Posted by By EMERSON GOBERT, JR. on
Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, knew about the plot to overthrow his government in 1975 by General Murtala Ramat Muhammed but chose not to resist the coup to avoid bloodshed and in the nation's interest.
Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, knew about the plot to overthrow his government in 1975 by General Murtala Ramat Muhammed but chose not to resist the coup to avoid bloodshed and in the nation's interest.
These revelations were made by King Alfred Diette-Spiff, the Amayanobo of Twon Brass kingdom, who served the Gowon administration as the first military governor of old Rivers State. Spiff, who was then the youngest governor at the age of 24 said the coup that outsted his boss had no justification just like the dream of a Republic of Biafra.
He stressed that Gen. Gowon was a God-sent leader who had Nigeria's interest at heart. The former governor also addressed issues that led to the coup against Maj. Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi, in his forth-coming book, The Power of Sychophancy. Fierce as ever, the six-footer ex-soldier was blunt.
Excerpts:
Many ex-military officers have given conflicting accounts of the Nigerian civil war and other related issues, why have you not commented on your military past?
I feel I still have a lot to contribute to the future. I can't open my mouth too loud and talk on my military past because there are quite a few things one cannot still disclose. I'm still bound by the Secrecy Act but be it as it may, there are one or two feeble attempts by some people trying to write my biography. Well, a few will be coming out soon. Who knows? I may have to bend down to put something on paper but definitely, an interesting writing will be The Power of Sycophancy. It's about time all leaders knew that they are surrounded all the time by sycophants.
Like it or not, half the time, people give advice which are subjective and there are others who will just be there to kill ideas. 'Oh, it's not in the budget!" 'Oh, it's too difficult!" 'Oh, don't teach old dogs new tricks!" 'Oh no, we have tried this and it did not work!" and the smoothest of it all, 'Let's form a committee" and then they will kill the idea. The governors and the people in authority should watch out for sycophants. They are many.
They come in all shapes and forms to pump you, so that you start swelling like a toad, but as soon as they leave you, they will go and spread the net to catch the honey. I think we are all obsessed with making money and we don't mind if some foreigners come in and say anything. You are ready to give it to the foreigner as long as he gives you one tenth. So, building a hotel in Cote D'voire will cost x. When that same hotel is to be built here, it is 10x. Everything gets inflated here unduly and everybody seems to want to have his cut.
When do we expect this your book?
It calls for a lot of research because I have to really get some convincing data for people to see and feel The Power of Sycophancy.
Sir, would you say the fight for a Republic of Biafra was justified?
No!
Why do you say so? The people said they were marginalized.
Did Biafra include the various people? I said no! Period.
Why do you say no?
I was not consulted and our people said ‘no'.
If you were consulted, would you have said yes?
I would have still said no!
Why would you have said no in the latter instance?
No! The answer is no. I mean, we want to stay within Nigeria, and if we are going to change, we are not going to go to Biafra. It's not changing from one form of servitude to another form of servitude. God forbid!
You served under Gen. Yakubu Gowon. Some people say he was inept, hence he went back to school after the 1975 coup that ousted him. How would you rate his leadership?
No! No! No! Whoever says that Gen. Gowon was inept, God forgive them.
Gen. Gowan was a God-sent leader and we all served under him: Adekunle, Murtala, Obasanjo, Haruna, Johnson - a good collection.
They are quite a bunch and he was very God-fearing. Even when he knew that he was going to be ousted, he thought of Nigeria first, so there will be no bloodshed. So, he just stepped aside and at the time he came on board, this country needed him. Without him, there would have been more bloodshed after the May riots of 1966 and he went back to school to equip himself better or, at least, to fulfill his personal ambition of getting some academic accolades. He is a professor Emeritus in quite a few universities. Even now, he is also praying seriously for this country under the 'Nigeria Prays." So, Gen. Gowon, God bless him. He definitely is a man who lives for the good of others and he puts Nigeria first in everything he does.
You are saying that even when he knew that he was going to be ousted, he quietly stepped aside, he didn't want bloodshed. Are you saying that he knew the plot before he went for that OAU meeting in Kampala?
He was warned that there was such a thing brewing but he said well, if they are really determined, there is noting he could do about it.
Put differently, are you saying that the Murtala coup that removed him was not justified?
It wasn't because all those officers who made the coup were also part of the government and we had already had discussions about the governors going back to military duties and a new set of governors were being appointed.
The commonest charge so to say, at that time, was that Gowon was too young whereas, most of the state governors were more experienced, more lettered and he could not control them.
No way! No way! I was the youngest of the lot, followed by David Bamiboye but frankly, people can say this or say that.
Some of the people who are saying it now were too young to know anyway and frankly, he came at a very trying period and succeeded in keeping this country together, and at the end of all the upheavals, he declared ‘no victor, no vanquished' and he handled things in a more God-fearing manner; even the people who were on the other side of the fence are back here living as free Nigerians, freer than even some of us. And people who went and fought on the other side even came back and got medals and some of us have no medals to show. You can call me the undecorated commander and there are few other things which as I said, I cannot say. I have water in my mouth, I can't say it.
Of all past Nigeria's military leaders, who would you say was the best and why?
Gen. Gowon, of course, without any doubt. He is the doyen anyday.
Who would you say was the worst and why?
Worst? How?
The same way you saw Gen. Gowon as the best in terms of leadership style and everything.
How do you say worst when for instance, the last military leader was there for nine months and you want to compare him with somebody who was there for eight years?
We had Ironsi, Gowon, Murtala, Abacha…
This thing evolves. When Ironsi came, there were no set guidelines on how to rule militarily, so everybody was trying to develop what to do and what not to do and even Ironsi was being advised to go and dissolve the regions and have the country broken up into groups of provinces. That was the bane, the final straw that broke the camel's back. But here again too, he was being misled by sycophants. For instance, the petroleum problem that led to the other coups, people will mislead the leader and then cash in on it. So, when you are there, it's a matter of saying God help you. So, you can not say this is better than that.
All we know is that Gen. Gowon was the doyen who now introduced the style of military leadership. Ironsi was there for too short a time anyway, so the issue of having commissioners or having executive councils to work with the governors was not there. This was a strong debate whether they should just be a military junta and rule by decrees. But it was necessary to bring in civilians into the military rule and so you had civilian commissioners and those commissioners, while they helped in promoting the military government created a lot of problems also.
Soldiers are known to be dictators but today, you are a king, a royal father. How do you confront the challenges of leading people democratically based on your background?
Kings have also been dictators. The king is a king. Do you go and argue with the Oba of Benin? You can't and that is the prerogative of the king. Unfortunately, politics has come and denuded their powers and so on, so they are to be seen and not to be heard but it's one of those things. The gracious kings are still there, smiling and blessing their people and let the politicians handle the day to day running of the show. So, my council of chiefs also has that power to run the show and I'm there as their monarch to bless them.