By Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (rtd)
At the public launch of the autobiography of a former Nigerian leader, one would have expected reflections on statesmanship, national service, history, leadership lessons, or even reconciliation.
Yet, true to form, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, (as the Accidental Book Reviewer…unsuitable for Gowon if you ask me) chose instead to spotlight one issue above all else: That Nasir El-Rufai once revoked the Abuja land allocation of Yakubu Gowon.
Predictably, the audience gasped. The media extracted the headline. Social media exploded. Mission accomplished.
But one simple question arises: Would Bishop Kukah also care to mention how many other plots, titles, allocations, and land holdings were revoked during that same FCT reform exercise – and why? Including the land belonging to late Justice Bashir Sambo, a Zaria elder and by some accounts the person who enrolled El Rufai at Barewa College?
Indeed, this is not unique to El-Rufai’s era. As recently as 28 November 2024, the Wike-led FCTA reportedly listed former Head of State Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida among alleged Abuja land-title debtors, with an outstanding ₦152 million reportedly tied to an Asokoro plot, and warned that defaulters risked revocation if payment was not made within the stipulated period. Yet that was not automatically framed as an ethnic, regional, religious, or personal attack on IBB. It was treated, rightly or wrongly, as part of Abuja land administration and statutory compliance.
That is precisely the point: Abuja land administration exercises – whether under El-Rufai, Wike, or others — have historically affected numerous prominent individuals across political, regional, and institutional lines.
Those familiar with the Abuja land regularisation and revocation exercises during El-Rufai’s tenure as FCT Minister know very well that the actions were not directed at one man alone. Thousands of allocations across different categories were reviewed, revoked, regularised, or reallocated over issues ranging from non-development, irregular documentation, speculative holding, breach of allocation conditions, double allocations, and urban planning enforcement.
What is well documented is that during his tenure as FCT Minister (2003–2007), El-Rufai carried out extremely aggressive land revocations, demolitions, and enforcement actions under the Abuja Master Plan. These affected a very wide spectrum of properties and allocations — residences, commercial plots, government plots, informal settlements, churches, mosques and other institutions. There is empirical evidence that revocations were often justified on grounds such as:non-compliance with development conditions,violation of land-use provisions,failure to develop allocated plots, encroachment on infrastructure corridors, or conflict with the Abuja Master Plan
Now, as often the case with any strong willed individual, one may disagree with El-Rufai’s methods, style, or even the broader politics of that era. Fair enough. But presenting the Gowon case in isolation – especially at such an occasion – without contextualising the broader policy environment appears less like historical reflection and more like calculated emotional framing.
I want to, I must emphasize here, for the avoidance of doubt, General Gowon remains one of Nigeria’s most respected national figures (justifiably so, barely in his 30s entrusted with keeping a new country one) and a rallying point across large sections of the country, particularly in the North. He has largely stayed above parochialism and divisive rhetoric throughout his post-service national life. Nobody should attempt to besmirch that record in his old age by dragging his name into selective political framing or contemporary factional narratives. We should not reduce a universally revered national figure like General Gowon into a sectarian or ethnic minority symbol for the purpose of scoring contemporary political points. He is not that.
That is precisely why many Nigerians increasingly see Bishop Kukah not merely as a cleric offering moral commentary, but as a highly political public actor who often selects facts in ways that amplify division, controversy, and regional interpretation. It is not the first time. Likely not the last.
The troubling part is not criticism of government or powerful figures – that is legitimate in a democracy. The troubling part is selective narration masquerading as moral objectivity using ecclesiastical position.
And that is why, to many observers, Bishop Kukah remains what he has long been: Ever articulate, ever influential…but unfortunately and invariably, ever so divisive.
Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (rtd) is a Security & Defence Analyst/Conflict Security & Development Consult Ltd