Former military Head of State Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) has revealed that the emergence of Yakubu Gowon as Nigeria’s leader in 1966 sparked tensions with the late Biafran warlord, Chukuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Babangida made this known in his memoir, A Journey in Service, where he detailed the crisis that followed the July 1966 coup.
According to him, Ojukwu opposed Gowon’s appointment, arguing that Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe, a more senior officer, should have been named Head of State following the assassination of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi.
“The emergence of Lt-Col. Gowon as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces marked the beginning of the tension between Gowon and Lt-Col. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu,” Babangida wrote.
He recalled that Ojukwu made a broadcast from Enugu rejecting Gowon’s leadership and insisting that Ogundipe should take over. The standoff further deepened the national crisis.
“In a bid to restore confidence, Lt-Col. Gowon engaged regional politicians, dubbed Leaders of Thought, to find a way forward for the country,” Babangida added.
The former leader also recounted how Gowon reshuffled the military in response to the crisis, a move that led to his own transfer from Kaduna to Abeokuta in August 1966.
