By Oyinkansayo Wole-Bodunde.
General Yakubu Gowon, a former Nigerian Head of State, has shared a remarkable story of his intervention in the fate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the Interdenominational Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival in Plateau State, Gowon revealed that he had written a heartfelt letter to the late General Sani Abacha, pleading for Obasanjo.
In 1995, Obasanjo had been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for his alleged role in a coup plot against Abacha’s government. Gowon’s timely intervention, however, may have contributed to Obasanjo’s eventual release from prison in 1998.
As Gowon recalled, “I wrote a letter to Abacha, I pleaded with him that God made him a leader to do good and not evil. I sent my wife with the letter in the middle of the night to Abacha in Abuja; I pleaded with him that such a thing should not happen.”
Gowon’s efforts ultimately proved successful, as Obasanjo not only escaped execution but became Nigeria’s President in 1999.
Gowon attributed this remarkable turn of events to the power of “prayers and sincerity.”
During the event, Gowon also expressed his appreciation for the Plateau State government’s efforts to promote unity and peaceful coexistence among its citizens.
