Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd), a former head of state, has explained why he declined to support any political party in the nation.
This was revealed by the elder statesman on Wednesday in Abuja when he welcomed the League of Northern Democrats (LND), which was headed by Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor of Kano State.
The 90-year-old senior statesman declared that Nigeria is his only loyalty, adding that his military career had influenced his conviction that serving the nation should come first.
He went on to say that he urged people to go beyond local concerns and consider Nigeria as a whole, emphasizing that while disagreements are normal, they should never stop Nigerians from cooperating to find solutions to problems for the benefit of the nation.
According to him, “I’ve always believed in taking the best from all ideologies, be it socialism, capitalism, or others, and applying them for the greater good.
“During my time in government, we valued diverse perspectives, but decisions were always made in the interest of the people and the nation.”
“My position has always been that whatever the north does must serve the greater interest of Nigeria,” Gowon said, adding that he hoped the guests’ mission was not just about going back to the old ways of thinking, where the north prioritizes the north, the west prioritizes the west, and the east prioritizes the east, until the Mid-West emerged to think for itself.
He clarified that he favored the establishment of several states in order to concentrate on national unity and keep any one area from growing too strong and endangering the nation.
“Given the size and population of the north, the north had to make sacrifices to address fears of domination by one region,” the former Head of State said, adding that the perspective was the result of intensive consultations with chiefs, political leaders, and diverse organizations.
He claimed that at the time, the south was quite concerned about the north’s might, and that this almost resulted in demands for independence from the east, the west, and even the north.
He clarified that he chose to support the establishment of states because he wished to keep the country from becoming divided.
Gowon said, “If we had allowed it, what would we call ourselves today? We might have ended up with separate nations— whether Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, or otherwise. I hesitate to say more, as I might risk offending someone here.”
He asserts that Nigeria’s diversity and population are assets and that if its people can come together in spite of their differences, they can create the Nigeria that they all want.
Gowon expressed his sadness at the difficulties the north is currently facing, citing the rise of organizations like the Lukurawa from Mali as an example, whose actions have only made matters worse for the area.
Before being overthrown by a military coup, Gen. Gowon led Nigeria as a military commander for nine years, from 1966 to 1975.
