The Nigerian Twitter street has been agog with mixed reactions and debate after a video surfaced online of a member of the United Kingdom Parliament, Tom Tugendhat on Monday calling out former Military Head of State, and retired General, Yakubu Gowon. He had alleged in that video that Yakubu Gowon looted half of the Nigerian Central Bank (CBN) to London, as Military head of State. This allegation made some on the Nigerian Twitter street to label the ex-military head of state as ‘Legend’ in the game of corruption.
General Yakubu Gowon was Nigeria’s Military Head of State from 1966 to 1975, before he was overthrown by the late Murtala Muhammed.
Tugendhat had made the allegation during the debate on a petition on #EndSARS, where he accused Yakubu Gowon and the country’s leaders of corruption.
Decrying the situation in Nigeria, the lawmaker said: “One of the great countries is, sadly, being racked by violence, and violence against young people.
“The greatest book in the English Language is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the great Nigerian writer. The beauty of that book is the way it explains the challenge of changing generations to live together.
“The way it speaks about values falling away and the community being eroded by outside pressure. What we’re seeing in Nigeria today is part of that story.
“It’s a tragedy that we are watching, it’s a tragedy that we are all witnessing. The pressure this time is not foreign colonialism, the pressure instead is corruption and violence.
“We need to call out the corruption, we need to use the powers that we have in this country to stop those profiting from the wealth of that great nation and hiding it here.
“Some people will remember when General Gowon left Nigeria with half the Central Bank and moved to London.
“We know that today, even now, in this great city of ours, there are, sadly, some people who have taken from the Nigerian people and hidden their ill-gotten gains here.
“We know that our banks, sadly, have been used for that profit and for that illegal transfer of assets.
“And that means the UK is in an enormous unique position in being able to do
actually something to really exert pressure on those who have robbed the Nigerian people.”
MPs including Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet), Kate Osamor (Edmonton), Lyn Carol Brown (West Ham), Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) made contributions.
The lawmakers urged the Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, and the UK Foreign Office to engage Nigerian authorities and brief parliament subsequently.
The allegation has sparked various reactions from Twitter users, including Senator Shehu Sani and other prominent Nigerians, mostly Nigerian youths.
While some Twitter users praised the UK Parliament for exposing Yakubu Gowon, whom many thought was a saint based on how he has appeared in public since leaving office in 1976. Others while expressing shock, also doubted the allegation, saying Gowon has been an upright man and the only Nigerian leader to have left office corruption-free.
See some of the reactions from those who doubted the allegation against Yakubu Gowon:
JJ. Omojuwa@Omojuwa:
I am not a fan of Gen. Gowon. I think rather than use his influence & privilege to speak truth to power, he often rather chose to cozy up to every government of the day. But to say he stole half the CBN considering how he left office? That’s irrational. People gotta be reasonable.
Senator Shehu Sani@ShehuSani
General Yakubu Gowon;The claim of ‘looting the CBN’ made by the British Minister for Africa as represented by Mr James Duddridge against Gen Gowon is nothing but outright falsehood.Gowon exited power without any evidence of wealth & that remains,for over four decades after power.
While Senator Shehu Sani and Omojuwa and a few others doubted the allegation, others thought otherwise and praised the UK Parliament for the revelation, had these to say:
Tope Akinyode@TopeAkinyode:
In one day, the UK Parliament did more than Nigeria’s Senate, House of Rep, EFCC, IGP, & ICPC combined together. In one day, the UK parliament destroyed Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign of 5 years & exposed the high-ranking corruption profile of Gen. Gowon. I’m still in shock.
Jolly Good Fella {♛}@valzilfabulous:
God extended Yakubu Gowon’s lifespan so he’ll be able to answer his crimes. We were made to believe Gowon was an upright man simply because he drove a plain car and didn’t live a flashy lifestyle, little did we know he’s a lowkey Yahoo boy
Chxta@Chxta:
The allegation against Gowon (possibly true) shouldn’t have been the main takeaway from Tom Tugendhat’s speech at
@UKParliament’s Petitions Committee meeting on 23/11/20. He said, “the greatest book in the English language is “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe…” SWEET!
Aisha Yesufu@AishaYesufu:
Dubai leader was building for the next generation while Gowon was eating the food for the next generation
Dhan_yels|@Dhan_yels:
Imagine stealing half of cbn’s worth when there was just 10naira and 20naira note. No cash transfer, it just had to be cash. Now i see why our present government call them heroes.. Gowon and his team are legends.
Imported Alhaji @ImportedAlhaji:
If not for the Uk parliament we wouldn’t have known Gowon was a devil and Idol to Hushpuppi, someone they almost portrayed as an Idol for us while we were in primary and secondary school. It’s a shame we were fed a lot of lies about this same person who executed 3m igbos.
Morris Monye@Morris_Monye:
In denial with this Gowon issue Yes he was Head of state when Nigeria was at its most prosperous time ever! Most of his aides got quick wealth but Gowon has lived a frugal life Such wealth does not hide Anyway can’t vouch for any Nigerian Politician. That’s how Bubu scammed us.
OurFavOnlineDoc @DrOlufunmilayo
A govt official in UK Parliament just stated today in their session that they all know that Yakubu Gowon stole half the central bank of Nigeria and took it to London. These are the clowns we were taught in schools to see as “heroes”. Thieves. Rogues. The actual real hoodlums.
Wale Adetona@iSlimfit:
I am not surprised at that revelation by a member of the UK Parliament on General Gowon though. No Nigerian former head of state is innocent. They all took Nigeria’s money to the UK and the present ones are still doing it. Even the UK government is aware.
Milista of Informashun ❁@EkeVanVictor:
Las las “The Labour of our heroes past” na scam. No hero, no labour. Just thieves like Gowon, Babangida and Abacha. UK Parliament thank you ooooo.