Gowon: A glorious life at 90, By Wole Olaoye

When I clock 90, if I had a choice in the matter, I’ll like to be like General Yakubu Dan-Yumma “Jack” Gowon — in good health, full of cheer and with my better half whispering sweet nothings into my ear as she relishes the distinguished audience consisting of Their Excellences, Highnesses, Lords, Eminences and other movers and shakers of society, temporal and spiritual.

It is not given to many people to be able to cast a happy glance at an illustrious life lived over nine decades and still bask in the adulation of a grateful society. At 90, General Gowon seems to still be in the middle of the Nigerian story despite his best efforts to be anonymous. A man of destiny, he found himself positioned at crucial junctions in Nigeria’s national life. Weighty responsibilities were cast on his shoulders at the age of 33 when his colleagues entrusted the leadership of the country onto him. 

Many of us remember General Gowon fondly as that youthful military officer with a genial smile who led Nigeria through three harrowing years of a civil war. His “no victor, no vanquished” speech at the war’s end to promote healing and reconciliation is a classic in social reintegration and wound healing. The Nigerian Civil War may have been listed as one of the deadliest in modern history, but those on the ‘federal side’ insist that Gowon’s leadership saved the country. Had the leadership fallen into different hands, perhaps the story of the war might have been different in terms of sheer brutality and casualty figures. But General Gowon was a humanist in the middle of a human tragedy. He made it clear that his mission was to keep Nigeria united, not to extirpate the people of the Eastern Region. That position brought him in direct collision with some of his feisty war commanders. That story was told by the commanders themselves after the war. 

To cap his humanist disposition, Gowon’s post-war programme encompassing the 3Rs — Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction was a lesson in re-integration and fence mending. He holds the distinction of having served for the longest continuous period as military head of state of Nigeria, ruling for almost nine years. 

Since his return to the country after a long sojourn abroad during which he bagged a PhD in Political Science, he has shown himself to be essentially a man of peace. His Yakubu Gowon Foundation has been involved in human development interventions while his ‘Nigeria Prays’ initiative is a Non-Governmental and Interdenominational prayer organisation. The former head of state has stayed away from partisan politics and is therefore generally seen as a father to all.

The other day in Abuja, the general was all smiles as the créme de la créme of society gathered to honour him on his 90th birthday. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo who was one of the war commanders during the civil war acknowledged his boss’s humanist posture and revealed that the story of Nigeria might have been more tragic with a less compassionate man at the helm. 

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan said he, too, could only marvel at the wonders of God because he was in primary 5 when General Gowon became head of state. As President when he presided over meetings of the Council of State, (incorporating ex presidents, heads of state, vice-presidents or their equivalents during military rule, ex-chief justices of the federation, ex-senate presidents, et al.et al.) he said he usually marvelled whenever he looked at General Gowon. Fate had brought two men of destiny together: A one-time primary 5 pupil was presiding over a meeting where his former military head of state was but an ordinary member!

However, the greatest gift anyone could give General Gowon on his 90th birthday was crafted in prose by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB). At the birthday lecture titled “Building a Global Nigeria”, Dr. Adesina charted the course that could steer Nigeria away from underachievement, underdevelopment and perpetual poverty. Only an intellectual discourse of such gravitas could have done justice to the momentousness of General Gowon’s 90th birthday. Adesina, Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture, now generally acknowledged as Africa’s Optimist-In-Chief, dug deep to unearth the compass Nigeria requires to fulfil its destiny as a global player. There can be no substitute for the full text. Meanwhile here are Excerpts:

Historic Duty 

“When the Gulf region was to develop, it took Saudi Arabia to set the pace….  For Africa to develop, it needs Nigeria to develop faster.

Food Security 

“To ensure food security, the Federal Government in conjunction with State Governments, should return to the highly successful Growth Enhancement Scheme and the electronic-wallet scheme that was put in place when I was Minister of Agriculture….

Transforming Ports

“Recently the Financial Times reported that congestion at the port in Lagos has become so bad that it could cost more than $4,000 to truck a container 20 kilometres inland — almost as much as it costs to ship the very same container 12,000 nautical miles from China… 

Japa Syndrome

“The rate and speed at which Nigerians are leaving the country — the so-called “Japa” syndrome risks undermining Nigeria’s drive for economic rejuvenation and positioning for global dominance. Nigeria’s best talent including doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, architects, computer programmers, artists and cultural entrepreneurs, sports athletes, and even bankers, are voting with their feet and leaving Nigeria in droves due to economic hardships, high unemployment, a corrosive rate of inflation that daily eats away at the value of their assets, insecurity ….

“PwC estimates that the exodus of Nigeria’s talents will lead to a loss of close to $5 billion annually. Yet, this is happening against the backdrop of a rapid global growth in Artificial Intelligence that holds enormous opportunities for shaping and transforming the world economy. In a recent analysis, PwC estimated that Artificial Intelligence will add $116 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and $316 billion annually to the economies of just four African countries – Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana by 2030. Nigeria is well poised to take advantage of this opportunity, with the nation being one of the leaders in the fintech industry, and companies such as Flutterwave, Palm Pay, MTN Mobile Money, Piggyest ranking among the top 250 Fintech companies globally. Nigeria also has 5 of the top 7 Unicorn Fintech companies in Africa, including Interswitch, Flutterwave, OPay and Andela, demonstrating the ingenuity and entrepreneurial capacity of Nigerians to lead, innovate and dominate the competitive fintech industry. That is why the African Development Bank, along with partners, is investing $614 million in the i-DICE program in Nigeria. This is a bold initiative designed to develop digital and creative enterprises, which will help add $6 billion to Nigeria’s GDP and create 6.4 million jobs…. 

“… We must become a Global Nigeria, brimming with talent, skills and entrepreneurship capacity, that is powered by clear, strong, consistent, and sustainable government policies to become globally competitive, and to retain our young talents, if we are to drive growth and competitiveness globally. A Global Nigeria will turn “Japa” (“we are leaving”) into “Ja Pada” (we are going back)!. To get there, I have some good news! I am delighted to announce that three days ago the African Development Bank’s Board of Directors approved $100 million for the establishment of the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank of Nigeria….”

Let’s Go On With One Nigeria. Happy Birthday, General Gowon!

Wole Olaoye is a Public Relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached on wole.olaoye@gmail.com, Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: woleola2021.