General Yakubu Gowon broke two records at the age of 32. He was the youngest Head of State Nigeria has ever had and was the leader of the country during the Nigerian civil war that lasted from 1966 to1970.
Just before the war, Gowon who was a Lieutenant Colonel at the time had met and fallen in love with a young Igbo lady, Edith Ike, who he had planned to marry.
It was reported that she protested against the way Nigerian troops hunted and killed indigenes of Igbo extraction during the first pogrom of 1966.
On 30th June, 1967, Ike relocated to the then West Germany after Gowon allegedly stopped her from going to America or the United Kingdom. She later migrated to the United States from Germany.
Her love affair between Ike and Gowon eventually ended towards the end of 1968 and Edith became pregnant and had a son for Gowon.
The child was named Musa Jack Ngodadi Gowon.
Yakubu Gowon denied the paternity of Musa who was born in 1968, and on 19, April, 1969, Gowon married his current wife, Victoria Zakari.
The wedding ceremony of Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Victoria held during the Nigerian Civil War on 19 April 1969 at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos.
Edith Ike later returned to Nigeria after spending many years in America, she did not return with her son.
She got married first to Dr Okongwu and later to Nze Mark Odu.
Despite her marriage, she took legal action against Gowon over the paternity of Musa. The case reached the Supreme Court in Nigeria and Edith Ike won. Still, Gowon did not accept Musa.
Meanwhile, in the US, the young Musa was arrested with hard drug. On November 18, 1992, Musa was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment in the United States at age 23.
In December 2003, while in US custody, Edith died of cancer. In 2015, Musa Gowon received a presidential pardon from Barak Obama administration after spending 23 years in prison.
He got a degree in law while in prison and was released on the grounds of good behaviour on January 1, 2016. The American authorities deported him to Nigeria upon his release.
Later that year, Gowon accepted that he was Musa’s father after a paternity test proved that Musa is his biological son.
Gowon said: “Following years of doubts and speculation, a DNA test was recently conducted to ascertain the paternity of Musa Gowon, who recently returned to the country.
“The results of the tests were conclusive, and they confirm his paternity. We, the family, are working to assist in his rehabilitation following a very difficult period in his life”.
Musa Gowon who is now happily married, is a fashion designer. He runs MJG Fashions Company (MJG is a moniker Musa Jack Gowon). His company has factories in Enugu and Lagos and outlets around the country.
