A veteran journalist, Dan Agbese has said that several Nigerians underestimated what a former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon did for Nigeria as a country.
Agbese who at his time reported most of the activities of the former Head of State said Gowon saved Nigeria.
He also described the retired general as the most wonderful leader Nigeria ever had.
Urging people to ascribe the same regard they have for George Washington to Gowon, the journalist said the former Head of State did for Nigeria what Washington did for the United States of America.
His words, “General Yakubu Gowon is the most wonderful leader we have ever had. He did for this country what General George Washington did for the United States of America.
“Like Washington, Gowon saved Nigeria through the civil war and united the country,” Agbese said.
Noting that today, Washington is celebrated in the US and all over the world, Agbese said he finds it difficult to understand why Gowon is not celebrated.
“But while Washington is celebrated in his country, Gowon is not. I find that very painful because if not for his cool-headedness, the country would have disintegrated.
“He faced it and united the country and insisted that there was no victor, no vanquished.
“He did not punish the people who took arms against their country, rather reabsorbed them into the armed forces. I do not think there would be anybody else like him,” Agbese noted.
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
