The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, has recounted how former Federal Capital Territory Minister Nasir El-Rufai revoked a land allocation belonging to former Head of State Yakubu Gowon in Abuja.
Kukah made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja during the presentation and review of Gowon’s autobiography, My Life of Duty and Allegiance, published by Havilah Group.
While reviewing the memoir, the cleric reflected on several challenges Gowon encountered after he was removed from office in the 1975 military coup, including the hardship he endured during exile.
According to Kukah, Gowon returned to Nigeria without owning any property in Abuja and only secured a plot after the intervention of senior military officers.
“He didn’t have a plot of land. And when he came back, it was just out of pity, let me put it that way, that General Babangida agreed. Finally, they named one crescent after him, and after the crescent, they now gave him a plot of land, his first plot of land in Abuja,” Kukah said.
The bishop explained that Gowon had already gathered resources and begun construction on the property before the allocation was withdrawn during El-Rufai’s tenure as FCT minister.
“He mobilised resources to try and start building. He begins to build. Then El-Rufai, who was minister of the FCT, revoked the land,” Kukah stated.
Kukah added that retired General Theophilus Danjuma and other influential figures later intervened, leading to the recovery of the property.
The remarks formed part of Kukah’s detailed assessment of the autobiography, which he described as an extensive account of Nigeria’s political and military history spanning about 900 pages across 36 chapters.
He revealed that much of Gowon’s personal records and archives were destroyed in separate fire outbreaks in Bakori and Kaduna, forcing the former military leader to rely largely on memory while writing the book.
“It’s important to underscore the fact that whatever you read in the book is the result of what the author was able to recall,” he said.
“You will find in the book evidence of excellent memory and details of things.”
Kukah said the memoir covered various stages of Gowon’s life, including military coups, exile, personal struggles and relationships with prominent figures in Nigeria’s political history.
He also pointed to sections of the book discussing Gowon’s relationship with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, noting that the memoir portrayed a strong level of trust between both men despite political tensions after Gowon was overthrown.
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Quoting directly from the autobiography, Kukah said Gowon described Obasanjo as his “informal guardian angel” whom he trusted “more than any other soldier.”
The bishop further cited accounts by former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Allison Ayida, regarding internal discussions within the military over Gowon’s possible return from exile.
According to Kukah, Ayida said some officials feared political consequences if news of Gowon’s planned return became public.
Beyond politics, Kukah dedicated part of his review to Gowon’s wife, Victoria Gowon, whom he described as “the shield, the diplomat, who wore the trousers in the house.”
He said the autobiography detailed the difficult conditions the Gowon family faced while living in exile in the United Kingdom after the 1975 coup.
According to Kukah, Gowon found it difficult to get a job or even open a bank account, while his wife supported the family by sewing bed sheets and making pillows for sale.
“He himself said in the book that he became what he called a kept man because she was the one looking after everything in the house,” Kukah noted.
The cleric also narrated how a domestic worker allegedly sent to assist the family by Nigerian authorities was later discovered to be gathering incriminating information on them.
“At the end of the day, the poor man could not find anything to report back home,” Kukah said.
Gowon, who governed Nigeria between 1966 and 1975 and led the country through the civil war, is regarded as one of the nation’s most influential military rulers.
His government introduced the post-war “no victor, no vanquished” policy and established the National Youth Service Corps as part of efforts to promote national unity after the conflict.