The reaction of Gen. Yakubu Gowon when he received news of overthrown as President of Nigeria

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The reaction of Gen. Yakubu Gowon when he received news from an aide that he had been overthrown as President of Nigeria by General Murtala Mohamed and Olesegun Obasanjo in July 1975.

It was at the OAU summit in Kampala, and Idi Amin was halfway through his speech as Chairman.

At first Gen. Gowon tried to remain calm after the aide whispered the shocking news to him. However, as the reality started dawning on him, he stood up and tried exiting the hall but was confronted by a battery of foreign journalists who had already learnt about the coup.

He held a short consultation with his delegation and briefly talked with Amin before temporarily resuming his seat in the conference hall.

Nevertheless, he still managed a smile telling journalists, "Nothing to worry about. It's just the foreign news. We'll wait and see what happens."
Amin adjourned the summit for a day as many heads of state, who feared suffering the same fate as their Nigerian counterpart left the conference for home #politics #nigeria #news #LatestUpdates @highlight #highlight