Former Nigerian Head of State, Yakubu Gowon,
says the condition he found himself after his ouster from office in 1975 might
have changed the attitude of Nigerian leaders to corruption.
Mr Gowon, a retired general who led Nigeria
through three years of civil war during his nine year reign, was removed from
office on July 29, 1975 by his junior colleagues while attending a meeting of
defunct Organisation of African Union (OAU), precursor of the African Union
(AU).
Recalling the events of that 1975 Monday
morning, Mr Gowon said he had nothing apart from his salaries as at the time he
left office.
The former leader who spoke at the Eighth
Annual General Meeting and Conference for Heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in
Commonwealth Africa, joked that he “did not prepare for the future”.
According to him, “it was some of my staff who
attended the OAU meeting with me that contributed their estacode to let me have
something to live on”.
He said the condition he found himself was
perhaps the reason why some leaders who came later decided to “prepare” for
such times.
Mr Gowon said he and officials of his
government did not indulge in corruption, and complaint of corruption against
some of his ministers were appropriately treated.
“Everything we had in the country belong to the
nation, belong to the people and we must not touch anything,” he said.
“We made sure nothing like that happened,
especially in the civil service,” the former leader emphasised.
Mr Gowon regretted the action of some past
leaders which gives all former Nigerian leaders “a very bad name and image”.
He however condemned generalisation regarding
corruption accusations on the past leaders, revealing that he feels sad anytime
media reports lump up all Nigerian leaders on the issue of corruption.
Although the succeeding regime of Murtala
Muhammad did not find Mr Gowon personally culpable of corruption, it seized
asset from 10 of his 12 military state governors deemed to have been corruptly acquired
and dismissed them from the military.
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