how we can invest it. And I asked him --
who told you that one can have so much money he does not know what to do with it? I suggested that, in lieu of
any good ideas, he should go pave the streets of The important thing was not to fritter away the money. I said to the Central Bank Governor: look
– the government has pledged to improve small scale industries as well as the agricultural sector and the educational
system; we can go ahead and invest in all of these, or defer our plans for a short period and find something else
that would provide us with even more funds. As a matter of information – Q. I would like to return to the indigenization decree, if I may. You became the Head of State of
A. Just to show you
Col. Ojukwu and Col. Gowon
It is sad that as a result of the civil war, some people had to suffer various inconveniences to
life that should have been avoided. Unfortunately, if there is a situation like that, there is nothing you can
do. People are bound to suffer in
Refugee camp victims of the Gowon/Awolowo "starvation is a legitimate weapon of war" doctrine
And that was why one was prepared to open a corridor where aid and assistance for food could go
into the East in order to save, especially the little children that bore no responsibility, at all, for the war.
I can say that I was able to bear it, because I tried to ensure that everything was done with a human face and
feeling for the suffering of those on the other side. Those on the other side, I claimed as mine. That is why I
could not feasibly allow them to suffer. Q.
Did you think the civil war was inevitable? A. No! It was the action of the leaders! When it got to the stage whereby the leaders would not
agree then a decision had to be taken. There would not have been a civil war had there not been secession! If there
was no decision to break away from the country, certainly there wouldn’t have been any reason to start fighting.
The civil war was as a result of the East and the leadership of Ojukwu deciding to break away. Now, I had a duty
and responsibility. I swore allegiance to Honestly, if you
Yakubu Gowon imposed a blockade, preventing food and supplies from reaching starving Biafran children,
millions of whom suffered and died of kwashiokor.
Biafra (1969): Christopher Kip Warr of Oxfam buries a 4-year Igbo child victim of hatred and genocide.
(Courtesy: Patrick Watson and Benjamin Barber)
Q. The Aburi Accord appears to have been the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Why was there a controversy
surrounding its interpretation? A. One thing about the interpretation is that one can take it as a sign of open-mindedness, a sign
of weakness, or that it was simply not understood. My stance was this: if you demonstrate that it was weakness
that governed your actions, then I will show you that I cannot be taken for granted. The agreement was that everything
must be done on consensus, and I was supposed to come back, and then make a statement. But what happened? Ojukwu
went back, and made an announcement, and I was woken up by (Major-General David) Ejoor
to say that this is what he heard Ojukwu say. And I said: but did we agree to that? And he said, no, we did not.
I said this is not on! Was I not supposed to issue a statement first and then, thereafter, all the others would
proceed with theirs? If he, indeed, had gone ahead to make that statement, virtually forcing us to accept the memorandum
that he came with, then we could not agree. It was from his memorandum that most of his claims were based. We did not go to the meeting armed with specific terms, because I wanted a discussion that would
be followed up with subsequent discussions to get things done. But it was generally agreed upon that we do things
by concurrence, in order to give the East the feeling that it was still part and parcel of the nation! I accepted,
though I did not want, the name, ‘Supreme Commander.’ I never wanted the name ‘Supreme Commander, at any time!”
Probably, I was a fool to have agreed to this. Perhaps, I could have stood my ground to say no to all those things,
and, therefore, Aburi would never have occurred. But then, Ojukwu declared: “On Aburi,
They Stand!” and I returned: “From Aburi, You Will Fall!” (Laughter). Q. Commentators blame the controversy on your so-called Super Permanent Secretaries at the time
who it is said complained, when you returned from Aburi, that you had given away too much; that you had dismembered the country… A, (Cuts in) No, no, no! Well, one can go ahead, and blame our Super Perm Secs
if they chose, but the truth is this: I was not feeling well at all; I had very high fever when I came back from
Aburi. I was really down, and could not even prepare the statement that I was to make, which would have
committed everybody to what had been agreed upon. Then Ojukwu, as we arrived, made his statement, and as I told
you, I was woken up in the early hours of the morning to be told that this was what was being said. I said -- is
that what we agreed to? And the reply was “no.” I then said that if that was Ojukwu’s interpretation, I was rejecting
it. What we did at NIFOR (the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research on the outskirts of Q.
Now, you spoke passionately about how the sufferings, especially in the war zones, pained you. With that at the
back of my mind, I want to ask you: why then was starvation part of your instrument of war? A. If that were the case, would I have agreed with the international community to have a corridor
to supply food, etc to the people? The only thing I said was that a lot of the so-called relief flights that were
going into the war zone were not relief flights, and we knew that! It is postulated that one of the flights that
Christopher Okigbo supervised was referred to as a “relief flight,” but what do you suppose was in that aircraft?
Was it not arms and ammunitions etc? (By the way some of those flights crashed in places like the Q.
(Cuts in) Tractors! (General laughter) A. So you knew?! There you are! So all that we said was that if those were, indeed, relief flights
then let them come through where they could be inspected by the international bodies. Our intention was not to
control the movement of the flights. After inspection, the planes could then take off to a designated airport in
the East for relief services. But certainly; starvation was never, never, at any time, the
policy during the war! If any thing at all, I can assure you that during the war, when contacts were made with
friends of ours in the East, a lot of assistance was sent to them through some of my relations. My younger brother,
Isaiah did quite a lot of that, at the time. And I will say with all sense of responsibility and sincerity, that
no; I can never wish to see anyone starve, especially children. What have they done to cause such suffering on
them? But the actions of their leaders caused some of this hardship to befall them. Q. Was there any time you entertained fear of losing that war? A. No! I don’t think there was any fear, at all, at any time. There were anxious moments, like when Gen Hassan (Katsina) came to tell me that “Warri has fallen!” And he came with all his staff officers! “Warri has fallen; how come?” I demanded. When did things degenerate so much for the rebels to come right across to take Warri?” But it was not Warri that he meant! He paused and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
