Former military Head of State Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has revealed that there was a conflict between previous military Head of State Yakubu Gowon and the late Biafra warlord Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Babangida said that Gowon’s accession as Head of State caused conflict with Ojukwu.
He said that Ojukwu opposed Gowon’s emergence, claiming that in the absence of the deceased Aguyi-Ironsi, a senior Army commander such as Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe should have been appointed head of state.
The former military ruler disclosed this in his memoir, ‘A Journey in Service’.
“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.
“In an early morning broadcast from Enugu, Ojukwu rejected Gowon’s emergence as Head of State, insisting that in the absence of Aguiyi-Ironsi, the most senior Nigerian Army officer in the person of Brigadier Babafemi Ogundipe, should be Head of State and Commander-in-Chief.
“The state of national tension increased. Eager to restore confidence in the country, Lt-Col. Gowon assembled regional politicians, dubbed Leaders of Thought, to fashion a way forward for the country.
“Then, he turned his attention to the military, making a few tactical changes. Those changes were detailed enough to affect younger officers like me.
“In early August, I was transferred from the ‘A’ Squadron Reconnaissance Unit in Kaduna to the ‘B’ Squadron in Abeokuta,” Babangida wrote.
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