Yakubu Gowon inherited a nation soaked in the blood of two coups. He then presided over a civil war that killed up to two million people. His government oversaw an incredible oil boom that turned Nigeria from a groundnut exporter into a petro-state. Yet he watched as the system around him became the most corrupt government Nigeria had ever seen.This is the story of how trust built a presidency — and destroyed it.This is Episode 3 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L_bgWkzUOq6hQre9wVoEEt7qdYFcRk9D9euVevmaF48/edit?usp=sharing

On January 15, 1966, a group of young Nigerian officers launched a coordinated assassination plot that killed the Prime Minister, the Northern Premier, and nearly every senior political and military figure in the country. The one man they were supposed to kill but missed — Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi — ended up ruling the nation by the next morning.He didn't plan the coup. He didn't want the job. But for the next 194 days, everything he did was used against him.This is Episode 2 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1whhmgEzvbeRnW42HtWYjJJtItMaMbA35o3ZqwLCHsUk/edit?usp=sharing

In 1914, Britain smashed two completely different territories into one colony — because it was cheaper. They rigged the constitution, found oil, changed the rules, and handed it all to a man who knew the whole thing was broken.His name was Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The Golden Voice of Africa. He was Nigeria's Unlucky prime minister who was set up to fail.This is Episode 1 of Power & Plunder — a 16-part series covering every head of state Nigeria has had since independence. Built on declassified British and American archives, court records, and primary sources.My Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qTavbF3rpMKse122oEeGXygHtaVqM8J9msvW3ElZbdI/edit?usp=sharing