Nigeria’s former military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has revealed how officers he trusted and relied upon to transform the country eventually turned against him and overthrew his government in July 1975.
Mr Gowon, who ruled Nigeria between 1966 and 1975, said he believed the officers around him shared the vision and policies of his administration because of their closeness to him. He, however, later discovered that some of them were part of the plot that removed him from office.
The former head of state was overthrown on 29 July 1975 while attending the 12th summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Kampala, Uganda.
He was seated at the conference when the then Uganda’s leader, Idi Amin, approached him with a Reuters dispatch announcing that his government had been toppled.
The development abruptly ended his time in office and was followed by his retirement from the Nigerian Army by the new military junta.
