Abdulsalami Reveals Why Ojukwu Rejected Gowon as Nigeria’s Leader

Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has shed fresh light on the events that led to the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War, revealing that late Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu refused to recognise General Yakubu Gowon as Nigeria’s Head of State because he believed military hierarchy had been disregarded following the assassination of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi.

The revelation is contained in Abdulsalami’s autobiography, “Call of Duty,” which was unveiled in Abuja during activities marking his 84th birthday.

In the memoir, the former military leader provides a detailed account of the political tensions, ethnic divisions and military intrigues that plunged Nigeria into one of the darkest periods in its history.

According to Abdulsalami, the roots of the crisis can be traced to the January 15, 1966 coup, led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and other young military officers. The coup resulted in the deaths of several prominent political and military leaders, including Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Northern Premier Sir Ahmadu Bello, and Western Region Premier Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola.

He explained that the killings created widespread resentment in Northern Nigeria, where many perceived the coup as being targeted against northern political leaders.

“There were complaints about the reported hubris over the killing of the northern leaders. Some Northern officers also complained that Igbos were being promoted above others in the military,” Abdulsalami wrote.

The situation rapidly deteriorated as anti-Igbo sentiments spread across parts of Northern Nigeria. Violent riots broke out in cities such as Kano, Kaduna and Jos, leading to the deaths of many Igbos and the destruction of homes and businesses belonging to easterners.

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The unrest eventually culminated in the July 1966 counter-coup, during which Head of State Aguiyi-Ironsi was overthrown and killed by northern military officers.

Following Ironsi’s death, Yakubu Gowon emerged as Nigeria’s new military leader. However, Abdulsalami said Ojukwu strongly opposed Gowon’s emergence, insisting that military tradition and hierarchy had not been followed.

According to him, Ojukwu maintained that Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe, who was then the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters and the most senior military officer after Ironsi, should have succeeded the slain Head of State.

“Lt. Colonel Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Governor of the Eastern Region, refused to recognise the new Head of State, insisting that in the absence or death of Aguiyi-Ironsi, the next in command was Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe,” Abdulsalami stated.

The disagreement deepened political tensions between the Federal Military Government and the Eastern Region, with Ojukwu refusing to pledge loyalty to Gowon’s administration.

As the crisis worsened, thousands of Igbos fled Northern Nigeria and returned to the East amid fears for their safety. Retaliatory attacks were also reported in parts of Eastern Nigeria, further escalating ethnic divisions.

Abdulsalami noted that several attempts were made to resolve the crisis through dialogue. One of the most significant efforts was the Aburi Accord, held in Ghana in January 1967, where regional leaders sought a political solution to the growing conflict.

However, disagreements over the interpretation and implementation of the agreement ultimately derailed the peace process.

With negotiations failing and political tensions reaching a boiling point, Ojukwu declared the secession of the Eastern Region on May 30, 1967, creating the Republic of Biafra.

“On 30 May 1967, Ojukwu announced that Igbos would leave Nigeria for good to form their own country. He felt they were being victimised and marginalised in Nigeria and that the only solution was to secede,” Abdulsalami recalled.

The declaration triggered the Nigerian Civil War, which lasted from July 1967 to January 1970 and remains one of the deadliest conflicts in Africa’s post-colonial history.

Reflecting on the war decades later, Abdulsalami expressed the belief that the conflict could have been avoided.

“To this day, I believe that the Civil War, like most other conflicts in life, could have been prevented,” he wrote.

“I feel that rising tempers, anger and the cycle of retaliations didn’t leave room for understanding and reconciliation.”

The former military ruler said Nigeria was fortunate to survive the conflict and eventually reconcile as one nation, stressing the importance of learning from the painful lessons of the war.

Abdulsalami also recounted one of the most traumatic experiences of his military career during the conflict. He described the battle for Awka and Onitsha as among the fiercest encounters of the war, revealing that federal troops suffered heavy casualties following a tactical miscalculation after capturing Onitsha in February 1968.

According to him, commanders believed victory was near and moved troops, vehicles and ammunition in a manner that exposed them to a devastating Biafran counterattack involving rocket fire and bombardment.

“Our vehicles caught fire. The tankers supplying us with fuel for our operational vehicles also exploded. It was a most terrifying scene. Many soldiers died. I was lucky to escape,” he wrote.

