Former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has revealed how influential northern politicians, business leaders and establishment figures persuaded him to return to politics and contest the 1992 presidential race, a move he said ended in intimidation, betrayal and an abrupt political defeat.

The former military leader disclosed this in his autobiography, "My Life of Duty & Allegiance", where he detailed the political intrigues, religious tensions and internal power struggles that shaped Nigeria’s troubled transition to civilian rule under former military president Ibrahim Babangida.

Gowon said he was drawn into the race after pressure from prominent northern figures, including aviation businessman Dan Kabo, who convinced him that the country needed a nationally acceptable figure to stabilise its tense political climate.

“In 1992, I was lured and coaxed to join the race for the presidential ticket to Aso Villa,” Gowon wrote, adding that supporters believed he had the credentials to lead Nigeria again.

According to him, optimism around his ambition grew after the Babangida administration introduced the Option A4 open-ballot system through the military-created National Republican Convention and Social Democratic Party. However, what initially appeared to be widespread northern backing soon unravelled as resistance emerged from powerful political interests uneasy with his return.

Gowon disclosed that his wife, Victoria Gowon, became disillusioned with the campaign after what she considered hostile treatment from party leaders in Kaduna. He said she suspected from the outset that the calls for him to contest lacked sincerity and were designed to embarrass him politically.

The former Head of State also claimed religion became a weapon in the contest because he was viewed in some quarters as a northern Christian candidate. He alleged that supporters and polling agents faced threats, intimidation and warnings of violence during the grassroots phase of the exercise.

“My polling agents were seriously threatened and warned that their houses would be burnt,” he wrote, adding that many operated under fear while attempting to carry out their responsibilities.

Gowon further alleged that financial promises made to support his campaign never materialised. While claims circulated that millions of naira had been approved for aspirants, he said he neither received funds nor saw evidence of the money, except for “a portmanteau full of babanriga and hula caps”.

He also recounted moments of political discomfort during consultations with northern traditional rulers and cited what he perceived as scepticism from sections of the elite, including former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who reportedly reacted sarcastically to news of his presidential ambition.

Gowon’s presidential push collapsed at the local government stage of the NRC primaries, where he lost heavily to Dr. Dalhatu Tafida by 165 votes to 29. The defeat, he said, ended his political aspirations before they could gain momentum.

Reflecting on the experience, Gowon described it as a painful lesson in grassroots politics and power dynamics within a system shaped by pressure, fear and shifting loyalties.

“Simply, I was taught a major lesson that ended my political career before it ever had a fighting chance to get off the ground,” he stated.

He also suggested that elements within the military establishment were uncomfortable with the prospect of handing power to him, arguing that had he advanced beyond the early stages of the contest, he might have posed a serious national challenge.

Gowon’s failed political comeback came shortly before Nigeria’s historic June 12, 1993 election, won by late business mogul Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, whose victory was later annulled, plunging the country into one of the most turbulent chapters in its democratic history. (Text, excluding headline: The Sun)