Former Military Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon (rtd), has explained that he create more states during his regime to foster unity and prevent regional dominance.
Addressing some Northern leaders, who visited him in Abuja, yesterday, the elder statesman said, “My position has always been that whatever the North does must serve the greater interest of Nigeria.”
Gowon insisted that he had since renounced political partisanship. “I am not affiliated to any political party; my allegiance is solely to Nigeria,” he said.
Gowon, from North Central, charged other leaders of the North to remain committed to unity, peace and survival of democracy in Nigeria.
According to him, fears of disintegration loomed heavily in the past, with secessionist sentiments rising in the North, East and West.
“At one point, people believed the North wanted to secede, just as similar claims were made about the East and the West,” Gowon said. “If we had allowed it, what would we call ourselves today? We might have ended up as separate nations of Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or otherwise.”
He commended the Northern group, who visited him under the umbrella of League of Northern Democrats (LND), for their effort to address challenges in the North, but cautioned that regional cooperation should not come at the detriment of the country’s unity.
Gowon stressed, “The division of the North into states was meant to preserve national unity. Whatever you do, always prioritise the nation’s interest.”
Clarifying the group’s mission, in his remarks, former Kano State governor, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, who chaired the league, emphasised that it was not an opposition platform, but a movement to complement the government’s efforts in addressing the region’s challenges.
