Do you recall this statement: “Some people will remember, when General Gowon left Nigeria with half the Central Bank of Nigeria, so it is said, and moved to London”?
It was made by a Conservative Member of British Parliament, Tom Tugendhat, last Monday, while debating possible sanctions against Nigeria over the alleged killings during the October #EndSARS protest. That statement stirred an instant irritation amongst many Nigerians.
Perhaps, stooping to pressure from friends and family, Gowon, in an exclusive interview with the BBC, gave a short response: “I don’t know where he got that rubbish from. I served Nigeria diligently and my records are there for all to see.”
It does not take much to realise that the British lawmaker spoke carelessly and recklessly. There was nothing to show he had his facts before coming public with the fallacy. And to make a mess of such rash grandstanding, he claimed: “so it is said.” By who, where, when, how?
That some people even reckoned he should be given a benefit of the doubt directly insulted the collective sensibility of decent Nigerians.
Gowon is not infallible but definitely one of the few Nigerian leaders, who boast a character that is unimpeachable.
Thus, making away with half the central bank was too ludicrous and impossible a claim that anyone should have listened to in the first place. Evidently, those who gave the clown a chance to espouse his twaddle did, because of the colour of his skin, and not as a result of the content of his brain or character.
