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Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, on Tuesday revealed how former Defense minister, retired General Theophilus Danjuma saved former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon (Retd.) from the wrath of Nasir el’Rufai, then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Kukah while speaking in Abuja at a presentation and review of Gowon’s autobiography, ‘My Life in Duty and Loyalty’ published by Havilah Group, said el’Rufai as minister had uprooted Gowon’s only piece of land in Abuja, and it took Danjuma’s intervention for el’Rufai to reverse the revolution.
The cleric also used this opportunity to recount some of the hardships Gowon faced after leaving office, including his years in exile following the 1975 military coup that ousted him from power.
According to Kukah, Gowon initially had no property in Abuja after returning to Nigeria and only acquired a plot of land after the intervention of senior military figures.
“He didn’t have a piece of land. And when he came back, just out of pity, let me put it like that, so General Ibrahim Babangida agreed. Finally, they named a crescent moon after him, and after the crescent moon, they are now giving him a piece of land, his first piece of land in Abuja,” Kukah said.
The bishop said Gowon had mobilized resources and started construction on the land before the allocation was withdrawn during El-Rufai’s tenure as minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
“He mobilized resources to try and start building. He started building. Then El-Rufai, who is the FCT minister, revoked the land,” Kukah said.
According to him, the intervention of retired General Theophilus Danjuma and others ultimately helped Gowon restore the property.
The remarks are part of Kukah’s extensive review of his autobiography, which he describes as a lengthy account of Nigeria’s tumultuous political history spanning some 900 pages and divided into 36 chapters.
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Kukah revealed that most of Gowon’s archives and personal notes were lost in two separate fire incidents in Bakori and Kaduna, so the memoir relies largely on the former military leader’s recollections.
“It is important to underscore the fact that whatever you read in this book is the result of what the author could remember.
“You will find in the books evidence of extraordinary memories and details of things,” he said.
Bishop structures his review based on various phases of Gowon’s life, including military coups, exile, personal trials, and his relationships with key actors in Nigerian political history.
He particularly highlighted revelations surrounding Gowon’s relationship with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, citing passages from a memoir that showed deep trust between the two men despite political tensions following Gowon’s ouster.
Quoting from the book, Kukah said Gowon described Obasanjo as an “informal guardian angel” whom he trusted “more than any other soldier.”
Kukah also referred to a report by former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Allison Ayida, regarding the debate within the military over whether Gowon should be allowed to return to Nigeria from exile.
According to him, Ayida recalled that a number of officials were worried that there would be a political reaction if Gowon’s plans to return were known to the public.
Beyond politics, Kukah devotes much of his review to Gowon’s wife, Victoria, whom he describes as “a shield, a diplomat, who wears trousers at home.”
According to the bishop, the memoir details the extent of the hardships the Gowon family experienced in exile in England following the 1975 coup.
He said Gowon struggled to find work or even open a bank account, while his wife supported the family by sewing bed sheets and making pillows to sell.
“He says it himself in the book that he became what he called a caretaker because he was the one looking after everything in the house,” Kukah said.
The bishop further recounted how a domestic worker allegedly sent to help the family by Nigerian officials was later discovered to be monitoring them for incriminating evidence.
“In the end, the poor guy couldn’t find anything to report when he went home,” Kukah said.
Gowon, who ruled Nigeria from 1966 to 1975 and led the country through civil war, remains one of Nigeria’s most influential military leaders.
His government implemented a post-war policy of “no winners, no losers” and later created the National Youth Service Corps as part of national reconciliation efforts after the conflict.
