Exit of a 'Gentle Soldier'

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances.

With that Shakespearean shrug and a gracious pledge of loyalty to the new regime, Nigeria's "gentle soldier," Major General Yakubu Gowon, philosophically acquiesced to a bloodless palace coup that last week ousted him as his country's head of state. Gowon, who himself came to power following a coup in 1966, was the fifth leader of Black Africa to be deposed by a military revolt in the past 16 months.* He was also the first head of state on the continent to be deprived of office while attending a summit meeting of the Organization of African Unity (see following story).

Gowon's curious equanimity may have come from foreknowledge of events that only seemed to overtake him. A member of the Nigerian delegation at the OAU meeting in the Ugandan capital of Kampala told reporters Gowon had suspected a plot before he left for the summit. He had even questioned Colonel Joseph Namvan Garba, commander of the elite brigade that served as Gowon's bodyguard, about it. Garba, who later broadcast the first announcement of the revolt over Nigerian radio, denied all. Nonetheless, Gowon reportedly told him: "If you are plotting, let it be on your conscience and let it be without bloodshed. I must go to Kampala anyway." Whether apocryphal or not, the story reflected the singular lack of personal ambition that had marked Gowon's leadership since power was virtually thrust upon him nine years ago. It also reflected the diffident style of leadership that had thwarted his attempts to deal with an interlocking set of crises.

Genuine Fear. Although oil revenues have made Nigeria Black Africa's wealthiest nation, inflation has ranged from 30% to 80% since January, when Gowon acceded to civil servants' demands for pay increases of up to 133%. That provoked widespread strikes among workers who were less generously treated. A wave of walkouts in public services left the country without adequate power or water supplies for weeks at a time. Meanwhile, student demonstrators, angry over Gowon's announcement that he would be unable to keep a longstanding promise to return the country to civilian rule by 1976, forced three universities to shut down.

The postponement of elections was motivated by Gowon's genuine fear that if he relinquished power, the nation would be racked by a renewal of the tribal hostilities that claimed more than a million lives during the fratricidal Biafran war of 1967-70. His fears were based partly on the bitter controversy generated by publication of suspect 1973 census figures. Those ranked the Moslem Hausa and Fulani tribesmen of northern Nigeria as more numerous --and therefore more politically powerful under the proposed electoral system--than the predominantly Christian Ibos of the south and the Yorubas of the west.

The latest economic and political crises compounded Nigeria's more chronic problems, which include a notorious degree of corruption--known locally as "dash"--among military and government officials. As one Nigerian newspaper editor recently observed, "If original sin goes back to the Garden of Eden, then Adam must have been a Nigerian." Although Gowon is considered irreproachably honest, he was unable to control the widespread graft that helped prevent equitable distribution of the nation's oil wealth ($8 billion for 1974) to most of the 79 million Nigerians, who must still survive on an average per capita income of $120 a year.

The inheritor of these problems as Nigeria's new head of state is Brigadier Muritala Rufai Mohammed, 38, formerly Minister of Communications and architect of the 1966 coup that brought Gowon to power. Mohammed, who earned a reputation as the army's most brutally efficient commander during the Biafran war, is expected to govern in a more decisive--and possibly less humane--manner than Gowon. He has already cleaned house thoroughly, sacking all army commanders and their top aides, all Cabinet members and all the provincial governors of Nigeria's twelve states.

There are no serious ideological differences between Gowon and Mohammed; both are defenders of African nationalism and free enterprise. But there are tribal differences. Gowon is a Christian northerner from the relatively small Anga tribe. Nigeria's new leader is a Hausa Moslem with strong tribal loyalties--a factor that led Gowon to regard Mohammed as a threat to his own Lincolnesque policy of "national conciliation" after the Biafran civil war. The least sign of regional or tribal chauvinism on Mohammed's part might well lead to countercoup or renewed civil war. Foreign diplomats in Nigeria also fear that Mohammed's Moslem background might lead to a less moderate policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict. Under Gowon's leadership, Nigeria, an OPEC member and in recent months the largest exporter of crude oil to the U.S., did not participate in the Arab boycott against Israel's allies after the 1973 Middle East war.

Full Pension. Announcing his assumption of office, Mohammed was strongly critical of Gowon, charging that under him "the affairs of state became characterized by lack of consultation, indiscipline and even neglect." Mohammed, though, was not vengeful. He said that Gowon would be welcome to return to Nigeria "as soon as conditions are such that his security can be guaranteed." The ousted leader, moreover, would be awarded a "full pension befitting his rank."

* The others deposed were Niger's President Hamani Diori, Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie. Madagascar's head of state Gabriel Ramanantsoa and Chad's President Ngarta Tombalbaye.

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