By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

Former Military Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon (rtd), has explained that he created more states during his regime to douse tension about fears of domination by the defunct Northern Region.

For almost five decades there are assumptions in several quarters that Gowon created 12 States out of the four regions as a strategy to weaken the leader of defunct Biafra republic, late Colonel Chukwuemeka Odimegu Ojukwu during the Nigerian civil war.

The defunct Eastern region that was renamed Biafra republic by Ojukwu comprised all the states in the South East and four oil-producing states in the present Niger Delta region, namely Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Bayelsa.

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.”

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.”

Gowon stressed, “The division of the North into states was meant to preserve national unity. Whatever you do, always prioritise the nation’s interest.”

The Plateau State-born nonagenarian 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.

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.

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.

“LND is not an opposition group. We are not here to undermine or challenge the government, but to complement its efforts. If the North thrives, Nigeria prospers. If the North falters, the entire nation bears the weight of its collapse,” Shekarau said.

He listed pressing challenges facing the region to include poverty, insecurity, disunity, illiteracy and drug addiction.

The former governor added that LND had started engaging key Northern stakeholders, such as the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Middle Belt Forum (MBF), to foster regional unity and collaboration.

“Our ultimate aim is to build bridges that unite the North and extend hands of fellowship to the South, thereby complementing your commitment to solidifying Nigeria as one indivisible entity,” he noted.

The LND also announced plans for a Northern Nigerian Political Summit in Kaduna to consolidate its efforts.

The event was not rounded off without prayers for Gowon’s health and Nigeria’s unity.