Why Nigeria remains undeveloped – Gowon

General Yakubu Gowon (Retd), a former Head of State, has highlighted one of the reasons why Nigeria is still underdeveloped.

The retired military chief expressed sorrow that successive governments had failed to carry out the 1975–1980 National Development Plan.

General Yakubu Gowon spoke at the public presentation of a book entitled: “General Domkat Yah Bali (GCON) As Ponzhi Tarok Designate, a Contextual Analysis of The Imbroglio.”

The book was co-written by Domkat Yah Bali’s wife, Esther Bali, and presented by a 2023 presidential aspirant, Prince Adewole Adebayo, at the Sheraton Hotel in Abuja.

Gowon bemoaned the fact that successive governments had failed to follow in the footsteps of dedicated Nigerian military officers like Bali, denying the country the benefits of coordinated development for a great nation.

The former military head of state insisted that the country would have been a leading light to other nations in terms of development had leaders maintained the prescription of the development plan and stuck to it.

“If only the development plan that we had at that time, 1975 – 1980. If it had continued, if they had carried it through, it would have made all the difference,” he said.

Gowon attributed all the major breakthroughs he had during his administration as the military head of state to General Domkat Yah Bali.

“All these achievements, we can say, I really owe it to General Bali and all those young officers in those days though, young as they were, they shouldered those responsibilities far, far above their age and experience.”

Presenter of the Book and Presidential aspirant, Prince Adewole Adebayo, said the book dwelt on the principles of truth and justice.

His words: “My job, which is to present this book to the public, but just note that the book we are presenting is not just the print and the paper, it is the principle behind the book that we are presenting. It is not a rock story.

“It’s the human story, about the need for society to have honor and integrity. Sacrifice of personal interest for the good of the wider society,” he said.