Why Yakubu Gowon Was Overthrown as Nigeria's Head of State in 1975
On July 29, 1975, Nigeria’s Head-of-State General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown while attending an Organization of African Unity (OAU) summit in Kampala, Uganda. The overthrow would be an unprecedented bloodless one. The first time in Nigeria’s history. Yakubu Gowon was 31 years and nine months old when he succeeded Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi as Head of State. He went on to rule the country for 9 years. The longest rule ever of Nigeria’s military Heads of State. Gowon enlisted into the Nigerian Army and trained in Officer Cadet Training School, Teshie, Ghana in 1954. He was the first indigenous Adjutant, Fourth Battalion, Queen’s Own Nigerian Regiment, as the Nigerian Army was then known, between 1960 and 1961 and was Brigade-Major of United Nations Peace-Keeping Forces, Luluabourg, Congo between January and June 1963. Gowon was promoted Major in 1962, Lieutenant-Colonel in 1963, named Adjutant-General, Nigerian Army from 1963 to 1965, was Chief of Staff in January 1966, became the second military ruler on August 1, 1966, promoted Major-General in 1967, and became a four-star General in 1971. During the weekend of July 29, 1966, following a violent rolling mutiny that led to the overthrow and murder of Aguiyi-Ironsi, Gowon became the new Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces as he was the most senior army officer from Northern Nigeria. #HistoryVille #YakubuGowon TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Introduction 01:22 - Gowon, the Soldier 02:29 - Gowon, the Diplomat 03:31 - The Nine-Point Plan 03:52 - Political Misadventures 05:15 - Economic Misadventures 06:36 - Was Gowon Corrupt? 10:00 - Marriage Join this channel to become a member: https://www.youtube.com/HistoryVille/... Get Ayomide Akinbode's latest historical novels on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ayomide-Akinbo... and Okadabooks: https://okadabooks.com/user/AyoAkinbode Subscribe to HistoryVille: https://www.youtube.com/HistoryVille?... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow us on Social Media: Facebook: / thehistoryville Instagram: / historyville Twitter: / historyville LinkedIn: / historyville ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For interesting historical articles visit: https://www.thehistoryville.com