The memoir offers a rare insider perspective on the events that shaped the Nigerian Civil War, the tensions between Ojukwu and Gowon, and the decisions that ultimately altered the course of Nigeria’s history.

Abdulsalami Reveals Why Ojukwu Rejected Gowon as Nigeria’s Leader

How Abacha’s ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ Tried to Oust Me, Pushed for Babangida’s Arrest — Abdulsalami

Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has disclosed how a powerful clique of military officers operating around late military ruler General Sani Abacha repeatedly sought to remove him and other senior officers from the military hierarchy, prompting him to advise Abacha to dismantle the group.

The revelations are contained in Abdulsalami’s autobiography, “Call of Duty,” unveiled on Saturday in Abuja during events marking his 84th birthday. The book launch also featured two other publications — Nigeria’s Grand Patriot and Mediating for Peace in Africa.

The event attracted several prominent Nigerian leaders, including President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President Goodluck Jonathan, and other dignitaries.

In the memoir, Abdulsalami paints a picture of an influential “kitchen cabinet” within the Abacha administration, describing it as a group of officers that wielded enormous influence over government decisions and frequently sought the retirement of officers they perceived as obstacles.

According to him, the group repeatedly pressured Abacha to retire four senior military officers — himself, Lt.-Gen. Jeremiah Useni, Lt.-Gen. Garba Duba and Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Balarabe Haladu.

“To be fair, General Abacha was loyal to his friends. A caucus that sprang up when he became Head of State didn’t want to see some faces around, and they often insisted that some officers be retired,” Abdulsalami wrote.

He explained that despite repeated attempts by the group to push them out, Abacha refused because of his loyalty to long-standing associates.

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“All the time, four of us who were slated for retirement survived because Abacha was devoted to friendship. Ironically, all those hawks were retired before us. They became a pain in Abacha’s neck and he had to get rid of them,” he stated.

Abdulsalami revealed that he became increasingly uncomfortable with the influence of the clique and eventually advised Abacha to dissolve it. According to him, the officers had become a negative force within the administration and were increasingly involved in decisions that undermined the normal chain of command.

“In one of our conversations, I told him that he needed to disband the group of officers that formed the clique around him,” he recalled.

Abdulsalami said Abacha initially suggested that he personally caution the officers, but he declined and insisted that only the Head of State could effectively address the situation. He noted that Abacha eventually retired many members of the group one after another, although a few escaped retirement because they were less outspoken.

One of the most striking revelations in the book concerns former military president General Ibrahim Babangida. Abdulsalami disclosed that members of Abacha’s inner circle once urged the late military ruler to arrest Babangida.

According to him, when Abacha demanded to know the offence Babangida had committed, members of the group reportedly argued that charges could be formulated after his arrest.

“This same group of people urged him to arrest General Babangida. He asked them what his offence was and they said charges could always be found after his arrest,” Abdulsalami wrote.

He said Abacha rejected the suggestion and refused to act against Babangida.

The former Head of State also revealed that some senior officials within the military government appealed to Abacha to release Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

According to Abdulsalami, they advised Abacha to engage Abiola in direct dialogue and seek a political solution to the crisis triggered by the annulled election.

“We asked him to release Bashorun MKO Abiola from detention and discuss with him one-on-one the way forward after he was arrested for proclaiming himself President based on the June 12 election. However, Abacha did not give our advice any positive consideration,” he said.

He added that the continued detention of Abiola contributed to international pressure and sanctions imposed on Nigeria during the period.

Abdulsalami also disclosed that despite serving as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), he was often excluded from sensitive investigations and major decisions. Reflecting on the controversial 1995 coup allegations involving former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, he admitted that he had limited knowledge of what transpired.

“I was often in the dark, apparently by design,” he wrote.

He said he repeatedly appealed to Abacha to show leniency towards Yar’Adua, who had served as their commander during the Nigerian Civil War. While Obasanjo’s original 25-year prison sentence was later reduced to 15 years, Yar’Adua’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Abdulsalami further claimed that some members of Abacha’s inner circle attempted to implicate him in the alleged 1997 coup plot involving Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya and other senior officers. According to him, interrogators repeatedly sought evidence linking him to the conspiracy but failed.

