Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.), has revealed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo once rejected an order to serve under the late Gen. Murtala Muhammed during the Nigerian Civil War because he considered Murtala his junior.
The revelation is contained in Chapter 14 of Gowon’s autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, unveiled in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to Gowon, Obasanjo openly resisted the arrangement after he was assigned as Rear Commander under the newly formed 2 Division led by Murtala Muhammed during the war.
“He believed he was more senior and should not be expected to serve under his junior,” Gowon wrote.
“As a result, he strongly stated that he would never serve under Colonel Murtala Muhammed for any reason,” he added.
Gowon explained that he eventually used his authority as Commander-in-Chief to compel Obasanjo to accept the posting.
“I stood my ground that, as Commander-in-Chief, I reserved the right to send people to where I believe they could be most useful to the country at any material time,” Gowon stated.
“I told him his main task was not to be Murtala’s deputy but to ensure the general security of the Western Region. He relented and took on the role assigned to him.”
Despite the disagreement, Gowon said Obasanjo later performed beyond expectations and remained loyal during the war.
“He performed well to my expectations,” Gowon said, praising Obasanjo for rejecting attempts by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka to allegedly facilitate Colonel Victor Banjo’s movement into the Western Region.
The former military ruler also disclosed that he had personally supported Obasanjo’s career from their early military days in the United Kingdom.
Recalling their first meeting in London in 1958, Gowon said Obasanjo helped him financially when he was stranded and unable to settle his bills.
“Obasanjo, on the other hand, was much different. He had more than enough money to pay for himself and to offset my initial bills. I saw that as a great display of a sense of responsibility,” he wrote.
“That singular act made me take more interest in Obasanjo and what he did,” Gowon added, describing himself as Obasanjo’s “informal guardian angel.”
The autobiography also revealed explosive claims about former Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Gowon alleged that Ojukwu secretly pledged Biafra’s mineral resources to the Rothschild banking family in exchange for foreign support during the war.
“Indeed, he had pawned the mineral wealth of Biafra to Rothschild for about $10m or an estimated N5m at the time,” Gowon claimed.
According to him, the deal was uncovered after Nigerian officials intercepted intelligence relating to the purchase of a military aircraft allegedly linked to Biafra.
The former Head of State further revealed that Nigeria turned to the Soviet Union and a Lebanese businessman, Ali Jamal, for weapons after the United States and Britain allegedly refused to supply arms during the war.
“If I say I’m not disappointed, it will be an understatement,” Gowon recalled telling Western diplomats at the time.
“So I will go to any devil to get what I need to deal with the problem, to do my duty to my country.”
He said the Soviet Union later supplied Nigeria with MiG fighter aircraft while Ali Jamal personally financed ammunition purchases that helped sustain federal troops during the conflict.
Gowon also recounted a heated disagreement with former Finance Commissioner, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, over emergency payments for weapons procurement during the war.
“I was aghast because it suddenly appeared to me that the finance commissioner and others at the FEC did not understand the depth of the problem,” he wrote.
The 859-page autobiography details Gowon’s life journey, military career, the Nigerian Civil War, his removal from power in 1975 and his years in exile.
