Former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) yesterday warned Nigerians against subversive activities that could trigger off a repeat of the 1966 coup and the agony, misery and tragedies that followed.
He sounded the note of finality on Tuesday at the launch of the biography of the late Brig. Zakariya Maimalari at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The book titled “The First Regular Combatant: Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari” was authored and reviewed by Haruna Yahaya Poloma and Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (rtd) respectively.
Among the attendees at the book presentation were eminent Nigerians and serving military officers among whom was the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai.
Maimalari was among top military officers killed during the nation’s first military coup on January 15, 1966.
Speaking at the event, former Head of State, Gen. Gowon said: “Several of our institutions have been poisoned mostly by the virus of corruption. Our people are in pain and require deliverance. But the rot is not all round.”
“Many things happened and many things failed to happen. He (Maimalari) was denied the ultimate prize and this denial produced widespread consternation.
“No one less deserved the sort of death visited on Brigadier Maimalari. I have sometimes wondered just what might have been had he survived the mutiny of that night.
“To my mind, Maimalari would perhaps have used his huge influence to re-establish civic order and governance. Perhaps in which case, there might not have been any further killings.
“Perhaps, maybe in the absence of the killings, the violence which became part of our nation’s vernacular would have been absent.
“Perhaps, there would have been no Biafra, no Ojukwu, no Gowon as we know them; no war and our democratic governments would have grown in stature as vehicles of popular service.”
Like Us on Facebook!
Do You Need a Sugar Mummy, Sugar Daddy, Girlfriend, Boyfriend Wife or Husband? If Yes, Then Click Here For Details
0 comments:
Post a Comment