“They were looking for anything to hang on my neck. Thankfully, they did not succeed,” he said.

He maintained that he never participated in any coup plot throughout his military career and remained loyal to Abacha.

Addressing the controversy surrounding billions of dollars allegedly looted during the Abacha era, Abdulsalami said reports linking the late ruler to massive financial misconduct initially came as a surprise to him. He described Abacha as a leader who was meticulous about government spending and personally scrutinized military expenditures.

“When I was Chief of Defence Staff, Abacha would sometimes call me to his office for us to sit down and do proper costing before releasing money for the military. He hated waste,” he recalled.

However, Abdulsalami acknowledged that towards the end of the military administration, documents surfaced showing transfers of funds to accounts linked to members of Abacha’s family and associates.

He said he later heard explanations that the funds were moved abroad to shield Nigeria from possible sanctions and asset freezes, allegedly based on advice from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Nevertheless, Abdulsalami said he could neither confirm nor deny those claims.

The memoir offers one of the most detailed insider accounts yet of the internal power struggles, political intrigues, alleged coup plots and decision-making processes that shaped the Abacha administration. The book also sheds fresh light on the relationships among Nigeria’s top military figures during one of the most controversial periods in the country’s political history, providing new perspectives on events that continue to generate debate decades after they occurred.

How Abacha’s ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ Tried to Oust Me, Pushed for Babangida’s Arrest — Abdulsalami

Grand Chief Imam of Oyo Land Celebrates Ambassador Victor Adeleke, Praises His Service, Humility

The Grand Chief Imam of Oyo Land, Sheikh Al-Imam Barrister Bilal Husayn Akinola Akeugberu, has congratulated Ambassador Victor Adekunle Adeleke on the occasion of his birthday anniversary, describing him as a symbol of humility, excellence, and dedicated service to humanity.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the respected Islamic leader extolled the virtues of the diplomat and legal practitioner, noting that his professional accomplishments and commitment to national development have earned him admiration both within and outside Oyo State.

Sheikh Akeugberu described Ambassador Adeleke as a distinguished son of Oyo whose career trajectory reflects discipline, wisdom, integrity, and devotion to duty. He said the celebrant’s achievements as a lawyer, diplomat, and State Chief of Protocol to the President stand as a testament to his competence and commitment to public service.

According to the Grand Chief Imam, Ambassador Adeleke’s life and career exemplify the values of humility and selfless service, virtues that are highly regarded in Islam and essential for responsible leadership.

He noted that genuine honour goes beyond occupying positions of authority, stressing that true greatness is measured by the positive impact one makes on society and the manner in which one treats others.

“True honour is not only measured by position or achievements, but by the impact one makes, the humility one demonstrates, and the service rendered to humanity. Ambassador Adeleke has continued to exemplify these qualities through his conduct and responsibilities,” Sheikh Akeugberu stated.

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The Islamic cleric also commended the ambassador’s contributions to Nigeria’s diplomatic engagements and his professionalism in handling sensitive state responsibilities. He praised his ability to maintain dignity, respect, and decorum in both public and private life.

The Grand Chief Imam further described Ambassador Adeleke as a role model for younger generations, saying his success story demonstrates that competence, good character, and dedication remain critical ingredients for attaining meaningful leadership and national relevance.

He urged young Nigerians to emulate the ambassador’s commitment to excellence and his unwavering devotion to service, noting that the nation requires more leaders who combine professional competence with strong moral values.

As part of the birthday message, Sheikh Akeugberu offered prayers for the celebrant, asking Allah to grant him continued good health, wisdom, and divine guidance in all his endeavours.

He also prayed for greater accomplishments in Ambassador Adeleke’s service to Nigeria and humanity, expressing hope that his contributions to national development would continue to inspire many.

“May Allah continue to guide your steps, increase you in beneficial knowledge, and make your life a source of benefit to others,” the Grand Chief Imam prayed.

The congratulatory message was personally signed by Sheikh Al-Imam Barrister Bilal Husayn Akinola Akeugberu, the Grand Chief Imam of Oyo Land.

Grand Chief Imam of Oyo Land Celebrates Ambassador Victor Adeleke, Praises His Service, Humility