Yakubu Gowon, the former Military Head of State, has disputed media rumors that he is dead.
According to social media, the former Nigerian leader died at the age of 89.
But Gowon, according to a short statement sent by his spokesman, Adeyeye E. Ajayi, on Monday night, is alive, well, and healthy.
The former head of state stated that he is not in a hurry to die and asked the public to dismiss his rumored demise.
He said: “I am still around and well. I am not in a hurry.”
Gowon is from Lur, a small village in Plateau State’s current Kanke Local Government Area.
He was born in the month of October 1934. In 1954, he joined the Nigerian Army and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England. In 1966, he was promoted to the rank of general.
He was Nigeria’s president from 1966 to 1975, during which time he presided over the Nigerian Civil War.
During the Nigerian Civil War, which lasted from 1967 to 1970, Gowon headed the country.
Gowon promised to return Nigeria to civilian control after the war. In 1975, however, he was deposed in a bloodless coup.
