Former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon (retd) has
revealed how he and other prominent Nigerians saved Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo from impeachment by the National Assembly, during his second
term as president.
He identified General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Chief Ernest Sonekan,
both of them ex-heads of state, as some of the other eminent Nigerians
involved in saving Obasanjo from getting the sack.
Gowon, speaking during a lecture ‘Nation Building or Nation
Fragmentation: Reflections on 20 Years of Post-Military Rule in Nigeria’
in Abuja on Saturday, said it took them some efforts to convince the
then Senate President, Pius Anyim, and House of Representatives Speaker,
Ghali Na’Abba, to drop the impeachment plot in the national interest.
While commenting on Na’Abbah, who was also a guest at the occasion,
Gowon said, “I can assure you that we had some very important
discussions and I know that we had to appeal to him and the President of
the Senate not to impeach Obasanjo and of course, because of the
respect they had for us, they listened to us.
“This is because if we had allowed them to impeach the President at
that time of our democracy, no President in Nigeria would escape being
harassed. So, I thank you very much for listening to us.
“Like me, Late Emmanuel Abisoye chose to join the Nigerian military
in preference to other careers which he was eminently qualified. His
achievements in the military career showed that he took the right
decision to serve his country.
“As young as we were then, our ideals were not self-seeking. Rather,
they were focused on the growth and development of a strong, stable,
viable and indivisible nation.
“As his Commander-In-Chief during the Nigerian crisis of 1967 to
1970, I found his scorecard commendable; he fought gallantly,
courageously.”
Former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon has revealed how
he and other prominent Nigerians, saved Chief Olusegun Obasanjo from
impeachment by the National Assembly, during his second term as
president.
He named General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Chief Ernest Sonekan, both
of them ex-heads of state, as some of the other eminent Nigerians
involved in saving Obasanjo from getting the sack.
Gowon, speaking during a lecture ‘Nation Building or Nation
Fragmentation: Reflections on 20 Years of Post-Military Rule in Nigeria’
in Abuja on Saturday, said it took them some effort to convince the
then Senate president Pius Anyim and House of Representatives Speaker
Ghali Na’Abba to drop the impeachment plot in the national interest.
While commenting on Na’Abbah, who was also a guest at the occasion,
Gowon said, “I can assure you that we had some very important
discussions and I know that we had to appeal to him and the President of
the Senate not to impeach Obasanjo and of course, because of the
respect they had for us, they listened to us.
“This is because if we had allowed them to impeach the President at
that time of our democracy, no President in Nigeria would escape being
harassed. So, I thank you very much for listening to us.
“Like me, Late Emmanuel Abisoye chose to join the Nigerian military
in preference to other careers which he was eminently qualified. His
achievements in the military career showed that he took the right
decision to serve his country.
“As young as we were then, our ideals were not self-seeking. Rather,
they were focused on the growth and development of a strong, stable,
viable and indivisible nation.
“As his Commander-In-Chief during the Nigerian crisis of 1967 to
1970, I found his scorecard commendable; he fought gallantly,
courageously.”